NetworkOmni Announces Scholarship Recipients for Cultural Competence Health Care Training; NetworkOmni Scheduled to Launch Caring with CLAS: Cultural Competence in Health Care(sm) Training in July.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to revisions in both sentences of first paragraph.

The corrected release reads:

NETWORKOMNI ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE HEALTH CARE TRAINING; NETWORKOMNI SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH CARING WITH CLAS: CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN HEALTH CARE(SM) TRAINING IN JULY

NetworkOmni Multilingual Communications (NetworkOmni), a leading provider of oral interpretation, written translation, and language communication solutions, today announced the recipients of its Training-of-Trainers scholarships for the company's flagship Cultural Competence in Health Care(sm) training program. The awards were provided to trainers for the new program, targeting health care professionals, which is scheduled to launch in late July.

NetworkOmni received over 100 applications for the scholarship and selected fifteen highly qualified candidates to become official training consultants for the company based on a five-point qualification process including: academic achievement, (as well as experiences in training), working with foreign-born populations, cultural environments, language ability and related experience in both health care and interpreting.

The scholarship recipients are attending a specialized train-the-trainer workshop this week in Chicago to receive their own instruction. This will allow them to begin delivering the curriculum later this summer to help health care organizations enhance their compliance with federal, state and local agency requirements in providing quality health care for Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients.

NetworkOmni's Caring with CLAS: Cultural Competence in Health Care(sm) program is one of the first training programs to provide continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education units (CEU) for a variety of health care practitioners. The eight-hour program was designed to accommodate physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, administrators, and other health care professionals.

"We are overwhelmed with the response and the caliber of candidates who applied to become NetworkOmni cultural competence trainers. The response truly indicates the need stemming from the health care community to support national efforts to reduce health disparities," said George Ulmer, CEO, NetworkOmni.

Health care professionals trained through the program will be eligible to receive continuing education units granted by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's (UMDNJ) Center for Continuing and Outreach Education.

The NetworkOmni cultural competence training program, which will be offered around the nation beginning in July, supports equal access and quality health care for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The curriculum is based on the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health's standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services, as well as the ethics and standards of practice issued by the National Council for Interpreters in Health Care.

Scholarship Recipients

Rose Alcodray-Khalifa, R.N.

Based in Dearborn, Michigan, Rose is a Registered Nurse, Clinical
Educator and Transcultural Nurse. She was born in Lebanon and is a
fluent speaker of Arabic and English.

Sandy Chen Stokes, R.N., M.S.N.

Based in Shingle Springs, California, Sandy is a Registered Nurse
with a Master's in Geriatric Nursing. She was born in Taiwan and
speaks fluent Mandarin and English.

Doris Cheung, M.A.

Based in Binghamton, New York, Doris holds a Master of Arts in
Developmental Psychology, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the
same field. She was born in Hong Kong and is a fluent speaker of
Cantonese, Mandarin, Hakka and English.

Elizabeth Colon

Based in Alsip, Illinois, Elizabeth is an experienced medical
interpreter and cultural competence trainer. She has lived in Puerto
Rico, and is a fluent speaker of English and Spanish.

Juan Gutierrez, M.D., M.A.

Based in Cave City, Kentucky, Juan is a Doctor of Medicine, and
also holds a Master of Science in Occupational Safety and Health. He
is currently pursuing another Master's degree in Public Health. He was
born in Colombia and is a fluent speaker of English and Spanish.

Kelly Hammett, M.A.

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Kelly holds a Master of Arts in
Sociology and a graduate certificate in Cross-Cultural Communication.
She has lived in Spain and Cuba, and is a fluent speaker of English
and Spanish.

Vanesa Ieraci, J.D.

Based in San Jose, California, Vanesa holds both Juris Doctor and
Legal Translator degrees. She was born in Argentina and is a fluent
speaker of Spanish, Italian and English.

Lauren Josephs, M.Ed., Ed.S.

Based in Winter Park, Florida, Lauren holds both a Master's Degree
and a Specialist Degree in Mental Health Counseling, and is currently
a Ph.D. candidate in Public Affairs. In addition, she is a National
Certified Counselor and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She was
born in Jamaica and is a fluent speaker of Jamaican Patois and
English.

Jewell Lightner, M.P.A., S.P.H.R.

Based in Toledo, Ohio, Jewell holds a Master's degree in Public
Administration as well as a national certification as a Senior
Professional in Human Resources. She worked to implement a
Multicultural Language Assistance Program, and has worked with the
deaf and hard of hearing for the past three years.

Kelvin Quan, J.D., M.P.H.

Based in San Francisco, California, Kelvin holds a Juris Doctor
and Master's in Public Health. He grew up in a Cantonese-speaking
household and has studied Latin, Ancient Greek and Mandarin.

Jacqueline Richardson-Melecio, L.M.S.W.

Based in Albany, New York, Jacqueline holds a Master's degree in
Social Work, and is a Ph.D. candidate with dissertation work on the
Integration of Cultural Competency in the delivery of Mental Health
Services to Latinos. She was born in New York City, and is fluent in
Spanish and English.

Cynthia E. Roat, MPH

Based in Seattle, Washington, Cindy holds a Master of Public
Health in International Health. She has worked throughout Latin
America in rural health development and is a fluent speaker of English
and Spanish.

Zoraida Rodriguez, M.A., L.C.S.W.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Zoraida holds a Master of Arts in
Community Psychology, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the
State of Missouri. She was born in a Puerto Rican community within the
United States and is a fluent speaker of Spanish and English.

Inna Vozlinski Lehman, M.A.

Based in Dover, New Hampshire, Inna holds a Master's degree in
English, as well as Certificates in Nursing, Business Administration
and Medical Interpreting. She was born in Russia and has lived in
Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Holland, Belgium and
Sweden. She is a fluent speaker of Russian and English, and is
conversational in German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and
Serbo-Croatian.

Betsy Wood

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Betsy is a degreed American Sign
Language Interpreter and holds National Certification through the
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the National Association of
the Deaf. Also, Betsy is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Human
Services Counseling.

About NetworkOmni Multilingual Communications

NetworkOmni, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, is celebrating its 25th year as an industry-leading language service provider. With over 2,500 highly screened, certified, and skilled language professionals, NetworkOmni provides solutions for a range of global industries, including healthcare, insurance, emergency 911, legal, financial services, technology, hospitality, and state and federal agencies. The company is one of the largest providers of telephone interpretation services worldwide. In addition to delivering on-demand telephone interpretation in 150 languages, NetworkOmni offers document, web and multimedia translation, as well as on-site interpreters, language testing, monitoring, and multilingual quality assurance services. NetworkOmni maintains operations in North America; Toronto, Canada; and Latin America, and is available to schedule services worldwide. For additional information, visit www.networkomni.com, or contact Nataly Kelly, Cultural Competence Program Manager at 800-543-4244 x2227.