Accessibility of Health Care Facilities
The following is a list of accessibility options you might want to ask about when choosing a new health care provider. Consider asking for a tour of the office to make sure it meets your accessibility requirements before making an appointment.
Parking/Getting into the Building
- Ample accessible parking close to the entrance, with curb-cuts, ramps with appropriate grade, non-skid surfaces and hand rails.
- Weather protection at the entrance.
- Double-wide entrance way with easily used door handles or power door openers.
- Elevators and signs with raised Braille writing.
In the office
- Ample room for people using canes and walkers and open spaces for people using wheel chairs.
- Accessible hallways and clear routes for people using mobility assistive devices, with 5 foot turning radius for people with wheel chairs.
- Non-skid and slip-resistant floors
- Chairs in appropriate locations for people who cannot stand for long periods.
- Wide doorways of 36 inches or more.
- Accessible restroom with ample turning space, back and side grab bar, raised toilet of at least 18 inch height, lowered soap dispenser, accessible faucet and sink, and lowered urine specimen shelf.
- A TTY available for people who are deaf and staff trained in how to use it and professional sign language interpreters trained in medical terminology.
- Ability to print directions and information in large print.
- A staff trained to be sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities, and knowledgeable of fatigue and other visible and invisible issues of Multiple Sclerosis.
In the exam room
- Turn around space for people with wheel chairs.
- Scales with grab bars, and scales allowing people using wheel chairs to be weighed while remaining in their chairs.
- Motorized, adjustable examination tables, including radiology and labs.
- Mammography machines that allow women to be seated in their wheel chairs.
- Accessible dressing rooms with ample space for people using mobility assistive devices, with large dressing bench and lowered clothing hooks.
- Attendant available for assistance as needed.
- Desks of appropriate height and writing surfaces, with knee space, for those who need to sit to take notes, and need a surface for writing.
- Prior agreement that the patient can either bring someone to take notes on the physician’s recommendations or if a staff person can be provided to take notes.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Architectural Barriers Act, along with state and local building codes govern the legal requirements of health care accessibility. For clarification of federal laws, see the Department of Justice Health Care Accessibility website