ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The United States Attorney’s Office announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the owners of Carrington Place of the Tappahannock (CPOT), located in Tappahannock. The owners of CPOT also have an interest in 12 other nursing facilities, and the settlement terms of the settlement agreement apply to each of these nursing facilities.
The settlement agreement resolves allegations that CPOT denied admission to a Deaf individual because they would require sign language interpretation services while at CPOT. The ADA prohibits covered entities from excluding people with disabilities from their services because they need ancillary assistance or services, such as a sign language interpreter. In addition to making significant changes to the policies and procedures of their nursing facilities, the owners of the CPOT also agreed to pay $40,000 to the resident who was denied admission and a civil penalty of $50,000.
To resolve this complaint, nursing facility owners have agreed to adopt new ADA policies at the 13 nursing facilities in which they have an interest: (1) Essex Rehabilitation & Care Center, LLC d/b/a Carrington Place in Tappahannock; (2) Essex Rehabilitation & Care Center, LLC d/b/a Tappahannock Post Acute Care; (3) LA First Street, LLC d/b/a Springhill Post Acute & Memory Care; (4) LA Westfork, LLC d/b/a White Oak Post Acute Care; (5) LA Old Hammond HWY, LLC d/b/a Pines Retirement Center of Baton Rouge; (6) LA Park Manor, LLC d/b/a Lafrenier Assisted Living and Memory Care; (7) Place Zachary ALF, LLC d/b/a Oakwood Village; (8) East Lake Rehab & Care Center, LLC d/b/a Trinity Regional Rehab Center; (9) Place of St. Pete, LLC d/b/a St. Pete Post Acute Care; (10) Birdmont Health Care, LLC d/b/a Carrington Place in Wytheville; (11) Botetourt Health Care, LLC d/b/a Botetourt Post Acute Care; (12) Norfolk Area Senior Care, LLC d/b/a Chesapeake Post Acute Care; and (13) Cambridge Sierra Holdings, LLC d/b/a Reche Canyon Regional Rehab Center.
These policies will make facility services accessible to people with communication disabilities, including those who require the services of a sign language interpreter; requiring the appointment of ADA Administrators, who will be responsible for ensuring each facility’s compliance with the ADA; require institutions to enter into agreements with sign language interpretation service providers to provide services to those who need them; and provide training to facility personnel on the ADA’s effective communication requirements.
The case was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Gordon, who is the Civil Rights Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The civil claims settled by this ADA Agreement are allegations only; there was no determination of civil liability.
The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to help entities comply with the ADA, including Effective Communication and a Business Brief on Communicating with Deaf or Hard of Hearing Persons in Hospital Settings. For more information about the ADA and to access these publications, visit http://www.ada.gov or call the Department of Justice’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).
A copy of this press release can be viewed on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.