Nondiscrimination Policy

It is the policy of Northwest Texas Healthcare System to ensure equal employment opportunity for utilization of all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap or national origin. This policy on nondiscrimination is intended to comply with the spirit and intent of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The hospital's human resources director has been designated as the employee resposible for coordinating efforts to comply with Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

Services for Patients with Disabilities and Nondiscrimination Based on Disability
It is the hospital's policy to provide medically appropriate treatment without unlawful discrimination based on whether a patient has a disability, is regarded as having a disability or has an infectious disease that may or may not be regarded as a disability. Infectious diseases may include hepatitis B, hepatitis C, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). For example, a physician may not refuse to perform surgery or another procedure or discourage surgery or another procedure for a patient merely because the patient has HIV or AIDS. A physician, however, may make a reasonable medical determination, based on current medical knowledge, that a patient's illness and current medical condition makes such procedure inadvisable for the individual patient. If you believe you or any patient has been discriminated against because of a disability or infectious disease, please contact the patient advocate at 806-354-1941 or the Ethics Committee at 354-3600 during regular business hours. You may also contact the Texas Department of Human Rights by calling 800-828-6417, and/or you may contact the Department of Justice Disability Rights Section by calling (800) 514-0301.

Ethics Committee
Northwest Texas Healthcare System believes that most patients, their families and caregivers will act with the patient's best interests in mind. The Ethics Committee Consultation Service can offer help when there is confusion or conflict in dealing with ethical aspects of a patient's care. Between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, call the Ethics Hotline at 354-3600. During other times, call the hospital page operator at 354-1000 and ask for the person on call for the Ethics Committee to be paged. There is no charge to the patient or to the patient's insurance for the use of the Ethics Committee Consultation Service.

Note: The information on this Web site is provided as general health guidelines and may not be applicable to your particular health condition. Your individual health status and any required medical treatments can only be properly addressed by a professional healthcare provider of your choice. Remember: There is no adequate substitution for a personal consultation with your physician. Neither Northwest Texas Healthcare System, or any of their affiliates, nor any contributors shall have any liability for the content or any errors or omissions in the information provided by this Web site.

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