Imagine this:
You are pregnant. You know what it is like to give birth. You are deaf. You ask hospital in advance for a live on site interpreter for the birth. Hospital says no. You sue. You lose because hospital convinces a magistrate that video remote interpreting (VRI) is good enough.
Despite reports in news that they will give you a live interpreter when the birth happens you are forced to have VRI. AND the VRI fails as you are giving birth!
You are having surgery. Then at an important time before surgery, in recovery, or in the hospital room, VRI fails.
You are in the emergency room. Right when it's needed the most, like during treatment or post-treatment instructions and discharge, VRI fails.
There is no backup and the hospital refuses to call for a live interpreter. All attempts at getting the medical people to write are failing.
Just how unacceptable are these scenarios/situations?
According to the National Association of the Deaf position statement on VRI, "If a deaf person uses sign language, hospitals should provide a qualified sign language interpreter..."
Seems there's no consensus in the courts about what "effective communication" actually means.
There's a petition going around related to the case mentioned above:
Bethesda Hospital East: Apologize to Margaret Weiss and Respect Deaf Patients' Needs!
Use this hashtag in social media and Twitter! #DeafChoice
Showing posts with label legal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legal. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2015
Monday, April 14, 2014
Hospitals and the Deaf Patient - Part 2
In Part 1, I mention in the last paragraph:
"In this day of high tech and the Internet, there's no excuse for anyone to claim it's difficult to contact the deaf person when there's also email, texting, and instant messaging besides the relay. A little low tech like keeping paper and pen around goes a long way as well."
When I had home health care, rather than use the relay to play phone tag with each other, we used texting. It's worked so well that I could easily refer back to the texts as a reminder or the physical therapist could easily change a session date and time. I'd also be in contact with the supervisor/office manager when it came to signing paperwork and evaluations.
Also after the third surgery, I got emails from the doctor's office a few times telling me of a change in medication dosage. This allowed me to better acknowledge I got the email and would act on the dosage change.
I've kept copies of my xrays from the knee surgeries and from the three hip surgeries, which also makes it easier for me to pass on what I have to another doctor. The hip surgeon's office has a patient portal which allows me to watch for upcoming bill payments, make a payment, make an appointment online, med refills, and other things.
On a more lighthearted note, the physical therapist and I used "markers" from torn postcards to show how many laps I did in the walking exercises (Surgery and the Hips - Part 5). Now and then one of us will lose track of how many laps I've done.
"In this day of high tech and the Internet, there's no excuse for anyone to claim it's difficult to contact the deaf person when there's also email, texting, and instant messaging besides the relay. A little low tech like keeping paper and pen around goes a long way as well."
When I had home health care, rather than use the relay to play phone tag with each other, we used texting. It's worked so well that I could easily refer back to the texts as a reminder or the physical therapist could easily change a session date and time. I'd also be in contact with the supervisor/office manager when it came to signing paperwork and evaluations.
Also after the third surgery, I got emails from the doctor's office a few times telling me of a change in medication dosage. This allowed me to better acknowledge I got the email and would act on the dosage change.
I've kept copies of my xrays from the knee surgeries and from the three hip surgeries, which also makes it easier for me to pass on what I have to another doctor. The hip surgeon's office has a patient portal which allows me to watch for upcoming bill payments, make a payment, make an appointment online, med refills, and other things.
On a more lighthearted note, the physical therapist and I used "markers" from torn postcards to show how many laps I did in the walking exercises (Surgery and the Hips - Part 5). Now and then one of us will lose track of how many laps I've done.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Hospitals and the Deaf Patient
Before I had my knee surgeries, one of the first things I did was go to the hospital where I was to have the first surgery and visit the Patient Relations office. I talked with them about interpreters and passed on to them my surgery date, my surgeon, and how long I will be there. This was probably my most important contact.
