[NFBNJ] REFORWARDED Hospital Visitation Policies Exclude Caregivers of People with Disabilities & What We're Doing To Change It

Tue Apr 14 21:45:42 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
Please review the reforwarded email message received from Pamela  Gaston, NJ 
CBVI.
I didforward a few days ago however, there was no wording in the body.
Please share with others.
Joe

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Subject: Hospital Visitation Policies Exclude Caregivers of People with 
Disabilities & What We're Doing To Change It

In a letter sent over the weekend to Judith M. Persichilli, Commissioner of 
New Jersey Department of Health, and including Governor Phil Murphy, 
Disability Rights New Jersey addressed the concerns of individuals with 
disabilities, and their families, where hospitalization is necessary during 
the COVID-19 crisis.

In many cases, it is critical for a support person such as a family 
member/loved one, guardian, DSP, PCA to accompany individuals with 
disabilities during hospitalization, due to communication or behavioral 
limitations. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of 
the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 
it is their civil right to have reasonable accommodations, including a 
support person, even during a pandemic.

Hospitals across the state of New Jersey, however, are each developing their 
own visitation policies, and in some cases, excluding guardians and 
caregivers of people with disabilities from participation in their care in 
order to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Executive Director, Gwen Orlowski, of Disability Rights New Jersey, proposed 
that New Jersey immediately issue a directive stating that hospital 
visitation policies barring visitors include an exception for patients with 
disabilities who need assistance due to the specifics of their disability. 
To ease the burden on the designated support person, she recommended an 
allowance of two support persons, with only one present at a time, during 
hospitalization.

Disability Rights New Jersey looks forward to timely and specific guidance 
from the Commissioner that reinforces the rights of people with disabilities 
in a hospital You can read the full letter to the Department of Health, by 
clicking the image above.

April 11, 2020
Commissioner Judith Persichilli
New Jersey Department of Health
369 South Warren Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08608
Via scanned email to Judith.Persichilli at doh.nj.gov
Re: Hospital Visitation Policies for Individuals with Disabilities

Dear Commissioner Persichilli: I write on behalf of Disability Rights New 
Jersey (DRNJ), the state designated protection and advocacy agency. DRNJ 
urges the Department of Health to adopt a statewide policy on hospital 
visitors during the COVID-19 emergency that includes exceptions for people 
with disabilities who may require a support person to stay with them during 
emergency room visits and hospitalizations. At the present time, New Jersey 
hospitals each are developing their own visitor policies, and in some cases, 
those policies exclude guardians and caregivers of people with disabilities 
from participation in their care. Individuals with disabilities who need 
communication or behavioral supports in hospital situations retain their 
rights to reasonable accommodations under federal law, including the 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
Act, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), even in a pandemic. 
To assist the Department, DRNJ reviewed several polices from various states 
and hospitals. We propose that New Jersey immediately issue a directive 
stating that hospital visitation policies barring visitors must include an 
exception with language similar to the following: Patients with disabilities 
who need assistance due to the specifics of their disability may have one 
designated support person with them. This could include specific needs due 
to altered mental status, intellectual or cognitive disability, 
communication barriers or behavioral concerns. If a patient with a 
disability requires an accommodation that involves the presence of a family 
member, personal care assistant or similar disability service provider, 
knowledgeable about the management of their care, to physically or 
emotionally assist them during their hospitalization, this will be allowed 
with proper precautions taken to contain the spread of infection. (See Rush 
University Medical Center policy found at 
https://www.rush.edu/patientsvisitors/covid-19-resources/rush-coronavirus-covid-19-patient-and-visitor-updates) 
To ease the burden on the designated support person, we recommend that the 
policy allow the individual with disabilities to designate two support 
people but allow only one support person to be present at a time, consistent 
with the New York State Policy which can be found at 
https://opwdd.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/doh_covid19_hospitalvisitation_4.10. 
20.pdf. Disability Rights New Jersey is appreciative of the tireless work of 
the Department of Health, as well as all state agencies in this emergency ï¿½ 
thank you. Please do not hesitate to contact me at gorlowski at drnj.org or 
(609) 292-9742 if you have questions regarding this matter or would like 
additional information. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
/s/ Gwen Orlowski Gwen Orlowski Executive Director

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From: joe ruffalo <nfbnj1 at verizon.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 2:52 PM
To: Pamela Gaston <Pamela.Gaston at dhs.nj.gov>; joe ruffalo 
<nfbnj1 at verizon.net>
Cc: Zoraida Krell <krellbz at gmail.com>; ken lawrence <kenlawrence124 at aol.com>
Subject: Please ResendFw: Hospital Visitation Policies Exclude Caregivers of 
People with Disabilities & What We're Doing To Change It

    Greetings Pamela!
If you still have, please resend.
For some reason, when I forwarded the body was missing, only had the head 
and feet!  GRIN!

Joe

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: joe ruffalo
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 9:09 PM
To: joe ruffalo via NFBNJ
Subject: Hospital Visitation Policies Exclude Caregivers of People with 
Disabilities & What We're Doing To Change It

Greetings to all!
Received from Pamela Gaston, NJ CBVI.
Please read an share.

Warmly,
Joe

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                  Disability Rights New Jersey | 210 S Broad Street 3rd 
Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608

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