September 30 is International Interpreters & Translators Day. All over the world translators and interpreters celebrate their profession and use this opportunity to educate the public about the role/responsibilities of interpreters in the various fields - legal, business, political, medical, etc.

These rights, now known as human rights, could not be respected if no interpreter was present.

A Medical Interpreter’s Guide to Telephone Interpreting is the first in a series of guides to be published by the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA). The publication underwent a peer-review process and is intended to be a short primer on the topic. “Telephone interpreting is used by countless hospitals and health care facilities throughout the world,” explained Izabel Arocha, IMIA president, “Our goal is to help our members and the public at large to learn more about this important method of delivering language access to patients across the globe.” A free copy of the guide can be downloaded at: http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/pages/380.pdf

Registration NOW - http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/Conference2008Registration.asp.
Sponsors: Please go to our sponsorship page for a Sponsor Packet. Our Sponsors
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Peter B. Angood, Vice President & Chief Patient Safety Officer of the Joint Commission & Co-Director of the Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety 
Venue: Hyatt, by the Charles River, Cambridge, MA. To make reservations, please go to our event registration page at https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=64272  IMIA Conference, to get our group discounted rate  of $249/night vs. $319/night.
Cultural Presentation on Oct 10: Onye Onyemaechi - Vibrant and Unique, come see his inspiring energy.
Pre-Conference 3hr Workshops October 10, 2008
9-12pm: Title VI  by Bruce Adelson.
1-3pm Translation Budgets  by Don de Palma and Nataly Kelly
Signed certificates provided to attendees. Registration for pre-conferences will be available with general registration
Background: http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/Background.asp
Who will attend? Interpreters: spoken language & ASL, medical & legal / Interpreter educational programs, educators, trainers, and language coaches / Interpreting Companies, agencies, local and national / Coordinators and Managers of Hospital Interpreter Services / Hospital Administrators / State Intepreter Associations / Risk Managers / Attorneys / Health Insurance Organizations / Patient Advocates and Advocacy Groups / Government Agencies / Regulatory Organizations 
Peruse past presentations

The IMIA Certification Committee has been working on several items. We invite all members to review the certification section of the website. We specially would like you to review whether you qualify for IMIA Certification by looking at the pre-requisites section at http://www.imiaweb.org/certification/prerequisites.asp Our goal is to start registration for certification in the Fall of 2008. To see the process, please go to http://www.imiaweb.org/certiication/register.asp

Please send comments or questions to IMIACertification@gmail.com. This is an important part our transparent and inclusive certification process.

An article from the American Journal of Manged Care entitled "Language Disparities and Timely Care for Children in managed Care Medicaid was jpublished. It is an interesting article describing a study of  the relationship between language of parents (among the variables) and timeliness of care. Done in WA state, it reiterates the importance of parent ability to communicate and outcome for care for children and identifies that the use of an interpreter results in more timely access. Thank you to Brunilda Torres for helping us post this.

Reach 1,600 members when you post an event! All organizations are encouraged to upload their own event on the IMIA Interpreter Events Calendar! This is going to help members stay informed of all the events related to interpreting and translation. Count on the IMIA Calendar to have the most updated interpreter event information at http://www.imiaweb.org/events/default.asp

The IMIA is proud to have the only national registry of medical interpreters in the US. It includes about 1,600 interpreters in over 60 languages, and each profile includes  training, general education, work experience, references, and even their resume, if they wish to upload it. It is of great use to our corporate members who rely on it to search interpreters, and also for our interpreters who get work by being identified in this registry.  Please help us promote this registry by letting interpreters know that they can join the registry when they join the organization. A registry is only as good as it's size and search capabilities.

Corporate Member Employers can search the directory by name, language, and state.

Now you can see exactly what employers see when they look you up on the Registry.
You can view and edit your own profile at any moment at http://www.imiaweb.org/members/profile.asp but now you can also see what is visible to users of the directory at http://www.imiaweb.org/members/viewprofile.asp. Check out if what is there is what you want employers to see, and consider uploading your resume.  This is the only interpreter directory that allows those listed to add their resume. Stand out in the crowd! We have heard many members state that they have received offers from employers who have found them on the IMIA Interpreter Directory, the only national and international registry of medical interpreters.