September Proclaimed Deaf Awareness Month

Share your story with the Rockland Deafness Task Force

During Deaf Awareness Month in September and to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2025, the Rockland Deafness Task Force will hold a special meeting on Thursday, September 4 @4pm at the Greater Mental Health of New York; 140 Route 303, Valley Cottage, NY 10989 to address the need for advocacy with local healthcare providers regarding the lack of proper access for deaf people to healthcare and rehabilitative services in the Lower Hudson River Valley.

Over the past several years, deaf patients have objected that certain local hospitals, doctor’s offices and rehab centers have repeatedly refused to provide a live, professional sign language interpreter – instead resorting to asking the deaf patient to write on notepaper, asking family members to interpret or providing a Video Remote Interpreter (VRI) on an iPad to save expense but that too often does not allow the deaf patient to clearly understand and be understood in making important personal healthcare decisions.

We are, therefore, inviting deaf patients, caregivers, sign language interpreters, medical professionals and healthcare administrators to attend our meeting to share past personal and professional experiences when requesting or providing the services of a medical sign language interpreter during medical exams and procedures held at area hospitals, doctor’s offices and rehabilitation centers in Rockland, Westchester and Orange Counties.

Please come to listen and to share your personal experience at the meeting or to provide us with a brief, 1-2 minute pre-recorded video explaining your personal experience that we can then share during the meeting and on social media.

The Rockland Task Force on Deafness & Mental Health encourages deaf residents and their families to advocate for their rights under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Affordable Care Act to access “effective communication” with medical professionals and to ensure their right, as a deaf patient, to fully participate in the medical assessment and decisions concerning their personal healthcare and treatment.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact:

email: taskforce@greatermentalhealth.org or phone: 845-267-2172 ext. 610