CHIA Welcomes CyraCom as the Leadership Sponsor of its 15th Conference: A Celebration of Language Access
CHAMPIONS OF MEDICAL INTERPRETING STANDARDS PROVIDES KEY LEVEL SUPPORT TO CHIA AT ITS PREMIER EDUCATIONAL EVENT IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
Sacramento, California, February 19, 2015 – CyraCom, one of the largest employers of interpreters in the US, has become the leadership sponsor of the California Healthcare Interpreting Associations (CHIA) milestone 15th annual conference in Monterey, California.
The conference, set to take place March 6 – 7, will bring together interpreters, policy makers, healthcare providers, trainers, certification bodies, language service providers, advocates and other key stakeholders for the annual event in Monterey.
“CyraCom is pleased to sponsor CHIA’s 15th annual conference and participate in its ongoing mission to improve the quality and availability of language services in healthcare in California,” said Jeremy Woan, CyraCom’s Chairman and CEO. “As a company that has worked very hard to develop interpreting as a professional field, we proudly support organizations like CHIA for their dedication in this area.” CyraCom has been recognized by Inc. magazine for creating hundreds of US employee positions including paid training and benefits for medical interpreters, the majority of which are full-time employee positions that include paid training and benefits.
The conference attracts hundreds of attendees serving hospitals and healthcare organizations across California and those from across the country that have come to value CHIA as a state based organization with national influence.
“The California Healthcare Interpreting Association is graciously thankful to CyraCom for its support of our milestone 15th Annual Conference,” said CHIA’s President, Jose Garcia. “Aligning with our mission, we value services that support the interests of limited English proficient patients, such as those provided by CyraCom.”
The conference will champion issues important to language access in healthcare, offering a record breaking number of sessions covering everything from trends in technology, to interpreting for survivors of rape and domestic violence, refugees and asylum seekers. There will also be a session on increasing access to American Sign Language interpreters for Deaf and Hard of Hearing patients.
The conference will empower leaders in healthcare and is not only geared towards interpreters, but to healthcare providers and insurers who are required to provide language access programs for compliance and patient safety.
“The 15th anniversary of the CHIA conference will provide an inside perspective on 21st century interpreting and also emerging trends in California such as the increasing of people in California speaking indigenous languages from Mexico and Central America,” said Carmen Castro Rojas, Chair of the Conference Planning Committee. “Indigenous Interpreters are challenged by limitations of training programs geared toward English and pair languages such as Spanish or Cantonese but not indigenous languages.”
Conference sessions include a pre-conference workshop on Introduction to Relay Interpreting for Spanish and Indigenous Interpreters that will address these challenges and provide an opportunity for interpreters and others to learn from the Indigenous Interpreters.
Castro Rojas added, “Monterey was selected for our 15th conference anniversary because it is seen as the language capital of the world. We are most grateful to CyraCom as our Leadership Sponsor.”
For more information on the CHIA 2015 Annual Conference, visit http://www.chiaonline.org.
ABOUT CHIA
The California Healthcare Interpreting Association is a 501(c) (3) public charity dedicated to improving the quality and availability of language services in the delivery of healthcare.
CHIA’s diverse membership includes interpreters, physicians and other healthcare providers, hospitals, interpreting agencies and language-service companies, educators, and government policymakers. Our mission is “Healthcare interpreters and providers working together to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers to high-quality care.”
ABOUT CYRACOM
CyraCom is the second largest provider of Over-the-Phone Interpretation in the world and is exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association for its interpretation and translation solutions. We have over 2,000 healthcare clients, including some of the largest health plans, health systems, and hospitals in the US. We provide Phone Interpretation in over 200 languages, Video Interpretation in over 20 languages, On-Site Interpretation, and Translation and Localization services. Access CyraCom’s Video Remote Interpretation through any device, including laptops, tablets, or smartphones.
