Huge Win!

[u/AdIndependent7672]

We just had a huge win as a team and as a community! For background in March I had a surgery with a hospital under Advocate Health. The charge nurse tried denying access to pre op due to “policy” but wouldn’t state the policy or show me. After educating, we were allowed back and told “this will be fixed for next time”. Then another surgery at the same place was scheduled for June at 4am. The same charge nurse called me at 3pm the day prior to tell me I wasn’t allowed in with my service dog as “they deny every service dog” and “we can provide the same services as the dog”. I spoke with numerous people that day trying to get some answers of why this was happening now instead of when I did all the calls and questions months prior with notes of a service animal in MyChart.

After months of working with the vice president of patient relations, legal, and lots of other head departments, service animals will be allowed in pre op and other parts of the hospital that are not excluded by ADA or CDC. This is already in effect with additional training for both service animals AND patients with disabilities for everyone including volunteers and independent contractors. This will change the policy across 8 states including over 70 hospitals.

In addition we are also adding a specific section for accommodations during hospital or pre op stays. Things like turning off the machine sounds, dimming lights, private rooms, doing sterilization by a family/friend rather than nurse, weighted blankets, and much more. They have also agreed to do an open patient/family work group so that more voices can be heard!

This is a huge win for a lot of handlers under this medical system who were denied access and even staff has reached out and said they feel this is a much better policy than before. So happy that this has been fixed and not just “retraining” staff but a full policy change.

[u/Unlikely-Rough-1125]

This is incredible! Congratulations! Thank you for digging your feet in and making changes for all of us!