Sign Language Associates

SLUSA sent a completely horrendous, completely unqualified, thoroughly incompetent, immensely dangerous interpreter to this assignment. Zero receptive skills and she didn't even know the signs for basic terminology (i.e. the state of Colorado) much less basic anatomical/medical terms (the type of terms they teach in fifth grade, so I'm not even talking about complex, technical terminology here). I sat in the waiting room answering her questions about how to sign this word or that word ... but half the time she could not understand ME. And that was only in the first five minutes.
In the exam room, she misvoiced EVERYTHING I signed (which I had to repeat at least three times). I'm not exaggerating. Every. Single. Sentence. When I asked my doctor to confirm the steps in which I should do things/take medicines, she botched that. She voiced that I was asking whether I should do X, when I was actually asking Y. She voiced that I was asking whether I should do Z, when I was asking whether I should do the opposite of Z, which is not the same thing as not doing Z. The doctor was thoroughly confused, as was I, and matters got to the point the doctor stood quite close to my face, spoke very slowly and clearly, and paused after every sentence for me to nod and confirm that I understood her. It was as though she was talking to a second-grader, not a Deaf professional with advanced degrees. Completely humiliating, not to mention dangerous to my health when I'm not getting the information I need to follow my doctor's very precise instructions.
Then when I met with the nurse for further instructions ... forget it. I had to pull in my husband, who is also Deaf but has a CI, from the waiting room to interpret and voice for me. SLUSA's interpreter could not even voice well enough for me to explain to the nurse how to contact me via texting/VP in order to answer the questions I couldn't ask because of how unskilled the interpreter was, or to give me bloodwork results and instructions on when and how to take my medication, depending on those bloodwork results, and when to return to the office. This is expensive medical treatment that costs thousands of dollars, is not covered by insurance, and if it screws up, I have to go through it AGAIN and pay for it AGAIN.
I am still dumbfounded at how in the world SLUSA's screening practices are so bad that this interpreter even works for them, much less their unethical practices in deciding that this interpreter is anywhere near appropriate for medical interpreting. SLUSA is putting Deaf people's physical and psychological health, as well as their financial security, at risk.
If I sound livid, well, that's because I am. Because this is the FOURTH appointment in which I've used interpreters from SLUSA, and three out of four were terrible to the point my husband had to step in and interpret for me, which is a huge issue when he's as involved and invested in this treatment as I am.
This is completely unacceptable.