CCOSD

OPA Seeking Factual Stories About VRI in Hospitals!

The Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (OPA) has received several complaints about the hospitals in Connecticut using the VRS (video remote services) for any patients who are deaf. Some hospitals do not honor these patients’ requests or preference of using live interpreters instead of VRI (video remote interpreters). The OPA needs to hear any stories or complaints from any deaf persons who were denied live sign language interpreters or had bad experience with the VRS at the hospitals in Connecticut. If you used VRI for your family members at the hospitals, your story is still important to OPA and Deaf Community.

Recently Executive Director James D. Mc Gaughey called for a special meeting concerning this issue. The following persons from Deaf Community who attended were Ted Baran and Sara Gerhold of CDHI Interpreting Department, Rachel Spillane of FSW/Community Service for Deaf and their Families (CSDF), Sue Pedersen, President, CCOSD, Barbara Cassin and Sandra Inginza who represented Connecticut Association of the Deaf fighting for deaf patients’ medical rights back in the year of 1980′s. They discussed the US Department of Justice’ s decree of consent for CT Hospitals but OPA needs YOUR STORIES to start the process of filing the complaints again.

Please feel free to contact OPA at 860.297.4300 Voice, 860.297.4380 TTY or 800.842.7303 Voice/TTY. Or write your story to OPA, 60B Weston Street, Hartford, CT 06120-1551. Click www.ct.gov/opapd/