Office for Civil RightsYOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE COMMUNITY SERVICE ASSURANCE PROVISION OF THE HILL-BURTON ACTWhat Is Hill-Burton? The Hill-Burton Act authorizes assistance to public and other nonprofit medical facilities such as acute care general hospitals, special hospitals, nursing homes, public health centers, and rehabilitation facilities. The Community Service Assurance under Title VI of the Public Health Service Act requires recipients of Hill-Burton funds to make services provided by the facility available to persons residing in the facility's service area without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, or any other ground unrelated to the individual's need for the service or the availability of the needed service in the facility. These requirements also apply to persons employed in the service area of the facility if it was funded under Title XVI of the Public Health Service Act. Please note that the community service obligation is different from the uncompensated care provision. The community service obligation does not require the facility to make non-emergency services available to persons unable to pay for them. It does, however, require the facility to make emergency services available without regard to the person's ability to pay. There are several basic requirements that every Hill-Burton hospital or other facility must comply with to fulfill the community service obligation:
For information on how to file a complaint of discrimination, or to obtain information of a civil rights nature, please contact us. Office for Civil Rights (OCR) employees will make every effort to provide prompt service. Hotlines: 1-800-368-1019(Voice) 1-800-537-7697 (TDD) E-Mail: ocrmail@hhs.gov Website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr Last Revised: June 2000 |