UF event to focus on Deaf healthcare perspectives

FINDLAY — The public is invited to connect with Deaf community members, healthcare students and area professionals at an event Friday at the University of Findlay focused on Deaf perspectives in healthcare. The UF ASL (American Sign Language) Club will host "Deaf Perspectives in Healthcare: a Healthcare Communication Collaboration" from 10 a.m.-noon and from 1-3 p.m. at the UF Shafer Library. Ashley Kiger, president of UF ASL Club and coordinator of the event, said the goal is to bring people together to explore the communication barriers involved in healthcare and how to address them to make the field more accessible. The event will feature speakers and community roundtable discussions. Participants will also visit hands-on stations where they explore tasks like making routine medical appointments, receiving medication instructions and undergoing imaging. "The goal is to hear the experience from the Deaf community members," Kiger said. She said she's excited for healthcare students to have a chance to learn directly from people who experience these communication barriers. Her hope is that the event improves communication between Deaf individuals and healthcare professionals, and ensures that the professionals better understand their patients' perspective. The ASL Club received a grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education which has made Friday's event possible. Last year a similar grant allowed students to create an event focused on law enforcement. "Not every Deaf person knows how to read English," Kiger said. "So when they're being told (their) Miranda rights, they might not know what that means." UF students and Deaf community members are now working to create a video explaining Miranda rights in ASL. Kiger said that the healthcare event Friday, too, might help them identify gaps like this and how to address them. Kiger, a senior, said healthcare was selected as a focus since there are so many healthcare majors at UF. She herself is a pre-vet major and said communication is such a big part of any healthcare field. She said the ASL Club includes students who are taking classes in ASL and others who are simply curious to learn more. Along with learning signs, she said it gives students a chance to become more familiar with the Deaf community. "Education is really a big part of our club," she said.