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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gloria Garcia-Orme, RN, MS, Interpreter Services Department, San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415 206 8536, gloria.garcia-orme@sfgh.org and Bruce Occena, MPH, MBA, Health Access Foundation, 2830 21st Street # 7, San Pablo, CA 94806.

Since 2002, collaboration between Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) has introduced medical interpretive services via mobile, videoconference units on a wide-scale, routine basis. In 2006, the two medical centers have begun exchanging interpreter services between themselves via videoconference transmissions. Overall, the innovation, in and of itself, has been successful – with over 10,000 successful transmissions.

Both ACMC and SFGH are the public health “safety net” and trauma centers in their respective counties. The pressure of operating and sustaining the services of each system separately is considerable. As a result, the experience and mechanisms for long-term, focused collaboration and detailed coordination of services between the separate county systems is relatively underdeveloped.

The Videoconference Medical Interpretation (VMI) collaboration has provided opportunities to concretely address numerous aspects of inter-organizational relationships. This has included: · Establishing a Joint Oversight Committee for planning and coordination of shared resources · Developing common database programs for recording and tracking interpretation requests and services · Establishing common competency and training requirements for interpreter staff at each medical center · Designing a mutual reporting and invoicing system that monitors the exchange of interpreter services between the two systems

The progress and the challenges of each of the items listed above will be discussed and illustrated with examples.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Discuss how a discrete collaborative project can foster the development of inter-organizational planning and oversight institutions, shared policies and standards, etc.
• Identify three examples of inter-organizational mechanisms facilitating ongoing collaboration

Keywords: Communication Technology, Interpreters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No