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cleveland.com: Everything Cleveland
Louis Benvenuto says he found out he had cancer by reading his doctor's lips.
The 51-year-old Willowick resident, who is deaf, said he told a nurse that he couldn't hear and wanted a sign language interpreter when he went to a Lake Hospital System emergency room early this year. But Benvenuto said he didn't get an interpreter then or during the one-week hospital stay that followed.
And he says a doctor relayed complicated medical information regarding his colon and liver cancer through Benvenuto's 12-year-old daughter, who can hear. Up to that point, he said, the girl didn't know her dad had cancer.
"My daughter didn't need to go through that," he said Monday through an interpreter.
Benvenuto and others represented by the Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights are scheduled to meet today with Lake Hospital System officials to air complaints about the availability of qualified sign language interpreters.
A spokeswoman said the hospital system, which contracts with outside agencies for interpreters, is eager to address the needs of its hearing-impaired patients.
In an e-mailed response, Julieann Strogin, a spokeswoman for the hospital system, said she could not comment on specific cases because of patient confidentiality rules.
However, she said it is the system's policy to provide certified American Sign Language interpreters when they're available and when they're not available to provide "a wide range of auxiliary aids and services to promote effective communication."
Strogin also said the hospital system hopes that the advocacy group can help identify other resources that would serve deaf and deaf-blind patients.
Darrell Doudt, chairman of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights' action committee, said through an interpreter that one patient complained to the organization after getting an injection without knowing what it was for.
"That is a very scary situation," said Doudt.
Heather West, executive director of the advocacy group, said it has gotten complaints from at least a dozen people who say they weren't given qualified sign language interpreters at a Lake Hospital System facility.
She said the issue tends to surface periodically, especially at smaller hospitals.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, hospitals are required to provide effective methods of communication for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. Just what constitutes "effective" can be a matter of interpretation.
Benvenuto said that after reviewing test results, a doctor asked if he could read lips. "Kind of," Benvenuto said he responded.
That's when the doctor delivered his diagnosis, according to Benvenuto.
Karen Powers, 48, of Painesville, said through an interpreter that when she went to the emergency room in March of this year, complaining of chest pain, the Lake Hospital System doctor who was treating her communicated by writing notes on a box of tissues.
But Powers said that her written-language skills aren't as strong as her knowledge of American Sign Language and that she wanted an interpreter. She said hospital staff repeatedly told her an interpreter was coming, but no one ever showed up.
Powers said she ultimately went to the Cleveland Clinic for the heart procedure she needed and had no trouble getting an interpreter there.
A spokesman said the Clinic contracts with an outside agency for interpreters and has three or four on campus almost every day.
Tiffany Himmelreich, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Hospital Association, said hospitals are committed to helping patients get the best care possible, but it can be difficult to provide the full range of interpreting services needed not only by the deaf, but also by patients who speak languages other than English.
She also said smaller hospitals, in particular, can be hindered by the limited availability of interpreters from off-site agencies.
For about five years, MetroHealth Medical Center has supplemented face-to-face interpreting for patients with a videoconferencing system known as Deaf-Talk. Patients choose what method of interpreting they want.
Mark Lehman, MetroHealth's manager of social work, said Deaf-Talk is especially effective in the emergency room, allowing doctors to treat patients quickly, instead of waiting for an interpreter.
The system is essentially a TV monitor, with a tiny camera and microphone mounted on top. Through the link, the interpreter and the patient can both see each other clearly, allowing the interpreter to relay information instantaneously between doctor and patient.
Sue Bungard, director of community services for the deaf and hard of hearing at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, said some patients don't realize they're entitled to an interpreter at a hospital or may not know whom to ask about scheduling an interpreter in advance of an appointment. She also said she thinks some medical staffs may not be fully informed about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
"I don't think you can put the blame on any one person or thing," Bungard said.
Louis Benvenuto says he found out he had cancer by reading his doctor's lips.
The 51-year-old Willowick resident, who is deaf, said he told a nurse that he couldn't hear and wanted a sign language interpreter when he went to a Lake Hospital System emergency room early this year. But Benvenuto said he didn't get an interpreter then or during the one-week hospital stay that followed.
And he says a doctor relayed complicated medical information regarding his colon and liver cancer through Benvenuto's 12-year-old daughter, who can hear. Up to that point, he said, the girl didn't know her dad had cancer.
"My daughter didn't need to go through that," he said Monday through an interpreter.
Benvenuto and others represented by the Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights are scheduled to meet today with Lake Hospital System officials to air complaints about the availability of qualified sign language interpreters.
A spokeswoman said the hospital system, which contracts with outside agencies for interpreters, is eager to address the needs of its hearing-impaired patients.
In an e-mailed response, Julieann Strogin, a spokeswoman for the hospital system, said she could not comment on specific cases because of patient confidentiality rules.
However, she said it is the system's policy to provide certified American Sign Language interpreters when they're available and when they're not available to provide "a wide range of auxiliary aids and services to promote effective communication."
Strogin also said the hospital system hopes that the advocacy group can help identify other resources that would serve deaf and deaf-blind patients.
Darrell Doudt, chairman of the Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights' action committee, said through an interpreter that one patient complained to the organization after getting an injection without knowing what it was for.
"That is a very scary situation," said Doudt.
Heather West, executive director of the advocacy group, said it has gotten complaints from at least a dozen people who say they weren't given qualified sign language interpreters at a Lake Hospital System facility.
She said the issue tends to surface periodically, especially at smaller hospitals.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, hospitals are required to provide effective methods of communication for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. Just what constitutes "effective" can be a matter of interpretation.
Benvenuto said that after reviewing test results, a doctor asked if he could read lips. "Kind of," Benvenuto said he responded.
That's when the doctor delivered his diagnosis, according to Benvenuto.
Karen Powers, 48, of Painesville, said through an interpreter that when she went to the emergency room in March of this year, complaining of chest pain, the Lake Hospital System doctor who was treating her communicated by writing notes on a box of tissues.
But Powers said that her written-language skills aren't as strong as her knowledge of American Sign Language and that she wanted an interpreter. She said hospital staff repeatedly told her an interpreter was coming, but no one ever showed up.
Powers said she ultimately went to the Cleveland Clinic for the heart procedure she needed and had no trouble getting an interpreter there.
A spokesman said the Clinic contracts with an outside agency for interpreters and has three or four on campus almost every day.
Tiffany Himmelreich, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Hospital Association, said hospitals are committed to helping patients get the best care possible, but it can be difficult to provide the full range of interpreting services needed not only by the deaf, but also by patients who speak languages other than English.
She also said smaller hospitals, in particular, can be hindered by the limited availability of interpreters from off-site agencies.
For about five years, MetroHealth Medical Center has supplemented face-to-face interpreting for patients with a videoconferencing system known as Deaf-Talk. Patients choose what method of interpreting they want.
Mark Lehman, MetroHealth's manager of social work, said Deaf-Talk is especially effective in the emergency room, allowing doctors to treat patients quickly, instead of waiting for an interpreter.
The system is essentially a TV monitor, with a tiny camera and microphone mounted on top. Through the link, the interpreter and the patient can both see each other clearly, allowing the interpreter to relay information instantaneously between doctor and patient.
Sue Bungard, director of community services for the deaf and hard of hearing at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, said some patients don't realize they're entitled to an interpreter at a hospital or may not know whom to ask about scheduling an interpreter in advance of an appointment. She also said she thinks some medical staffs may not be fully informed about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
"I don't think you can put the blame on any one person or thing," Bungard said.