Hartford HealthCare, American School for the Deaf partner to broaden access for deaf, blind patients

Contributed American School for the Deaf Executive Director Jeffrey Bravin, left, and Dr. Ajay Kumar, EVP and chief clinical officer for Hartford HealthCare, sign a partnership agreement for the health system to provide American Sign Language interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients at the school on Thursday.

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By David Krechevsky

Hartford HealthCare has teamed with the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in West Hartford to provide in-person American Sign Language (ASL) and other translation services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients and their companions, the organizations announced Thursday.

Under terms of the partnership agreement, Hartford HealthCare will add a full-time ASL/English medical interpreter to its staff and deepen its commitment to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, officials said.

Dr. Ajay Kumar, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Hartford HealthCare, said it is his organization’s privilege and responsibility to meet the communication for everyone it serves.

“Clear communication is essential for quality and safe care,” he said.

He added that experienced, competent interpreters will help ensure that all patients and their companions can understand their providers, ask questions and/or request advice.

Based in West Hartford, the American School for the Deaf, founded in 1817, provides a variety of educational programs and services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people from birth through adulthood.

In response to the closure of the state’s interpreting services program in 2016, ASD launched an interpreting services program to meet the needs of Connecticut’s deaf, hard-of-hearing and deaf/blind communities.

ASD Executive Director Jeffrey Bravin said communication barriers significantly limit access to quality health care for Connecticut’s hearing loss community.

The organizations said interpretation services will be facilitated through Hartford HealthCare’s language services vendor, Propio One, and can be provided in person or via video. Hartford HealthCare patients also can access assistive listening devices or qualified note-takers, depending on the method of communication they prefer, officials said.