Title
Authorize the Deputy Purchasing Agent for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute a License Agreement with Cross Cultural Communications for the purchase and licensure of proprietary teaching and textbook materials for use in the training of NMC interpreters with a not to exceed of $30,000 and with an agreement term December 15, 2016 through December 14, 2021.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Authorize the Deputy Purchasing Agent for Natividad Medical Center (NMC) or his designee to execute a License Agreement with Cross Cultural Communications for the purchase and licensure of proprietary teaching and textbook materials for use in the training of NMC interpreters with a not to exceed of $30,000 and with an agreement term December 15, 2016 through December 14, 2021.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
This agreement will allow NMC to purchase and use the vendor's proprietary teaching and training materials in the training of NMC's bilingual staff to become Qualified Interpreters (QI's). With the implementation of the new language access rule of the ACA Section 1557 July 2016, our medical staff must be "qualified" as interpreters to assist providers with interpretation and not simply bilingual.
Presently, NMC has approximately 60 trained dual staff qualified interpreters (QI's) that perform interpretations as dual staff employees in their own departments. This compliments and maximizes resources of the Interpreter Services department at NMC, whose resources are limited. It also allows staff and patients to communicate more freely since the QI's are generally already in the units. Many of the bilingual staff is already called on to perform interpretations and by training them, NMC is fully compliant with Federal and State laws as well as the Joint Commission recommendations.
The training consists of a 40-hour course that is recognized by the interpreting profession and is used nationally to train healthcare...
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