ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, Deafblind & Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH) is combating this shortage through it's Interpreting Forward 2030 initiative. 

This initiative is investigating the cause of this shortage and is touring the state of Minnesota to obtain feedback from community members living in areas outside the Twin Cities. 

According to a Minnesota Minnesota Registry of Interpreters survey, 39% of Minnesota interpreters are leaving or decreasing their work load. Reasons for their departures are due to retirement, career changes, and burnout. 

Rural areas are taking the shortage the hardest as they lack interpreting training programs.

"Its really hard to recruit trained interpreters from the metro area to move out to greater Minnesota and so that's always been a challenge for us as well as the number of students entering the interpreting field," said Dr. Darlene Zangara, Executive Director of MNCDHH. 

The commission says interpreters are essential for patients visiting the Med City for treatment. 

"That is such a critical area that you need to have qualified interpreters for. They don't need to rely on the technology aspect, but to have somebody there in person is huge," said said Dr. Darlene Zangara.