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The Daily Item: Deaf woman furious over dismissal from NSCC nursing program
A North Shore Community College educator said discrimination was not a factor in the college's decision to dismiss Christine VonMering-Fromer from a nursing course but the deaf Lynn woman said she was not given a thorough opportunity to complete the course.
"I feel they owe me an apology. I feel they over-judged me - it's a problem of attitude," said Fromer regarding her removal from North Shore's certified nursing aide degree program.
In her Aug. 17 letter upholding the dismissal, obtained by The Daily Item through Fromer, College Corporate Education Dean Dianne Gill cited specific problems instructors said Froming encountered during the clinic phase of a nursing assistant training program, including her inability to realize that patients were in pain.
Gill also notes in the letter that Fromer signed a technical standards form prior to starting the clinical training confirming she could hear emergency alarms and patients' "cries for help." Fromer on Monday acknowledged signing the form, but said her request to have the college provide her with a sign language interpreter was denied.
In denying the request, college officials noted in correspondence separate from Gill's letter that accommodations had been made for Fromer to complete the classroom phase of the training program. She was allowed to sit in the front row of the class and assigned a note taker.
But Fromer said an interpreter would have helped her complete the clinical program and said North Shore did not do enough to keep her enrolled as a nursing student.
"I think they had a lot of fear and thought a certified nursing aide should not be deaf," she said.
Gill stated in her letter that the decision to dismiss Fromer from the degree program was in line with school policies and said there was "...no evidence of discrimination..." in the dismissal decision.
North Shore Institutional Advancement Vice President Sandra Edwards said confidentiality laws prevent college officials from commenting on Fromer's dismissal. She added, in an electronic mail statement: "The College takes discrimination very seriously and attempts to provide an environment where equity and diversity are truly valued beyond verbal commitments and mere tolerance.
"Consistent with its legal obligation to ensure equal access to its educational programs and facilities, North Shore Community College provides reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified students with disabilities," wrote Edwards.
Fromer, 59, earned a bachelor of science degree from Salem State College last year after spending nine years taking classes. She used a laptop computer to download lecture notes.
"It was very hard but I pushed through," she said.
After doctors diagnosed her at a year old with a hearing impairment, Fromer's parents arranged for her to take speech classes as a toddler and sent her when she was older to a boarding school where she learned sign language to supplement the limited hearing she obtained through hearing aides.
She learned how to speak by doing exercises in mirrors and facial sensation training.
"I'm thankful to my mother and father. I was afraid to be in the world with people who hear," she said.
Fromer said she worked for Bank of America for nearly 20 years before she was laid off in 2008. She decided to study nursing after working as an assistant to deaf adults, including developmentally disabled individuals.
She enrolled in North Shore's 100-hour certified nursing aide program in April and said she now plans to pursue the program at another institution.
"She's going to get her CNA no matter where she has to go," Fromer's husband, Jeffrey, said.
A North Shore Community College educator said discrimination was not a factor in the college's decision to dismiss Christine VonMering-Fromer from a nursing course but the deaf Lynn woman said she was not given a thorough opportunity to complete the course.
"I feel they owe me an apology. I feel they over-judged me - it's a problem of attitude," said Fromer regarding her removal from North Shore's certified nursing aide degree program.
In her Aug. 17 letter upholding the dismissal, obtained by The Daily Item through Fromer, College Corporate Education Dean Dianne Gill cited specific problems instructors said Froming encountered during the clinic phase of a nursing assistant training program, including her inability to realize that patients were in pain.
Gill also notes in the letter that Fromer signed a technical standards form prior to starting the clinical training confirming she could hear emergency alarms and patients' "cries for help." Fromer on Monday acknowledged signing the form, but said her request to have the college provide her with a sign language interpreter was denied.
In denying the request, college officials noted in correspondence separate from Gill's letter that accommodations had been made for Fromer to complete the classroom phase of the training program. She was allowed to sit in the front row of the class and assigned a note taker.
But Fromer said an interpreter would have helped her complete the clinical program and said North Shore did not do enough to keep her enrolled as a nursing student.
"I think they had a lot of fear and thought a certified nursing aide should not be deaf," she said.
Gill stated in her letter that the decision to dismiss Fromer from the degree program was in line with school policies and said there was "...no evidence of discrimination..." in the dismissal decision.
North Shore Institutional Advancement Vice President Sandra Edwards said confidentiality laws prevent college officials from commenting on Fromer's dismissal. She added, in an electronic mail statement: "The College takes discrimination very seriously and attempts to provide an environment where equity and diversity are truly valued beyond verbal commitments and mere tolerance.
"Consistent with its legal obligation to ensure equal access to its educational programs and facilities, North Shore Community College provides reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified students with disabilities," wrote Edwards.
Fromer, 59, earned a bachelor of science degree from Salem State College last year after spending nine years taking classes. She used a laptop computer to download lecture notes.
"It was very hard but I pushed through," she said.
After doctors diagnosed her at a year old with a hearing impairment, Fromer's parents arranged for her to take speech classes as a toddler and sent her when she was older to a boarding school where she learned sign language to supplement the limited hearing she obtained through hearing aides.
She learned how to speak by doing exercises in mirrors and facial sensation training.
"I'm thankful to my mother and father. I was afraid to be in the world with people who hear," she said.
Fromer said she worked for Bank of America for nearly 20 years before she was laid off in 2008. She decided to study nursing after working as an assistant to deaf adults, including developmentally disabled individuals.
She enrolled in North Shore's 100-hour certified nursing aide program in April and said she now plans to pursue the program at another institution.
"She's going to get her CNA no matter where she has to go," Fromer's husband, Jeffrey, said.