Dear prospective or current member,

Join us in advocating for professional medical interpreting services!

Whether you are currently a working medical interpreter or a hospital considering setting up an Interpreter Service Department, you will find the International Medical Interpreter Association to be a clearinghouse of information and all that you would expect from a world-class association. At the forefront in the advancement of professional medical interpreters and linguistic access for all patients, our organization gives you the opportunity to learn about one of the most altruistic careers while benefiting from networking with our state, national, and international members about important issues facing our profession. Our stature is augmented by our international presence, and the experience and multicultural expertise of the accomplished members who are renown experts and pioneers in the field of medical interpreting and intercultural communication.

The primary benefit of joining a professional association is representation. There are many language access advocate organizations that are 501c3 organizations, public charity organizations which rely on funding from grants and represent the public interest, such as the underserved populations we serve. They report to and work on the grant funded projects envisioned by their funders, which includes any organization that gives out grants. The IMIA, on the other hand, is an organization which is the only national and international trade organization that represents primarily the interests of working professional medical interpreters and is not grant funded. It is self supported by the membership fees of its members for the membership services it provides. We are proud to report that we have become a financially independent organization for the last two years now.

"When I gained control of the IMIA in August of 2006, the organization had $600 in the bank and owed over 8 thousand dollars to independent contractors, and the previous administrators had never paid taxes. The new administration, the IMIA newly elected Executive Board had to quickly turn this around and was able by the end of 2006 to not only run a conference but help this organization be on good standing with the IRS and also end the year with over $30,000. Ever since, the organization has been an example of transparency, inclusiveness, and financial responsibility and accountability.

The added benefits of joining the association include e-news briefs, meetings several times a year, notices of job and training opportunities, and an annual conference held in October that is known to be ‘the’ conference on medical interpreting. In 2009 the conference will be in Boston on October 9-11. We invite ASL, legal, and international interpreting experts to come to Boston in the Fall in addition to our core group.

Our corporate members are given access to the most Comprehensive Interpreter Registry available online, searchable by language, state, or name. These members can also post job and training opportunities to targeted language groups. Our activities will provide ideal professional development for the many cultural and intellectual demands of your working medical interpreters. As an individual member, you benefit from these notices and can be assured that you will be informed of all the developments in your field. We also have other groups, such as providers and trainers and language access administrators that support the work of the association.

Our latest work is to ensure that medical interpreters are able to own their own credentialing program, the first such in the nation and intented to be an international credentialing program, the IMIA Certification Program for Medical Interpreters Worldwide. Please join our organization as your way to support this initiative which will enable the profession to be recognized and reimbursed worldwide for the benefit of all the patients who do not speak the local language.

Large enough to give members a wide range of experiences, with over 1,600 members, our association is yet small enough to accommodate the special needs of a highly diverse and mobile interpreter membership. I ask that you take advantage of all the organization has to offer, and I also ask that you share with us your talents and passion, as this organization is moved by its members, each caring equal weight. Choose the IMIA as your main forum for medical interpreting and discover everything medical interpreting can become.

If you have any questions or would like to speak directly to me, please feel free to email me at iarocha@imiaweb.org.

To our future,

Izabel S. Arocha, M.Ed.
IMIA President