[lg policy] Leaders and Advocates Convene in Washington, D.C. for Fourth Annual National Medical Interpreter Certification

[Harold Schiffman]

Leaders and Advocates Convene in Washington, D.C. for Fourth Annual
National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum

Medical Interpreter Lobby Day and Rally on Capitol Hill to Prelude
This Year’s Forum

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2010 — Leaders and advocates for the medical
interpreting profession will gather in Washington, D.C., on Saturday,
May 1, 2010 for the fourth annual National Medical Interpreter
Certification - Open Forum. The focus of this year’s forum will be
expansion and implementation of the national certification launched in
October 2009 by the National Board of Certification for Medical
Interpreters.

“While medical interpreters across the country are thrilled with the
achievement of a national certification, there is still more work to
be done,” said Orlin Marquez, President of the Medical Interpreter
Network of Georgia (MING). “Now is the time to embrace the new
national standard and educate our peers and the public of its value.
Forum participants can take an active role in this process by joining
various task forces, whose roles will be discussed at the forum.”

To further spotlight the vital role played by medical interpreters in
the delivery of care, this year’s forum will be preceded on April 30,
2010 by a special lobby day and rally at the U.S. Capitol.
Participants will visit with members of Congress to gain support for
reimbursement of interpreter services and to end health care
disparities.

“IMIA, Language Line Services and other organizations have been
working collectively on national lobbying efforts to raise the
visibility of the medical interpretation profession and the need for
reimbursement of language access services,” said Suzy Dumont, Vice
President with Cardinal Point Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based
government relations firm assisting with the push for a federally
mandated medical interpreter certification standard and reimbursement
of interpreter services. “The congressional meetings and rally on
Capitol Hill is an opportunity for individuals and other stakeholders
to lend their voices to this cause.”

Attendance has grown every year since the first annual open forum was
held in Boston, MA, in 2007. More than 100 industry stakeholders
participated in last year’s forum in Denver, CO, and organizers are
planning for an even larger turnout in Washington, D.C.

The forum creates a transparent, inclusive and diverse collaboration
that crosses state lines and industry sectors. Participants include
representatives of various state and national interpreter
associations, interpreters and providers of interpreter services,
advocates and policy makers, state officials, educators, trainers,
hospitals and health care organizations, as well as international
stakeholders.

“Recognizing that a piecemeal approach to medical interpreter
certification was not in the public’s best interest, we started this
annual forum to bring together the ideas and needs of all industry
stakeholders and create a vehicle to consolidate forces and elevate
national certification from an issue only discussed within the
industry to an initiative at the top of the national agenda,” said
Louis Provenzano, President and Chief Operating Officer of Language
Line Services. “All stakeholders are welcomed and encouraged to
participate in what has become an industry staple and one of the most
important annual gatherings of the year for the medical interpreting
profession.”

Key topics to be discussed at the fourth annual forum include a review
of recent milestones towards a uniform medical interpreter
certification standard in the United States and internationally;
ongoing efforts to expand and implement national medical interpreter
certification throughout the industry; state and federal subsidies for
certification; and certification as a path to language access
reimbursement.

The annual forum is hosted this year by Language Line(R) University;
the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA); the Medical
Interpreter Network of Georgia (MING); and PSI Services, LLC, with
more organizations joining as organizers. It is funded through a grant
from Language Line University.

There is no registration fee to attend the annual forum though space
is limited. Online registration is now open at
http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/2010May1.asp. For more information
about the Fourth Annual National Medical Interpreter Certification -
Open Forum, please contact May1NationalForum at gmail.com.

About National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum

The National Medical Interpreter Certification - Open Forum is an
annual convening bringing together industry leaders and stakeholders,
large and small, private and public, working together to collaborate
with a specific focus on the topic of National Medical Interpreter
Certification. The purpose of this initiative is to improve and
support standardization of the quality of language services in our
nation’s health care institutions and to give every organization and
individual a voice and opportunity to participate in an inclusive and
transparent environment.

http://www.ereleases.com/pr/leaders-advocates-convene-washington-dc-fourth-annual-national-medical-interpreter-certification-open-forum-31073
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