Eligible bilingual employees can apply for Employee Interpreter Incentive Rewards Pilot Program until Feb. 28
Penn State Health is accepting applications now through Tuesday, Feb. 28 for a pilot program that trains and incentivizes eligible bilingual employees to become qualified medical interpreters. The pilot program will train employees for languages that the health system’s patients most commonly speak, including Spanish, Nepali, Arabic and American Sign Language.
To apply for the Employee Interpreter Incentive Rewards Pilot Program, eligible bilingual employees should complete an application and email it to PSHEmployeeInterpreterRewards@pennstatehealth.psu.edu. Please refer to the pilot program requirements and FAQs for further information.
Learn more about the pilot program during one of two informational Zoom sessions:
- Monday, Feb. 6: Noon─12:30 p.m.
- Monday, Feb. 20: 7:30─8 a.m.
- Zoom link
- Meeting ID: 933 0610 4562
Stipend available
Eligible bilingual employees who have earned the certification and are approved by their department leadership to provide qualified medical interpretation services will receive an annual stipend, paid every other pay period. The stipend applies to employees whose primary job function is not medical interpretation. Employees must only provide medical interpretation services during their normal work hours and within their respective units or departments.
Eligible departments:
The pilot program is currently available to eligible bilingual employees in the following areas:
Hampden Medical Center:
- Emergency Department
Holy Spirit Medical Center:
- Emergency Department
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
- Emergency Department
- Radiology Department
- Life Lion
Outpatient practices affiliated with Hershey Medical Center:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology, East Campus
- Bone and Joint Institute
- Penn State Medical Group Cocoa Outpatient Center
Penn State Health Medical Group:
- Penn State Health Downtown Campus
- Penn State Health Medical Group ─ Colonial Park
- Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center, Medical Office Building ─ OB-GYN
St. Joseph Medical Center
- Emergency Department
- Radiology Department
Lancaster Medical Center
- Emergency Department
Security officers are also eligible for the pilot program.
Program leaders and accomplishments
The Employee Interpreter Incentive Rewards Pilot Program is co-led by Mona Miliner, vice president of operations, and Courtney Miller, interpreter services program manager and strategic planning analyst, and supported by the Penn State Health Interpreter and Translation Services Implementation Team.
During the past year, the team has developed new language services policies for consistency, evaluated existing workflow and operational procedures, provided brief refresher training on language services, and identified a medical interpreter training program for eligible bilingual employees.
The Employee Interpreter Incentive Rewards Pilot Program is part of Penn State Health’s efforts to ensure the language services program provides quality and timely services to meet the needs of a diverse patient population and provide adequate interpreter support to deliver the best possible care.
Direct questions about the pilot program to PSHEmployeeInterpreterRewards@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
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