Rio Hospital Seeks Volunteer Interpreters for Olympics

By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Public Company of Health of Rio de Janeiro (RioSaúde), linked to the Municipal Health Department, is looking for volunteers who want to act as translators and interpreters for any foreign patients that will require outpatient care during the Olympics. The selected volunteers will work at the Regional Emergency Coordination (CER), at Lourenço Jorge Municipal Hospital Complex located six kilometers from the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca.

The volunteers will be working from August 5th to August 21st, in four-hour shifts, Monday through Friday, 10AM to 2PM or 2PM to 6PM. Advanced Portuguese and English knowledge is required, and fluency in other languages is also very welcome.

Interested candidates must apply online, and must be available for at least two shifts, although not necessarily on the same day. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in the Healthcare area.

Registration is open for up to forty volunteers, and basic training in the unit routine and do’s and don’ts will be provided. While there is no financial compensation or travel vouchers, all volunteers will receive a thematic T-shirt and a Certificate of Participation, and a meal will be provided at the emergency unit.

President of RioSaúde, Ronald Munk explained the volunteers will support the team CER bar, composed of 210 doctors, nurses, nursing technicians and administrative staff. “We will [provide treatment for] those people who feel ill or have any health problems on the street, on the beach or in public transport. There, we [treat patients] as emergency unit of the Unified Health System (SUS),” Munk said.

Although the CER work 24 hours a day, volunteers will not be used nights and weekends, because the demand is much lower and the Olympic activities in the region will be greatly reduced at this time, said Munk. “We are restricting this service (of volunteers) to the morning and afternoon. At least, this is our expectation. We’ve never done the Olympics. We’re being cautious in order to meet the best way,” he said.

RioSaúde spokesperson Bruno Aragaki added, “We know that coming to an emergency room is nothing that [travelers] plan to do when we think about vacations. But it does happen sometimes. If this happens, we want the experience to go as well as possible, and we are sure that communication can be a big [help].”

Find out more on the RioSaúde site, and applications will be open tomorrow, July 9th by online submission.