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| Overview | |
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Overview
Developed in 1979 to screen newly arriving Southeast Asian refugees, the
program hired full-time bilingual staff who were themselves refugees to
work with the monolingual professional staff in the role of health assistants/interpreters
The program gradually expanded to include additional languages and part-time
and on-call interpreters who could be dispatched throughout the Health Department
system. Clinics and sites with high numbers of limited English proficient
(LEP) patients also have hired bilingual staff in front-line and paraprofessional
positions. Testing, screening, and training of the interpreters have been
a central ingredient of the program.
Description of the model Interpreter Program:
Oral interpretation and culturally appropriate care is provided to Health
Department clients through a combination of permanent and extra-help interpreters.
The central office of the Refugee Health Interpretation Program is responsible
for recruiting, testing, hiring, and training interpreters, as well as maintaining
an up-to-date list of active interpreters. Actual scheduling of interpreters
is done by the individual district offices and clinics. There are currently
over 100 interpreters, speaking a total of more than 40 languages and dialects,
the top three being Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian. The interpreter list
is updated regularly and shared with the Health Department's 1,000+ employees
through the employee newsletter and through e-mail. Health Department employees
can then call upon any of the interpreters from the list as needed. Interpreters
can be prescheduled or called upon for immediate and telephone interpretation.
Most interpreters carry pagers to facilitate access.
The Health Education Language Low Literacy Project (HELLLP) provides written translation services and assistance to Health Department staff and outside organizations in developing culturally appropriate materials, following a protocol designed to ensure accuracy and appropriateness. The project provides field testing information and techniques, helps health care providers communicate health information in a culturally appropriate manner that respects and values the clients' cultural differences, develops culturally appropriate education materials, and develops criteria for quality assurance of written translations.
The Refugee Health Screening Program continues to provide free screening and referral services for all newly arriving refugees and for immigrants and humanitarian parolees with Class A or Class B medical conditions. Using a multidisciplinary, linguistically appropriate health team, and often drawing upon specially trained members of the interpreter list, the clinic coordinates scheduling with the sponsoring voluntary agency to ensure that all refugees are screened. The health screenings take place at least twice a week at two health department clinic sites. The screening includes:
In 1996, 1,827 refugees were screened, with former Soviets, Vietnamese and Somalis comprising the top three groups.
Intended audience/client base:
All Limited English Proficient clients of any service offered by the Seattle-King
County Department of Public Health.
Unique characteristics:
All interpreters undergo an application and interviewing process. To be
hired, individuals must provide evidence of certification by the State of
Washington's Department of Social and Health Services. If they have not
yet received their state certification, they are required to take the Health
Department' interpreter screening test before hire, and advised to pursue
state certification. Current pay rate for interpreters is $12.94 per hour.
The Refugee Health Screening Program is successful because of close working relationships with voluntary agencies that sponsor refugees.
Sources of Funding:
Federal (Office of Refugee Resettlement and Health Care Financing Administration),
State, and Local Government, Title XIX funds for Refugee Screening, and
fees generated through document translation.
Contact information:
Shari Wilson, Interpreter and Refugee Screening Program Coordinator,
Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, Downtown Clinic
2124 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-296-4744
Voice-mail: 206-2059142.
Fax: 206-296-0184. E-mail:
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| As with the rest of DiversityRx, this section is a work in
progress and we welcome information on other efforts, programs, and reports
that will expand upon the information offered here. Please
let us know if you have other examples to include here. | ||||||
essentials | models and practices | policy | legal
issues | networking | ||||||
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DiversityRx is sponsored by: |
 The National Conference of State Legislatures |
 Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care |
 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation | |||
