Community Health Services Program
Interpretation, community education and health advocacy for individuals with limited English proficiency
In response to a tremendous increase in the number of Southeast Asian refugees entering King County, CMCH and Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers developed the Indochinese Language Bank—now known as Community Health Services (CHS)—in 1979, to increase access to health care services in community health centers throughout King County for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Along with International Community Health Services, CHS was one of the first programs to provide interpretation services to increase access to health services for individuals with LEP in the State of Washington. CHS has three, multilingual/multicultural Family Health Workers who provide community education and health advocacy for Cambodian-, Chinese/Cantonese-, Chinese/Chau-Jo-, Chinese/Mandarin-, and Vietnamese-speaking patients in community health centers in Seattle-King County.
