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Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness – Interpreting in Palliative Care

January 22, 2026 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm HST

Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team.

For interpreters, conversations involving palliative care, especially those at the end of life, can be among the most difficult to convey — not only linguistically and culturally, but personally. This is a unique opportunity for Hawaiʻi, don’t miss it.

This interactive seven-hour in-person workshop is designed to prepare experienced, trained medical interpreters to work in palliative care settings in Hawaiʻi. It includes:

  • An Introduction to Palliative Care
  • Interpreting Skills Applied to Palliative Care
  • The Vocabulary of Palliative Care
  • Sight Translation in Palliative Care
  • The Impact of Emotion and Belief on Interpreting
  • 7 CEUs (details on flyer page 2)

This multimedia, interactive training includes videos, PowerPoint presentations, and practice of interpreting and sight translation. Bilingual medical glossaries and practice activities are provided in Cantonese/traditional Chinese, Chuukese, Ilocano, Japanese, Korean, Kosraean, Mandarin/simplified Chinese, Marshallese, Pohnpeian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Who is teaching?  Cindy Roat is an international consultant and trainer on language access in health care with 30+ years’ experience in the healthcare interpreting field. With an MPH in International Health Services, Cindy has made significant contributions to the language access field in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach. Her written works are key resources for interpreters, providers and administrators alike. Cindy was the principal author of the original Bridging the Gap, and her most recent book, Healthcare Interpreting in Small Bites, is being used as an ancillary text at many basic training programs. Cindy is a founder and current board member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), as well as being known nationally as an engaging speaker, a knowledgeable resource, and an energetic advocate for language access in general.

Thursday, January 22, 2026
9:00 am to 5:00 PM

Where                      In-Person

Cost                        $50 Thanks to a grant we can offer this training at a reduced rate.

Registration         REGISTER before 5:00 p.m. on January 14, 2026.

  • Please note: space in this workshop is limited to the first 25 applicants.
  • Please submit a separate registration form for each person registering.
  • After registering, you will receive an email confirmation; if you do not receive a confirmation, your registration did not go through.Lunch provided for registered participants

Scholarships: There are full scholarships available for participants from The Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau.  A dedicated COFA languages workshop for Chuukese, Kosraean, Marshallese and Pohnpeian is offered Sat. Jan 24. Complete the application and we will let you know if you have qualified for the scholarship.

CE credits: This course has been approved for 7 CE credits by CCHI and .7 for (IMIA) NBCMI. Certificates of Attendance will be awarded to all who arrive on time and stay for the entire workshop.

This is the first time we offer this in-person training in Hawaiʻi so please join us and tell your colleagues. This training is supported by grants from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Fund for Heath Equity and the Hawaii Association for Health Plans.

Palliative Care is available in different settings in Hawaiʻi, including hospitals and in-home settings.  There is a new Med-QUEST palliative care benefit in Hawaiʻi so there should be an increased need for palliative care interpretation.

To learn more about Palliative Care, and our multi-lingual resources in 13 languages, visit the Kōkua Mau website: https://kokuamau.org/palliative-care-for-patients-and-families/