Language access has always been a deep-rooted issue in health care. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored many of the existing challenges and the need for effective and just communication in all aspects of care from public health information to individual encounters with clinicians. Language and cultural differences have created challenges for refugees, immigrants, and migrants. In many cases, they have been disenfranchised from COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

To address these challenges during COVID-19, community outreach and the empowerment of refugee, immigrant and migrant groups have been essential to provide COVID-19 resources and vaccinations to diverse communities. To reach vulnerable populations and to fill deep gaps, staff and volunteers with community-based organizations and community health workers have taken the role of ad-hoc interpreters as they are often bilingual and trusted by community members. However, they are not necessarily formally trained and certified to work as interpreters or translators. Join Migrant Clinicians Network as we host a two-part series to discuss strategies for community-based interpretation. We will also provide resources regarding community outreach to vulnerable populations and best practices for effective interpretation.

Veronique Felix is a paralegal with Maryland Legal Aid Farmworker Program. She immigrated to the United States from Quebec, Canada in 1999. She is a native French speaker and is also fluent in Haitian Creole. Since 2004, she has been immersed in the Haitian community on the Maryland Eastern Shore in various roles. She is trained in community and legal (outside courtroom) interpretation and has over 15 years of experience as an interpreter. She is also co-chair of the Maryland Legal Aid Language Access taskforce, advocating for equal access to services for limited English proficient individuals throughout Maryland. 

Tanja Milanovic is a native of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia). She has lived in Germany in the 1990s and has a nursing degree from Justus Liebig University. In the United States, Tanja has trained and served as a professional medical and community interpreter, then became a licensed professional interpreter trainer through Northern Virginia AHEC and Cross-Cultural Communications.

Since 2013 she has been managing the IRC Interpreter Services Program. Tanja is fluent in Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian), German and English and conversational in Italian. Her passion for foreign languages and her first-hand experience working with refugees in both Germany and the United States convinced her of the importance of professional interpreting. Tanja's experiences as well as her strong desire to help those in need have shaped her to become a prime advocate for trained interpreters. 

Dan-Tam Phan-Hoang, MS is the Co-Deputy Director for the Cultural, Faith and Disabilities Communities branch of the COVID response and is the Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Community Outreach Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health. Prior to joining the directors, she led communications for the branch where she worked with partners to help create resources that resonated with the diverse communities in Minnesota. She is passionate about alleviating health disparities and has been working with underserved communities for nearly two decades.