Alameda Health System (AHS) Interpreter Services Manager Sambo Ly spoke at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week, which brings together leaders at the intersection of health equity, technology, policy, and investment.
Ly described how linguistic and cultural competency is essential in medical interpretation and translation, especially when working with vulnerable populations such as refugees and immigrants.
“Artificial intelligence may cover linguistic competency, but it cannot cover the emotional competency needed in interpretive services,” Ly said.
Her talk was titled ‘Culture, Care, and Healing: Preserving Humanity in a Tech-Driven Health System,’ and was delivered to a sold-out crowd at the Future of Medicaid Innovation Forum.
Ly fled Cambodia and devoted her career to helping other refugees and other patients who don’t have English as their native language at the Interpreter Services Department at AHS.
After her talk at the conference on Tuesday, Ly joined two monks on stage to share words of wisdom and peace. The monks are supporting another group of monks who are walking with their dog from Texas to Washington, D.C., to advocate for peace.
