A group of related assisted living communities in New York
City as well as the state's governor, health commissioner and Department
of Health are defendants in a lawsuit alleging they discriminate
against people with disabilities who use wheelchairs.
The New York City-based Fair Housing Justice Center, a
former assisted living resident and her brother, who is her power of
attorney and healthcare proxy, are the plaintiffs in the April 12
action.
The resident alleges that she was prohibited from returning
to one of the facilities, where she had resided for five years, after
she left for two months to be treated for a urinary tract infection and
subsequently used a wheelchair some of the time. She continues to live
at the skilled nursing facility where she had gone for rehabilitation,
according to the lawsuit.
Defendants in the lawsuit include the Village Housing
Development Fund, Elm York Assisted Living in the East Elmhurst
neighborhood of Queens, Madison York Assisted Living in the Rego Park
neighborhood of Queens and Madison York Assisted Living in the Corona
neighborhood in Queens. The plaintiff lived in an adult home operated by
the Village Housing Development Fund, which is related to the other
communities, according to the complaint.
Representatives for the assisted living facilities did not respond to requests for comment by McKnight's Senior Living's publication deadline.
The FHJC, in a newsletter posted online,
said it conducted an “undercover testing investigation” of the
defendants' properties (in 2017, according to the lawsuit) after
receiving allegations of discrimination from residents. The complaints,
according to the lawsuit, included being prohibited from using
wheelchairs and other mobility devices throughout facilities and in
common areas and being warned that they could be sent to a nursing home
if they became too reliant on such equipment.
The center had testers pose as family members of
prospective residents, and conversations were recorded, according to the
lawsuit. The investigation, the nonprofit organization said,
“demonstrates a pattern and practice of discrimination against people
who use wheelchairs.” Testers frequently were told that residents were
required to be ambulatory in case of an evacuation.
The facilities are licensed by the state to provide housing
and services to people with disabilities, and all have elevators,
according to the FHJC.
“As soon as a resident begins to use a wheelchair, the
adult home claims they are inappropriate for assisted living and sends
them to a nursing home,” Jota Borgmann, senior staff attorney at
Mobilization for Justice, said in the newsletter article. Attorneys from
that organization as well as AARP Foundation Litigation are
representing the plaintiffs. “And, worse yet, New York state shamefully
maintains that it is perfectly fine for adult homes to discriminate
against people who use wheelchairs,” Borgmann added.
The FHJC alleges that the state “promotes disability
discrimination through its regulations and policies.” Adult homes are
allowed to ban wheelchair users, and the state Department of Health
regulations say that assisted living facilities “should not accept nor
retain any person who … is ‘chronically chairfast,' ” according to the
complaint.
The regulations have not been updated since the passage of
the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Affordable Care Act and the
amendments to the federal Fair Housing Act as well as since the Supreme
Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C., the FHJC said.
Full Article & Source:
Assisted living facilities sued for discriminating against people who use wheelchairs
How ironic is this one?
ReplyDelete