1. NV AHEC – How It All Began IMIA Conference Boston, MA October 10 – 12, 2008 Dallice Joyner, M.Ed.

3. Virginia Virginia’s population - 7.7 million on July 1, 2007 2006: one in every 10 Virginians was foreign-born. One out of every three Virginians lives in Northern Virginia.

4. Virginia

5. NV AHEC 8 th and final AHEC established first priority has been to offer training and support to its region’s primary health care workforce.

6. NV AHEC 1996 - Hired 1 st staff 1997 - Conducted survey 1998 – Started cultural competence trainings 1999 - Medical Language Bank started

7. How Did NV AHEC Decide What Services To Provide?

8. NV AHEC Needs Assessment Survey of community provider needs Conducted in 1997 Purpose of survey –To examine the scope of need among providers –To cater, specifically to Northern Virginia’s needs

9. How Did NV AHEC Acquire Funding?

10. NV AHEC Survey Totally grant funded AHF funded NV AHEC survey Survey cost: $12,000.00 Total Cost: $98,000 (FY98)

11. AHF needs assessment overwhelmingly supported the need for cultural competence training and communicating with diverse cultural during health care encounters.

12. Survey 834 primary care providers and hospitals 2 mailings follow up phone calls

13. Survey 29% response rate 36% Practitioners: nurses, clinical social workers and physical therapists 32% of the respondents were physicians

14. NV AHEC Set Up

15. NV AHEC Did not start with a languages services program Started with cultural competence workshops (a result of the survey)

16. NV AHEC Directed to healthcare providers working with the poor, the un – or under- insured and the areas’ large number of immigrants and refugees, all of who have significant difficulty accessing primary health cares services.

17. NV AHEC Priorities: (Then) Addressed through: –Cultural competence training –Medical interpreter bank

18. Set Up Staff of 3 –Executive Director –Program Coordinator –Office Manager

19. Appointment System:

21. Program Coordinator: Coordinated cultural competence workshops Researched interpreter trainings nationally

22. NV AHEC Priorities: (Now) Proficiency testing Interpreters training Contract interpreter services Contract translation Continuing Education Consultation To work in health and human services settings.

23. Where Are We Now? Contract interpreters: –150 covering 50 languages –670 hours per month 24/7 contract interpreting capacity Contract translations - 30 languages

24. Where Are We Now? Training of Trainers –Connecticut AHEC –Tulane University Proficiency Testing –Phone –paper Interpreting in Health and Community Settings Interpreting in Community Settings

25. Where Are We Now? Introduction To the Art of Translation New Provider Series (January, 2009) –Health Literacy –Health Care Beyond words –Cultural Competency and Cultural Diversity – Health Care in Cultural Perspective –How to Communicate Effectively Through an Interpreter

26. Where Are We Today? $1M Budget Fee-for-Service Grants

27. Lessons Learned TRAINING is not enough!! Personal Flexible Focus on excellence Customized needs analysis Keep the door opened Interpreters are our ambassadors Interpreters are the “bridge”

28. Thank You!!!

29. Dallice Joyner, M.Ed. Northern Virginia AHEC 703-549-7060 djoyner@nvahec.org www.nvahec.org djoyner@nvahec.org www.nvahec.org