Deaf Communication Choices in Hospitals

I did a blog post about this issue of communications in the hospitals. Has anyone heard about the Margaret Weiss case in Florida?

She sued the hospital saying she wanted an interpreter during her birth, but instead the judge said VRI was good enough. VRI failed during childbirth.

Deaf Communication Choices in Hospitals

rsg0910 said:

I did a blog post about this issue of communications in the hospitals. Has anyone heard about the Margaret Weiss case in Florida?

She sued the hospital saying she wanted an interpreter during her birth, but instead the judge said VRI was good enough. VRI failed during childbirth.

Deaf Communication Choices in Hospitals

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Oh no, VRI failed.

Think twice, if I was in a labor right now, my doctor needed to talk to me now, could a live interpreter show up within 5 min? That's the problem. Most of them show up 1-2 hours later after they request for it. Fact!

The truth is that a live interpreter will never be able to get there within 30 minutes. That sucks. S/he has to get a shower and brush the teeth and get dressed and drive a long way.

In other words, if you request for a live interpreter, then expect no communication between you and your doctor until the live interpreter shows up in an hour or so.

IMO, VRI failed to do its job so it should be sued.

but if the birth was "pre-planned" aka Cesarian then there's no reason why an interpreter shouldn't be there or at least on call.

I wonder how VRI would work in an ER situation.. can't imagine that would go very well.. a live person would be better IMO.

I'm having back surgery soon, The hospital wanted to use VRI. I insisted on a live interpreter because VRI cannot go into the ER and cannot bend down so I can see them when face down on the operating table or step in during an emergency like my last surgery where my vitals crashed and they had to bring me out of anesthesia rapidly do I was all disoriented...

soutthpaw said:

I'm having back surgery soon, The hospital wanted to use VRI. I insisted on a live interpreter because VRI cannot go into the ER and cannot bend down so I can see them when face down on the operating table or step in during an emergency like my last surgery where my vitals crashed and they had to bring me out of anesthesia rapidly do I was all disoriented...

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Wondering if they get your point or not? VRI is movable from a room to another as long as there's an internet connection (VRI has a system set-up on a table with shelves on wheels, all it requires is that when moved to another room is to disconnect the Ethernet wire from the original room and reconnect it in a different room) but your point is that it can't bend down so you can't see what a VRI interpreter says while you lay down. Since you will have a back surgery (an appointment) soon, they have no reason to deny your request which costs less than what a VRI costs.

Maybe one day VRI businesses will change their non-tiltable monitors to tiltable monitors along with its camera pointing at a deaf client (ASLers and ASL readers with ability to speak on their own).