Last modified Sat., March 18, 2006 - 01:44 AM
Originally created Saturday, March 18, 2006
Service-dog users file complaints against St. Vincent's and Shands
By BETH KORMANIK, The Times-Union
Wearing only a hospital gown, Madonna Gay waited outside of St. Vincent's Medical Center, where a security guard told her she could not return to her hospital bed unless she left behind her service dog, Rookie.
The incident happened last week while Gay was at St. Vincent's for heart stent surgery. After the procedure, a friend brought Rookie to her to help with Gay's mobility problems.
At first, this wasn't a problem. But when Gay rose to take Rookie outside, she said a nurse alerted a hospital security guard who would not permit her to return with the dog.
Only after Gay flagged down a police officer and nurses contacted her doctor were she and her dog allowed to re-enter the hospital -- after 1 1/2 hours of waiting outside without medical care.
St. Vincent's spokeswoman Pamela Rittenhouse said the hospital abides by all laws concerning access for disabled people and is looking into the complaint.
Meanwhile, Gay and service-dog user Renee Hughes, who said she experienced a similar problem at Shands Jacksonville, filed complaints Friday at the State Attorney's Office in Jacksonville.
Service animals are trained to perform tasks for an individual with a disability, including guiding a person who is visually impaired or blind, alerting a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, or assisting with mobility or balance and retrieving objects.
The law prohibits discrimination against people who use service dogs. Violations are second-degree misdemeanors and punished by a $500 fine or 60 days in jail.
Both Gay and Hughes filed police reports after the incidents. They were joined Friday by representatives of the nonprofit advocacy organization Florida Service Dogs.
"How can you call down and tell someone they can't go back to the hospital when they've already been admitted?" asked Carol Christopherson, president of the organization. "She could have died out there."
Hughes, whose dog Max helps her with mobility and hearing issues, filed her complaint against the Community Health Clinic at Shands.
She said she visits several clinics at Shands with no problems but always has trouble at the Community Health Clinic. On a visit this month she said she was directed to sit away from other patients waiting for treatment because staff were allergic to dogs and afraid of them.
Florida law specifically says those are not valid reasons for denying someone access to services.
Shands spokeswoman Julie Timm said the hospital allows clinic patients to bring along service animals, and she would look into why Hughes had a problem.
"Shands sees a variety of people, and we're accommodating to any kind of disability," Timm said.
Christopherson said she hoped the complaints prompt hospitals to ensure they provide service-dog users with the access the law requires.
"We want the system corrected," she said, "and I want an apology."
beth.kormanikjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4619
Take the bastards to the cleaners! 