[nagdu] Medical Center Settles Section 504 Violation

Steven Johnson blinddog3 at charter.net
Fri Jan 6 00:31:48 UTC 2012


News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2012 
 Contact: OCR Press Office 
(202) 619-0403 
 

St. Mercy Medical Center settles violation of Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act
Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), St. Edward Mercy Medical
Center (Mercy), in Fort Smith, Arkansas has agreed to make changes to its
policies and procedures to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (Section 504).

The settlement resulted from a complaint filed with OCR by a person with a
lumbar and spinal disability who requires a service animal to assist him in
a number of daily functions, including carrying and picking up items and
helping to stabilize his walking. While the complainant sought emergency
medical treatment for his father, Mercy refused to allow the service animal
to accompany the complainant into the hospital. The complainant was told his
service animal was not a "seeing eye dog" and the animal would need to be
removed from the hospital because he could not show vaccination records or
tags verifying the health of the animal. After an investigation, OCR found
that Mercy's policies and procedures regarding access to service animals
inappropriately excluded service animals already being used by qualified
individuals with disabilities other than vision impairment.

"Service animals are used by people with disabilities for various purposes
and this action sends a strong reminder to facilities to ensure that people
with service animals have an equal opportunity to participate in their
programs and services," said OCR Director Leon Rodriguez.  "HHS is committed
to continuing its strong enforcement of Section 504 and ensuring access to
health care for all Americans."

Under Section 504, a covered entity may not limit access to only those
service animals used by persons who are blind or have low vision. A covered
entity may also not deny access to a service animal based on an individual's
failure to produce a tag or other documentation demonstrating that the
animal is a service animal or what tasks the service animal performs, or a
veterinarian's health certificate or other documentation of the service
animal's health.   

Among the terms of the settlement agreement, Mercy will establish
non-discrimination policies, provide notice to its staff and program
participants of such policies, and ensure staff receives comprehensive
training on their obligations to provide services without discrimination to
qualified persons with disabilities and specific training on permitting
service animals into its facility in accordance with Section 504.

People who believe that an entity receiving federal financial assistance has
discriminated against them (or someone else) on the basis of disability, may
file a complaint with OCR at:
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/complaints. A copy of the Settlement
Agreement in this matter, along with more information about OCR's efforts to
enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1972 can be found at
www.hhs.gov/ocr.


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