PETERBOROUGH — The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that Monadnock Community Hospital has agreed to a $5,000 settlement with a deaf woman who received medical care at the hospital in 2010, according to a statement from justice department officials.
The woman, Amy Dauphinais, communicates primarily through sign language, and alleges hospital officials failed to provide her with auxiliary aids during her stay there, which resulted in her being unable to communicate with hospital personnel, and instead relied on her minor daughter to interpret for her, according to the statement.
Although the hospital agreed to pay Dauphinais $5,000, it did so without admitting liability in the incident, justice department officials said.
In a statement, hospital officials said there was "a strong difference of opinion on the facts of the patient visit that was the basis of the claim," and that "there was never any question of any adverse effect on the quality of care provided to any patient and MCH cooperated throughout the case.
"MCH has always believed in and strongly affirms the need to communicate clearly and effectively with our deaf and hard of hearing patients and their families," hospital officials said in the statement. "Our actions in this case were consistent with our prior recognition of the importance of effective communication with all patients.
The process of investigating this case and negotiating the Settlement Agreement has provided us an opportunity to review our processes and ensure standards of excellence continue to be met."
As part of the settlement, Monadnock Community Hospital agreed to establish a program "to ensure that it provides effective communication to deaf and hard of hearing patients in the future," including the appointment of program administrators "to answer questions and provide auxiliary aids and services required by the settlement agreement," justice department officials said.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, health care providers must offer appropriate auxiliary aids and services ... to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities, the justice department said in the statement.