From there, let them know to pass on to other medical people that they will be dealing with a deaf person via the relay. In my case, email was used with the Patient Relations contact as well as the surgical scheduler in the surgeon's office. With the scheduler, when it came to surgery dates, I did it in person since there was some paperwork such as patient instructions and hospital information.
While you're doing all this, visit the financial office of the hospital to pass on your medical insurance information if possible. This may save a little time with checking in.
The next important thing to have is an advocate. What this person does is make your medical decisions when you are unable to do so. Filling out an Advanced Directive is the next best thing to do. While the chances for death or complications are small, it still helps to have both advocate and the directives if something arises.
When I went to the rehab facility after the first knee surgery, there were a few problems (More on the Knees and Surgery - Part 3, Part 4). At first, the people didn't believe there was such a thing as the ADA. They had never heard of captioning. When one of the coordinators talked with Jamie about interpreters with me in the room, one of the first things the coordinator said blew my mind.
"We're here to make money."
Is that something you want to hear when you're recovering from surgery and need some rehab and therapy to regain at least some use of what was operated on? I didn't get an interpreter for a few days. The business office had to compliment Jamie when I went there by myself saying that she was a good advocate.
Sure, they're there to earn money to pay the staff and to take care of their patients, but that kind of comment is pretty cold and uncaring. This is when the advocate is most needed since this person can more easily give the facility more information about these unknown things.
When I had inpatient therapy, which included in-home nursing support and physical therapy, we arranged our appointments ahead of time, and I watched for the person. Then we went from there.
With outpatient physical therapy, it's important for the patient and therapist(s) to find a way to communicate, since not all physical therapy offices will be able to provide interpreters. In my case, I made sure the therapists in the office knew about me. One thing that helped was a paper showing all the exercises I would be doing and watching others do their exercises at times if I was to do what they were doing.
Before I had the hip surgery, I had a contact in the first hospital related to a joint class, which told about what to expect pre- and post-surgery. This person was my contact who arranged for the interpreter for pre-surgical testing and the joint class at the second hospital before the first hip surgery.
Fortunately, I didn't need to do as much footwork as I did before since the contact I mentioned above took care of everything and it was also the 2010 legal case mentioned in Surgery and the Hips - Part 1.
Remember that it is the initial communications between the patient and the health provider(s) in the beginning that can go a long way.
In this day of high tech and the Internet, there's no excuse for anyone to claim it's difficult to contact the deaf person when there's also email, texting, and instant messaging besides the relay. A little low tech like keeping paper and pen around goes a long way as well.
Next - Part 2
From there, let them know to pass on to other medical people that they will be dealing with a deaf person via the relay. In my case, email was used with the Patient Relations contact as well as the surgical scheduler in the surgeon's office. With the scheduler, when it came to surgery dates, I did it in person since there was some paperwork such as patient instructions and hospital information.
While you're doing all this, visit the financial office of the hospital to pass on your medical insurance information if possible. This may save a little time with checking in.
The next important thing to have is an advocate. What this person does is make your medical decisions when you are unable to do so. Filling out an Advanced Directive is the next best thing to do. While the chances for death or complications are small, it still helps to have both advocate and the directives if something arises.
When I went to the rehab facility after the first knee surgery, there were a few problems (More on the Knees and Surgery - Part 3, Part 4). At first, the people didn't believe there was such a thing as the ADA. They had never heard of captioning. When one of the coordinators talked with Jamie about interpreters with me in the room, one of the first things the coordinator said blew my mind.
"We're here to make money."
Is that something you want to hear when you're recovering from surgery and need some rehab and therapy to regain at least some use of what was operated on? I didn't get an interpreter for a few days. The business office had to compliment Jamie when I went there by myself saying that she was a good advocate.
Sure, they're there to earn money to pay the staff and to take care of their patients, but that kind of comment is pretty cold and uncaring. This is when the advocate is most needed since this person can more easily give the facility more information about these unknown things.
When I had inpatient therapy, which included in-home nursing support and physical therapy, we arranged our appointments ahead of time, and I watched for the person. Then we went from there.
