COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Salaam alaikum. Nay kaung lar. Seh lahm. Hello. What’s the most pressing challenge
of students from Emory schools of
dated the clinic’s outdated telephone
when providing medical care in one
medicine, public health, nursing, and
interpreter list, engaging new volun-
of the most diverse cities in the U.S.?
business, started by conducting an
teer interpreters, and installing phones
Julia Schiff, an MD/MPH alumna, be-
assessment. They found that near-
in exam rooms. Finally, they recruited
lieves it is the ability to communicate
ly half of the center’s patients had
people from the Clarkston community
with patients who speak dozens of
unmet language needs. They deter-
to be trained in medical interpreting.
different languages. As a student, she
mined which languages were most
“We were able to provide appropriate
led a project to provide linguistically
needed—Arabic, Burmese, Nepali,
interpretation services for many more
competent care to refugee patients
and Amharic—and translated printed
patients, and we got good feedback
at the Clarkston Community Health
materials, checklists, and chart stickers
from the clinic volunteers and staff,”
Center. The team, which consisted
into those languages. They also up-
says Schiff.—Martha McKenzie
Autumn 2018
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