MAGIC VALLEY — Being recognized as woman of the year is a huge honor and for Tammy Davis, a Blaine County resident, she took that honor and gave it right back to the community.
She decided to recognize the Latina women in her community and their contributions. One of those women being Berenice Crowder a translator for St. Luke's Woodriver Valley.
Berenice, who was born and raised in Lima Peru, translated COVID-19 information for families throughout the pandemic and says, in the beginning, she saw the lack of available resources in Spanish lead to many families being misinformed.
“I saw the fear for a loved one, even though this person was also sick and in a delicate situation," Crowder said.
Berenice has been a translator for St. Luke's for the past seven years. But during the pandemic, she found the need for her services to be more in demand.
“They needed more information in Spanish to know what this is, this is not a bacteria, it’s a virus and an antibody is not going to fix this problem and this is not the flu and different details like that needed clarification and I didn’t see they had that kind of access," Crowder said.
Berenice says the recognition in the ceremony hosted by Tammy Davis and the Crisis Hotline Idaho came as a surprise.
“Basically when I showed up and they called my name, I realized I was included in that group that was a wonderful surprise. I love seeing all these other women that I haven’t met before, doing their part in our community and helping others," Crowder said.
"They needed more information in Spanish to know what this is, this is not a bacteria, it’s a virus." Crowder said.
As a translator for a medical provider during a pandemic, Berenice got to see firsthand the importance of communication and providing resources in multiple languages.
“We have to open more channels, we are a community and the health of one is the health of everyone. Opening more channels, creating more awareness that yes this is an English-speaking country, and to be able to be more inclusive and grow together, we need to be able to involve everyone," Berenice said.
During the pandemic, Berenice also volunteered with the Crisis Hotline Idaho a non-profit organization that helped provide Spanish resources to the community.
“It was very rewarding being able to help people understand what was happening from a reliable source: a medical provider. And knowing there was a plan, even though we didn’t have a lot of information there was a plan. There was going to be care. They were not left alone," Crowder said.