With outpatient physical therapy, it's important for the patient and therapist(s) to find a way to communicate, since not all physical therapy offices will be able to provide interpreters. In my case, I made sure the therapists in the office knew about me. One thing that helped was a paper showing all the exercises I would be doing and watching others do their exercises at times if I was to do what they were doing.
Before I had the hip surgery, I had a contact in the first hospital related to a joint class, which told about what to expect pre- and post-surgery. This person was my contact who arranged for the interpreter for pre-surgical testing and the joint class at the second hospital before the first hip surgery.
Fortunately, I didn't need to do as much footwork as I did before since the contact I mentioned above took care of everything and it was also the 2010 legal case mentioned in Surgery and the Hips - Part 1.
Remember that it is the initial communications between the patient and the health provider(s) in the beginning that can go a long way.
In this day of high tech and the Internet, there's no excuse for anyone to claim it's difficult to contact the deaf person when there's also email, texting, and instant messaging besides the relay. A little low tech like keeping paper and pen around goes a long way as well.
Next - Part 2
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Surgery and the Hips - Part 1
Finally, I got the call saying that my surgery time was 11:30am and I had to be there by 9:30am. Going through Registration, I find that there's been some changes in the way ASL interpreter requests are handled. According to the Registration person and interpreter, there was a case in 2010 that was settled in 2011.
Hospital fined for failure to accommodate
Inova Health System settles with Justice Department
Definitely an improvement there. I had interpreters the entire time I was there, even at night. One nurse I talked with briefly mentioned what they went through in the training classes related to this. I half expected him to show one of his test papers, after talking with him about how the classes went.
Going through prep, it was painful enough having someone lift my left leg onto the wheelchair footrest and prep bed. One of the people I talked with was the anesthesiologist. He tried learning some sign and got everyone in the room laughing a bit when he got a couple signs wrong, then right. We talked about what he was going to give me and so on. The surgeon came in briefly and we wrote in the area where the incision was to be. Other people came in as well. I also had an epidural, or spinal block, right before heading into the operating room.
Going into the operating room, I wasn't able to make note of the room number like last time. I was awake just long enough to take a quick look around the room before going under. What made things different here was the fact that I was requested to leave my hearing aids on as they were going to talk with me some before the actual surgery started. Only thing is that they said I wouldn't remember it and they were right. I didn't wake up in the recovery room, rather, in the operating room. My arms were out on my sides and there was a sheet blocking my view from the stomach down. All that was taken down just before going to the recovery room where I spent about an hour. Total time going through both was about 4 hours.
Then my bed was wheeled to where I would be for the next few days. Interestingly enough, it was room 404. You may recognize 404 as being a "not found" error on a website.
Next - Part 2
Hospital fined for failure to accommodate
Inova Health System settles with Justice Department
Definitely an improvement there. I had interpreters the entire time I was there, even at night. One nurse I talked with briefly mentioned what they went through in the training classes related to this. I half expected him to show one of his test papers, after talking with him about how the classes went.
Going through prep, it was painful enough having someone lift my left leg onto the wheelchair footrest and prep bed. One of the people I talked with was the anesthesiologist. He tried learning some sign and got everyone in the room laughing a bit when he got a couple signs wrong, then right. We talked about what he was going to give me and so on. The surgeon came in briefly and we wrote in the area where the incision was to be. Other people came in as well. I also had an epidural, or spinal block, right before heading into the operating room.
Going into the operating room, I wasn't able to make note of the room number like last time. I was awake just long enough to take a quick look around the room before going under. What made things different here was the fact that I was requested to leave my hearing aids on as they were going to talk with me some before the actual surgery started. Only thing is that they said I wouldn't remember it and they were right. I didn't wake up in the recovery room, rather, in the operating room. My arms were out on my sides and there was a sheet blocking my view from the stomach down. All that was taken down just before going to the recovery room where I spent about an hour. Total time going through both was about 4 hours.
