On Thursday, the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in West Hartford and Hartford HealthCare signed a partnership to help support the Deaf in medical settings.
“In a medical setting, when you are meeting with your physician, it is critical that you understand exactly what the doctor wants to tell you,” ASD Executive Director Jeffrey Bravin said. “If you’re not able to understand or you’re trying to figure out the information you’re receiving. Your health could be compromised, and you issue could be magnified.”
Hartford HealthCare says the service is available at five hundred of its locations.
“The interpreters are already here and working in the field,” Bravin said. “It’s been a pilot over the past couple of weeks, but this has been the official start of the partnership.”
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The health system currently has one ASL interpreter employed and working in the Hartford Region.
“We want to make sure that every single physician, or nurse or anybody that is joining our system understands the importance of providing the high-level care,” Hartford HealthCare Chief Clinical Officer and Executive Vice President Dr. Ajay Kumar said.
Hartford HealthCare says it is assessing the need for additional interpreters and will hire more as the department develops.
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“When they go to any Hartford HealthCare center, they will be guaranteed to get the communication access that they deserve,” Bravin said.
