The US Attorney’s Office has reached a settlement with a Kansas medical facility to resolve allegations that the hospital failed to reasonably accommodate a deaf patient by not providing a sign language interpreter in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Under the settlement, Prime Healthcare Services – Providence, LLC doing business as Providence Medical Center (“PMC”), located in Kansas City, Kansas, agrees to compensate the aggrieved deaf individual for his inability to effectively communicate with the medical team during his five-day hospital stay. In addition, PMC agreed to change its policies and practices to come into compliance with their obligations under the ADA, which include:
- providing patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing with appropriate auxiliary aids and services that are necessary for effective communication;
- designating at least one employee as an ADA Administrator or ADA Co-Administrators who will be on call and available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week to answer questions and provide appropriate assistance regarding auxiliary aids and services including qualified interpreters;
- maintaining a log for requests for qualified interpreters on site or through video remote services that documents the time and date the request, patient’s name, the time and date of the scheduled appointment; and
- establishing a complaint resolution mechanism to investigate disputes regarding effective communication with deaf patients and companions.
