Since posting a video to my YouTube channel and an accompanying article with a full transcript and sources to my website, I’ve received a lot of attention. To be clear, my original goal was not to draw attention to myself, but rather to an issue that is near and dear to my heart: my freelance medical interpreter colleagues here in the Richmond, Virginia area, being unable to receive the COVID-19...
My name is Kelly and I’m a Spanish medical interpreter in the greater Richmond area.For those of you who don’t know, a medical interpreter accompanies patients with Limited English Proficiency to doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, what have you, to facilitate communication between them and doctors, nurses, and other members of their healthcare team. As an independent...
For on-site medical interpreters who are freelancers or independent contractors, the path towards getting a COVID-19 vaccine is often unclear. I’m here to tell you that it is possible to get vaccinated under phase 1a as a healthcare worker if you fall within this category!
I am honored to be taking part in this year’s Virginia TIES (Transgender Information and Empowerment Summit) advisory committees on Spanish language access, hosted by Equality Virginia (EV). EV is going above and beyond this year to kick off their first-ever all-digital conference and to make sure TIES is accessible to Spanish-speakers of all backgrounds. Barriers for Spanish-Speakers...
I've recently been a guest on two podcasts: Our Lives with Shannon Fisher to talk about language access in healthcare, and Race Capitol to talk about the group I admin on Facebook that donates handmade masks to local essential retail and service workers!
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of participating in one of Equality Virginia's Crowd the Capitol events, and joined them for their Families and LGBTQ Youth lobby day. I often interpret for Spanish-speaking LGBTQ youth and their parents, especially in mental health settings. In the process of carrying out my role as an interpreter at different facilities, I do my best to work with providers...
This past Thursday, January 9, I participated in Drive Virginia Forward's lobby day for driver's licenses for all at the state capital. At this time, undocumented Virginia residents cannot be issued a driver's license, which has a huge negative impact on their lives. As I detailed in a previous article, many undocumented Virginians rely on raiteros for rides, who can be highly unreliable and...
I am a Certified Medical/Healthcare Interpreter (CMI-Spanish, CHI-Spanish) and a medical interpreter trainer. I work as an independent contractor in the greater Richmond, Virginia area as a Spanish-English medical interpreter. Click here to read more about me.
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