Special Accommodations Workgroup 

Background

To ensure all clients have easy access to care and services, we provide special accommodations to clients with proven needs. We are also legally required to make certain physical and communications-related accommodations based on federal regulations:

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title III: Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in private nonprofit medical centers

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504: Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in programs that receive federal funds (including Medicare and Medicaid)

Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) of 2010, Section 1557: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in health programs that receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services

While all staff members make adjustments and arrangements to address clients’ needs, we have had no formal process for assessing and addressing those needs on a continual basis.

Special accommodations workgroup: June-December 2018

We are committed to addressing the communications and physical needs of our clients. A time-limited workgroup was formed to identify barriers to client care and address those barriers through accommodations. Special accommodations are supports that will ensure clients with proven needs have the same access to care as clients without those needs.

The workgroup meets twice a month to assess and address the needs of clients who have:

• Translation/interpretation needs
• Limited literacy
• Hearing impairment
• Visual impairment
• Physical immobility

Other needs may also be addressed in the course of the workgroup.

WORKGROUP members

• Mona Hadley (Workgroup Chair), Clinic Operations Project Manager, 421 Fallsway
• Gerardo Benavides, Community Relations Coordinator, 421 Fallsway
• Joshua Brusca, LCSW, Clinical Performance Improvement Coordinator, , 421 Fallsway
• Aisha Darby, LCSW-C Director of Clinic Operations, , 421 Fallsway
• Ieshia Carr, Client Access Associate I, 421 Fallsway
• LaVeda Bacetti, Director of Area Operations, 201 E. Baltimore St.
• Aaron Perseghin, Network Administrator, 421 Fallsway
• Erica Brown, SOAR Coordinator, 421 Fallsway
• Lilian Amaya, Lead Community Health Worker, 421 Fallsway
• Sarah Bielecki, Lead Outreach Worker, 421 Fallsway
• Lauren Ojeda, Volunteer Specialist, 421 Fallsway

2018 workgroup Goals

In 2018, the workgroup will produce:

• An assessment of client communication needs
• Recommendations for language tools and resources in 2019
• Guidance around adjustments to physical space for people with physical immobility 

2018 WORKGROUP activities

• Distribute language ID displays (July 2018)
• Launch client language assessment survey (Starting in July 2018)
• Conduct interpretation services analysis (2017-2018)
• Ensure treatment spaces are set-up for wheelchair access (November 2018)
• Improve waiting areas for people in wheelchairs (November 2018)
• Improve lobby signage (November 2018)

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