OHCIA partners with Health Share and CareOregon to increase access to health care interpreters in the Portland metro region
Today, the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association (OHCIA) announced the implementation of a program that aims to further the professionalization of health care interpreters in partnership with Health Share and CareOregon. This three-year $525,000 investment in OHCIA will increase language access services for individuals on the Oregon Health Plan by increasing the number of credentialed health care interpreters in the Portland metro area.
“Whether an interpreter needs to gain state credentials for the first time, or they need extra support to maintain their credentials, this grant aims to support all health care interpreters so we can best provide for folks on the Oregon Health Plan,” said Ifeoma Muoto, CareOregon director of community health. “Access to high quality interpretation services enables members to fully participate in their care.”
The ultimate goals are to improve health quality and health outcomes for patients, enhance positive health care outcomes for members with limited English proficiency (LEP), and reduce health disparities among minority populations in the Metro region.
Maria Michalczyk, OHCIA’s President Emeritus of the Board of Directors who will be leading the project said: “This exciting partnership will provide an expansion of available funds for health care interpreters and budding professionals to receive training, become credentialed and be on the Oregon Health Authority health care interpreter registry free of charge for those who qualify for this program. This innovative joint venture is a novel project that supports the needs of communities by way of increasing equal access to health care by ensuring that health care interpreters are trained, tested and credentialed.”
The major components of the project include:
Health Care Interpreter Training
Offering the 60-hour health care interpreter training course to students who are committed to obtaining their qualification/certification with the state.
State Credentialing
Following students with an assigned case manager from entry of the training program all the way through credentialing.
Reaching out to those credentialed HCIs and guiding them through the recredentialing process.
Continuing Education
Offering Continuing Education Units to HCIs that are close to the renewal of their credentials with the state to avoid losing it.
Case management
Providing case management services for those HCIs identified as the best candidates to receive follow-up, mentoring, financial support assistance and assistance through the certification and credentialing process. E.g., individuals representing languages with higher interpreter needs, individuals residing in rural communities but providing interpreter services in the Metro region.
Looking specially to support individuals that speak the following languages:
Karen, Punjabi, Marshallese, Chuukese, Tagalog, Indigenous Mesoamerican languages such as Q’eqch’qe, Akateko, Mixteco Alto y Bajo and any others
Health Care Provider Training
Provide training for the clinical provider network on “working with interpreters” and on the importance of utilizing trained/credentialed interpreters.
Funding for this program is being provided by Health Share of Oregon. This partnership with OHCIA is part of a larger effort to improve the quality of care for members with limited English proficiency. CareOregon, a key Health Share partner, is supporting implementation of this effort.
About the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association
The Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association (OHCIA) is a nonprofit 501C3 organization founded in 2010. The OHCIA was founded by interpreters and has been dedicated to creating positive changes for the Pacific Northwest's diverse populations. OHCIA’s vision is to have a highly skilled HCI community that is economically successful and valued as an integral member of the health care team. OHCIA’s mission is to advance the Health Care Interpreter profession to improve health outcomes for our community.
About Health Share
Health Share of Oregon is the state’s largest Medicaid coordinated care organization (CCO), serving almost 440,000 Oregon Health Plan members in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Our mission is to partner with communities to achieve ongoing transformation, health equity and the best possible health for each individual. Health Share was founded and continues to be governed by 11 health care organizations serving OHP members: Adventist Health, CareOregon, Central City Concern, Clackamas County, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health, Multnomah County, Oregon Health & Science University, Providence Health & Services, Tuality Health Alliance and Washington County.
About CareOregon
For more than 25 years, CareOregon has offered health services and community benefit programs to Oregon Health Plan members. Today, we support the needs of more than 500,000 Oregonians through three coordinated care organizations, a Medicare Advantage plan, a Tribal Care Coordination program, a dental care organization, and in-home medical care with Housecall Providers. CareOregon members have access to integrated physical, dental and mental health care, and substance use treatment. We believe that good health requires more than clinics and hospitals, so we also connect members to housing, fresh food, education and transportation services. CareOregon is a mission-driven, community-based nonprofit with offices in Portland, Medford and Seaside, Oregon.
