In this episode of The Invisible Profession podcast, we are discussing Oregon's House Bill 2359 with Bill Rivers, an expert who has worked on language policy for over 2 decades. HB 2359 states that medical providers must first request healthcare interpreters from the OHA healthcare registry for on-site appointments before requesting someone not registered. 

The OHA healthcare registry is a list of interpreters who have been tested and have achieved qualification/ certification.  During this podcast, we're going to look at what the bill means for medical providers, and for interpreters. We ask, what is the purpose of this legislation and what are the unintended consequences? The purpose of this bill is to improve language access to patients in Oregon, but can this be achieved within the constraints of the bill? 

Dr. Bill Rivers is the Principal at WP Rivers Associates. A former Russian-English translator and interpreter, Russian teacher, academic researcher and administrator, and for-profit and nonprofit executive, he has more than 30 years of experience in language advocacy and capacity at the national level, with significant experience in culture and language for economic development and national security in the Intelligence Community, private and academic sectors, and publications in second and third language acquisition research, proficiency assessment, program evaluation, and language policy development and advocacy. His company is contracted by the ALC for advocacy support.