Week 3 – Discussion Board 1

[Art Liebl]

In at least 250 words talk about if you think present day legislation is enough. Do you see executive order 13166 being applied in your state? Respond to two fellow students by Monday.

[Leslie Hernandez]

I believe that present-day legislation has helped improve access to language services, but there is still room for improvement. Executive Order 13166 is important because it requires organizations that receive federal funding to provide meaningful access to people with limited English proficiency (LEP). This helps patients better understand their healthcare, legal matters, and other important services.

In my state, I believe the principles of Executive Order 13166 are being applied, especially in healthcare settings where interpreters are often available. However, there are still situations where qualified interpreters are not available, which can lead to misunderstandings and lower quality care.

I think more training and awareness are needed to ensure that language access laws are consistently followed. While current legislation provides a strong foundation, additional oversight and resources could help improve services for LEP individuals.

Overall, Executive Order 13166 has made a positive difference, but continued efforts are needed to ensure equal access for everyone regardless of the language they speak.

[Emely Veliz]

In my opinion, present dat legislation is helpful, but I think that it is not enough to guarantee language access for everyone. Laws such as Executive order 13166 are very important because they require organzations that receive refederal funding to provide meaninful access to people with limited englinsh proficiency (LEP). However, having a law and applying it correctly are two different things.
I currently live in Rhode Island, and I think Executive order 13166 is appliedin some areas, especially in hospitals and larger healthcare facilities. Many hospitals provide interpreter services either in person, by phone or through video interpretation. This helps patients understand their medical conditions, treatments, and appointments. As a future medical interpreter, I believe these services are very important because communication can directlt affect a patients health and safety. At the same time I have noticied that not every place provides the same level of language access. Some smaller clinics, offices, or organizations may not always have interpreters available immediately. Sometimes family members are used to interpret, which can create misunderstanding or privacy concerns. This shows that there is still room for improvement.
I believe that more training is needed so that organizations understand their responsabilities under Executive Order 13166. Also there should be stronger monitoring to make sure language access services are available when they are needed. communities of people who speak other languages besides that english continues to grow, therfore language access is becoming more important every year.

[Maria Valencia]

I believe present day legislation is good however there is always room for improvement and nothing is perfect. I do see executive order 13166 being applied here in Rhode Island but it is primarily used by larger facilities like a hospital or a community health centers. I have not seen this type of service provided by smaller practices however, I have seen patients who receive interpreter services from their insurance providers. The access to interpreter services in your language is imperative and can be considered a human right because it can certainly affect a person’s health and wellbeing. In person interpretation is best but with today’s technology access to telephone and video conferencing make it more accessible for someone to receive these services. I do believe that all medical providers should have to implement interpreter services even if they are not receiving federal funding. There can be legislation that provides smaller medical practices with incentives or tax breaks if they provide interpreter services. We all know that services can be costly but incentivizing providers to provide this support could be helpful for everyone.

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