Accessible? (PART 2)

See part 1 here.

I found myself in the ER again last week. Due to a problem discovered in a routine clinic visit, I needed to be admitted to the hospital for a procedure the next morning. Unfortunately, I had to go through the ER process to wait for a bed in the hospital.

As one hour turned to two, I found I needed to use the restroom, desperately. But they didn’t have the ability to transfer me. The Hoyer lift they had wouldn’t fit in the restroom. (A Hoyer Lift allows a person to be lifted and transferred with a sling for those whose mobility is limited.) Then a doctor suggested I get into bed and use a bedpan. Not ideal, but a solution nonetheless. When they found a bed for me, a RN looked at me like, “OK, get into bed.” I told him I needed a lift to transfer me from my wheelchair to the bed. He asked, “Can’t you just stand and pivot…?” I heard “Can’t you just…?” quite a few times that day. Umm, no dude, I can’t. He sighed and said he’d have to find the lift. Once they found the lift, no one really knew how to use it. My husband had to show them what to do.

My ER visit was unacceptable. I was made to feel less than because of my disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees full and equal access to health care services and facilities. This includes the requirement that employees are trained on proper patient handling techniques, operation of accessibility equipment, and how to assist with transfers and positioning of individuals with disabilities. The requirement is to provide equal medical services to a patient with a disability. Purchasing accessible medical equipment will not provide equal access if no one knows how to operate it. Staff must also know which examination and procedure rooms are accessible and where portable accessible medical equipment is stored. New staff should receive training as soon as they come on the job and all staff should undergo periodic refresher training during each year

People with disabilities had to create a civil rights movement in order to achieve visibility and legal standing. But the reality is that the ADA is an imperfect tool. The good news is that the ADA brought change and opened the door to creating new public attitudes. The not-so-good news is that we still have a long way to go.