HHS Office for Civil Rights Secures Agreement with Bayhealth Medical Center to Ensure Effective Communication for Individuals with Disabilities

OCR Resolves Complaint from Deaf Individual and Secures System-Wide Change

WASHINGTON— February 4, 2026 —The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) entered into a voluntary resolution agreement with Bayhealth Medical Center (Bayhealth), a health care system in Delaware, to resolve an investigation under federal disability rights laws.

OCR enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Section 1557) and their respective implementing regulations. Section 504 prohibits covered entities from discriminating on the basis of disability in their programs and activities. Section 1557 prohibits covered entities from discriminating on the basis of disability, among other bases, in their health programs or activities. Both Section 504 and Section 1557 require covered entities to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, such as qualified sign language interpreters, to individuals with disabilities, where necessary to afford them an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, covered programs and activities.

“With today’s technology for auxiliary aids and services, federally funded health care providers should no longer be treating the deaf and hard of hearing differently than hearing individuals,” said OCR Director Paula M. Stannard. “Effectively serving individuals with communication disabilities is essential to Making America Healthy Again.”

The agreement resolves a civil rights complaint from a deaf patient who uses American Sign Language to communicate. The complainant alleged that Bayhealth discriminated against him on the basis of his disability when it failed to provide him with a qualified interpreter throughout his three-day hospitalization to ensure that communication with him was as effective as communication with hearing individuals.

Under the terms of the agreement, OCR secured Bayhealth’s commitment to comply with Section 504’s and Section 1557’s effective communication requirements and implement system-wide changes that OCR will monitor for 2 years. Bayhealth will provide auxiliary aids and services in a timely manner and free of charge where necessary to ensure effective communication with patients or companions with disabilities. Bayhealth will also take appropriate steps to ensure that communication with patients and companions with disabilities is as effective as communication with others.

Under the agreement, Bayhealth also agreed to:

• Modify policies and procedures to ensure full compliance with the effective communication requirements of Section 504 and Section 1557.
• Train personnel—including doctors, employees, staff members, and contractors—who interact with individuals with communication disabilities on effective communication requirements and Bayhealth’s policies to ensure effective communication.
• Notify OCR of any grievance concerning Bayhealth’s failure to provide auxiliary aids or services to individuals with disabilities and how Bayhealth resolved the matter.
• Submit regular compliance reports to OCR at six-month intervals throughout the monitoring period to demonstrate adherence to the agreement.

The Voluntary Resolution Agreement can be found at https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ocr-bmc-ec-disability-agreement.pdf.

If you believe that you or someone else has been discriminated against because of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, or religion in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or for which HHS provides federal financial assistance, you may file a complaint with OCR.

To learn more about effective communication in health care, visit Disability Resources for Effective Communication.

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