Janene Huffstater
Deaf and Deaf Blind Committee on Human Rights (DDBCHR)
Columbus, OH
“The nurse and the orderlies put him into a "locked room" for three days but never provided him with an (sign language) interpreter... This hospital nearly killed my son by giving him the wrong medication!”
Hello, my name is Janene Huffstater and I am from Columbus, Ohio. I am here to speak about my son, Jon-Erik and about how his rights to health care and to communication were violated.
Jon-Erik is now in his 20's. He is Deaf and he communicates mostly through American Sign Language.
This past February, Jon-Erik was admitted to the hospital on a "pink-slip" after he sought help dealing with his severe mental illness. He asked the nurse to provide him a sign language interpreter so that he could effectively communicate with and understand the medical staff.
The nurse and the orderlies put him into a "locked room" for three days but never provided him with an interpreter. The nurses and orderlies also never asked him any questions about his medical history, his medication allergies, etc. The nurses never weighed him or took his height or, checked his blood pressure.
Without communicating with Jon-Erik, the medical staff at the hospital put my son on "Lithium", a medication which he is allergic to! Jon-Erik became very sick from the medication and vomited continuously for three days
Finally, my son's social worker came in and stopped the medical staff from giving him more "Lithium". This hospital nearly killed my son by giving him the wrong medication! The social worker made an effort to communicate with Jon-Erik in sign language but my son did not understand what was happening to him. He was extremely traumatized by this situation.
Before he was discharged, the hospital gave him summer clothes to wear even though it was very cold outside in the middle of winter.
It is ironic that my son went to the hospital seeking help, yet the treatment he received and the denial of his rights made his situation even worse. It is very important for Deaf patients to have interpreting services provided in medical facilities so that they can receive appropriate medical treatment.
Thank you for listening.