Page 6 - Encounters - Issue 1, Volume 1

6 Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators
F E AT U R E
Houston – November 2, 2012
More than 50 foreign language and
communication leaders and international
program team members recently convened
for the first-ever International Language Services
Conference to address topical issues in verbal and
intercultural interpretation and translation in the health
care setting. Houston-based MasterWord Services,
Inc., a leading global provider of industry-specific
language solutions, co-sponsored the interactive
program with Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical
Center at the hospital.
“We had world-class presenters who went ‘beyond
corporate business speak’ to give hands-on techniques
and tools to health care and related field professionals
who regularly interface with non-English speaking
patients. Our mission is to help patients and their
caregivers achieve the most reliable and positive
medical outcomes possible,” said Mila Golovine,
MasterWord Services founder and president.
According to Edgar Antístenes Vesga-Arias, Director,
International and Signature Services, Memorial
Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the program included
two presentations, Translation Skills: “Raising the Bar:
Super-Charging Translation” and Interpreter Skills: “The
Blurry Line: Intercultural Interpreting in Health Care,”
followed by a panel discussion on “Sharing Best
Practices for Successful Communication.”
Representatives from such premier institutions as
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, MD Anderson
Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, St. Luke’s
Episcopal Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Harris
Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District),
Houston Airport System, Greater Houston Convention
& Visitors Bureau, UT Health Science Center, Scott
& White Hospital, and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital,
among others, attended.
The first session focused on translation and the easy-
to-implement techniques and tools that can be used
either individually or in workgroups to help produce
more consistent and reliable translations with faster
turn-around times. Session II presenter, MasterWord
Services Manager of Training and Assessments, Ryan
Foley, a certified interpreter and translator, addressed
the cultural as well as linguistic considerations that
come into play in today’s increasingly diverse patient
population. For doctors, nurses, and other specialists
to deliver positive outcomes, they must be attuned
to cultural and linguistic considerations, noted Foley.
While medical professionals are receiving more cultural
sensitivity training, the increasing use of interpreters
demands that they be as adept with intercultural nuances
as they are with language. Participants learned about
the differences between generalities and stereotypes,
the danger of reciprocity of perspective, and how to
work within the role of an interpreter to aid providers in
clearing cultural hurdles.
Vesga-Arias and Mary Esther Diaz, a noted translator
and interpreter trainer who serves as chair of the
Advisory Committee on Qualifications for Translators
and Interpreters in Texas, as well as a founding member
of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters
and Translators Association, discussed best practices
for successful communication from the regulatory
perspective, the hospital administration/patient-
outcome in an increasingly regulated environment
in which conflicts may arise between standards and
loopholes, on a panel on “Sharing Best Practices
for Successful Communication.”
Participants earned Electronic Certificate of Attendance
for Continuing Education credits. 
Editor’s Note:
MasterWord Services Founder and President Mila Golovine (77079) and Manager of Training and Assessments Ryan Foley (77056)
and Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center Director, International and Signature Services Edgar Antístenes Vesga-Arias, are
available for interview. Photo ID is located below the news release.
Contact: Susan Farb Morris,
office: 713-661-7377 cell: 713-805-2608
susan@farbulous.com
Language,
Health Care
Pros Address
“ Our mission is to
help patients and their
caregivers achieve the
most reliable and
positive medical
outcomes possible...”
PATIENTS’
LANGUAGE and
INTERCULTURAL
NEEDS
AT HOUSTON’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL
LANGUAGE SERVICES CONFERENCE