After speaking with deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing patients in Connecticut, it was clear that access to communication in the health care setting is a major problem. I spoke with people who said they had strokes, underwent surgeries and gave birth without having the necessary interpreter services to communicate with hospital staff.
People I interviewed said these experiences can be scary. Some struggled to understand important information about medical care. The Accountability Project described the experiences of those patients in a story published earlier this month.
Advocates say Connecticut used to do much more for this community. Luisa Gasco-Soboleski, president of the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, says the state has regressed.
"They had what was then called the Commission for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. In 1974, it was established," Gasco-Soboleski signed. "The services were awesome. They had job placement services, interpreting services, training, programs, counseling, pretty much everything you could think of as a one-stop shop."
The commission shuttered in 2016, leaving the community it served without a central office to help coordinate services.
Many people turn to advocates like Gasco-Soboleski for help.
"I get calls on a daily basis with people who have issues that arise in hospitals, jobs," Gasco-Soboleski said. "Interpreting services are lacking because there has been no training since that time."
Now, there are talks in the legislature about establishing a new bureau to take the former commission's place. One proposal would create a Bureau for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Services. It would provide referral services, respond to concerns and coordinate trainings on best practices for serving this community.
The American School for the Deaf (ASD), located in Connecticut, is also using federal funding to expand access to services, with a focus on health care settings.
The school will provide specialized training for interpreters, and also distribute clear masks to health care professionals so that it's easier for patients to see their mouths moving when they speak. It also launched a pilot program that will make two to three interpreters available on call to assist patients at participating Connecticut hospitals.
Jeff Bravin, executive director of ASD, says he's looking at many ways to solve this problem.
"We want to make sure that we do not continue to suffer, " Bravin signed. "If we can provide access to this community ... we should be able to provide that to our community, just like any other community would have."
