The United States reached a settlement with a not-for-profit healthcare organization headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, which operates nine hospitals in East Tennessee. In a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, a complainant, who is deaf, alleged that he was denied effective communication under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) during emergency department visits and an in-patient hospital admission at one of the organization’s hospitals.
The complainant said he went to the hospital after experiencing numbness and pain in his leg. He alleged that the virtual interpreter services offered were ineffective and that no live interpreter services were provided to him despite repeated requests. The complainant alleged that he did not understand the reasons for his admissions, the treatment plan, or his discharge instructions. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee opened a civil investigation into these allegations under the ADA.
The healthcare organization and the United States have reached a settlement to resolve this investigation. The healthcare organization agreed to implement measures and/or ensure compliance with existing measures aimed at protecting the rights of patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing at its hospitals. Those measures include:
- designating an ADA administrator at each facility to provide oversight and guidance;
- identifying services that can provide interpreters to each facility in a timely manner;
- providing notice to patients and their companions of their rights under the ADA;
- developing an assessment plan to effectively determine the appropriate auxiliary aid for each situation;
- providing ADA training; and
- submitting compliance reports to the US Attorney’s Office.
The settlement agreement is effective for three years. In addition, the healthcare organization will pay a statutory penalty to the United States in the amount of $50,000.
Issue:
Healthcare facilities that receive federal funding must provide aids and services when needed to communicate effectively with people who have hearing, sight, or speech disabilities. For people who are deaf, have hearing loss, or are deaf-blind, this includes providing a qualified notetaker; a qualified sign language interpreter, oral interpreter, cued-speech interpreter, or tactile interpreter; real-time captioning; written materials; or a printed script of a stock speech. A “qualified” interpreter means someone who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively (i.e., understanding what the person with the disability is saying) and expressively (i.e., having the skill needed to convey information back to that person) using any necessary specialized vocabulary. A person’s method(s) of communication is also key. For example, sign language interpreters are effective only for people who use sign language. Other methods of communication, such as those described above, are needed for people who may have lost their hearing later in life and do not use sign language.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policies and procedures for communicating effectively with residents who are hearing, sight, or speech impaired. Update your policies as needed.
- Provide training for staff on effective communication techniques for all residents, including those with hearing, sight, or speech disabilities. Document that these trainings occurred and file each signed document in the employee’s individual education file.
- Periodically survey staff to ensure that they are aware of resources that are available at the facility for residents who are hard of hearing or deaf, or who have sight or speech disabilities.
