OPINION
Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
May 18, 2015
Volume 25 Number 10
May 18, 2015
ISSN: 1094-9453
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MY TURN
n Dmae Roberts
The importance of
medical interpreters
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ast year when I was working on the
“Migrations” arts series, I interviewed Dilip
Sunar and his wife Harka about their
experiences as Bhutanese-Nepali refugees in the
United States. During the process, it became
apparent to me that they had experienced health
issues during their time in a Nepal refugee camp.
Even though they had lived in Bhutan for
generations, more than 100,000 Bhutanese-Nepali
people were expelled from the country because they
wanted to maintain their own culture and
language. They were then forced to live in
unsanitary conditions in refugee camps in Nepal. In
2008, many countries, including the United States,
recognized the refugee status of the Bhutanese
people.
The Sunar family came to Portland in 2009. Now
in his 60s, Dilip is unable to walk and he has
diabetes, asthma, and other health problems from
the years he spent in the refugee camp.
During our interviews, the Sunars asked me
about some of Dilip’s prescription medications,
because he was feeling many side effects such as
sleeplessness and acid reflux. They also wondered
about his current diet, which included American
food. Dilip did not realize that consuming starchy
carbohydrates such as white bread and white rice
could increase his blood sugar levels.
I offered to do some online research about Dilip’s
medications and nutrition. After about a week, I
returned with printouts of the drug information I
found and hoped that members of his family could
translate it. I left feeling unsure if I’d been much
help.
This wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. As the
daughter of a Taiwanese immigrant, I learned early
about the challenging responsibility of trying to
explain large medical terms to my mother, who did
not understand them. It’s difficult enough to
understand doctors when you’re both speaking the
same language. For an immigrant or refugee, it
becomes an even more arduous task to manage
one’s health.
After this experience, I wondered about medical
interpretation in Oregon. An online search revealed
several organizations that specialize in medical
interpreting, but to many, locating an actual list of
local interpreters and languages can be a
labyrinthine process.
Soon, I visited the Immigrant and Refugee
Community Organization’s (IRCO) International
Language Bank, which is managed by Vanloeun
L
Ping. Ping told me the program has more than 360
interpreters/translators representing 150 lan-
guages who can perform written translation and
spoken interpretation in person, over the phone, or
via video conferencing throughout Oregon.
Ping mentioned that relying on family members
for interpretation can complicate a medical
situation, and sometimes, a patient does not receive
the full story. In the case of a serious illness, Ping
said relatives often hide some information from the
patient so he or she doesn’t feel bad. She said
cultural traditions keep people from revealing
details about the situation as well.
This situation happened to Ping as a youth, when
her father was placed in hospice care and she felt
she had to soften the blow when she was
interpreting for him and her family. She later
learned as an adult that it is inappropriate to hide
medical information from a loved one. It is a time
when it’s very important and necessary to have an
impartial medical interpreter in attendance to
explain all the facts presented by the patient’s
medical professionals.
Medical interpretation for patients is often paid
for by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.
IRCO offers in-person interpretation to businesses
and nonprofit organizations for $30 to $60 per hour,
depending on the need and demands of the
interpreter. Phone and/or video conferencing are
also available and have different rates.
According to Ping, IRCO’s interpreters receive
training based on national standards of practice for
healthcare interpreters. There are two different
certification levels: “Qualified Healthcare Inter-
preter” and “Certified Healthcare Interpreter.”
Each level requires 60 hours of training and varying
amounts of documented interpreting experience.
Ping said IRCO’s International Language Bank is
always seeking to train new interpreters, especially
in languages that aren’t well represented. The
organization recently received funding to prepare
150 healthcare interpreters across Oregon to meet
the requirements to become qualified or certified
through the Oregon Health Authority.
IRCO provides modular training in eight-hour
sessions, which cost $40 per session. Upcoming
trainings take place May 26 through 29 as well as
May 30 and 31. To learn more about interpreter
requirements and training, or to request a medical
interpreter, call Vanloeun Ping at (971) 271-6480,
e-mail <vanloeunl@irco.org>, or visit <www.ilb.
irco.org>.
Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication.