AHS Interpreter Services Manager Sambo Ly Receives KPIX Icon Award for Decades of Community Service
Sambo Ly, manager of interpreter services at Alameda Health System, has been honored with KPIX's Icon Award for her decades of work breaking down language barriers and serving refugees and immigrants in one of America's most diverse counties.
Sambo Ly, Alameda Health System's manager of interpreter services, has received the Icon Award from Bay Area news station KPIX in recognition of her decades of service to refugees and community members in Alameda County. The award highlights individuals who have made significant and impactful contributions to their community, with KPIX reporter Sharon Chin documenting Ly's remarkable journey from surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide to her current role serving safety-net patients.
Ly leads AHS' interpreter services department, which handles approximately 2,000 interpreter requests daily across 100 different languages for patients needing communication assistance with healthcare providers. Serving one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse counties in the United States, the department provides in-house interpretation in 10 languages either in person or remotely, while offering access to on-demand remote interpreters for up to 300 languages. The department continues to innovate, recently introducing iPads that enable clearer patient-provider conversations.
AHS CEO James Jackson emphasized that "language access is a cornerstone of our mission of caring, healing, teaching, and serving all. Sambo's leadership and compassion ensure that no patient is left behind because of a language barrier. Her story reflects the resilience of our community and the values that guide us every day at AHS."
Ly's dedication stems from her personal experiences of immense suffering and resilience during the Khmer Rouge regime, where she and her brother were sent to a forced labor camp as children. After her brother disappeared and she nearly died from malaria in a hospital where she witnessed ill people swarmed with flies, Ly determined to walk out of her deathbed and refused to die. This experience inspired her healthcare career pursuit, eventually leading her to AHS where she dedicated her life to helping fellow refugees, immigrants, and underserved communities.
Beyond her professional role, Ly organizes weekly traditional Cambodian dance classes at her home, has assisted thousands with citizenship paperwork, transports Buddhist elders and monks to temples across California, serves as Board Chair of Peralta Hacienda Park, and has organized the annual Cambodian New Year for 15 years—the largest Cambodian event in the Bay Area. Ly described language barriers as "an invisible disability" and expressed humility at receiving the recognition, while acknowledging her interpreter services team colleagues who provide compassionate language assistance daily.