Summer 2000 OCR UPdate - 7
Outreach, Outreach, Outreach!
Limited English Proficiency
Forums (Region IX)
On September 22, 1999, OCR's San Francisco Regional Office staff organized a well-attended "Limited English Proficiency Forum" at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). OCR thanks CHLA for the gracious donation of its fabulous, state-of-the-art auditorium as the meeting place.
Efrain Fuentes, CHLA's Director of Patient and Family Services, gave a moving opening address as he described the significance of accurate communication between health care providers and their patients and families. OCR National Director Tom Perez, who was the featured guest speaker, spoke on OCR's enforcement of Title VI in the limited English proficiency context; and of OCR's development of a revised Limited English Proficient (LEP) Policy Guidance that will be usable by DHHS agencies, its recipients, and other interested parties.
In the aftermath of this forum, OCR received several new complaints. We are currently investigating a complaint against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which involves the provision of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) services to LEP persons. A second complaint under investigation involves the provision of services to LEP individuals at a rehabilitation hospital.
On April 13, 2000, Tom Perez gave the keynote address at a Cultural and Linguistic Competency conference held in Los Angeles. The conference was sponsored by the: Community Health Councils, Hollywood/Wilshire Community Health Council, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. A purpose of the conference was to give participants an opportunity to comment on the recently released Office of Minority Health cultural and linguistic guidelines for health care. Mr. Perez' speech focused on Title VI's requirement to provide services to persons of limited English proficiency, and the elements of an effective program to provide those services. Over 150 persons attended, including state and local officials, health providers and advocates.
World Aids Day (Region IX)
OCR's San Francisco employees joined other DHHS and Department of Education Region IX staff in the annual observance of World AIDS Day on December 1, 1999. OCR has devoted substantial resources to preventing discrimination based on HIV status. We enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibit discrimination based on disability. Under these laws, HIV disease (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic) is a covered disability. Individuals with a history of HIV/AIDS infection, and even those who are perceived or treated as having HIV or AIDS, are protected.
Everest Health Care, Chicago (Region V)
Last May, OCR met with Everest Health Care officials to provide technical assistance in response to concerns raised by the National Center for Latinos with Disabilities (NCLD), regarding provision of services to limited-English proficient (LEP) clients at Chicago area kidney centers operated by Everest. This large health maintenance organization agreed to adopt and disseminate OCR's policies and procedures for communicating with LEP and hearing-impaired clients. Everest has, during the course of a year, developed: a new nondiscrimination policy; procedures for securing interpreters for LEP and hearing-impaired clients; an instrument for assessing the fluency of interpreters in medical terminology; Spanish language materials; and a patient handbook that includes information on the availability of interpreters. Everest also has installed a TDD in its corporate office.
Everest Health Care operates 65 dialysis facilities in 12 states. During OCR's involvement, the recipient's sites served a total of 24 hearing-impaired, 121 visually-impaired, and 245 LEP patients. OCR expects these revised policies to affect 400 to 500 similarly situated clients a year.
Ryan White Activity (Region IX)
At the invitation of the Health Resources Services Administration's (HRSA) Pacific Region AIDS coordinator, OCR staff spoke at meetings attended by Ryan White Grantees in San Francisco and San Diego in October and November. The Ryan White Care Act authorizes grants (distributed by HRSA) to agencies that provide services to persons with HIV. At the meetings, OCR addressed: the legal rights of persons with HIV under Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act; the complaint process; and OCR's 1998 LEP Guidance Memorandum. The grantees, many of whom were relatively new to the process for obtaining Ryan White grants, were grateful for OCR's civil rights presentations and technical assistance packages.
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