Tennessee

Regional Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee

The University of Tennessee
Leader : Dr. Jose A. Velazquez
The Regional Medical Center at Memphis
Approach

The University of Tennessee

Health Science Center
College of Allied Health Sciences
As one of the largest academic health science centers in the United States, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is part of the statewide, multi-campus University of Tennessee system. As such, the UT Health Science Center offers a number of unique assets in the development of the En Memphis Hablamos Juntos medical interpreter training:
a) An experienced infrastructure to provide continuing education in health programs
b) Established relationships with all the major health care providers in the area
c) Telemedicine capability to enable state and nationwide training;
d) Experience, knowledge and rapport with the local Hispanic community
e) Well-qualified instructor
f) The flexibility to offer the interpreter training program at any location in the community.

Leader : Dr. Jose A. Velazquez

Project Director, Hablamos Juntos
Dr. Jose Velazquez, originally from Puerto Rico, comes to the En Memphis Hablamos Juntos project with over 15 years of teaching, curriculum development, administration and community advocacy work.Jose holds degrees in Biology/Psychology from Houghton College in NY, Spanish Language from Middlebury College in Vermont, Language and Linguistics from La Universidad de Valladolid in Spain and XIX Century Puerto Rican History from La Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. Under his leadership, Latino Memphis, Inc. (a 501c3 advocacy organization) conducted a study in partnership with The Access Project to document barries to access to health care in the Latino community. This study provided significant evidence of the need for a comprehensive interpreter program at the Med and served as foundation to the En Memphis Hablamos Juntos initiative. Dr. Velazquez served as chairman of the Modern Foreign Langauges department at Anderson University in Indiana, Professor and Laguage Lab Director at Houghton College in New York and Dean of the Memphis campus of Belhaven College. He also serves as the Latin American Specialist for the Governor School on International Studies at the University of Memphis.

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis is strategically located in the heart of the medical district in Memphis--surrounded by the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, LeBonheour Children's Hospital, Methodist Hospital, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis houses six Centers of excellence which include:
a) The Birth Place
b) The Newborn Center 3
c) High Risk Obstetrics
d) Firefighters Regional Burn Center
e) Wound Care Center 6. The Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis will:
a) Provide students for the first cohort of training
b) Cover tuition expenses for its employees
c) Provide a location for classes to meet
d) Facilitate practical interaction between students and health care providers
e) Support the expansion of the training program

Approach

Our implementation plan is well under way. With the selection of an academic partner (UT Health Science Center), the training of instructors (Espi Ralston and Jose Velazquez), and the selection of the first participants, we are now reviewing curriculum, developing syllabi and negotiating course length and times in order to have our first class by mid August, 2004.