Support and Ancillary Services

 

We speak your language.

EBNHC community members come from many different countries and speak many different languages. With a high volume of demand for interpretation throughout the health center, our interpreters and support staff are a busy group of people.

Communication in a patient’s native language enables him or her to become a proactive part of managing his or her own care. Providing services in 16 languages (and accommodating many others), we interpret for patients during medical visits and while receiving treatment. We also translate written medical orders, prescriptions, letters, and educational materials for every department.

Our professional interpreters undergo demanding certification programs. These professional interpreters have significant experience in medical interpreting and extensive training in medical terminology as well as in the scope and limitations of the role of the medical interpreter. Many are trilingual, while others speak four or five different languages.

To meet the high demand for interpreter services at the health center, we developed the Certified Auxiliary Interpreter (CAI) training program for eligible and qualified support staff. To become a CAI, candidates must be bilingual and, preferably, bicultural, pass a rigorous fluency evaluation, and complete a 19-hour medical interpretation program and final examination followed by a practicum and further evaluations. Our CAIs allow the health center to maintain sufficient numbers of staff while adhering to our strict quality standards.

Our interpreters are trained in the CIFE interpretation model:

C = Confidential (all conversations are held in complete confidence)
I = First person (interpreters repeat exactly what the patient or provider says while speaking in the first person to facilitate genuine dialogue between patients and providers)
F = Flow (interpreters speak in real time while managing the flow back and forth using a simple hand sign to slow or stop the conversation thereby ensuring completeness and accuracy)
E = Everything (interpreters include every word that is said in front of them)

Interpreters begin each interpretation by explaining the CIFE model to the patient and provider and encouraging the provider to make a sustain direct eye contact with the patient as though they share the same language. Through the CIFE model, the health center ensures that each patient is treated with respect and professionalism in a culturally competent manner.

In order to provide interpretation where and when it’s needed, our interpreters are scheduled in regular blocks of coverage in each clinical department, as opposed to conventional appointment-by-appointment assignment. This block scheduling system avoids the waiting and disruption that would occur if either the patient, doctor, or interpreter were late for a particular appointment—only to cause further scheduling problems for each appointment thereafter.

Each of our patients’ primary or native languages are identified in our electronic medical records system. When an appointment is scheduled, the need for an interpreter is identified. We also have a language line for the various languages to support patients offsite. When calling in, patients can leave a message explaining what they need, and the appropriate interpreter will call them back.

At EBNHC, we speak your language.