Health care providers are required to work with certified or qualified interpreters starting July 1
Read the full article from OHA/OEI on how health care providers that are reimbursed with state funds will be required to work with certified or qualified health care interpreters starting July 1.
OHCIA stands with Ukraine
The world has seen enormous upheaval over the last several years. COVID’s toll on the world was unimaginable and unprecedented, in our modern times. And, as we began to move out of the ravages of this disease, we must now turn our eyes and hearts toward the tragedy in Ukraine. For many of us, we never saw this coming, we could never imagine one country attacking another country, especially on the heels of worldwide devastation by COVID. And, here we are, watching the unimaginable, seeing with our own eyes, millions of Ukrainians being displaced from their homes, split from their loved ones, and separated from their beloved country in a matter of weeks.
Some of us have witnessed this type of atrocity in human history and while one would think we would never see such actions again, we do. We have witnessed innocent and vulnerable communities bear the burden of what a few leaders have created. The United States has been built by immigrants, many of whom are refugees and asylees. Countless, if not most, immigrants arrive at our doorstep as they flee for their lives (and their families), fearing death, torture and devastation.
On the behalf of OHCIA, we want to extend our deepest sympathy for the citizens of Ukraine. We firmly stand with the people of Ukraine and continue to condemn the unprovoked war on Ukraine. OHCIA supports our diverse populations, and we know from history that situations like this can cause undue pressure and tension on interpreters, patients and providers here in America. We know, however, that interpreters view their profession as being the bridge for accessing health care for all those who need their services and will preserve that duty with honor for the good of all patients. We do not support any behaviors that would be deleterious to our communities be it, interpreters, patients and providers. While what we are all witnessing is horrific, we ask everyone to be mindful that the populations that have immigrated here for decades believe in the values of peace and equality, they too are horrified by these actions of an unprovoked war against Ukraine.
Sincerely,
OHCIA Board of Directors and Executive Director
OHCIA and CareOregon partner up to support interpreters
Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association partners with CareOregon, leverages $250,000 investment to transform how the two organizations work with and support interpreters
PORTLAND, Ore. (Nov. 19, 2021) — Today, the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association announced a groundbreaking partnership with CareOregon that aims to transform how the two organizations support interpreters and individuals who need language access to fully participate in their health care journey.
“The state estimates that 40% of Oregon Health Plan members are English language learners,” said Maria Michalczyk, OHCIA’s President of the Board of Directors. “Health care interpreters (HCIs) are a critical part of the care teams for these members. However, barriers of cost and time, and difficulty in obtaining some of the requirements are preventing trained and untrained interpreters from pursuing state credentialing. Our partnership with CareOregon will give us the funding needed to offer case management services and direct financial support to help interpreters through the training and the process to obtain credentials.”
In total, the two-year $250,000 investment in OHCIA will result in:
Direct financial support for interpreters to complete state credentialing, including covering the costs of training courses and the associated costs incurred when pursuing qualification or certification, such as childcare, access to technology, and transportation.
The provision of case management and financial support to help 80 interpreters complete training and credentialing by the end of 2023.
Health care interpreter training tuition for those presently working as interpreters and those wishing to enter the field.
An assessment of CareOregon’s language access processes to ensure that the organization is best able to support its health care interpreters and the members they serve.
The development (based on the language access assessment) and delivery of training for health care providers on the provision of health care interpreting.
“Good communication creates the bond between patient and provider that promotes health awareness, timely access, treatment compliance, and a healthy lifestyle,” said James Mason, CareOregon Chief Equity Diversity & Inclusion Officer. “But for patients who are also English language learners, there are too many instances where language itself is a barrier. By working with the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association, we are working to address these issues head on.”
