I know “email is not secure” is the excuse for maintaining the status quo, but voicemail is not 100 percent private either. Other people can overhear the messages, especially if you are like me and prefer to use the speaker phone feature. At least half the time I get voicemail, I have to get another person with better hearing to fill in the gaps and tell me what I have missed.

That is not acceptable. The DOJ has ruled — if I am correctly interpreting the information on their website — that the police or jails cannot force ASL users to have a relative or friend on hand to do ASL interpretation. They have to provide someone who is trained for the job. By the same token, medical providers should not be expecting patients to have any kind of “buddy system” where a friend or family member does their listening for them.

As far as patient portals are concerned, no one at PIH Downey has informed me of that option. I really doubt PIH has evolved that far, because they can’t even be bothered to post signs to tell patients or visitors who are deaf/HOH what they should do if they are having problems with accessibility.

Last year I was hospitalized for an emergency at PIH Downey when my hearing aid battery died. Hospital would not provide a replacement or even allow me to walk across a parking lot to buy a pack from the pharmacy next door. Nurse ended up calling my bedridden 79-year-old lung cancer patient mother and guilt-tripping her into getting an Uber and bringing batteries from home.