A settlement agreement has been reached between McLaren Healthcare Corporation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan to resolve an investigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Federal authorities launched a civil rights investigation after receiving complaints from multiple facilities about assistive devices and services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, according to a Monday announcement.
The agreement requires McLaren to provide, at no cost, assistive devices and services to ensure effective communication with patients and their companions. McLaren will also provide financial relief to the 14 affected individuals totaling $220,000, according to the federal prosecutor’s office.
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McLaren also said it will review and revise its policies as necessary to align with ADA requirements regarding effective communication and the terms of the settlement agreement. Any revisions must be submitted to the government for review within 30 days of the effective date of the settlement agreement.
McLaren said it plans to enhance existing signage in its facilities to clearly inform patients and their companions about the availability of free American Sign Language interpreters and other assistive devices and services.
Additionally, McLaren will contract with additional vendors to provide virtual and in-person interpretation services as needed, train staff on its updated policies, and report any future complaints from people with disabilities to the Department of Justice, the statement said.
The settlement agreement details everything McLaren will do, including submitting written compliance reports to the government every 120 days for the two-year period of the agreement from the effective date.
The health system owns and operates hospitals and outpatient centers throughout Michigan, including its subsidiary, Karmanos Cancer Institute, according to the statement. McLaren cooperated fully with the investigation. The 12-page settlement agreement signed this month lists 13 hospitals and provider-based outpatient facilities managed by McLaren.
McLaren Healthcare released a statement on Monday saying it is “committed to providing quality care to all patients, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
“We have always offered patients virtual or in-person interpreters as needed to communicate effectively with our staff of dedicated medical professionals, and even before we learned of the government investigation, we put in place enhanced procedures related to interpreting services to ensure interpreters were available in the remote locations we cover, leading to record patient satisfaction across our system.”
U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a release from her office, “It is critical that patients who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to communicate effectively with their health care providers. McLaren and its staff provide health care services to people throughout Michigan, including many rural areas where access to health care is limited, so I am especially proud of this resolution and what it means for equal access to health care.”
The Government was alerted to potential issues with the provision of assistive devices and services at the McLaren facility in 2022 and launched an investigation and compliance review in accordance with the settlement agreement.
The government concluded that McLaren violated the act by failing to provide appropriate assistive devices and services to certain hearing-impaired individuals as required at its McLaren Lapeer Regional, McLaren Greater Lansing McLaren Orthopedic Hospital, McLaren Macomb, McLaren Northern Michigan, McLaren Flint, Karmanos Cancer Institute and McLaren Port Huron facilities.
The settlement agreement states, “McLaren specifically denies that it violated Section 3 of the ADA and assumes no responsibility or liability for the facts and alleged conduct uncovered by the U.S. investigation. The parties believe it is in their best interest, and the United States believes it is in the public interest, to resolve this investigation on mutually satisfactory terms. This agreement shall not be construed as an admission of liability, wrongdoing or violation of law by McLaren.”
The investigation was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Civil Rights Unit.
Anyone who believes they have been discriminated against or their civil rights have been violated may file a complaint with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan by email at usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov or by telephone at 313-226-9151. Complaints may also be submitted through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division’s Complaint Portal.
For more information about the ADA, call the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or visit www.ada.gov.
Contact Christina Hall at chall@freepress.com. X (formerly Twitter): @challreporter.
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