This is terrific!

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"What is real but compassion, as we move from birth to death?"
~~Greg Brown~~


> [Original Message]
> From: Elizabeth Thiers <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 12/17/2005 6:40:25 AM
> Subject: Landmark Settlement for Patients With Disabilities Among First
ofIts Kind
>
> Message: 15
> Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 09:25:16 -0500
> From: "John G. Reiss" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: [cshcn-l]=20
> To: <[log in to unmask]>,
>
>
> Edited from an article on
>
> Www.civilrights.org=20
>
> =20
>
> =20
>
> Landmark Settlement for Patients With Disabilities Among First of  Its =
> Kind
> under ADA
>
> =20
>
> By Tyler Lewis=20
>
> civilrights.org=20
>
> December 12, 2005
>
> =20
>
> A recent settlement under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires
> Washington Hospital Center to make sweeping changes to its=20
>
> facilities to ensure that patients with disabilities receive access to
> standard medical treatment.=20
>
> =20
>
> "This settlement really goes above what is required by the ADA and =
> beyond,
> in
> many instances," said Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn, executive=20
>
> director of the Equal Rights Center (ERC), the nonprofit organization =
> that
> represented the plaintiffs.=20
>
> =20
>
> =05.
>
> =20
>
> The patients' lawsuit centered on the inability of four Washington =
> Hospital
> Center patients to receive proper treatment because of inaccessible
> facilities at the hospital.=20
>
> =20
>
> =05
>
> =20
>
> All of the patients had severe disabilities, including a quadriplegic =
> and a
> patient who suffered from a spinal cord injury.=20
>
> =20
>
> Plaintiffs said that in addition to the inadequate facilities, it was =
> nearly
> impossible for them to eat and take care of themselves.=20
>
> The settlement agreement requires ten percent of the hospital's rooms to =
> be
> wheelchair accessible.=20
>
> =20
>
> "We realized quickly that four people with very similar complaints meant
> this
> was a systemic problem," said Elaine Gardner, Disability=20
>
> Rights Program Director for Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil =
> Rights
> and Urban Affairs, who represented the plaintiffs.=20
>
> =20
>
> The Department of Justice has said that the settlement is the most
> comprehensive ADA settlement ever on the issue of access to medical=20
>
> services. The DOJ was brought into the case after investigating a =
> separate
> complaint made by the ERC.=20
>
> =20
>
> Under the five-year agreement, Washington Hospital Center will also have =
> to
> remove access barriers throughout the hospital; review its policies with =
> the
> DOJ and the ERC; provide training for all staff on how to meet the needs =
> of
> patients with disabilities; and institute special procedures for =
> patients
> with spinal cord injuries.=20
>
> =20
>
> =05
>
> =20
>
> Jim Caldas, president of Washington Hospital Center, told the Washington
> Business Journal that "This settlement is simply the right thing to do." =
>
>
> =20
>
> The ADA, enacted in 1990, prohibits discrimination against Americans =
> with
> physical and mental disabilities in employment, public accommodations, =
> and
> transportation. =20
>
> =20
>
> HYPERLINK "http://tinyurl.com/dc3a7"http://tinyurl.com/dc3a7