by CREEC | Oct 21, 2015 | Accessibility
George Baca and Parkview Medical Center have reached a settlement in Mr. Baca’s lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado addressing Parkview’s provision of effective communication to deaf individuals. Following his daughter’s hospitalization in July, 2013, Mr. Baca — who is deaf — alerted Parkview to shortcomings in their system for communicating with deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and family members. Prior to the initiation of the Lawsuit, Parkview installed video remote interpreting (VRI) to ensure immediate access to sign language interpreters, and has instituted policies that also ensure that pre-scheduled and outpatient services will continue to use in-person ASL interpreters. Parkview will continue its current training program, ensuring that staff are trained that lip-reading and note-writing are often not effective in communicating medical information to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and that staff should take care in ascertaining the preferred method of communication of the deaf or hard of hearing patient or companion. Mr. Baca and Parkview worked together to reach an agreement that recognizes the steps that Parkview has already taken to improve their communication policies, while also putting in place provisions that address Mr. Baca’s specific concerns. Mr. Baca appreciates Parkview’s dedication to improving services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and families and Parkview appreciates Mr. Baca’s contributions to the new policies and technologies. For more information please contact: Amy Robertson Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center 303-757-7901 arobertson@creeclaw.org Michelle Peulen Parkview Medical Center, Inc. 719-584-4499...
by Amy F. Robertson | Oct 13, 2015 | News
Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement! ...
by CREEC | Oct 8, 2015 | Accessibility, Systemic change litigation
A class action lawsuit filed today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington alleges that the City of Seattle has failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act and state law, which require the City to provide people with mobility disabilities full and equal access to Seattle’s pedestrian right of way through a system of usable and accessible curb ramps. People with disabilities are the largest minority group in the country; census figures estimate that 56.7 million, or 1 in 5, Americans has a disability. Many of those individuals use wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, or other mobility devices to get around. Missing, broken or poorly maintained curb ramps, however, prevent people with mobility disabilities from using city sidewalks, crosswalks and other walkways to participate in daily activities. “I was born just a couple years before the ADA was passed,” said Conrad Reynoldson, one of the plaintiffs bringing the case. “I grew up being told I could live in an inclusive community, but there are public places I cannot safely go because they don’t have curb ramps.” David Whedbee, another plaintiff, explains “the problem with the lack of curb cuts, or their current orientation, is that I have to swing out into lanes of on-coming bus and car traffic to make it up or down the sidewalk where I frequently travel on my way to work and other places downtown. You should try that in an office chair and see how safe you feel.” “A lot of attention is being paid to making Seattle more walkable, but not enough has been...
by CREEC | Oct 8, 2015 | News
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to Artwork Network Gallery last month to make our Second Anniversary Celebration a success! We’d especially like to thank our generous event sponsors and individual donors who made the event happen. We couldn’t have done it without you! We were proud to honor Corbett O’Toole with the first-ever CREEC Intersectionality Award for her amazing advocacy work in the areas of women’s rights, disability rights, and LGBTQI rights. Corbett gave a stirring speech about how intersectionality has affected her own life and experiences as an advocate. Here are some photos of the evening, taken by the talented Mary Lou Mobley of Foothills Fine Photography: Again, a big thank you to everyone who came out to the event and helped us celebrate two great years of CREEC! We can’t wait to celebrate with all of you in many years to...
