There are two events scheduled to address the February 10, 2020
closing of the Minnesota Chemical Dependency Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Please attend and show your support and work towards keeping the program open.
These are being organized by community advocates, including Dr. Deb Guthmann
and Phillip Steinbruckner.
January 23, 2020
James Hereford, CEO M Fairview Health and other health care leaders will be
coming together for Forum on Health Care.
Starting at 7:30 a.m., a protest about the situation involving Bethesda and St. Josephs Hospital
as well as the chemical dependency program will be held outside
the Intercontinental Hotel, St. Paul Riverfront.
The address is
January 28, 2020
A town hall meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m CST at Christ Lutheran Church
The address is
On January 8, 2020, MNCDHH sent the following letter to Mr. Hereford.
We have since emailed a copy of this letter to Chris Hickman
System Director, Behavioral Health and System Clinical Integration, Minnesota Fairview Health
His email is
If you have sent a letter, we encourage you to send a copy to Mr. Hickman as well.
Thank you!
Darlene Zangara, Ph.D. from the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing
The address is
January 8, 2020
James Hereford, President/CEO Fairview Health Services
The address is
Dear Mr. Hereford,
On behalf of our stakeholders who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing,
we urge Fairview Health Services to reconsider the dismissal of
the Minnesota Chemical Dependency Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (established in 1989).
The Minnesota Chemical Dependency Program covers an important gap in chemical treatment services.
It is one of the few chemical treatment programs in the country that provides
direct services in American Sign Language (ASL) and has successfully done so for thirty years
In other chemical dependency programs; deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing patients can only
only access program services during times where accommodations such as
interpreting services and CART (captioning) are provided.
In some cases, those accommodations are only provided during group sessions and lectures.
This means that deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing patients do not experience the
same level of access as their peers.
The quality of the Minnesota Chemical Dependency Program is rare and
offers deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing patients the best chance of success.
For over a decade (1991-2002), I personally worked at The Community Network, an organization
that provided direct services for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community members in Ohio.
As both a chemical dependency counselor and as director of programs,
I have sent deaf and hard of hearing Ohioans to the Minnesota Chemical Dependency Program at Fairview.
The program was able to provide culturally affirming and linguistically appropriate services.
The program was able to address their unique cultural needs.
Based on these experience, and the stories that I hear in our community, I believe in your program.
We at the Commission would be happy to help Fairview Health Services find funding solutions.
The Commission recognizes the value your program brings to our stakeholders,
their families, friends, and colleagues.
The ramifications of no longer having this program would be dire,
which is why it is so important to us to save it.
Please contact me if we can work together.
Contact information will be given next.
Sincerely, Darlene Zangara, Executive Director