MAMI Years Ahead, National Speaker Says at Anniversary Banquet

INTERPRETERS OF EXCELLENCE HONORED

UTICA, June 15, 2009 -- MAMI Interpreters celebrated its 10th anniversary with a recognition banquet June 12 that featured a national medical interpreting leader as keynote speaker.

MAMI, with offices in Utica and Syracuse, has been years ahead of most areas of the country in training and providing interpreters in the medical setting for patients who speak little or no English, said Cindy Roat, MPH, former chair of the National Council of Interpreting in Health Care.

Cindy Roat Keynote Speaker	Cornelia Brown Executive Director
Judge Matthew Ogonowski Guest of Honor	Maria Kaplun Emcee

Roat, primary developer of "Bridging the Gap," the country's most widely offered training for health care interpreters, said MAMI led the country in providing internship experiences and agency certification when most states have no certification standards for medical interpreters.

MAMI is a leader in not only serving refugees and immigrants, she said, but also in recruiting them to provide and supervise the interpreting services and other language access programs.

"You are a model for the rest of the country," and, as such, MAMI has a responsibility to share its experience and expertise with others trying to improve multi-cultural access to health care and other services, Roat said.

MAMI, originally known as the Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters, entered the health care scene as a grassroots non-profit organization in 1999, after having already trained its first class of interpreters in 1998, with both medical and cultural components in the curriculum.

In that first year, MAMI filled about 20 interpreter requests per month, Executive Director Cornelia Brown, Ph D, told the audience. Today MAMI is filling nearly 1,000 interpreter requests per month, she said, and has a total of about 100 interpreters: eight full-time interpreters, 13 part-time staff interpreters and some 80 independent contractor interpreters, based both in Utica and Syracuse, who speak 42 different languages. In addition to training medical interpreters, MAMI trains legal interpreters for work in court and domestic violence settings.

Former City Court Judge Matthew Ogonowski was guest of honor at the celebration, in recognition of his leadership on MAMI's board of directors. "As Board member and Board President, he kept MAMI focused on its mission," Brown said.

Brown also honored Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, noting: "MAMI is especially grateful for RoAnn's support and guidance both for the refugee population and for small business."

David Wojnas received accolades for serving on the MAMI board since its inception and for his contribution as board treasurer.

Brown surprised five interpreters with the "Interpreter of Excellence" Award, based on feedback from customers. The outstanding interpreters are:

-- Nolasco Mercado (Spanish) and Hammadi D. Mukoma (Somali, Maay Maay, Mishanguli, Kiswahili) from the Syracuse office.

-- Ofelia Dale (Spanish), Liliana Vidovic Piplica (Bosnian) and Lul Mohammed (Somali, Maay Maay) from the Utica office.

A number of agencies were honored for "journeying with us" and giving "a voice to thousands of refugees who have found a home in Central New York," Brown said. They are:

Giruzzi Law Offices and Golub Foundation were recognized as organizational sponsors.

The anniversary celebration was held at the RCIL (GroWest) facility at 1607 Genesee St., Utica, and featured international cuisine by GroWest. Maria Kaplun, a Russian immigrant who became a MAMI interpreter and later a college professor, was the Mistress of Ceremonies.