Interpreters Allow Asian and Pacific Islanders To Access Health Care
  or more than 300,000 Asian and Pacific Islander residents in Los Angeles
County with limited or no English-language skills, a trip to the doctor can be a
frightening experience resulting in less-than-optimal treatment.
"There are laws [Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI] that require state or
federally funded health care providers to furnish interpreters for non-English-speaking
patients, and when that doesn’t happen, patients are denied their rights—and
often access to the health care they need," said Fatima Angeles, TCWF program
officer.
To help remedy the situation, TCWF is providing a two-year, $75,000 grant to Pacific
Asian Language Services for Health (PALS) in Los Angeles to train interpreters and
translators who help clients gain full access to health care services. The agency also
trains health care providers to effectively use interpreters and become culturally
sensitive to their Asian and Pacific Islander patients.
  PALS’
"consultants" are selected through a careful screening process and recruited
from various fields of expertise, including social services, health, academia and local
public offices. After receiving an extensive orientation in everything from ethics to
health education to working with clients with disabilities, PALS’ interpreters are
equipped to offer more than simple language services.
"We try to make appropriate matches, not just for language compatibility but also
for gender, age and other factors that add to patients’ comfort levels," said
Heng L. Foong, PALS program director.
PALS has about 100 translators and interpreters covering more than a dozen languages
and dialects. The consultants assist clients with setting up medical appointments, making
emergency phone calls, communicating with the doctor or nurse during medical visits and
interpreting instructions and prescriptions.
"Our health care system is hard to maneuver through, and by the time patients with
limited English finally make it to an appropriate health care resource, they’re often
frightened and intimidated," Foong said. "It’s a common problem for them to
be sent away or asked to bring in children or other family or friends to interpret.
That’s completely inappropriate."
PALS’ training for health care providers includes helping them understand the
perspective of Asian and Pacific Islander clients and the need to provide mandated
language assistance. Workshops are held at community-based organizations, hospitals and
clinics.
"Health care providers benefit because they are able to improve their
understanding of culturally motivated health behaviors and become more sensitive to the
needs of their Asian and Pacific Islander clients," TCWF’s Angeles said.
"PALS is on the forefront of an important movement involving language rights that
heavily affects health care delivery."
The trust that has developed between language consultants and the community has also
provided opportunities for prevention services before a doctor is needed. PALS provides a
breast cancer education and screening program in conjunction with the American Cancer
Society and the state-funded Breast Cancer Early Detection Program. PALS works with mobile
units to reach women in their own neighborhoods who otherwise have little or no access to
health care.
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