Date Published: July 20, 2006   

Hospital agrees to provide communication for deaf

By SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press Writer

A Florence hospital has settled a federal complaint by agreeing to provide deaf patients access to sign language interpreters and other ways to communicate with hospital employees.

The settlement should mean better care for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients at McLeod Regional Medical Center, Pete Cantrell, an attorney with the Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities Inc., said Thursday.

Not being able to communicate with hospital staff can be scary for patients and lead to bad decisions, Cantrell said.

"Doctors might make an erroneous diagnosis," he said. "They might give instructions to a patient who doesn't follow them because he doesn't understand."

The Columbia-based advocacy group sent a complaint to the U.S. Justice Department in December 2003, claiming the hospital violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing interpreters for two deaf patients.

McLeod's agreement with the Justice Department involves no money and the hospital admits no wrongdoing.

"McLeod is committed to quality and safety and will continue to take appropriate action to ensure effective communication with all of our patients and their families," hospital administrator Marie Segars said in a statement.

Segars said it appears the hospital has already met the terms of the agreement.

According to the settlement, one deaf patient said she could not communicate while at the hospital in June 2003 for an attempted suicide and an on-the-job injury a year earlier. The other deaf patient said he was admitted to the hospital several times starting in 2002 and sometimes communicated through his friend.

Cantrell declined to go into specifics. Such cases are "unfortunately too common" in South Carolina, he said.

"We're hoping other hospitals see this settlement and see the fair and equitable way to handle it and perhaps change their practices," said Gloria Prevost, executive director of Protection and Advocacy.

Under the settlement, signed July 10, the hospital also agreed to provide a text telephone line for deaf patients, post signs saying interpreters are available for free, train employees and doctors on how to communicate with deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and file compliance reports with the Justice Department.

"It's sad to say it took a grievance to get any hospital to follow the law," said Steve Fitzmaurice, director of the South Carolina Interpreter and Recruitment Training Project at the state Association of the Deaf. He said the same problems happen in doctor and lawyer offices and in court.

A nationwide shortage of sign language interpreters makes it tough for hospitals to provide them on the spot, said Kathy Stoehr, statewide director of interpreting services for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.

Finding someone qualified to interpret medical information is especially hard, she said.

"They're very scarce, in South Carolina particularly," she said.

Many hospitals in South Carolina contract with the School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg to provide an interpreter on call. McLeod has had a formal contract with the school at least two years, said Carol Garrett, vice president of outreach services.

"It depends on the time of day if someone can get there right away," Stoehr said.

Fitzmaurice said nursing staff should have enough basic sign language skills to tell deaf patients help is on the way.

Through a grant, the school is training hospital employees across the state on the Americans with Disabilities Act. The program has included three training sessions at McLeod, Garrett said.

The Justice Department has settled more than 20 such cases nationwide this administration involving hospitals and medical offices, said Cynthia Magnuson, a department spokeswoman.