The symposium will focus on increasing interpreters’ awareness of the barriers faced by individuals who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind and hard of hearing when accessing health care and provide strategies for addressing those barriers. Background on the disparities impacting these communities will be provided through information drawn from a 2007 study by Mt. Sinai's Deaf Access Program and The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities , a 2009 report from the National Council on Disability as well as The Joint Commission’s Hospital, Language, and Culture study.

Four tracks will be offered to meet the needs of interpreters, healthcare students and professionals, and Deaf consumers.

Presentation topics

Presentation topics will include:

• identifying core competencies for medical interpreters
• teaming for success - Deaf healthcare professionals and interpreters
• the benefits of community health workers
• adaptive communication technology
• understanding the healthcare system
• video remote interpreting
• models for decision-making
• creating space for the interpreter in the medical team
• interpreters at risk - considerations for interpreters self-care to avoid contagions

In 1983, St. Catherine University started the nation’s first and only interpreter education program with a focus on preparing American Sign Language/English interpreters to work in health care related industries. From 2000-2005 (with federal, state and private grants) St. Kate’s developed a series of educational resources for interpreters on CD and DVD, many of which focused on medical interpreting. In 2003, under a Minnesota state grant, St. Kate’s launched medicalinterpreting.org (now healthcareinterpreting.org) to function as a portal of entry for interpreters searching for medical resources.