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Deaf mom sues Trinity - MessengerNews.net | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Info. - The Messenger
A Fort Dodge mother, who is deaf, is suing Trinity Regional Medical Center because she says she was denied access to a professional interpreter in 2009.
Jessie Fox, whose daughter was a surgical patient at Trinity in March 2009, filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday alleging that a professional interpreter was not provided during a pre-surgery appointment for her 7-year-old daughter, Addison.
According to the complaint, Trinity's failure to provide an American Sign Language interpreter resulted in the child being required to interpret for her mother the pre-surgical instructions regarding the child's own care.
Thomas Newkirk, a Des Moines attorney who represents Fox, said in a statement that the youngster was not familiar with medical terms and incorrectly communicated the instructions.
Newkirk's statement claims that as a result of this alleged miscommunication, needed antibiotics were stopped prior to surgery. The suit contends that Trinity's failure to have a professional interpreter available violated the hospital's obligations under provisions of the American Disabilities Act and the Rehabiltation Act of 1973.
"This error is the tip of the iceberg, and the situation underscores the fundamental lack of understanding that the hearing world has when it comes to communicating with deaf and hearing-impaired people," Newkirk said. "When Trinity denied Jessie access to an ASL interpreter, the hospital essentially prohibited her from understanding key facts about her child's health care procedure and, more important, from effectively participating in Addison's medical treatment."
A reponse to Fox's complaint was released Thursday by Iowa Health and Trinity. It said important changes were implemented after the incident described in the lawsuit.
"In this case, we acknowledge that Trinity needed to improve its ability to communicate with hearing impaired individuals and Trinity has undertaken a comprehensive effort to educate staff and provide appropriate services to all hearing impaired patients," the statement said in part. "Trinity has committed to continuously improve its services to special needs patients. It has implemented the following steps:
Educated staff on the needs of the hearing impaired through organized classes.
Enlisted the assistance of the Deaf Services Commission of Iowa to provide mandatory education for key clinical staff.
Contracted with a company for web-based interpreting services and accessible video relay services to the hearing impaired community.
Added signage to the patient access areas to make patients aware of the availability of interpreter services."
Previously, a complaint regarding this incident was filed with the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to officials at TRMC, that case was closed on Aug. 20, 2010, after the corrective actions taken by the hospital were deemed by the agency to be satisfactory.
In addition to TRMC, Trinity Health Systems and Iowa Health System have been named in the lawsuit as defendants. TRMC is part of THS. It is also a senior affiliate of Iowa Health.
A Fort Dodge mother, who is deaf, is suing Trinity Regional Medical Center because she says she was denied access to a professional interpreter in 2009.
Jessie Fox, whose daughter was a surgical patient at Trinity in March 2009, filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday alleging that a professional interpreter was not provided during a pre-surgery appointment for her 7-year-old daughter, Addison.
According to the complaint, Trinity's failure to provide an American Sign Language interpreter resulted in the child being required to interpret for her mother the pre-surgical instructions regarding the child's own care.
Thomas Newkirk, a Des Moines attorney who represents Fox, said in a statement that the youngster was not familiar with medical terms and incorrectly communicated the instructions.
Newkirk's statement claims that as a result of this alleged miscommunication, needed antibiotics were stopped prior to surgery. The suit contends that Trinity's failure to have a professional interpreter available violated the hospital's obligations under provisions of the American Disabilities Act and the Rehabiltation Act of 1973.
"This error is the tip of the iceberg, and the situation underscores the fundamental lack of understanding that the hearing world has when it comes to communicating with deaf and hearing-impaired people," Newkirk said. "When Trinity denied Jessie access to an ASL interpreter, the hospital essentially prohibited her from understanding key facts about her child's health care procedure and, more important, from effectively participating in Addison's medical treatment."
A reponse to Fox's complaint was released Thursday by Iowa Health and Trinity. It said important changes were implemented after the incident described in the lawsuit.
"In this case, we acknowledge that Trinity needed to improve its ability to communicate with hearing impaired individuals and Trinity has undertaken a comprehensive effort to educate staff and provide appropriate services to all hearing impaired patients," the statement said in part. "Trinity has committed to continuously improve its services to special needs patients. It has implemented the following steps:
Educated staff on the needs of the hearing impaired through organized classes.
Enlisted the assistance of the Deaf Services Commission of Iowa to provide mandatory education for key clinical staff.
Contracted with a company for web-based interpreting services and accessible video relay services to the hearing impaired community.
Added signage to the patient access areas to make patients aware of the availability of interpreter services."
Previously, a complaint regarding this incident was filed with the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to officials at TRMC, that case was closed on Aug. 20, 2010, after the corrective actions taken by the hospital were deemed by the agency to be satisfactory.
In addition to TRMC, Trinity Health Systems and Iowa Health System have been named in the lawsuit as defendants. TRMC is part of THS. It is also a senior affiliate of Iowa Health.
