In an effort to ensure the wide dissemination of information to protect and promote Latino and immigrant communities’ and individuals’ fundamental rights to nondiscrimination in health care and social service programs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is hosting a webinar series throughout the month of August.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) was established to enforce the law that protects individuals against discrimination and privacy, and to ensure that healthcare facilities – hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes for the elderly, among others – do not discriminate based on race, color, or national origin.
OCR does this by investigating complaints and conducting compliance reviews of entities that receive Federal funds, while at the same time offering on-the-spot help with interpreting over the phone if a facility does not have such capacity. In terms of discrimination based on national origin, language discrimination is the most common complaint that OCR receives.
Below you will find the schedule and RSVP of upcoming sessions where the Office for Civil Rights will share more about their work and their obligation to protect the community’s health, privacy, and well-being. The sessions – which are broken down by OCR’s operating regions – give participants a chance to connect directly with the officers with the ability to help you address health care discrimination in your area.
These sessions are for you if you are a professional in the healthcare field or advocating on behalf of individuals who would benefit from knowing this information, if you yourself have ever been the victim of discrimination or have had health information privacy issues, if you provide community services through social service channels or community organizations, or you care about the protection of civil rights in your community.
Region I [Boston]
Monday, August 13, 2012, 3:00 – 4:00 P.M. EST
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
[Note: If you belong to Region I, you can join any other upcoming call].
Region II [New York]
Tuesday August 14, 2012, 3:00 – 4:00 P.M. EST
New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
RSVP Here
Region III [Philadelphia]
Friday August 17, 2012, 10:00 – 11:00 A.M. EST
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
RSVP Here
Region IV [Atlanta]
Wednesday August 15, 2012, 2:00 P.M. CST / 3:00 P.M. EST
Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina
RSVP Here
Region V [Chicago]
Thursday August 16, 2012, 2:00 P.M. CST / 3:00 P.M. EST
Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio
RSVP Here
Region VI [Dallas]
Monday, August 27, 2012, 1:00 P.M. MST/ 2:00 P.M. CST
New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
RSVP Here
Region VII [Kansas City]
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 2:00 P.M. CST
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
RSVP Here
Region VIII [Denver]
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 1:00 P.M. MST / 2:00 P.M. CST
North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming
RSVP Here
Region IX [San Francisco]
Thursday, August 30, 2012, 9:00 A.M. HST / 12:00 P.M. PST 1:00 P.M. MST / 2:00 P.M. CST
Guam, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona
RSVP Here
Region X [Seattle]
Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 12:30 P.M. AKST/ 1:30 P.M. PST/ 2:30 P.M. MST
Oregon, Washington, Idaho
RSVP Here
For more information, contact HHS OCR at HHSOCRinfo@gmail.com.
For more information about HHS OCR, visit the website at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr.
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