REPORT: Blind & Visually Impaired Accommodation in Hospital Instruction; Rural Issues

WNY Healthcare Association

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

    This past month has been a flurry of meetings, the most important of which occurred with the New York State Rural Health Council; and Executive Oversight Committee for the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  As a member of both entities, I was able to bring topics to the agendas that are of interest to our members.  Specifically:

   —At the Oversight Committee meeting this past week, I asked my board colleagues how hospitals could best address the requirement that pre-admission and discharge instructions for blind or visually impaired patients be provided in large print or audible formats.  Their recommendations:

   —The best advice:  ask the patient in what medium (s)he would want the instructions.  Technically speaking, large print is considered to be at least 14-point type, and sans serif typefaces (such as Helvetica) are better than serif typefaces (such as Times Roman);

   —If the patient has the KNFB Reader on his/her iPhone, the solution is simple:  by using the phone to take a picture of the instructions, the patient would then be able to use the app to have the information read back aloud.  N.B.:  it’s best to avoid handwriting when using this app, and PDF files are also a challenge.  An Android version of the app is coming soon;

   —The instructions can be emailed to the patient if (s)he has a computer with a program that can read those back.  Again, no handwriting or PDFs;

   —If the patient has a cellphone, the instructions can be simply dictated into that person’s voicemail; and

   —Additionally, the instructions can be sent as an MP3 file to the patient’s computer via email.

   The crucial element is that it is best to determine the patient’s medium of choice.

   I have shared these recommendations with the state Department of Health.

 RURAL HEALTH COUNCIL MEETING NOTES

   At the recent New  York State Rural Health Council meeting, I brought up (again) the question of the Council’s position on the nurse staffing ratio bill.  The Council quickly agreed that it needs to take a position on the legislation, and I was asked (as I have been in the past) to write a position paper on the topic.

   Further, Rural Health Council members voiced intense displeasure with the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) process and how it will affect rural hospitals, with one member opining that DSRIP “. . . will be the death of rural hospitals.”  The Council took no action on the matter, but the frustration among Council members was palpable.

John E. Bartimole

President

Western New York Healthcare Association