An open letter to all hospitals, from disabled people.
Hospitals are the worst offenders when it comes to service dog (and other ADA) violations. As a life source of care for us, you need to do better for your most vulnerable patients. All of your staff should be trained in the ADA and service animal laws, plus any disability laws applicable to your state. Somehow, hospitals are often the least accessible places we have to access.
One of our founding members (L) has now been denied access to the hospital twice, when trying to assist their wife during cancer treatments and surgery. L is their wife’s primary caregiver, and allowed in without a dog because of their role in their wife’s care.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms. However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.” (Source, ada.gov)
This quote is from the one page flyer put out by the Department of Justice on the ADA relating to service animals. It is incredibly easy to access, it is the first result when googling “service animal laws.” The quote above is not buried, it is the entire answer to the section titled, “Where Service Animals are Allowed.” Hospitals are the only industry that’s even directly addressed. If you are claiming ignorance of the laws you are readily admitting that you haven’t even tried.
L was never asking to bring the service dog into an operating room or burn unit. One of the hospitals, L gave the hospital prior warning that they were going to need to bring their service animal with them to these appointments, and the hospital agreed. Both times the hospital staff put L through a terrible ordeal, made them advocate for themselves during a time of high stress (cancer treatments and surgery), made them further advocate again that they needed to be there for their wife as a caregiver and advocate (even though this was previously understood and approved).
L’s health issues and pain are exacerbated by stress; the hospitals put them under incredible stress during an already stressful time. Stressing them out to the point of severe pain, shaking, crying and exhaustion, while being separated from their wife, on an already stressful day, and forced to quote the law and advocate for basic needs in a waiting room in front of strangers. On top of that they’re now looking at the long process of filing a complaint and providing documentation for a case with the civil rights office in their area, which is additional stress that is only prolonging the health issues indefinitely.
If there is a problem with a disabled person in your hospital, it should be the burden of your staff to research the laws and find a way to accommodate them. The burden should not be on the disabled person to advocate for their own needs. When we do advocate for ourselves, (informally, formally or legally) we risk the backlash of getting a note put on our medical file that jeopardizes our future access to care. It’s only when we’ve given up on life that many of us are willing or able to take that risk.
L is an especially effective and tenacious advocate. They know their stuff, about the law, about what their rights are, they are charming and likable, and are especially eloquent verbally. A large portion of disabled people do not have the ability to advocate for themselves under incredibly stressful situations like these; due to cognitive impairment, anxiety caused by past medical trauma, brain fog, not knowing or understanding the laws, communication barriers and a variety of other reasons.
If one of our best advocates can’t get hospitals to follow the clearly written and easily accessible ADA laws, how will the rest of us?
You need to do better.
#CripRevolution