State lacks Spanish-speaking nurses

EVERETT — Elizabeth Cervantes has interpreted for her parents at the doctor’s office since she was a child. Now she’s in an Everett nursing program to care for Spanish speakers in their own language.

At age 4, Cervantes left central Mexico with her family to live in Cove, Oregon, a mostly white and English-speaking town with a population of about 600. When her family needed care, Cervantes said no clinic or hospital had bilingual staff or provided interpreter services.

“I remember being like 6 or 7 trying to interpret,” said Cervantes, now 29. “I didn’t even know what was going on.”

Throughout her youth, Cervantes was her parents’ health care advocate. She scheduled appointments, filled out paperwork and interpreted for doctors. Her mother, Maria Jimenez, said navigating health care before her daughter was old enough to help was nearly impossible.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-lacks-spanish-speaking-nurses-for-everett-student-its-personal/