[il-talk] FW: Hospital Access Initiative

Wed May 19 17:11:35 UTC 2010

-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Peterson [mailto:Amy at equipforequality.org] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 11:13 AM
To: Jim Dickson; Kim Borowicz; handschu at ameritech.net; Pamela Burman; Paul
Scher; Alyson Slaughter; KJMcCulloh at aol.com; ponytail2255 at aol.com;
eipjian at atg.state.il.us; Bill Jurek; Patti Chang; Sharon Howerton; Ray
Campbell; dbogus at cityofchicago.org; jalbritton at cityofchicago.org; Elyssa
Winslow; Rachel Marks; Victoria Ferrarini; pittman.e.a at cometlink.com;
info at comp-unique.com; Klaus Nave; harris.robert at epa.gov; Cheryl Jansen; Andy
Roy; jaejin.pak at gmail.com; Kelly Pierce; Marcia Trawinski;
lauri at guildfortheblind.org; camille at horizons-blind.org; krista at intenex.net;
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Ladis; shastalis at transitchicago.com; pberg at uic.edu; WSANA; Kerry Obrist
Cc: BarryT Taylor; Sarah Price
Subject: Hospital Access Initiative

Hello all.  Attached please find an announcement, the identical document in
a number of different formats, about our Hospital Access Initiative. 
A number of disability rights advocates are working on this initiative with
the goal of improving hospital access for people with disabilities in
Chicago and surrounding counties.  I have also pasted the text of the
announcement below in the event that someone is unable to read any of the
attachments.  We intend to gather as much information as possible about the
problems people are experiencing or have experienced.  We will greatly
appreciate all responses and we encourage you to share this announcement
freely with others.  Please note that the persons to contact about hospital
access problems are listed at the bottom of the announcement. Thank you.

Amy

Amy F. Peterson
Equip for Equality
20 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 300
Chicago, IL  60602
amy at equipforequality.org
(312) 895-7324

HOSPITAL ACCESS INITIATIVE

A coalition of Illinois disability rights advocates has launched a
Hospital Access Initiative, combining Education, Legislation, Advocacy
and Research to enhance hospital access, the provision of in-patient and
out-patient healthcare services and accommodations for people with
disabilities in hospitals within Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and
McHenry counties. 

In general, people with disabilities confront a myriad of access
barriers to healthcare -  physical barriers (e.g., architectural and
inaccessible examination and diagnostic equipment), attitudinal barriers
(e.g., doctors misconceptions and assumptions about a person’s
disability that leads to inferior care, neglect, or denial of care), and
communication barriers (e.g. lack of communication facilitators and
accessible formats) - which limit meaningful access to healthcare and
accommodations in hospital settings. Some specific examples of access
barriers affecting persons with mobility, communication or cognitive and
mental impairments, persons who are blind or visually impaired and
persons who are deaf or hard of hearing include:

Mobility Impairments	

v	Small examination rooms which restrict wheelchair or scooter
movement		
v	Lack or absence of lift or transfer equipment 
v	Examination tables that do not lower to facilitate transfers

Communication or Cognitive & Mental Health Impairments

v         Lengthy delays between the time an appointment is made and
the actual appointment
v         Referrals of adult persons with communication or cognitive
impairments to pediatric providers, or referral to a psychiatric
provider or a hospital’s psychiatric unit for care as the person has a
mental illness despite the fact that the presenting medical issue is not
related to mental illness
v         Early discharge or being discharged from a hospital without
notice

Blindness & Visual Impairments

v	Hospital staff not identifying themselves or their
positions	
v          Prescription information, care instructions or return
appointments are not offered in alternative formats that are
accessible	Lack of appropriate accessible signage using Braille
or raised letters

Deafness & Hearing Impairments

v	American sign language interpreters are generally not available
during visits
v	Assistive listening devices are not offered, precluding the
ability to ask questions or get a complete understanding of the
diagnosis,  care and treatment 
v	Hospital physicians and staff rely on family members to
communicate with you

If you or your loved ones have a disability and would like to share
with the coalition your in-patient or out-patient experiences in
hospitals within Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and McHenry
counties, please contact Judy Panko Reis, M.A., M.S., Access Living, at
(312) 640-2184 or via email at jreis at accessliving.org; Sarah Price,
Equip for Equality, at (312) 895-7339 or via email at
sarah at equipforequality.org; or Andrés J. Gallegos, Esq., Robbins,
Salomon and Patt, Ltd., at (312) 456-0381 or via email at
agallegos at rsplaw.com.  All discussions are confidential.             

                                                   May 2010

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