Valley gains first certified translators

When Spanish speakers in the Gunnison Valley go to see doctors, there is often a third person in the room — a family member to translate between Spanish and English. This arrangement is business as usual, but it’s often flawed. Family members may not know how to describe medical conditions accurately. And the medical situation might be intensely personal and awkward.

When Spanish speakers in the Gunnison Valley go to see doctors, there is often a third person in the room — a family member to translate between Spanish and English. This arrangement is business as usual, but it’s often flawed. Family members may not know how to describe medical conditions accurately. And the medical situation might be intensely personal and awkward.

“It’s hard to tell your mom that you have cancer,” said Cynthia Saenz. Likewise, a family member might be startled to learn in a doctor’s office that a relative is pregnant, she said.

Fortunately, seven Gunnison Valley residents, Saenz among them, have stepped forward to bridge this language gap. They are the first class of Spanish speakers to be formally certified as medical interpreters in Gunnison County. After 40 hours of instruction and a 90-minute exam, they are ready to help their community receive better medical care.

For one of the students, Beth Coop, the certification was the clear next step in the work she had already been doing. Coop works in administration support at Gunnison County Health and Human Services. A Spanish speaker, she is often called upon to be a go-between for nurses and patients.

“Learning the role of an interpreter, where to stand in an appointment with a patient, the code of ethics, how HIPPA (the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) falls into place — it was very useful,” she said.

Two Cora speakers were also among the cohort of trainees. Magdaleno Diaz and Brianda Aguilar will help to overcome a double language barrier. Members of the sizable Cora-speaking community in the Gunnison Valley often have to have family members translate from Cora to Spanish and then from Spanish to English when meeting with nurses or physicians. Diaz and Aguilar will help put this game of telephone to rest by translating from Cora directly into English.

“It will help at the hospital clinics, doctor appointments, when they go to the Health and Human Services center to do the vaccine Diaz said.

The end result will be that immigrants in Gunnison will get better medical care, said Saenz, who is vice president of Inmigrantes Unidos in Gunnison.

“One thing that people need to learn is that it’s better to take someone to translate who is not in your family,” she said.

“I think that people are seeing that we’re a bigger group now and that we can help our own community!’

(Sam Liebl can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or editor@gunnisontinzes.com)