Then my bed was wheeled to where I would be for the next few days. Interestingly enough, it was room 404. You may recognize 404 as being a "not found" error on a website.
Next - Part 2
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Got A Wireless Router? Password It!
Over the years, I've seen how people have gone from wired to wireless. I can understand the appeal, but the issues of security remain. Even though encryption is used, it takes time for the password to be cracked and the victim's service to be used and abused.
NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers
Not passwording a wireless router is asking for trouble, and quite a bit of it. If you can't seem to set the password, then TURN OFF the wireless part or ask for help from someone who has done it. That plus change the password of the router. The major reason an open access point is found is due to those who wardrive. Meaning, they look for access points, whether encrypted or not, by way of walking around, driving, or using a bike using something like Netstumbler. When I last wardrove about 2007 for a report for class, there were around 1700 access points. A little over HALF were encrypted!
The second reason is that there are websites that list default passwords for every router made. So if the router password isn't changed despite the wireless being turned on and encrypted, trouble can still happen.
In short, when a wireless router is used, either turn off wireless or set a password, and a good strong one, including the login password. Wired is still quite secure.
NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers
Not passwording a wireless router is asking for trouble, and quite a bit of it. If you can't seem to set the password, then TURN OFF the wireless part or ask for help from someone who has done it. That plus change the password of the router. The major reason an open access point is found is due to those who wardrive. Meaning, they look for access points, whether encrypted or not, by way of walking around, driving, or using a bike using something like Netstumbler. When I last wardrove about 2007 for a report for class, there were around 1700 access points. A little over HALF were encrypted!
The second reason is that there are websites that list default passwords for every router made. So if the router password isn't changed despite the wireless being turned on and encrypted, trouble can still happen.
In short, when a wireless router is used, either turn off wireless or set a password, and a good strong one, including the login password. Wired is still quite secure.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Beltway Sniper Execution
Back in 2002, it was a time of fear, with people reducing their activities or making themselves less of a target for the sniper. As time went by, I noticed he was hitting one target per county. Malvo and Muhammad's biggest mistake was stopping at a rest area to sleep, and it took an alert trucker and some other people to box them in and call the police. This, fortunately, stopped the shootings.
CNN had a story on Muhammad's execution.
Had the police not ignored the reports of a Chevy Caprice and focused on the white box trucks at first, the spree could have ended sooner. It was noticeable with people making fast tracks to their car or the store as well as sitting in their cars while pumping gas. There was even a gas station owner who found the largest tarp he could find and hung it from the roof above the pumps thus shielding his customers from being the next target.
When the sniper hit the FBI analyst, I had the feeling the FBI would take it personally. Seems they did. I was elsewhere 5 miles away finishing up on a bowling game and preparing to head home. Fortunately, I was stuck in the the beginning part of the backups, but it got much worse not long afterwards. I've been to the area where that shot was made. Law enforcement bottlenecked the traffic on the highway I was on, throttling it down from about 3-4 lanes to one. They did this to other major roadways. Many agents had automatic weapons other than their usual service weapons. Just about every highway exit had at least one law enforcement vehicle and agent standing there.
Out at the Newseum, they had a replica of the car used for the shootings, but this one didn't have the hole in the trunk the original car had. This hole allowed them to place their deadly shots. They also had the Unabomber's cabin on display as well. They may still be there today.
Personally, I'm glad they've removed both suspects from society...
CNN had a story on Muhammad's execution.
Had the police not ignored the reports of a Chevy Caprice and focused on the white box trucks at first, the spree could have ended sooner. It was noticeable with people making fast tracks to their car or the store as well as sitting in their cars while pumping gas. There was even a gas station owner who found the largest tarp he could find and hung it from the roof above the pumps thus shielding his customers from being the next target.
