Health Care Accessibility: ‘A Matter of Civil Rights’

On March 28, 2012, the Department of Justice filed a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act with Trinity Health Systems to ensure that the Trinity Regional Medical Center provides effective communication to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing — including a settlement of $198,000 to the aggrieved individuals and a $20,000 civil penalty.

The complaint, filed in 2009, alleged that alleging that the Medical Center had inadequate mechanisms in place to ensure good communication between hospital personnel and deaf patients.

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