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Family of deaf patient gets $70,000 in settlement with Henry Ford Health System | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Henry Ford Health System will pay $70,000 to a family who alleges the system failed to provide sign language interpreters to a patient and family members in 2004, and must train staff on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a settlement announced Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The agreement comes after the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan investigated a complaint alleging the Detroit-based health system failed to provide certain auxiliary aids and services, including the sign language interpreter to a deaf patient and his family at Kingwood Hospital in Ferndale, an inpatient psychiatric facility. The lack of the interpretation service denied the deaf patient effective communication with hospital staff and the opportunity to participate in medical treatment decisions and that it did not have adequate systems in place to make sure deaf and hard of hearing patients are provided with aids and services to guarantee effective communication throughout medical treatment, according to a news release.
"This settlement enables Henry Ford Health System and the federal government to achieve their common goal to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing patients can communicate with their doctors and obtain equal access to medical treatment, especially at critical moments in their care," Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement.
The health system also will be required to adopt policies to ensure auxiliary aids and services are provided to patients or family members who are deaf or hard of hearing, appoint a corporate ADA administrator and name ADA facilitators at its hospitals, urgent care facilities, medical clinics and health centers to make sure there is access to auxiliary aids and services.
Henry Ford said Wednesday that it will implement process improvement plans in the next 120 days at all of its Henry Ford sites and that it has provided interpreter services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing patients for several years.
In 2011, the health system said it provided about 37,000 hours of sign language interpreters to help communicate with patients. There was no cost for those services to the patient, but it cost the health system $1.5 million.
"The settlement demonstrates Henry Ford's commitment to enhance our communications with patients who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, so all patients can take advantage of the services we provide," Marco Capicchioni, vice president of facility services, real estate and support services for the health system, said in a statement. "Since the 2004 situation, we immediately began to address the communication gaps that existed, and continue to further assess, identify and implement process improvement plans that will help reduce future communication breakdowns."
Henry Ford Health System will pay $70,000 to a family who alleges the system failed to provide sign language interpreters to a patient and family members in 2004, and must train staff on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a settlement announced Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The agreement comes after the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan investigated a complaint alleging the Detroit-based health system failed to provide certain auxiliary aids and services, including the sign language interpreter to a deaf patient and his family at Kingwood Hospital in Ferndale, an inpatient psychiatric facility. The lack of the interpretation service denied the deaf patient effective communication with hospital staff and the opportunity to participate in medical treatment decisions and that it did not have adequate systems in place to make sure deaf and hard of hearing patients are provided with aids and services to guarantee effective communication throughout medical treatment, according to a news release.
"This settlement enables Henry Ford Health System and the federal government to achieve their common goal to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing patients can communicate with their doctors and obtain equal access to medical treatment, especially at critical moments in their care," Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in a statement.
The health system also will be required to adopt policies to ensure auxiliary aids and services are provided to patients or family members who are deaf or hard of hearing, appoint a corporate ADA administrator and name ADA facilitators at its hospitals, urgent care facilities, medical clinics and health centers to make sure there is access to auxiliary aids and services.
Henry Ford said Wednesday that it will implement process improvement plans in the next 120 days at all of its Henry Ford sites and that it has provided interpreter services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing patients for several years.
In 2011, the health system said it provided about 37,000 hours of sign language interpreters to help communicate with patients. There was no cost for those services to the patient, but it cost the health system $1.5 million.
"The settlement demonstrates Henry Ford's commitment to enhance our communications with patients who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, so all patients can take advantage of the services we provide," Marco Capicchioni, vice president of facility services, real estate and support services for the health system, said in a statement. "Since the 2004 situation, we immediately began to address the communication gaps that existed, and continue to further assess, identify and implement process improvement plans that will help reduce future communication breakdowns."