COUNCILMEMBER MARTI EMERALD AND FAMILIES OF VICTIMS WHO SUFFERED SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES CALL FOR INTERPRETER SERVICES IN WAKE OF AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IMPLEMENTATION

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June 9, 2014 (San Diego) — Flanked by the families of victims who have suffered serious health issues as a result of not having a medical interpreter, San Diego Councilmember Marti Emerald today called for support of state legislation that would increase the number of interpreters in medical settings to help ensure Californians with limited English receive safe, appropriate care and treatment.

“The challenges and experiences shared with us today are tragic and could have been prevented,” said Councilmember Emerald. “In a state as large and diverse as California with more than 200 languages spoken, access to interpretation services in our healthcare systems to help ensure Californians with limited English receive the right to quality medical treatment is vital. I am calling for the immediate support of Assembly Bill 2325 and urge others to do the same. This legislation is crucial for San Diegans, specially for my constituents in District 9, and all of California.”

As the Affordable Care Act continues to be implemented, there is a greater need for medical interpreters as a larger number of Californians are now receiving coverage and utilizing health care facilities for the first time.  The majority of these new patients have little or no English proficiency.  Currently, more than 40% of Californians speak a language other than English at home and almost 7 million Californians are estimated to speak English “less than very well.”

Research has found that language barriers can contribute to inadequate patient evaluation and diagnosis, lack of appropriate and/or timely treatment or other medical errors that can jeopardize patient safety and lead to unnecessary procedures and costs.  The Medical Interpreter legislation, authored by Assembly Speaker Emeritus John A. Pérez, will ensure that California has the opportunity to develop and establish a comprehensive language assistance program for medical interpreter services through the Medi-Cal program.

Several San Diegans shared their stories on how a lack of communication while receiving medical treatment impacted their families and loved ones.  Elizabeth Garcia lost her life at a hospital in Oceanside.  Her husband Guillermo Garcia said his wife suffered a heart attack in their home.  

“Upon calling 911, first responders arrived and no one spoke Spanish,” said Garcia. My wife Elizabeth was rushed to the hospital and was immediately intubated and placed on life support.  For nearly a month, I tried to unsuccessfully to find an interpreter.  I could only rely on my daughter or friends to help translate.  As my wife continued to grow ill she was only able to communicate by signs.  I feared my wife’s pain was caused by the life-support tubes causing her to choke, unable to convey my suspicions, my wife passed. Shortly after, I finally spoke to a medical interpreter who explained the cause of death was due to vomiting and choking infecting her blood stream and causing brain damage.  I am haunted by the helplessness of my wife’s situation and believe had there been an interpreter on hand, I would have been able to alert the nurses of her choking, preventing infection.” 

Additional families affected by a gap in communication include Maria Magana who lives in National City.  Last year, her husband who suffered from Cirrhosis, was taken by family to several hospitals in San Diego after his pain worsened.   After a few days the doctors explained to Maria’s husband that a liver transplant was on the way.  The next day something had gone terribly wrong and Maria’s husband passed away in front of their children before the liver was available.  Maria had asked several times throughout her husband’s stay for an interpreter, but none were provided. She was left alone and confused throughout the entire process as doctors were never able to communicate to her the status of her husband’s health.

For more information, log onto: http://www.interpretingforcalifornia.org

 

 


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