Volunteer Health Interpreters Organization
Community Service/Nonprofit·Pre-Health·Health/Wellness·Education
VHIO trains bilingual UC Berkeley students to provide free health interpretation and translation services for low-English proficiency communities across the Bay Area. New volunteers go through an intensive 40-hour training course covering health care interpreting theory, confidentiality laws, medical terminology, and simulation practice. Members are then placed in real clinical settings: interpreting at medical appointments, health fairs, screenings, and community health workshops in languages including Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Japanese, Hindi, and Urdu.
ApplicationsOur Fall 2025 application is now closed!
40
Training course length (hours)
1+
Minimum commitment (years) to attend events and translate documents
2007
Year established (proposed in 2006)
Events They Host
Health fairs and screenings (Bay Area-wide)
Volunteers interpret at health fairs and screenings across San Francisco and Oakland, including skin cancer and dementia screenings with UCSF, pediatric health fairs, and events like the Cherry Blossom Festival and Autumn Moon Festival.
Annual Korean Cancer Conference
Korean department volunteers provide interpretation at this annual conference.
Annual 5K Health Walk (Korean Community Health Services)
Korean department participates in the annual 5K health walk.
Community Health Awareness Program (CHAP) workshops
Health educational workshops provided to communities as part of VHIO's outreach services.
Nail salon clinics (Vietnamese department)
Monthly health presentations and screenings addressing occupational health issues such as respiratory and other chronic illnesses for nail salon workers.
Interpreting mock sessions with UCSF medical students
Members participate in mock interpretation sessions alongside UCSF med students.
Member Experiences
End-of-semester potluck
All-member gathering with food and opportunity to give feedback on how VHIO is running. Past ones have included officer position info sessions.
Annual VHIO Banquet
Semi-formal end-of-year celebration for all VHIO members (new, current, and graduating) and alumni. Past events held in MLK Student Union.
Member socials (rock climbing, ice skating)
Casual bonding events for VHIO members, including past activities such as rock climbing and ice skating.