Breakout Room 4 Notes

Language Access Work Group

Notes from 

Meeting 1 Breakout Room 4

July 25, 2023

Breakout Room 4 Participants                                       Breakout Room 4 Facilitator

Patricia Alonzo                                                                          Adolfo Capestany

Sherri Fujita 

Lynora Hirata 

Trisha Lamb 

KaraLynn LaValley, PhD 

Theresa Powell 

Cindy Roat, MPH 

Roy Salonga 

Sandy Yang 

 

Question 1: 

Why is this work important to Washingtonians?

Question 2: 

How do you think we reach our unifying goal in the most equitable, accessible, and financially reasonable way?​

 

  • We need to keep in mind that medical interpreters assist on different levels including LEP individuals and families and upgrading healthcare across Washington state 

 

  • Washington needs to increase the number of interpreters to support all LEP community members with health, legal, educational and accessibility issues to improve outcomes for all 

 

  • Washington was the first state to create internal language interpreter and translation certification programs. To ensure that new medical interpreters certified by DSHS are tested in accordance with national standards, all medical interpreter testing is referred to third party test entities which are listed on the DSHS Language Testing & Certification website 

 

  • It’s important that national standards and advances in the field of professional medical interpretation be considered in this work group’s recommendations to the Legislature 

 

  • When you are in the hospital anyone is stressed out and vulnerable on top of the related health issue for the individual or family member. This is bad enough without the embarrassment or shame that may be felt if a person does not feel understood and able to communicate in a way that they feel is efficient and compassionate and culturally relevant 

 

  • Many speakers in the room spoke from the lived experience of being children of immigrants and experienced the shame of their parents and family members as a big problem culturally on many levels. There is a lack of accuracy and knowledge when a child tries to communicate medical information. There is a huge barrier for healthcare access if adult personal medical issues must be interpreted through a child in the family 

 

  • Different languages as well as accents also work to limit access to quality healthcare 

 

  • The volume of work on current interpreters is burning out many interpreters and forcing interpreters out of the profession. More support, more training, and more recognition of the importance of qualified interpreters is needed. 

 

  • The State of Washington may need to consider making this new certifying process for medical interpreters a national process 

 

  • The State of Washington may need to look at establishing core competencies aligned with national standards and federal requirements for medical interpreters to be successful 

 

  • Patients and their family members who are speakers of languages or dialects that are rare in Washington state have the added barrier of very limited numbers of interpreters available, if any 

 

  • Since language access is a civil right and federal funding can impact agencies that do not provide adequate access, the state must support a process that ensures that qualified interpreters are available  

 

  • Interpreter skills training and education must have input from professional, highly qualified, experienced interpreters