Fifth Annual National Medical Interpreter Certification Forum Honors Industry Pioneers at Language Line Services and IMIA with Founders Awards

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The recently concluded Fifth Annual National Medical Interpreter Certification Forum honored language access pioneers Izabel Arocha, Executive Director of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA), and Louis F. Provenzano, Jr., CEO and President of Language Line Services, with "Founders Awards" for their significant contributions to the industry and advancement of the profession of medical interpreters.

IMIA, the oldest and largest medical interpreter association in the world, and Language Line® University, the interpreter testing and training division of Language Line Services, established an open and inclusive collaboration of stakeholders to develop the first national medical certification program.

Industry stakeholders met each year since 2007, ultimately creating the Certification for Medical Interpreters (CMI) designation. They also established The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters in 2009 to ensure patient safety by creating a mechanism to evaluate the knowledge base and competency of medical interpreters.

"With over 200 languages and dialects spoken in the United States, the need for language access continues to grow, especially in the health care industry. Lou and Izabel have been instrumental in making national certification of medical interpreters a life-saving reality," said Elena Langdon, Chair of the National Board. "We can't say enough about the passion and leadership they bring to the cause of patient safety for limited-English proficient speakers. Their ultimate goal is a federal mandate requiring the use of trained and tested medical interpreters, coupled with the necessary funding to help hospitals meet this critical requirement."

Provenzano leads the worldwide operations of Language Line Services, the market leader in interpreting and translation solutions. He is a former recipient of the prestigious Raquel Cashman Language Access Award from the IMIA, the Friend of CHIA award from the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA), and the "For the Good of the Profession Award" of the Nebraska Association for Translators & Interpreters (NATI). Louis also works on behalf of the Monterey Language Capital Advocates Council.

Arocha spearheaded the rapid national and worldwide expansion of the IMIA, which now has more than 30 state representatives and an international presence in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain, and the UK. She has been a cultural and linguistic educator at Cambridge Health Alliance and worked as a medical, conference, court and federal interpreter for many years prior to establishing her own language services firm, Global Mind, Inc. Arocha is currently a lecturer in Boston University's one-year Medical and Legal Interpretation Program, and is on the faculty of the Mental Health Interpreting Certificate Program at Cambridge College. Arocha is a fervent advocate of language access as a universal human right.

The Forum also honored Habib Serrano, a federal, legal and medical interpreter, for his individual contributions to the industry. Serrano was the first interpreter to receive the Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) credential through the National Board in early 2010. He is currently the National Board's secretary.

About the National Medical Certification Forum

The National Medical Interpreter Certification Forum is an effort to bring all stakeholders together to discuss the latest developments in the medical interpreter certification field and to act as a springboard for the identification and development of initiatives to advance the medical interpretation profession. The Forum brings together an independent group of industry professionals who represent all key stakeholder groups, including professional medical interpreters, trainers, employers, providers, and regulators. The creation of the Forum was one of the key ingredients that led to development of the medical interpreter certification initiatives. The purpose of certification is to ensure limited-English proficient patients have consistent access to competent, professionally trained medical interpreters. http://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org

Contact:

Trent Freeman
Olmstead Williams Communications
310.824.9000
[email protected]
http://www.olmsteadwilliams.com

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SOURCE The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters