Patient-380

Patient-380 went to Sunrise Hospital in horrible pain. They violated his rights AGAIN in regard to his service animal. Patient reminds everyone of the laws relating to service animals. When Sunrise Hospital refused to abide by the law, the patient left and went to a better hospital.



See the note to readers at the bottom of this page to learn about who to contact and where to file complaints.

Patient-380 went to Sunrise Hospital in horrible pain. He brought his service animal with him.

Here are the comments posted by Patient-380:

I started experiencing upper abdominal pain this morning and thought I could tough it out.

By 8 p.m., I called 911, and by 10:30 p.m., I voluntarily discharged from Sunrise Hospital because they were questioning my service animal AGAIN!!

This happened because a woman, not dressed in hospital attire, walked by. She saw my service animal and immediately asked if I had papers for my service dog --- which is completely illegal, and I told her that!!

She argued with me, so I ignored her.

She stormed off and the next thing I know, I have an even shorter guy. I am assuming it was her administrative boyfriend. He told me my service dog could not be there if I had no papers for him. This guy was ineptly ignorant, to say the least. Both of them were!!

I refused to even consider surrendering him to animal control simply because a couple dumbasses are clueless about the law!!

So, in excruciating pain, I left with my service dog and spent the remainder of the evening in pain.

After explaining myself to the paramedics, they cleared me to bring my service dog.

The paramedics were great!!

The hospital was a whole different story!!

The next morning, I went to Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), healthcare facilities are federally required to allow service animals in all public areas and patient areas where members of the public are allowed to go.

What those staff members did was NOT just unprofessional, it directly violated federal law on two distinct fronts.

1. Demanding "papers" or "registration." Under the ADA, covered entities cannot require documentation, proof of certification, or special papers for a service dog. Formal mandatory registration or certification for service animals does NOT exist under federal law, and demanding it is illegal.
2. There are only two permissible questions. Title III of the ADA strictly limits staff to asking only two specific questions if the disability or need is not obvious, as follows:
3. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
4. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Threatening animal control or trying to force you to separate from your service dog --- especially when you are in severe pain and seeking emergency care --- is a gross violation of your rights.

Actions you can take

If you want to hold Sunrise Hospital accountable for this, you have formal legal and administrative avenues available, you can take these steps:

• File an ADA complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). You can file a formal civil rights complaint directly through ADA.gov. The DOJ actively investigates healthcare entities that deny access to service animal handlers. Read the ADA law about service animals, which includes the following statements:

• Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it usually would be inappropriate to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics, cafeterias, or examination rooms.
• However, it may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile environment.
• Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

• Contact Sunrise Hospital's Patient Advocate/Risk Management. Request to speak directly with their Patient Rights Department or Risk Manager. State clearly that staff violated ADA Title III regulations regarding service animal verification and forced a constructive discharge while you were in emergency distress.

• File a complaint with the Nevada Division of Public and Behaviorial Health (DPBH). Hospital licensing bodies take non-compliance with federal patient access laws very seriously. You can report hospital staff misconduct directly through Nevada's state health regulatory oversight body.

Note to readers: Stand up for your rights. Many of the patient stories about Sunrise Hospital have described human rights violations, harm, mistreatment and death.

Keep in mind that many of the patients who file complaints have found that NOTHING is done when these dangerous incidents are reported to Sunrise Hospital executives and the Patient Advocate, elected officials and regulatory agencies (City of law Vegas officials, Clark County officials, state of Nevada hospital oversight bodies such as the DPBH and the Nevada Hospital Association, Nevada state legislators, Nevada Senators and Representatives in the U.S. Congress, and the federal oversight body for hospitals which is The Joint Commission). However, those individuals and entities rarely, if ever, take action. They just stick their heads in the sand while people suffer and die at Sunrise Hospital.

However, the DOJ has taken action in certain situations such as multiple investigations of Sunrise Hospital for Medicare fraud (see the page about Litigation), and there was a Civil Rights Complaint filed by a deaf family because Sunrise Hospital violated federal law by not providing a sign language interpreter. See the story of Patient-14 who filed a complaint with the DOJ which resulted in Sunrise Hospital being required to pay a settlement to the family and steps were taken requiring  Sunrise Hospital to follow the law and to submit periodic reports documenting their compliance.

For help, see our list of Who to Call, even though most of the individuals and organizations on that list REFUSE to do their jobs, it is still good to file complaints, write letters, etc. And, be sure to tell your stories on social media to warn others to stay away from Sunrise Hospital.