So, what does this mean to RIS Interpreter Services customers? Patients in the United States with limited English proficiency (LEP) continue to face language barriers that threaten their health and undermine their well-being. Well-trained interpreters are essential. RIS is a step ahead in ensuring its customers are served by well-trained interpreters. RIS tests its interpreters for fluency, then puts them through a rigorous 40-hour training that includes vocabulary, interpreter protocols, ethics and more.

This training will count toward the prerequisites for the certification. RIS' Interpreter Services goal is to be the interpreter training service of choice in Virginia: it will align its training to meet all the requirements so that the program's current and future interpreters will be able to pass the exam and become credentialed.

For more information on the certification process logon to the International Medical Interpreters Association website.

For information on Refugee and Immigration Services' Interpreter Training, call Rosemary Rodriguez at 804 355-4559, ext. 16.