Language Access in Health Care Symposium - May 18th

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The Louisiana Language Access Coalition in partnership with REACH NOLA, Tulane University School of Medicine Office of Community Affairs and Health Policy, LSUHSC School of Public Health and sponsoring organizations, will hold a day-long symposium bringing together Louisiana and the national dialogue on language access in health care on May 18th, 2011 in New Orleans. This event is free and open to the public.

Imagine...

Imagine that you are the mother of a child whose spleen just ruptured. You rush your child to the emergency room only to be unable to communicate the desperate situation to the doctors. Your child dies in the waiting room. Picture that you are an immigrant detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents unable to communicate that you must contact your family at home. Suppose that you are suddenly arrested by the police, who gives you your Miranda rights in a foreign language. Furthermore, you do not have any idea why you are detained. You cannot communicate with the lawyer assigned to your case and cannot testify in your own defense.

Imagine that you are in New Orleans on August 28, 2005. The entire city is evacuating, but all available news about where to go or what to do is in English-a foreign language to you. If you do find your way out of the city safely, how do you navigate through the English-only paperwork? What if your family somehow got separated? How do you contact them? Thousands Limited English Proficient people including Vietnamese and Hispanics did not have to imagine. For them, it was reality.

Participate in Upcoming Meetings
Meetings are held every 3rd Thursday of the month, and alternate between conference call and in-person meetings.

Thursday, March 17, 2011 from 11:30-12:30
Location: TBA

Thursday, April 21, 2011 from 11:30-12:30
Conference Call: Dial-in Number: (661) 673-8600; Participant Access Code: 139674#
[Host Access Code: 139674*]