State Permit Delaying Hospital Compliance With Court Order
Efforts to comply with a consent decree requiring Kaiser Permanente's Oakland hospital to be more accessible to the disabled have been delayed while the hospital awaits state inspections, a Kaiser spokesperson said, the Oakland Tribune reports.
A consent decree signed in September 2005 required the hospital to improve parking for disabled people and equip three patient rooms to be more accessible, including changes to toilets and showers. The first room was to be completed by the end of 2005, but spokesperson Alix Sabin said the room is not ready because the hospital is waiting for state approval to remove some walls and eliminate beds to make space for the new rooms.
Hospital officials expect the room to be completed within the next few months (Oakland Tribune, 4/13).
A jury will begin hearing a case in August to determine whether the hospital violated the disability rights of a patient with multiple sclerosis who claims the facility was not equipped for the disabled. Attorneys for the patient said Kaiser has violated the consent decree (Wetzel, Contra Costa Times, 4/13).