When the sniper hit the FBI analyst, I had the feeling the FBI would take it personally. Seems they did. I was elsewhere 5 miles away finishing up on a bowling game and preparing to head home. Fortunately, I was stuck in the the beginning part of the backups, but it got much worse not long afterwards. I've been to the area where that shot was made. Law enforcement bottlenecked the traffic on the highway I was on, throttling it down from about 3-4 lanes to one. They did this to other major roadways. Many agents had automatic weapons other than their usual service weapons. Just about every highway exit had at least one law enforcement vehicle and agent standing there.
Out at the Newseum, they had a replica of the car used for the shootings, but this one didn't have the hole in the trunk the original car had. This hole allowed them to place their deadly shots. They also had the Unabomber's cabin on display as well. They may still be there today.
Personally, I'm glad they've removed both suspects from society...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Arrest Me? Say What?
Has anyone gotten a so-called email from the FBI that says something like a Nigerian or other international bank releasing a large sum of money and mention terrorism? Then it finishes with this;
"So to this regards you are to re-assure and proof to us that what you are about to receive is a clean money by sending to us FBI International Clearance and also Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer (DIST) to satisfy to us that the money your about to receive is legitimate and real money. If you fail to provide the Documents to us, we will charge you either to U S federal Court or international court of justice and take our proper action against you for not proofing the legitimacy of the funds you are about to receive.
"THIS CONDITION IS VALID UNTIL (date) AFTER WE SHALL TAKE ACTIONS ON CANCELLING THE PAYMENT AND THEN CHARGES YOU FOR ILLEGALL MOVING OF FUNDS OUT OF NIGERIA GOVERNMENT. FUNDS WILL BE RELEASED ON CONFIRMATION OF THE DOCUMENTS."
*sniffing the air* Now that's a whole lot of bovine stinky droppings. Anyone want a cow pattie burger with a large urine?
Those two paragraphs make absolutely zero sense...
"So to this regards you are to re-assure and proof to us that what you are about to receive is a clean money by sending to us FBI International Clearance and also Diplomatic Immunity Seal Of Transfer (DIST) to satisfy to us that the money your about to receive is legitimate and real money. If you fail to provide the Documents to us, we will charge you either to U S federal Court or international court of justice and take our proper action against you for not proofing the legitimacy of the funds you are about to receive.
"THIS CONDITION IS VALID UNTIL (date) AFTER WE SHALL TAKE ACTIONS ON CANCELLING THE PAYMENT AND THEN CHARGES YOU FOR ILLEGALL MOVING OF FUNDS OUT OF NIGERIA GOVERNMENT. FUNDS WILL BE RELEASED ON CONFIRMATION OF THE DOCUMENTS."
*sniffing the air* Now that's a whole lot of bovine stinky droppings. Anyone want a cow pattie burger with a large urine?
Those two paragraphs make absolutely zero sense...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Relay SWAT calls
Having read the Watch Out for That SWAT! blog post and a followup article in the Washington Post recently, it's a frightening thing when your home is invaded by a SWAT team. Apparently they're there for no reason other than the fact that someone tried to "prank" the police into thinking you're a dangerous person.
I use a cane or wheelchair when I'm out and about due to my knee surgery, and usually don't use the cane at home. Could this easily cause me to get shot with them thinking I was holding a weapon? Probably the best thing for me to do if this kind of thing happens would be for me to immediately stop where I am, drop the cane, and raise my hands. Or will they shoot anyway and ask questions later in their adrenaline-soaked mad dash through the door?
What's the best way to handle something like this?
I use a cane or wheelchair when I'm out and about due to my knee surgery, and usually don't use the cane at home. Could this easily cause me to get shot with them thinking I was holding a weapon? Probably the best thing for me to do if this kind of thing happens would be for me to immediately stop where I am, drop the cane, and raise my hands. Or will they shoot anyway and ask questions later in their adrenaline-soaked mad dash through the door?
