Board backs pilot to station indigenous-language interpreter at Alisal Health Center

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 21 directed the Health Department to design and implement a pilot program to station a full-time indigenous-language medical interpreter at the Alisal Health Center in East Salinas.

The referral originated from community groups seeking improved access for Mixteco, Chatino, Zapotec and other indigenous-language speakers. Health Department staff reported they have completed a landscape analysis, visited Salud Para La Gente in Santa Cruz to review best practices, updated electronic records to record patient-preferred languages, begun staff training and planned recruitment of a full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) interpreter to be hired and trained by Natividad Medical Interpretation Services.

Prashant Shinde, clinic bureau chief with the Health Department, told the board the pilot will include Natividad-assisted training for clinic staff, and a part-time paid internship to create patient-education multimedia in indigenous languages. Shinde said the department expects to support the pilot within existing budgets for the initial year and may expand based on lessons learned.

Community groups and nonprofit legal advocates urged the board to go further: Centro Binacional, community health workers and legal advocates asked the board to ensure the pilot include five community priorities — hiring indigenous community health workers, ongoing cultural-sensitivity training for clinic staff, establishing an indigenous community advisory committee, capturing and reporting patient-preferred language data, and translating materials into indigenous languages. A representative from the California Immigration Project reminded the board of federal and state obligations — she cited protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act — that require language access for limited-English-proficient patients.

Supervisor Alejo, who co-sponsored the referral, and other supervisors said the pilot was an appropriate first step and urged quick implementation. The board passed a motion instructing the health department to proceed with the pilot, to pursue an advisory mechanism with Natividad, and to return to the board with implementation progress and a recommended timeline for evaluation.

Ending: The board’s direction advances a pilot to station an indigenous-language medical interpreter at Alisal, with staff training and community engagement. Staff said they will return with evaluation metrics and recommended next steps toward sustained services.