Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Assistance

Covenant Health hospitals, physician offices, and other locations provide patients and their companions who are deaf or hard of hearing appropriate auxiliary aids and services free of charge to ensure effective communications.

If you recognize or have any reason to believe that a patient or a relative, close friend, or companion of a patient is deaf or hard of hearing, you must advise the person that appropriate auxiliary aids and services, such as sign language and oral interpreters, video remote interpreting services (e.g., Stratus), TTYs, note takers, written materials, assistive listening devices, and systems, televisions with captioning or closed caption decoders, and open and closed captioning of most hospital programs, will be provided free of charge when requested and appropriate.  If you are the responsible health care provider, you must ensure that such aids and services are provided to the patient or companion who is deaf or hard of hearing when appropriate. All other personnel should direct that person to the House Supervisor or office manager on duty at the location.

Physicians and their staff should notify the House Supervisor on the duty of patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing as soon as such patients are scheduled for admissions, tests, surgeries, or other health care services at any Covenant Health hospital location.