Accessibility for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing City of Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Task Force on Disabilities

Our Goal Improve access to the local Hospitals to greater accommodate the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Improve access to assistive technology Improve communications between staff and patients Ensure the Americans with Disabilities Act is being considered and followed Raise awareness to hospital procedures Raise awareness of deaf needs in hospital settings

Your Rights Provide services and programs in the most integrated setting appropriate Make reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless it would result in a fundamental alteration in the program or activity Ensure buildings are accessible Provide auxiliary aid to individuals with disabilities, at no additional cost, where necessary to ensure effective communication for individuals with hearing, vision or speech impairments Section 504 and the ADA

Communication Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hospitals must provide effective means of communication for patients, family members, and hospital visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing. Notes, TTY/TDDs, Interpreters, Amplified Telephones, closed captions are some of the possible accommodations for the deaf and hard of hearing

Our Process Complaints regarding access come to the Task Force on Disabilities Decision to survey the local hospitals Supplemental consumer survey for comparisons Analysis and comparisons for data to decide what needs to be done Education for the hospitals and consumers via the Task Force and advocacy groups

Consumer Survey Results from the General Question Section Most people rated their hospital visit as fair or good. The majority of people rated communication with staff as fair. Most consumers rated the hospitals willingness to fulfill requests as fair.

Consumer Survey cont. Results for the Equal treatment section of the questionnaire. Question YesNo Do you feel you were treated well at the hospital?79%21% Did you feel the hospital staff was understanding of your hearing loss? 70%30% Did you feel you were treated the same as other patients? 48%52% Did the hospitals staff seem to care about your health issue? 84%16% Did you feel the hospital staff could help you in getting better? 78%22%

Consumer Survey cont. Results for the Accommodations section About 90% of the time hospitals provided a TTY/TDD on request Video relay equipment not offered Certified interpreter was provided 60% of the time with a request, 29% of the time without a request Emergency alarm flashers provided the majority of time without a request

Your Suggestions Have better access to TTY/TDDs Written communication is often an insufficient means of communication Need to get interpreters Education needed about deaf culture Speak face to face to aid in lip reading Staff needs to be educated on how to use the assistive technology Doctors and nurses should have some training with ASL

Your Comments They write to me- too many words, too little, hard to understand. Had them call my therapist-she explained why I needed and interpreter and TTY. Without my glasses on I cant see well, so if I say to a doctor or a nurse, Im deaf and need my glasses to read your lips- dont scream in my face- it wont make me hear any better! Doctors, nurses and support staff need to be aware that there is a different culture within the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Next Steps Education Educate both groups on how the different groups are run and their procedures Awareness Bring awareness about equal health care for everyone with a disability Advocacy Begin a movement to ensure equal care for everyone at every facility

Special Thanks to: City of Pittsburgh/Allegheny Task Force on Disabilities Department of City Planning- Noor Ismail, Richard Meritzer Participating Hospitals Consumer Participants Mayor Luke Ravenstahl Chris Noschese Kim Mathos Danielle Lengle Christina Chamberlain Jennifer Macioce Mary Alice Olsen Teresa Nellans Susan Shaffer Consumer Health Coalition Irv Freeman Tanya Ulrich