Boston Center for Independent Living View this email in your browser BCIL announces agreement with Boston Medical Center to improve care and services for people with disabilities! On January 29, members of BCIL, individuals from Boston’s disability community, attorneys from Greater Boston Legal Services, and the leadership of Boston Medical Center announced a comprehensive agreement to improve access at the hospital. Built upon BCIL agreements from 2008 with Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals, the agreement requires BMC to, among other things: o Remove architectural barriers, including in exam rooms, patient rooms, treatment rooms, waiting areas, gift shops and parking areas. o Purchase medical equipment and devices that are accessible for people with disabilities, including wheelchair scales, power adjustable exam tables, power door openers, and mammography equipment. o Modify hospital policies and procedures that address issues related to the care of people with disabilities. o Develop a training program for all staff including physicians, nurses and support staff who interact with patients and visitors. o Improve patient-provider communications. o Develop new screening protocol so that the needs of patients with disabilities are assessed upon admission to the hospital. o Institute quality measurement mechanisms so that BMC can determine whether patients with disabilities encounter any problems related to their disabilities that adversely affect the care they receive. To review a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding, go to bostoncil.org. BCIL and individual advocates will be working closely with BMC to implement the MOU’s provisions and to make BMC a model hospital with respect to accessibility. If anyone is interested in learning more about the agreement or getting involved with access concerns at other medical facilities, including by sharing any experiences with access barriers, please contact Karen Schneiderman or Allegra Stout at BCIL at 617-338-6665, 617-338-6662 TTY, [email protected], [email protected]. BCIL extends deep thanks to attorneys Dan Manning, Alexa Rosenbloom, and Nancy Lorenz of GBLS and Memorandum of Understanding signers Maureen Cancemi, Sergio Goncalves, Priscilla Walker, Ruth Kahn, John Kelly, Carol Freitas, Kristen McCosh, and Barbara Rivero for their tremendous work on the agreement. We also commend BMC president Kate Walsh and her staff for their sincere commitment to the undertaking. Announcing the agreement at BMC: Kristen McCosh, Dr. Robert Master of Commonwealth Care Alliance, Kate Walsh of BMC, and Sergio Goncalves. Like Tweet Forward to Friend Copyright © 2014 Boston Center for Independent Living, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you asked a staff member to add you to the list, or you have been involved in our advocacy in the past. Our mailing address is: Boston Center for Independent Living 60 Temple Place Boston, Ma 02111 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 02:51:59 +0000