Southeast Georgia Communities Project
Southeast Georgia Communities Project
MEDICAL AND LEGAL INTERPRETATION
SEGCP has for 25 years, required all staff to become trained medical interpreters through the Bridging the GAP medical training curriculum. A 40 hour training which allows continuation opportunities for trained interpreters. You never stop training, learning, and practicing. The training of an interpreter is never over. SEGCP medical interpreter collaborates with local attorneys, primary healthcare clinics, AHEC's and local organizations to help with legal and medical interpretation.
SEGCP volunteer staff has 30 years of experience in legal interpretation. Although we lack the certification, we help clients out of court to seek help and services with local attorneys.
Medical Interpreter Training is not based on only 40 hours of education and tests, it requires continuing education credits to keep interpreters in the loop with changes in laws and requirements for HIPPA. Staff at SEGCP has over 160 hours of medical training, plus volumes of workshop hours on topics focused on proper presentation, client confidentiality, ethics training, and health education and prevention workshops to assure proper outreach education information delivery.
At clinics and medical facilities, having a qualified medical interpreter can mean the difference between life and death in some cases. Historically, well-meaning family members and friends may have stepped in to help loved ones make decisions about their diagnoses, symptoms and treatment plans. Their lack of training, confidentiality and medical vocabulary put patients at risk.
Today, regulatory agencies, such as the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Medicare, require adherence to medical interpreting standards, privacy requirements and accessibility guidelines, including HIPAA and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. SEGCP legal/medical interpreters are committed to ensuring that these standards are met and provide a professional, trusted link between legal/medical professionals and non-English speaking clients.