Industry Impacts: Where Language Access Matters Most
Words can save lives, but only if they’re heard, understood, and respected.
In healthcare, a misinterpreted symptom can mean life or death. In court, a mistranslated testimony can cost someone their freedom. At Kaplan Interpreting Services, we’ve seen how language access underpins fairness in law, medicine, and beyond. I’ll never forget the asylum seeker I interpreted for, his halting English couldn’t convey his trauma, but his native Arabic did, and it won his case. But with the March 1 Executive Order rolling back protections, these high-stakes fields are on shaky ground, and the consequences could be devastating.
The Threat of Miscommunication in Healthcare
Let’s break it down. In healthcare, LEP patients already face higher risks of misdiagnosis. Without mandated interpreters, hospitals might lean on family members (untrained, biased) or AI (clueless about tone). Imagine a child translating “my mom’s stomach hurts” when it’s really appendicitis, or an app spitting out gibberish about a surgery. In law, defendants could lose their rights if courts skimp on interpretation. I’ve seen sloppy translations turn “I was there” into “I did it”, a mistake no machine catches. And in government services, immigrants and asylum seekers might be left voiceless, their applications denied over misunderstandings.
The Legal System at Risk
As an agency owner, I’ve watched these scenarios play out when language access falters. It’s not just inefficiency, it’s injustice. The March 1 EO doesn’t outlaw interpreters, but by dropping federal pressure, it invites shortcuts. Industries where accuracy is non-negotiable, healthcare, law, government, could see errors pile up, trust erode, and lives upended. At Kaplan Interpreting Services, we’re not just interpreters; we’re advocates for getting it right, every time.
The Future of Language Access
How would you feel if your life depended on a machine that didn’t understand you? That’s the question we’re wrestling with. Next time, we’ll talk about what we can do, together, to keep language access alive. Because this isn’t just about words; it’s about people. What’s your take on where this is headed?
CEO & Founder
Born in Dallas, Texas, Alexandra grew up surrounded by Spanish, English, Arabic, and Italian. After moving to Venezuela, Spanish became her primary language. She holds a Master's in Healthcare Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and is a California court certified and medical interpreter.
She founded Kaplan Interpreting Services after seeing an industry that treated interpreters as interchangeable and clients as ticket numbers. She built a protocol-driven operation where every interpreter is hand-selected and credentialed for the specific setting, every client has a dedicated point of contact, and risk management is built into every assignment.
Her career reached a historic milestone when she interpreted the conversation between President-elect Biden and Pope Francis. That assignment, along with engagements for Nike and the Summit of the Americas, set the standard for every client engagement that followed.
"The same protocols that protected that historic conversation now protect every assignment we handle."