[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Fri Dec 16 20:04:15 UTC 2011

FYI, they are breaking HIPAA Laws, meaning, you can elect who knows your information on paperwork. Being someone who had to study the pages and pages of HIPAA when going to school for medical billing. This is a federal law, and that whomever is telling people this is breaking it.

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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steve Jacobson<mailto:steve.jacobson at visi.com> 
  To: Blind Talk Mailing List<mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org> 
  Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 1:50 PM
  Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

  I have given blood here in Minnesota through my employer to the red cross and I am finding it 
  increasingly difficult to donate.  We have had other problems in the Twin Cities in the past that we 
  tried to address, but I must say, not having an emergency exit policy is about the most blatent and 
  least defensible thing I have heard.  Certainly you have a right to feel frustrated, but it does seem 
  that there is work to be done as well.  I can't help but wonder what their general policy is to deal 
  with someone who is half through giving blood and who might be dizzy if forced to stand in a hurry.  I 
  would think that blindness would be the least of the problems that one might have.  <smile>

  You might be interested to know that it is now common practice to not permit someone you know to fill 
  out the paperwork with you.  The justification is that you might not be honest with them in your 
  answers.  This requires you to take the time of a staff person, and even if they are willing, they are 
  often required to tend to other tasks.  

  Were you working with a branch of the Red Cross there in Duluth or is it another type of blood bank?

  Best regards,

  Steve Jacobson

  On Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:22:35 -0600, James Kelm wrote:

  >Dear friends,

  >    Well an interesting thing happened to my wife and I last Friday, and I
  >thought that I'd see what you all thought.  It seemed to be a relevant
  >story, based upon the recent conversations here on this list.

  >    Wanting to do something good for our fellow human beings, my wife and I
  >decided that we would donate blood at one of our local blood banks.  We
  >arrived, filled out the necessary paper work, and waited in the waiting room
  >to do our duty.

  >    After a few minutes, a gentleman came out and requested that we follow
  >him to his office.  I am assuming that this gentleman was some kind of a
  >manager.  After entering his office, he politely informed us that he had
  >spoken to his corporate office, and learned that they currently had no
  >policy in place to assure my safety in the case of an emergency, so
  >unfortunately they did not allow blind people to donate blood.  He then
  >turned to my wife, who is sighted but like many middle-aged people, wears
  >reading glasses.  The gentleman went on to explain that unless my wife went
  >home to retrieve her reading glasses and thereby demonstrating that she was
  >not blind, they also would not allow her to donate.  I politely explained
  >that the corporate office should be aware that their company policy violated
  >Federal anti-discrimination laws, and they did not have the legal luxury of
  >determining which laws they were, or were not prepared to follow.  The
  >gentleman told me that he understood, but that he had to comply with his
  >corporate office's instructions to not allow the blind to donate blood.

  >    This situation came as a bit of surprise to me.  Of course most of us
  >blind folks are use to vague and concealed discrimination, but I was caught
  >off guard to face such an open and obvious demonstration of one's civil
  >rights being disregarded.  It was rather shocking to be directly told by a
  >business, that they did not want the blind!

  >Your Brother in Christ,
  >Pastor James Kelm
  >True Hope Church of Duluth
  >Web Site: www.thcduluth.org<http://www.thcduluth.org/>
  >Office E-mail: office at thcduluth.org<mailto:office at thcduluth.org>
  >Phone: 218-727-4186

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