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[ HEALTH ]
Hardly heardA deaf patient's eight-hour wait
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Sign help with deaf
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Baird does not believe it is a cost-savings issue, because she said Queen's hires interpreters every day for regular appointments with deaf patients. "I think it's an oversight," she said. "Doctors get so busy (in ERs)."
But the American with Disabilities Act calls for equal access to information, she said, adding that she knows of recent violations of the law.
Officials say more than 100,000 islanders statewide have significant hearing loss, and about 10,000 are deaf residents who use sign language as the primary method of communication.
Francine Wai, executive director of the Disability and Communication Access Board, said, "Clearly, the obligation of a hospital in providing services for people who are deaf and hard of hearing is to provide equivalent communication."
Communication does not always require an interpreter, but can be in writing or by a computer screen, she said.
McFeeley said he was "writing notes back and forth" with his nurses and doctors. But he prefers an interpreter because sometimes it is hard to understand what someone means with writing, he said.
Also, it was difficult for him to write because his right hand was injured, with 12 stitches needed on his little finger, he said. He also was treated for two cuts on his head and lacerations above his right eyebrow.
McFeeley collided with a car about 4:30 p.m. while riding his bicycle from Sand Island to Puuhale Street, where he catches the bus to go to his home in Waianae.
Young said a social worker called him from Queen's at about 10:30 p.m. looking for a relative who could communicate with McFeeley because they were trying to discharge him.
Young said he asked the social worker and others in the emergency room, before and after he went there to pick up McFeeley, why no one had called for an interpreter since 5 p.m. "It really concerns me that the hospital never bothered to get an interpreter," said Young, explaining that he only knows a limited form of sign language. "How would Rodney know what was happening to him?"
An emergency interpreter was reached through the Hawaii Services on Deafness and arrived about midnight from Waianae, he said. He and McFeeley left the hospital about 1 a.m., he said.
Kristine Pagano, advocate and treasurer for the Aloha State Association of the Deaf, said more education is needed for hospitals about care for patients with communication barriers.
Wai said health issues are involved as well as legal requirements. "A person must have informed consent when signing papers," she pointed out. "If a person is deaf and doesn't have appropriate literacy skills, as might a non-English-speaking person from another country, then writing down or even typing what is on a printed form doesn't provide any great communication."
Kathy Reimers, Hawaii Services on Deafness executive director, said her agency, which offers emergency interpretation services around the clock, has contracts with Queen's and other medical centers. "We know Queen's staff and legal personnel are aware of the laws and have set a system in place to ensure compliance.
"I don't know why there is a breakdown in the ER system," Reimers added, "but we're going to do training there and refresher training with all hospitals."
Although he was not happy about not having an interpreter, McFeeley said, "I really liked my doctor," who advised him to wear a helmet when riding bike.
"I've already bought it," he said.