Community
Groups Sue University Hospital
Over Unequal and Unsafe Medical Services
Albuquerque—The University of New Mexico Hospital is breaking the law and putting patients at risk by not providing adequate interpretation and translation services. That is the claim of plaintiffs in a civil rights lawsuit filed in state district court today by attorneys for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
According to the complaint, the hospital discriminates by refusing to implement effective systems of medical interpretation for patients, placing it in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act and equal protection provisions in the New Mexico and federal constitutions. Plaintiffs Enlace Comunitario, Albuquerque Metro Native American Coalition, SouthWest Organizing Project, Native Indian Youth Council, and New Mexico Voices for Children describe the complaint as a “last resort” to resolve problems they began raising with UNMH administrators nearly eight years ago. The university regents are named as defendants in the suit.
“The failure to provide interpreters isn’t just illegal—it’s also dangerous,” said Angelica Regino, Project Manager for Community Health Partnership. “Patients have to rely on friends and family members to communicate with their doctors. Sometimes children are trapped in that role. We heard of one case in which a young boy had to explain to his father that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer. In another case, a patient went for weeks taking eardrops orally because his prescription was never translated.”
Kim Posich, Executive Director for the NM Center on Law and Poverty, states, “This lawsuit is a statement by our community—not just the organizations listed as plaintiffs—that we want fair and equal access to medical services for all UNMH patients.”
The lawsuit seeks adequate access to trained interpreters for all major language groups in our community. Contract interpreters, on-call interpreters and telephonic interpretation services are sought for less frequently encountered languages. The complaint also asks for a policy limiting “the use of interpretation by children and family members unless the patient specifically requests [otherwise].”
“Interpretation and translation are vital services in a state as diverse as New Mexico,” said Keith Franklin of the Albuquerque Metro Native American Coalition, adding that there are many elderly people who speak only Navaho.
Contacts:
Kim Posich, Executive Director
NM Center on Law on Poverty
255-2840 or 345-0771
Peter Simonson, Executive
Director
ACLU-NM 266-4622
or 620-0775