CALHOUN, Ga. (AP) — Federal authorities have reached an agreement with a Georgia hospital to ensure effective communication with deaf patients.
The settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act was reached Tuesday between the U.S. Department of Justice and AdventHealth-Gordon in Calhoun. It settles a complaint filed by a deaf patient.
The patient said Advent failed to provide an American Sign Language interpreter or any other communication aid for her labor and delivery despite her requests. Instead, she said, she had to rely on lip reading and her deaf companion, who also had trouble communicating with hospital staff.
Because they had no effective means of communication, the patient and her companion were left afraid and confused by a complication during the delivery, the Justice Department said in a news release.
Included in the terms of the agreement: Advent will advise patients and companions of their right to aids and services for effective communication, including a live interpreter, either by video or on site, the release says. The hospital also agreed to pay $50,000 to the patient and $10,000 to the companion.
