The Justice Department has settled with an Ohio rehab clinic that allegedly violated federal law by denying admission to an HIV-positive patient.
Last week, Glenbeigh Hospital in Rock Creek, Ohio, was determined to be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to enter an unnamed man into its alcohol-treatment program because of the side effects of his HIV medication.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, “Glenbeigh cannot show that treating the complainant would have posed a direct threat to the health or safety of others.”
“Ensuring access to medical care for people with HIV requires that those in the medical field make medical decisions that are not based on fears or stereotypes,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, who is now under consideration for Labor Secretary. “The ADA does not tolerate HIV discrimination and neither will the Justice Department.”Under the terms of the settlement, Glenbeigh will pay $32,500 to the patient, in addition to $5,000 in fines. The hospital is also required to train its staff on being ADA-compliant and implement a new non-discrimination policy.
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In the past two months, the Justice Department has announced similar agreements with three other medical facilities accused of HIV discrimination. The are part of the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, a partnership between of Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices nationwide.
