December 1, 2017
Patients who are Deaf or hard of hearing will get better services at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) because of recent settlements. The cases were brought by Vermont Legal Aid because the medical center had not provided adequate sign language interpretation services for some patients over the past four years.
“Credit goes to our clients for demanding their rights to equal access in order to make positive change for all Deaf patients,” said Barbara Prine, staff attorney with the Disability Law Project of Vermont Legal Aid. “We also thank UVMMC for agreeing to robust improvements in its system for Deaf access.”
“I’m glad that Deaf patients stood up together for our rights,” said George Lareau, one of the patients. “I’m also glad that the hospital has agreed to improve its policies and procedures so that the Deaf community will have equal access to medical treatment.”
Read the press release and a news report.
