Jessie Fox, a deaf woman from Fort Dodge, is suing Trinity Regional Medical Center, Trinity Health Systems and Iowa Health System on behalf of herself, and "all others similarly situated", for their failure to "provide sign language interpreters to their patients that are deaf of hard of hearing" as stated in a lawsuit and reported by the Des Moines Register.
The lawsuit states that providing interpreters would "ensure effective communication" during appointments and denial of interpreters restricts patients "who are deaf or hard of hearing to actively participate in their own and/or minor child's medical treatment at Trinity."
Fox alleges that the hospital forced her to use her 7 year-old daughter, Addison, as a sign-language interpreter to explain information needed prior to having her daughter's tonsils and adenoids removed.
Fox wanted to understand the medical staff's instructions, asked for an interpreter, but was denied one. This failure by Trinity led to a
medication mix-up.
Fox stopped giving Addison her prescribed antibiotics before the surgery when she was supposed to have understood, via her 7 year-old, that she was to have continued to administer them.
No serious problems came from the medication mix-up.
The lawsuit states, "Addison as a 7-year-old did not understand the medical terminology to interpret the information to her mother, Ms. Fox. Ms. Fox was placed in the child-like role, whereas Addison was placed in the adult-like role. Ms. Fox was exasperated, frustrated, and helpless as a parent during her daughter's pre-operative appointment."
Fox stated to news media that this is often a problem faced by deaf people and, in pursuing a lawsuit, she hoped that medical professionals will understand the need. Via an interpreter she said, "This is a discrimination issue."
Cheri Bustos, spokeswoman for Iowa Health Systems, the parent company for Trinity, wrote in an e-mail, "In this case, we acknowledge that Trinity needed to improve its ability to communicate with hearing-impaired individuals, and Trinity has undertaken a comprehensive effort to educate staff and provide appropriate services to all hearing-impaired patients."
Bustos further contended that since many changes were made at Trinity, federal rights officials have reviewed the incident and closed the case.
But Fox contends that the actions taken by the hospital fall short. She further felt the need for live assistance over videotaped interpretive services as they are too hard to follow.
Melissa Lewis, of Guthrie Center, in representing Fox said that written language is a secondary language for most deaf people, having learned sign language first. This is a false interpretation often made by hearing people.
American Sign Language is a completely different - and separate - language from English.
Thomas Newkirk, of Des Moines, another lawyer representing Fox, said that hearing people often underestimate the needs of deaf people, and that "we expect them to get along and accommodate us."
To this Trinity explained that in providing laptop computer communication between patients and medical staff that they are making "every effort to provide a live on-site interpreter service when they are available."
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