2012-10-17, Committee on People With Disabilities Minutes

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situation with Hilo Medical Center. He also discussed this with Teri who has already been working with Mass Transit as well as Hilo Medical Center. C. Cholas stated that Disability Rights Hawai‘i which has been around for about 14 years is a non-profit agency and advocacy group made up mostly of people in the Hilo area. They advocate for better County and public facilities, etc., on any area of concern for people with disabilities. The agency has worked with Teri from HR, with Alisa for Parks and Recreation, and Public Works, Traffic Division. We’ve tried to build a pretty close relationship with the County so that anything the County does is following ADA and anything that has to do with respect for disability rights. And this County has been really good working with Disability Rights Hawai‘i. It’s a nice working relationship. Individuals may come to our group and say, had problems with this or that, and then we’ll maybe write a letter to that person or we may refer it to the agency I work for, Disability Rights Hawai‘i, for legal issues. It’s grassroots. Regarding the hospital issue - a bus stop was put in below the hospital, but there is no accessible walkway to the hospital from the bus stop, only stairs. A person who cannot do stairs has to walk on Waianuenue Avenue which is not a very safe path to be walking on. So Disability Rights Hawai‘i met with Ms. Julie Beth Ako from the Hilo Medical Center. She brought her plans of the parking and Disability Rights Hawai‘i gave some recommendations including making a ramp. The problem is the way the driveway to the hospital is configured, we’re not sure a bus can make the turns. The problem with the ramp is money and how long it would take before they had the money to put it in. In the meantime one thought was if we can get the bus around there and drop off at the back entrance of the hospital, the side entrance, but that would be a temporary fix. The hospital is looking about switching their parking lots. So that’s the kind of issues that Hawai‘i Disability Rights tries to take on. Things that just benefit everyone that have a disability thing. On November 9, some members from Disability Rights Hawai‘i will be doing Access Trekking. We pick a park trail either in Volcano or Lava Tree State Park and just see how accessible it is, and then have a picnic. We’ve worked really close with Alisa Mitchener to get Mobi mats in. I think that was one of the things that we really pushed for. And I hear a lot of good things about using that service, and hoping that Richardson’s will get completely accessible. Our president is Danny Johnson. I’m one of the vice chairs, and Ron Amundson who has just retired as a University Professor is our secretary. The Board has seven members. T. Spinola-Campbell stated that when she became aware of the problem from Ron Amundson, she informed the Department of Public Works. Her understanding of the 2010 ADA Standards is that when the County installs a bus stop, the County is responsible to provide an accessible route in the public right-of-way to the boundary to their facility. The Hilo Medical Center is 2