Category: Blog

The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC) represents the needs of immigrants, migrants, refugees and other new Americans living in Pennsylvania to policy makers, public officials, and the general public. The organization helps to educate the public and develop support for fair policies that welcome and sustain immigrants. Michele Berrios, Vendor Procurement Manager and Dominika Weston, Senior Sourcing Specialist, attended the event, on Wednesday, October 19^th, held at the Asian Arts Initiative, at 1219 Vine Street in Philadelphia. PICC highlighted the work of local leaders across Pennsylvania who encourage participation of immigrant and refugee communities in civic life through language access, voter engagement, and community education. The event featured a photographic exhibition of immigrant experiences by Philadelphia-based photographer, Harvey Finkle*. A delicious multi-cultural buffet by immigrant entrepreneurs Cristina Martinez, owner of South Philly Barbacoa, and Ange Branca, owner of Saté Kampar, was topic of conversation. The Mexican and Malaysian eateries are located in South Philadelphia.

Honorable Pedro A. Cortés, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was the keynote speaker.  Nina Ahmad, Ph.D., Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Public Engagement,was the evening’s honoree. PICC presented a Community Leader Award to Lorena Alvarez from the Centro de Apoyo Comunitario in Upper Darby and a Youth Leader Award to Erick Perez from the Juntos organization.

Representatives from CHOP, Einstein Center, Jefferson Hospital, The Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Social Services Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Community Legal Services, Health Federation of Philadelphia, Occupational Safety and Health, joined in the festivities, many of whom are long-time customers of LSA.

Stay tuned for future events hosted by The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition as LSA will continue supporting their mission to help others.

*Harvey Finkle Photography: “Images of Peace and Justice” — An Interview with Harvey Finkle.

When a Limited English Proficient (LEP) person comes to your emergency room, law office, or parent-teacher conference, it’s important to have a professional language services provider on hand to interpret, even if a bilingual child or family member is also in attendance. Interpretation requires a select set of skills that not every speaker can master and an industry-specific vocabulary a child or layman likely does not possess.

How do you navigate situations like this with your LEP clientele? We’ve compiled a few handy reminders of why professional interpreters should be used in each critical encounter!

1. Family members can be biased.

Ready to explain a complex medical procedure your LEP patient needs? A family member may not be up for the challenge and may, “sugar-coat” your words to have an easier conversation or inadvertently miss the facts. Professional interpreters are free of bias and will treat your LEP patient with the same respect and directness as you do.

2. Friends or family may not be familiar with the necessary vocabulary.

A professional interpreter will find the most appropriate word or phrase to accurately interpret what you ask or describe. Legal jargon? Medical vocabulary? These are not, “child’s play”.  A qualified interpreter will not struggle or use an inappropriate word in its place.

3. “Bilingual” does not equal “qualified to interpret”.

Interpretation is a highly specialized occupation, requiring the interpreter to listen in one language, determine the best interpretation, and then speak in another language. To go back and forth in this way requires patience and training, qualifications your average bilingual speaker likely isn’t ready to take on for any length of time.

4. Government mandates may dictate a qualified interpreter be used.

Bilingual speakers may not legally meet the requirements of the communication at hand.  We can explain in detail how Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 131664, or the Joint Commission’s requirements set the scene for exactly how your communication is to take place with an LEP speaker.

5. Risks outweigh the reward.

Many affordable interpretation solutions exist to ensure LEP communication is accurate, clear, and unbiased. You shouldn’t have to risk a lawsuit down the line because an LEP’s child misinterpreted the dosage of medication or due date of an important document.

image via

A country of immigrants, language trends in the U.S. are constantly shifting: Currently 60.6 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home and 65 percent of companies face language barriers that contribute to inefficiency, ineffective collaboration, and low productivity.

Today’s U.S. immigrants come from countries like Mexico, India, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Korea, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala (the top ten represented in order of most to least immigrants). Shifts are evident even in a comparison to 1980 census data–25.9 million more Spanish speakers exist and Vietnamese speakers increased by 599 percent. Russian, Persian, and Armenian speakers more than doubled.

Come 2020, projections suggest the 60.6 million people in the U.S. speaking a language other than English could jump to 68.1 million. Spanish is expected to continue to represent a majority of LEP’s language use, totaling more than 60 percent by 2020, so having bilingual staff on hand will continue to be of value. While the number of speakers of some languages may slowly decrease (French, Italian, German, Polish, and Korean), we can expect others to increase (Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Arabic).

Curious about migration trends by state? Via Migration Policy Institute, the top five states taking in immigrants are California (10.3 million), New York and Texas (4.4 million each), Florida (3.8 million), and New Jersey (1.9 million). Look at the number of immigrants in reference to the state’s overall population and Nevada becomes a contender.

Language trends are also evidenced by the largest percentage of growth in immigrants by state – Between 2000 and 2014, the five states with the largest percent growth of the immigrant population were Tennessee and Kentucky (102 percent each), Wyoming (101 percent), North Dakota (99 percent), and South Carolina (97 percent).

Source: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub

Are you up to speed on the latest regulations and standards of practice that could impact your compliance efforts?

What is “The Final Rule”, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act?

“The Final Rule”, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act finally codifies and gives guidance on the requirements for language assistance services for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Will Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act affect me?

It is estimated that the rule will apply to the majority of 908,000 practicing physicians in the U.S, over 400,000 laboratories, close to 200 health plans and over 130,000 hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and other facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid.

What if I don’t comply with Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act?

The failure to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to health programs and activities (because of the lack of language assistance services) to the 25 million LEP individuals in the U.S. is a form of discrimination based on national origin.  Non-compliance can include suspension or termination of federal funding, and individuals can sue in federal court and can receive damages.