“OHCIA believes that this is the first partnership of its kind between a health plan and health care interpreter association and will be monumental for communities requiring health care interpreting”, said Michalczyk.
“For us, this is a great opportunity to further our mission of supporting a highly skilled health care interpreter community so they can become economically successful and valued as integral members of the health care team,” said Susy Molano OHCIA’s Executive Director. “This funding will strengthen our organization, position us to help untrained and trained interpreters get their names in the state registry and, most importantly, to advance the profession to improve health outcomes for Oregon’s diverse communities. The out-of-pocket cost alone for state credentialing can be upwards of $1,400 for certifiable languages. CareOregon’s investment will help offset and cover these costs—bringing the vision of recruiting and engaging interpreters from the communities they serve and increasing the quality and quantity of HCIs available to assist English language learners.”
About the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association
The Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association (OHCIA) is a nonprofit 501C3 organization founded in 2010. The OHCIA was founded by interpreters and has been dedicated to creating positive changes for the Pacific Northwest's diverse populations. OHCIA’s vision is to have a highly skilled HCI community that is economically successful and valued as an integral member of the health care team. OHCIA’s mission is to advance the Health Care Interpreter profession to improve health outcomes for our community.
About CareOregon
For more than 25 years, CareOregon has offered health services and community benefit programs to Oregon Health Plan members. Today, we support the needs of more than 500,000 Oregonians through three coordinated care organizations, a Medicare Advantage plan, a Tribal Care Coordination program, a dental care organization, and in-home medical care with Housecall Providers. CareOregon members have access to integrated physical, dental and mental health care, and substance use treatment. We believe that good health requires more than clinics and hospitals, so we also connect members to housing, fresh food, education and transportation services. CareOregon is a mission-driven, community-based nonprofit with offices in Portland, Medford and Seaside, Oregon.
How to make medical interpreting your career, interview with Mary Soots by Linguava
Our lead trainer, Mary Soots recently was interviewed during one of Linguava’s podcast episodes where they discussed how interpreting can become a career.
Watch the video below:
Susy Molano named 2020 RWJF-APIC Award for Health Equity Recipient
Susy Molano, CMI, Executive Director of the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association, is this year’s winner of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award (RWJF) for Health Equity presented by the Asian & Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health (APIC). The RWJF Award is given each year to a leader who has made outstanding contributions toward achieving health equity and implemented systems changes in their community.
Ms. Molano is a leader in health care interpreting. She is an Oregon Certified Medical interpreter and Community Health Worker, and is an attorney by training from her home country of Colombia. She has worked tirelessly in advocating for the professionalization of health care interpreters, founding the Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association in 2010. Ms. Molano is passionate about improving the profession of health care interpreting and has implemented strategies to improve equal and quality access to health care for limited English proficient communities. She developed the Pacific NW Interpreters Hub, which brings together an innovative team approach to improving access to training, development, and professionalization of health care interpreters. The Pacific NW Interpreters Hub also facilitates employment opportunities, especially for refugees, asylees, and immigrants and promotes the safety of patients and communities. She is currently working with House Health Care Chair Oregon State Representative Andrea Salinas and a number of stakeholders to advance legislation to ensure that all healthcare interpreters, interpreting agencies, and health care providers will be held to the highest standards while offering language access services to limited English proficient patients during the upcoming 2021 legislative session.
Ms. Molano will be presented with the RWJF Award for Health Equity at the APIC Awards Ceremony on October 25, 2020 during the week of the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo. APIC is one of nine national membership organizations that selects changemakers in the community who are improving well-being for the people they serve. More information about the RWJF Award for Health Equity can be found at here.
ABOUT THE ASIAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER CAUCUS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
APIC is the Vision & Voice for Asian & Pacific Islander Public Health and Health Equity. Our mission is to advance the health and health equity of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, associated jurisdictions, and the diaspora, in affiliation with the American Public Health Association. Find out more at www.apicaucus.org.
ABOUT THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION
For more than 45 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are working alongside others to build a national Culture of Health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.