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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
L. Fleming Fallon, MD, PhD, DrPH, Northwest Ohio Consortium Master of Public Health Degree Program, Bowling Green State University, 234 Health Center Building, Bowling Green, OH 43403, 419-372-8316, ffallon@bgnet.bgsu.edu and Anthony J. Linz, DO, Northwest Ohio Consortium Master of Public Health Degree Program, 3202 Stonewood Dr., Sandusky, OH 44870.
Purpose: The assessment of healthcare practitioners of Erie County, Ohio in providing adequate, useful, and legally compliant outpatient parking for handicapped patients.
Methods: Healthcare providers utilizing 46 office parking areas were randomly selected to determine whether handicapped patients could find Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant parking allowing them accessibility to the provider's office. The Parking Survey Form, taken from the ADA Accessibility Guidelines previously developed by the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, was utilized. The Departments of Justice and Transportation have used the checklist. Each parking area was visually inspected. Required dimensions were evaluated by direct measurement to determine compliance.
Results: Healthcare provider handicap parking space compliance under ADA Guidelines was significantly lower than expected. A diversity of healthcare practitioners provided overall similar rates of non-compliance. Only one of the 46 parking areas surveyed was completely ADA compliant. The average number of ADA violations among all groups surveyed was 12. Nine of the 46 parking areas had no provision for handicap spaces. Two government facilities in Erie County were randomly chosen and surveyed. Neither was compliant with ADA regulations.
Conclusion: An unacceptable number of ADA violations were found in parking areas provided by healthcare practitioners. Government agencies surveyed also failed to adhere to legal requirements.
Learning Objectives: "At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to
Keywords: Disability, Access to Health Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.