St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith, Ark., has agreed to change its policies after it refused to let a person with a disability use a service animal in the hospital, according to a news release from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.
According to a complaint filed with the OCR, a person with a spinal disability needed a service animal to help him in daily functions, such as stabilization while walking. St. Edward Mercy allegedly refused to allow the service animal into the hospital because it was not a "seeing eye dog" and vaccination records were not available to verify the animal's health.
The OCR found St. Edward Mercy's policies regarding service animal access inappropriately excluded animals in use by individuals with disabilities other than vision impairment. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, entities receiving federal financial assistance may not limit service animal access to those used by people who are visually impaired.
Under the settlement, St. Mercy will establish new non-discrimination policies and provide notice and training to staff.
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According to a complaint filed with the OCR, a person with a spinal disability needed a service animal to help him in daily functions, such as stabilization while walking. St. Edward Mercy allegedly refused to allow the service animal into the hospital because it was not a "seeing eye dog" and vaccination records were not available to verify the animal's health.
The OCR found St. Edward Mercy's policies regarding service animal access inappropriately excluded animals in use by individuals with disabilities other than vision impairment. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, entities receiving federal financial assistance may not limit service animal access to those used by people who are visually impaired.
Under the settlement, St. Mercy will establish new non-discrimination policies and provide notice and training to staff.
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