What's the best way to handle something like this?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Deaf-Blind Man Facing Child Porn Charges
Someone passed this article on to me, Deaf, sight-impaired man not competent to face child porn charges, about a deaf-blind man who is accused of uploading child porn pics to a website. Another search found me this article, Attorney General Abbott's Investigators Arrest Waco Student Following Child Porn Indictments.
The major issue I see here is that when he uploaded the pics to the website, he had to have known where he was uploading it and what he was uploading. He had to have known that what he was doing was wrong, even with low english and/or communication skills. According to AG Abbott's site, Lopez was enrolled in Texas State Technical College's Computer Maintenance Technology program. At least some good English skills are needed to get on the internet and be enrolled in college classes.
However, we know how hackers can at times remotely take over or zombie a computer. Was Lopez knowledgeable enough with his computer to know something may be wrong with it? Did he notice anything amiss like unusual slowdowns or extra files? Did he use some sort of protection on it like a firewall or malware/virus checkers?
I wonder if they've tried to make him understand the charges by rephrasing things in a lower grade level.
The major issue I see here is that when he uploaded the pics to the website, he had to have known where he was uploading it and what he was uploading. He had to have known that what he was doing was wrong, even with low english and/or communication skills. According to AG Abbott's site, Lopez was enrolled in Texas State Technical College's Computer Maintenance Technology program. At least some good English skills are needed to get on the internet and be enrolled in college classes.
However, we know how hackers can at times remotely take over or zombie a computer. Was Lopez knowledgeable enough with his computer to know something may be wrong with it? Did he notice anything amiss like unusual slowdowns or extra files? Did he use some sort of protection on it like a firewall or malware/virus checkers?
I wonder if they've tried to make him understand the charges by rephrasing things in a lower grade level.
Monday, July 30, 2007
ADA Updates? Should I Hold My Breath?
I was reading the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 post by Roblog, Jamie Berke, and a couple other places. True, we can use today's technologies and devices to keep in touch with people, but we're still missing things in vocal/spoken communications, especially in some critical places like airports and other loudspeaker-using locations that don't use visual alerts as well. Is there anything out there that can turn the spoken word into the written readable word? Sure, there's plenty of them out there, but some have to be 'trained' to the voice(s) that will use it while others don't need that. Observe the many accents out there that people have and the various ways people will pronounce and/or sign a single sentence.
But what's troubled me is the erosion of the original ADA in the courts. We're quibbling over the legal definition of the words 'disabled' and 'functional' at the expense of those who need and want to have good employment, housing, and other things. Read the background section on this;
http://www.aapd-dc.org/News/legislature/070720aapd.htm
Sometimes I'm wondering if the courts and employers understand that for most of those with hearing losses out there, that hearing and understanding can be two different things. Just because something is heard, if at all, doesn't mean that it will be understood and known, if identified. Just because someone has hearing aids doesn't mean they can use the phone effectively.
Will this finally assist those who have been trying to find a good job despite a good college education? Will it help those on SSI to actually get off and stay off, even with that education? Will a job be guaranteed after college graduation?
Personally, I'm not holding my breath. Congress, employers, and the courts will be making that important first step, the step that will decide the direction of things.
But what's troubled me is the erosion of the original ADA in the courts. We're quibbling over the legal definition of the words 'disabled' and 'functional' at the expense of those who need and want to have good employment, housing, and other things. Read the background section on this;
http://www.aapd-dc.org/News/legislature/070720aapd.htm
Sometimes I'm wondering if the courts and employers understand that for most of those with hearing losses out there, that hearing and understanding can be two different things. Just because something is heard, if at all, doesn't mean that it will be understood and known, if identified. Just because someone has hearing aids doesn't mean they can use the phone effectively.
Will this finally assist those who have been trying to find a good job despite a good college education? Will it help those on SSI to actually get off and stay off, even with that education? Will a job be guaranteed after college graduation?
Personally, I'm not holding my breath. Congress, employers, and the courts will be making that important first step, the step that will decide the direction of things.
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