Demand growing for interpreters in courts, hospitals

When Mildred Schoenfeld Hoy moved to Central Virginia 13 years ago, she had trouble finding a place to volunteer as a Spanish language interpreter. The public offices and schools that she approached in Waynesboro said they didn’t need anyone.

That’s not the case today. Schoenfeld Hoy, who now serves as an interpreter in local courts, said the schools that she once approached now have full-time interpreters.
Although most people who live in the Charlot-tesville area speak fluent English, local officials and interpreters have noticed a steady increase in people whose first language is something else. Interpreters are bridging the gap between people who aren’t fully able to express themselves in English and the community services that they need to access.
The Charlottesville office of the International Rescue Committee started an interpreter service about eight years ago after the American Red Cross shut down its volunteer-run language bank. Susan Donovan, the regional director of the local IRC office, said the service got off to a good start.

“It was immediately embraced by the community,” Donovan said. “I think we trained 24 interpreters in our first training.”
Today, the IRC has 50 trained interpreters and services about 75 local agencies, including employers, schools, local juvenile courts and law firms. The committee also recruits interpreters from the refugees it resettles locally. Donovan said the interpreters, who are independent contractors, have thousands of appointments a year.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a provision that federal agencies have to provide equal access to people who have limited English proficiency. Donovan said local agencies meet this requirement by setting up an agreement with the IRC, which provides them with interpreters. The limited English speakers are provided this service for free.

The number of people who speak Spanish in Virginia doubled between the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census. As of 2000, 11.1 percent of homes in the state speak a non-English language at home. Of those people, 591,326 reported speaking English very well or well, while 143,865 reported speaking English not well or not at all.
Interpreting hospital lingo
At the University of Virginia Medical Center, interpreters have a lengthy list of patients to visit each day so that their doctors can explain their treatment and answer questions about their health. Patients who speak with Luz Monroy, one of six Spanish language interpreters, seem put at ease by her presence.
Having someone interpret information into a language that a patient understands is important, Monroy said.
“When I came to this country, not being able to communicate felt like a handicap,” said Monroy, who moved in 1983 from Mexico City to the United States. “It makes you feel the same way if you can’t walk or hear or see. It’s very frustrating.”
Monroy, 52, said the hospital’s staff understands that. While the facility does have interpretation services available online, an in-person interpreter such as Monroy is preferred because it makes both the patient and doctor more comfortable and the conversation flows more easily.
In addition to the Spanish interpreters, UVa has a Russian interpreter and contract interpreters through the IRC. Other popular languages at the hospital include sign language, Farsi and Mandarin Chinese.
Sally LeBeau, the Medical Center’s manager in the hospital’s patient and guest services department, said the hospital’s interpreter program has evolved from a few staff members and volunteers to something much more formal. The hospital now has interpreters on staff 24 hours a day.
LeBeau said the trained interpreters on staff attend more than 20,000 appointments for patients with limited English proficiency each year. Although that number has remained fairly constant, LeBeau said more interpretation staff likely will be needed as the hospital expands its services.
Not only does Monroy interpret and help patients with paperwork, but she also advocates for patients to ask more questions about their care. Once they understand what they are supposed to do to get healthy, Monroy said her Spanish-speaking patients do it.
“The Hispanic community is very trustful of doctors,” Monroy said. “They believe their knowledge is so superior that they believe what they’re told and follow instructions.”
In the courthouse
When Albemarle County General District Court is in session, Schoenfeld Hoy, 42, usually isn’t sitting down. She often is out in the hallway explaining court procedures in Spanish to defendants or interpreting for attorneys and their clients on the inmate bench near the front of the court.
Once a case is called, Schoenfeld Hoy stands next to the defendant and starts interpreting. Like Monroy, she is expected to interpret exactly what everyone is saying.
“You have to hear yourself and be sure you’re making sense,” she said. “At the same time, you have to make sure that they understand what you’re saying. It can be very tiring mentally.”

After leaving Albemarle’s court, Schoenfeld Hoy often walks across the street to Charlottesville General District Court to see if anyone there needs an interpreter. General District Judge Robert H. Downer Jr. said his court often needs a Spanish language interpreter a few times a week.
On average, Schoenfeld Hoy interprets for three to five people a day in five localities, although that number can go as high as 20 in one day.
When an interpreter isn’t present in Downer’s court, he calls InterpreTalk, an over-the-phone interpreter service that offers nearly 200 languages. Downer said the need for interpreters in his courtroom has increased.
“Our community is one that has a presence of several populations of immigrants from various countries,” Downer said. “We’re really blessed to have InterpreTalk. … Just the other day, I was doing a civil case and the need for a Persian interpreter came up. One of the lawyers was astonished that I could get a Persian interpreter in a matter of minutes.”

However, InterpreTalk doesn’t allow for simultaneous interpretation, which can make proceedings take longer and break up the rhythm of a lawyer’s cross-examination.
Outside of the courtroom, both the general district clerk’s offices in Albemarle and Charlottesville have bilingual employees who can help people who need a Spanish translation. Downer said that while some of the forms that people fill out are translated into Spanish, defendants are required by the Supreme Court of Virginia to sign the English copy.
Although the need for interpreters has grown since she moved to the region, Schoenfeld Hoy said her business has been holding steady in the last year. Most of the people for whom she interprets are facing charges such as drunk in public and driving without a license.
Schoenfeld Hoy is halfway to being certified as an interpreter in the federal court pending an oral exam this summer. The native of Guatemala, who has watched the Hispanic community grow significantly since she moved to Central Virginia, said she feels that her job is a way of giving back.

“It’s very rewarding for me,” she said. “I feel that I’m really making a difference.”