ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 80
BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH AND SENATORS ALARIO, APPEL, BOUDREAUX,
CARTER, CHABERT, CLAITOR, COLOMB, ERDEY, FANNIN, GATTI, JOHNS,
LONG, LUNEAU, MILLS, MORRELL, PEACOCK, PETERSON, PRICE, RISER,
GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH, TARVER, THOMPSON, WALSWORTH, AND
WARD
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to convene a study committee on
policies concerning communication-related services for the deaf and hard of hearing
in hospitals and nursing facilities, and to report findings and recommendations of the
study committee to the legislative committees on health and welfare.
WHEREAS, the legislature intends that persons who are deaf or hard of hearing have
access to appropriate communication options in health facilities so that they may enjoy an
equal degree of choice in their care and treatment as persons with hearing ability; and
WHEREAS, of every thousand citizens in the United States, four are deaf, sixteen
are profoundly hard of hearing, and approximately one hundred are mildly to severely hard
of hearing; and
WHEREAS, in Louisiana, approximately two percent of children born each year are
deaf or hard of hearing; and
WHEREAS, the number of patients in this state who require communication-related
accommodations in healthcare facilities continues to rise; and
WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C.
12101 et seq.), requires that healthcare facilities provide reasonable accommodations in
access to care for persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, healthcare facilities have important responsibilities under federal law
to be accessible to deaf and hard of hearing individuals and establish effective
communication with those persons as they receive medical treatment; and
WHEREAS, individual members of the deaf and hard of hearing community require
different options for reasonable accommodation of their communications needs; the
community is highly diverse in many respects, and no "one-size-fits-all" accommodation
exists for the entire deaf and hard of hearing population; and
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WHEREAS, the United States Department of Health and Human Services recognizes
that English and American Sign Language (ASL) are distinct languages, and that writing or
interpreters who lack ASL proficiency will not suffice as effective communication aides for
most deaf persons whose only language is ASL; and
WHEREAS, many members of the deaf community and other patients with limited
English proficiency experience significant misunderstandings while receiving medical
treatment, leading to unnecessary or counterproductive treatments or putting them at risk for
adverse events due to language barriers or miscommunication; and
WHEREAS, when properly trained on their respective facilities' policies relating to
working with patients who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing, healthcare practitioners
who interact with these patients or make communication-related decisions in coordinating
the patients' treatment are the personnel who are best able to provide and guide effective care
for people with hearing loss; and
WHEREAS, best practices for training of healthcare providers on communicating
with the deaf and hard of hearing include cultural competency and awareness, and emphasize
the importance of accommodating the patient's communication choices whenever possible;
and
WHEREAS, informed by deaf advocates and academic fields such as
neurolinguistics, new best practices for assessing the communication needs of patients with
hearing loss are emerging, and these practices should form the basis of healthcare facility
policies on accommodating the communication choices of the deaf and hard of hearing; and
WHEREAS, working together with the deaf and hard of hearing and their advocates,
Louisiana hospitals and nursing facilities can identify and implement cost-effective and
patient-centered communication policies in order to give patients who are deaf, deaf-blind,
or hard of hearing the equal treatment they deserve.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to convene a study committee on
policies concerning communication-related services for the deaf and hard of hearing in
hospitals and nursing facilities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study committee shall be composed of the
following members:
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(1) Each member of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf who is not an elected
member of the legislature.
(2) The executive director of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf.
(3) Two staff members of the Louisiana Department of Health, one of whom shall
represent the health standards section and one of whom shall represent the bureau of health
services financing, appointed by the secretary of the department.
(4) Two representatives of the Louisiana Hospital Association appointed by the
president of the association.
(5) The executive director of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association or his
designee.
(6) The executive director of the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Nursing Facility
Administrators or his designee.
(7) One physician appointed by the executive director of the Louisiana State Board
of Medical Examiners.
(8) One physician appointed by the chief executive officer of the Louisiana State
Medical Society.
(9) One registered nurse appointed by the executive director of the Louisiana State
Board of Nursing.
(10) One registered nurse appointed by the executive director of the Louisiana State
Nurses Association.
(11) The director of Deaf Focus or his designee.
(12) The coordinator of the Deaf Grassroots Movement of Louisiana or his designee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the executive director of the Louisiana
Commission for the Deaf may appoint additional members to the study committee in a
number sufficient to ensure that no less than fifty percent of the membership of the
committee is comprised of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and advocates for the
deaf and hard of hearing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the study committee shall serve
without compensation except for any per diem or expense reimbursement to which they may
be individually entitled as members of the constituent organizations.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of the Louisiana Department of
Health shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the study committee convenes
on or before August 31, 2019, and may appoint a staff member of the department to serve
as an independent facilitator for the committee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that at its initial meeting, the members of the study
committee shall elect from their number a chairperson and adopt rules of procedure for the
committee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study committee may elect a vice
chairperson and other officers and adopt policies as it deems necessary.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study committee shall hold at least two
public meetings, and shall issue notice of each meeting in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the Open Meetings Law established in R.S. 42:19.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall
compile a written report of the findings and recommendations of the study committee, and
shall submit the report to the House Committee on Health and Welfare and the Senate
Committee on Health and Welfare no later than sixty days prior to the convening of the 2020
Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the executive director and each member
of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf, the president of the Louisiana Hospital
Association, the executive director of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association, the
executive director of the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Nursing Facility Administrators,
the executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the chief
executive officer of the Louisiana State Medical Society, the executive director of the
Louisiana State Board of Nursing, the executive director of the Louisiana State Nurses
Association, the director of Deaf Focus, and the coordinator of the Deaf Grassroots
Movement of Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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