Job Summary:
Shenandoah Valley Medical System is seeking a Medical Interpreter and a Lead Medical Interpreter to provide accurate English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English interpretation and translation services for Spanish-speaking patients and families receiving care within SCH. These roles support clear communication between patients, families, providers, and staff; assist with patient access and administrative needs.
Medical Interpreter Responsibilities:
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Participate as a neutral party and serve as a communication link between SCH staff and patients.
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Provide English-Spanish interpretation for all services and locations of SCH.
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Ensure information related to patient services, hospitalization, advance directives, consents for treatment, diagnosis and prognosis, treatment plans, follow-up appointments, and health care education is accurately communicated.
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Address patient questions and concerns regarding communicated information in a clear and effective manner.
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Provide interpreter services by conveying the exact message rather than summarizing information subjectively.
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Follow all policies and procedures related to processes, services, and employee work rules.
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Maintain confidentiality regarding patient care and visitor matters involving non-English-speaking patients, families, and escorts.
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Answer phone calls from the Spanish line and relay messages to providers, nurses, referrals, and medical records.
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Schedule, confirm, cancel, or reschedule appointments as requested by patients and SCH staff.
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Update the Electronic Health Record (EHR) as needed.
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Assist patients with completing registration and financial forms and answer questions to ensure understanding.
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Assist patients with Primary Care, Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health, Pharmacy, Lactation Consultant, Diabetic Education, and related questions, concerns, clarifications, and refill requests.
Lead Medical Interpreter Additional Responsibilities:
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Provide English-Spanish interpretation for all services and locations of SCH.
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Coordinate and standardize the process for connecting limited English proficiency (LEP) patients with appropriate language support services, including in-person interpretation, tele-interpretation, and other relevant interpretation modalities.
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Demonstrate cultural proficiency through values and behaviors that support effective engagement with people and groups from diverse backgrounds.
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Build and maintain interpreting schedules and arrange in-advance and on-demand interpretation requests.
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Organize and maintain SCH language access resources and workflows and act as the main point of contact for language support services at SCH.
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Provide training and education to staff as needed.
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Act as liaison between language support vendors and SCH.
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Track and monitor LEP patient experience through surveys, data reporting, observation, and other relevant methods, and implement improvements based on findings.
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Participate in local trainings and collaborative meetings that work to improve access to community services for LEP community members.
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Assist with the implementation and adoption of technological solutions for interpretation and translation services for SCH patients.
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Collect staff feedback, explore opportunities to improve language support workflows and resources, and suggest improvements based on findings.
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Route patient needs and requests as appropriate.
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Collaborate with SCH Leadership and Marketing departments to support effective patient communication.
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Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualification & Education Requirements
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Bilingual – English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English
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High School diploma or GED; AA preferred
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Experience working as a professional interpreter preferred
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Experience working in a healthcare setting preferred.
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Experience with communication technologies such as telephone or video remote interpreting
Essential Skills:
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Medical Interpreter Certification or Bridging the Gap highly recommended or actively working toward this.
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Successful completion of conversation/translation competency testing in secondary language, knowledge of Medical Terminology, and language proficiency test.
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Maintain strict patient confidentiality and comply with federal and state privacy laws.
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Consistently adhere to and/or exceed SCH communication guidelines and expectations with internal and external customers including co-workers, patients, and external partners
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Possess good listening and communication skills.
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Office skills including word processing, data entry, and record keeping principles.
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Possess the ability to work in a courteous and professional demeanor with patients, co-workers, and community contacts.
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Demonstrate a friendly, patient, and compassionate demeanor when dealing with people, even in difficult situations.
