WHY DO MOST HEALTH CARE FACILITIES PROVIDE INTERPRETERS? PART I

The United States government, in its commitment to ensuring the equality, respect, equity, and rights of individuals living in this country, has created a series of laws and regulations in support of majorities, minorities, and all those who have some type of disability to have the same type of accessibility to community resources, respecting their cultures and avoiding discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex.

These are:

1. The Affordable Care Act, Section 1557 (ACA).

2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

3. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act.

4. Executive Order 13166.

5. National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in

health and health care.

6. Department of Health and Human Services regulations (45 CFR § 80.1 et seq.).

7. Medicaid Managed Care Requirements (42 CFR § 438.10).

8. Medicare Regulations for the Medicare Advantage Program (42 CFR § 422.2264 and §

4220112).

9. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Minority Health Directives, Civil Rights Division.

Next, let's talk a little about the ACA and ADA.

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT SECTION 1557 (ACA)

Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health care programs and activities.

The rule covers the following:

1. Any health care program or activity that receives, even in part, funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (e.g., hospitals that accept Medicare or physicians that accept Medicaid).

2. Any health care program administered by HHS.

3. Health insurance marketplaces and issuers participating in those marketplaces.

Section 1557 builds on earlier federal civil rights laws that prohibited discrimination based on sex in the health care context. In addition, the final rule requires the health care programs and activities involved to treat individuals in a manner consistent with their gender identity.

Entities must take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency who are eligible to receive their services or who are likely to participate in their health care programs and activities. In addition, involved entities are encouraged to develop and implement a language access plan.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

The goals of the ADA are:

1. To provide a clear and comprehensive national and global mandate that would eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities.

2. To provide a clear, strong, consistent, coherent, and valid anti-discrimination law.

3. To ensure that the federal government will play a leading role in enforcing the law on behalf of people with disabilities.

The ADA requires that people with disabilities obtain effective communication by providing "Auxiliary Aids and Services," which refers to ways to communicate with people who have communication disabilities, such as people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf-blind, speech impaired, mute, a deaf-mute.

For visually impaired people, these services come in the form of Braille, computer reading and verbalizing content, and audio recording. For those who are hearing impaired, services will be provided by a qualified note-taker, a person qualified to use sign language interpretation and written materials. For people who have speech or language problems, a qualified speech-to-speech translator (a person trained to recognize unclear speech and repeat it clearly) is included, especially if the person will be speaking at length, such as when testifying in court, or simply taking more time to communicate with someone who uses a communication board.

A "qualified" interpreter is someone who can interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively (i.e., understanding what the person with a disability is saying) and expressively (i.e., having the skill necessary to convey the information to that person) using whatever specialized vocabulary is necessary. This also includes interpreting in different languages.

In our next article, we will discuss Title IV of the Civil Rights Act and Executive Order 13166.

At Traducy we have qualified interpreters and translators who work with clarity, impartiality, respect, and confidentiality. Our interpreters do it meaning for meaning and not word for word (verbatim).

Call us at 385-977-8713 or email us at contact@traducy.com or visit our website: www.traducy.com if you need help or if you would like to get your free quote or estimate.

21ST CENTURY TRANSLATIONS

In the past, translations were done with the help of dictionaries and with a great deal of knowledge of grammar and spelling. Gradually, new idiomatic terms began to emerge and the language began to specialize in professional areas such as medicine, law, engineering, etc. As a result of these new specialties that required the translation of specific professional texts, dictionaries specialized in the different professional areas began to appear. Translating required a lot of time and dedication on the part of the translator.

As technology advanced, typewriters took a back seat and word processors began to gain ground. Printers made an incredible noise and only had black ink. But dictionaries were still the primary tool in translations.

Today, in the 21st century, translation methods have advanced dramatically. There are now virtual or digital dictionaries, computer programs created exclusively for translation, automated real-time translations (oral and written), transliteration, machine translation or robotic translations, and conversion of written texts into other language formats.

Previously, a text of a thousand words took 3 to 5 days, depending on the difficulty of the text to be translated. Now, with digital tools, the same text takes between 2 to 3 days. The appearance or creation of these modern translation tools has changed the way translators work and they must keep updated with the use of these tools to obtain good results in translations.

Nowadays, documents to be translated or translated can be sent by e-mail or text message, making this process even easier and faster.

Although these tools are very useful and increase the translator's productivity, we must not forget that, without the experience and knowledge of a professional translator, translations would only be word for word and not a meaningful translation. The translator puts his experience, his cultural knowledge of both languages, his common sense, and his human side. For example, a screwdriver is very useful to put in or take out screws, but without human common sense and knowledge, it would be useless.

At Traducy we have professional translators in English and Spanish, they know the culture and have extensive experience.

Call us at 385-977-8713 or email us at contact@traducy.com or visit our website: www.traducy.com if you need help or if you would like to get your free quote or estimate.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FIND A CERTIFIED TRANSLATOR

There are many translators of different languages all over the world. Some of them know two or more languages because they learned them at home or studied them at school or because they took language courses at the university or college.

While it is true that it is necessary to know languages to translate, it is also true that it requires preparation and training. Translating is not only repeating word for word in another language but also knowing the culture, knowing the language to be translated, and understanding several grammar and spelling rules.

To reach the professional level of translation, a diploma or certification is required, which can be obtained through a comprehensive examination by an accredited translation entity.

Reliable Certification Entities for Translators

Many entities offer training and certification courses. Not all of them have the proper recognition or accreditation, nor do they have the necessary credentials to certify professionally.

Reliable entities to obtain a professional certification in the field of translation are:

1. The American Translators Association, or ATA for short.

2. Expertrating

3. The Language Certification Institute.

THE PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATOR

1. Must have a certification or license from a government-accredited entity.

2. Must have at least five years of proven work experience as a translator.

3. Master the source and target languages' vocabulary, style, and grammar.

HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH TRANSLATOR TO HIRE

1. Determine your translation needs

When you need a translation, you should decide whether to hire a freelance translator or a company. You should also consider the degree of difficulty of the document to be translated, the quantity or volume of the document, and the time frame in which you need it completed.

2. Verify the translator's credentials

It is important that before starting a translation job you verify the credentials of the translator who will do the job. There is a notable difference between being bilingual and being a qualified translator. The qualified translator understands the linguistic complexity and cultural differences of the language.

3. Find out about translation rates

When you search translators and prices, you will find that there are translators of all levels. Some translators charge per word or page, others offer quotes per document type or per hour. The price is determined by several factors including the availability of the translator in the desired language, the translator's credentials, the level of difficulty of the project, and the delivery date of the translated document.

BE VERY CAREFUL!

Remember that your documents are very important and a bad translation could cause your plans to fall through. You might want to translate some documents for the incorporation of a business, imagine the impact of a bad translation; or maybe you have an immigration appointment and your birth certificate is with the wrong information, those documents would be rejected and your immigration process would take twice as long as usual.

At Traducy we work with translators who have Expertrating credentials (#3918745) and are members of the American Translators Association (ATA #274578).

Traducy has professional translators in both English and Spanish languages who are culturally aware and have extensive experience.

Call us at 385-977-8713 or email us at contact@traducy.com or visit our website: www.traducy.com if you need help or if you would like to get your free price quote or estimate.