June 15, David Marquis Department of Health Three Capitol Hill Providence, RI Dear Mr.

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1 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter #1 June 15, 2017 David Marquis Department of Health Three Capitol Hill Providence, RI Dear Mr. Marquis, provides licensed interpreters to Deaf patients who are in need of medical services afterhours and on weekends. We have formed an ad-hoc committee which is in the process of reexamining our policies, and we have come across some Department of Health Regulations that seem to be out of date. We are hoping to meet with you and/or members of your team to discuss Rules and Regulations for Licensing of Hospitals [R23-17-HOSP], specifically section 20. Hayley Baccaire reached out to you earlier to confirm that you are a potential point of contact for this conversation. Once the regulations are updated to reflect current industry standards, we hope to share these standards with members of the Deaf community via public forums. During the forums, we hope to clarify current regulations and share DOH s recommended procedure for submitting complaints. It has been the case where Deaf patients have not been able to access qualified interpreters in Rhode Island hospitals during emergencies. It is our hope that we can support DOH in updating the regulations to uphold standards that are in the best interest of patients. Members of the RICDHH s ad-hoc committee on EIRS are asking for a meeting in the near future. Some members of the committee use sign language to communicate, so we will be working with interpreters for this meeting. Could you please send us some dates that would work for you?

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3 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter # 2 Joint Commission Customer Service at Dear Joint Commission, provides interpreters to Deaf patients who are in need of medical services afterhours and on weekends. We have formed an ad-hoc committee which is in the process of reexamining our policies, and we have come across some RI Department of Health regulations that seem to be out of date. We are hoping to have a conversation with someone from your staff in order to clarify the role of the Joint Commission, your oversight and clarify patient safety submissions for Deaf and Hard of Hearing patients. In addition, we noticed that Dr. Baker from your team will be speaking at the International Medical Interpreters Association conference on Providers, Interpreters and Regulator: A Partnership for Patient Safety. That topic seems to be similar to our current work in Rhode Island. Could we also speak with Dr. Baker regarding this topic? Once we are able to clarify the scope of work provided by the Joint Commission, we intend on sharing this information with members of the Deaf community. In doing so, we hope to empower Deaf Rhode Islanders as they navigate the health care system.

4 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter #3 Mike Martineau Department of Health Three Capitol Hill Providence, RI Dear Mr. Martineau, provides interpreters to Deaf patients who are in need of medical services afterhours and on weekends. We have formed an ad-hoc committee which is in the process of reexamining our policies, and we have come across some Department of Health Regulations that seem to be out of date. We are hoping to meet with you and/or members of your team to discuss the status of Board of Examiners for Interpreters for the Deaf. During this meeting, we would also like to clarify the board s use of the regulations, complaint protocol and general scope of work. Once the regulations are updated to reflect current industry standards, we hope to share these standards with members of the Deaf community via public forums. During the forums, we hope to clarify current regulations and share DOH s recommended procedure for submitting complaints. It has been the case where Deaf patients have not been able to access qualified interpreters in Rhode Island hospitals. It is our hope that we can support DOH in updating the regulations to uphold standards that are in the best interest of patients. Members of the RICDHH s ad-hoc committee on EIRS are asking for a meeting in the near future. Some members of the committee use sign language to communicate, so we will be working with interpreters for this meeting. Could you please send us some dates that would work for you?

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6 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter #4 RI Disability Law Center Three Capitol Hill Providence, RI To Ms. Bowden, provides interpreters to Deaf patients who are in need of medical services afterhours and on weekends. We have formed an ad-hoc committee which is in the process of reexamining our policies, and we have come across some Department of Health Regulations that seem to be out of date. We are hoping to meet with you a member of your team to discuss the scope of work within RI Disability Law Center and how these outdated regulations impact the Deaf community. Once the regulations are updated to reflect current industry standards, we hope to share these standards with members of the Deaf community via public forums. During the forums, we will clarify current regulations and share the role of RI Disability Law Center for individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. It has been the case where Deaf patients have not been able to access qualified interpreters in Rhode Island hospitals. It is our hope that we can support patients and providers to understand an individual s right to communication in emergent situations. Members of the RICDHH s ad-hoc committee on EIRS are asking for a meeting in the near future. Some members of the committee use sign language to communicate, so we will be working with interpreters for this meeting. Could you please send us some dates that would work for you?

7 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter #5 Teresa Paiva Weed Hospital Association of RI Dear Ms. Paiva Weed, Congratulations on your new role with HARI! If this does not fit your current role, could you please forward it to the appropriate member of your team? provides interpreters to Deaf patients who are in need of medical services afterhours and on weekends. We have formed an ad-hoc committee which is in the process of reexamining our policies, and we have come across some gaps in the system which we would like to discuss with HARI. Issues include outdated regulations within the Department of Health and limited awareness of the regulations by hospitals and providers. Once the regulations are updated to reflect current industry standards, we hope to share these standards with members of the Deaf community via public forums. We would also like to keep HARI apprised of the updates to regulations and offer expertise if your members see fit. Members of the RICDHH s ad-hoc committee on EIRS are asking for a meeting in the near future. Some members of the committee use sign language to communicate, so we will be working with interpreters for this meeting. Could you please send us some dates that would work for you?

8 RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Draft Letter #6 Partners Healthcare System, Inc Prudential Tower 800 Boylston St Boston, MA Dear Dr. Torchiana, As Partners Healthcare proceeds to work with Care New England and begin operations, the RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (RICDHH) would like to welcome you to Rhode Island. RICDHH is currently working to improve access to ASL interpreting services for Deaf individuals in medical settings, especially during emergencies. We encourage you and your team to be mindful of the needs of Deaf patients as you examine the current systems. It is in your best interest to identify a point of contact for interpreting services within the network and at each facility. Interpreting services operate best under the direction of a building-wide administration, as patients transfer between units often. Deaf patients have struggled to obtain on-site interpreting service at Care New England Facilities under the current silo model. Rules and Regulations for Licensing of Hospitals [R HOSP] specifically section 20 and RI Regulation 5-71, Interpreters for the Deaf, require interpreting services in medical settings provided by a licensed sign language interpreter. As members of RICDHH's ad-hoc committee on Emergency Referral Services we are aiming to clarify rules and expectations for providers and patients. If you need assistance procuring interpreters or understanding requirements, please reach out to our team. Pam Zellner on our team staff can help field questions as our executive director is on medical leave. She can be reached at Pamela.Zellner@cdhh.ri.gov or.