A Deaf Woman Is Denied An Interpreter At Bronson Hospital

No one should have to beg for an interpreter

Jennifer Tyler, who has been Deaf since birth was denied "Effective Communication" when she was taken to Bronson Hospital when she was experiencing a panic attack.

Jennifer told Channel 3 News that...

She was unable to communicate properly with her doctor. She said she ultimately left the hospital out of frustration.

Now Jennifer is planning to file a civil rights complaint against Bronson Hospital. This will be the 4th time that she has lodged a complaint regarding the issue of not being supplied an interpreter forcing her to write everything down or use  Video Remote Interpreting (VRI).

When Jennifer brought up her concerns about VRI (it is widely known to be unreliable, i.e. screen cutting out, freezing up and uncomfortable to work with). Her Doctor responded with...

This is an accredited interpreter. It is not a civil rights issue to use an ASL interpreter. When you want to use this interpreter, we can talk.

Jennifer immediately left the hospital with more problems than she went in with.

Staff at Bronson provided the following written statement from Beth Washington, Vice President, Community Health, Equity & Inclusion at Bronson Healthcare:

We continually provide exceptional healthcare experiences for our community. We make our services accessible for all members of the community and accommodate the needs of our community, including those community members who require interpreter services. We provide these services free of charge to patients and their families. We are always seeking input on how to improve the services we provide, including the services we provide to those members of our community who require interpreter services.

If you are Deaf you have the right to communications that you feel comfortable with. This is a persons health and the information needs to communicated in the manner that a person feels comfortable.