PROVIDENCE – Under a new settlement agreement Kent Hospital must pay $35,000 in fines and adopt new Americans with Disabilities Act policies after a patient who was deaf alleged the hospital did not provide her with effective means of communications, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha announced Tuesday.
The patient, who uses American Sign Language as her primary means of communications, was hospitalized at Kent from Dec. 21, 2021 to Dec. 30, 2021. She claimed in a complaint filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office that
the hospital did not provide effective communication until the seventh day of her stay, even after multiple complaints made by herself and a family member.
Because of this the patient stated she faced “...increased fear and confusion about her medical diagnosis and treatment,” Cuhna’s office reported. Kent Hospital, which is affiliated with Care New England Health System, fully cooperated with the investigation.
According to the terms of the agreement, Kent hospital will adopt and train its staff on new Americans with Disabilities Act policies that deal with providing effective communications and securing qualified interpreters for patients.
According to Title III of the ADA, places of public accommodation, such as hospitals, are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities and are required to provide necessary aids and services to make sure communication is effective. These must be paid for by the facility and can include American Sign Language interpreters for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Additionally, the hospital must pay $30,000 to the patient within 10 days of receiving the agreement and the patient’s signed release along with a $5,000 civil penalty within 30 days of the agreement.
Within 30 days of the agreement the hospital must submit a list of qualified sign language interpreters and copt of contracts with one or more agencies to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Also, the hospital will be required to provide Cuhna’s office with a written report every six months including information about compliance with the agreement’s employee training provisions, which requires the hospital to provide mandatory training to staff who have contact with patients on several subjects related to effective communication. The report must also include how many complaints were received by Kent from deaf and hard of hearing patients and their companions about auxiliary aids or effective communication as well as the resolution of those complaints, along with a log documenting requests for auxiliary aids or services.
The case was handled by Amy Romero, assistant U.S. Attorney for the district of Rhode Island.
A representative from Care New England did not immediately respond to PBN’s request for comment.
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.
