Service Animals at UTMB
Overview
Use of Service Animals at UTMB
UTMB follows the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended (ADAAA) regarding the appropriate use of service animals at our facilities.
A service animal is defined by the ADA as any breed and size of dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with disabilities.
Some common tasks include:
- Guiding a person who is blind or has low vision
- Alerting a person to a sound
- Pulling a wheelchair
- Alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure
- Reminding a person to take medication
- Calming a person during an anxiety attack
- Retrieving dropped items, pressing elevator buttons, etc.
The work or tasks a service animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. A dog whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support does not qualify as a service animal under the ADA.
A service animal is not required to be certified or go through a professional training program and does not have to wear a vest or other type of identification.
Did you know? Service Animals
Patient Accommodations
- Patients with disabilities who bring service animals with them when they visit UTMB hospital and ambulatory practices/clinics will be reasonably accommodated in compliance with state and federal laws and in compliance with this policy. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hospitals and other healthcare facilities must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the hospital that are open to the public. Animals displaying unacceptable or threatening behavior or those that may present a threat to others or appear ill will not be allowed to stay with the patient.
- If the animal’s health is questionable, the animal will not be permitted to accompany the patient without proof of vaccination or the animal’s health records. All animals must be on a leash, harness or under their handler’s (or designee) control at all times. The care, hygiene, control, and supervision of the animal is the primary responsibility of the patient or the patient’s designee including removal of the animal from the premises. If the patient or the patient’s designee cannot perform these responsibilities, alternative care for the animal will be arranged in collaboration with patient services, a unit level clinical operations lead, and the patient.
- Staff must contact the Clinical Operations Administrator and Patient Services to alert them of the admission of a patient with a service animal with behavioral or health issues.
- Staff reserve the right to ask the owner to remove any service animal that displays aggressive behavior or appears ill.
- Service animals will not routinely be permitted into UTMB areas that are not open to the public, but may be permitted on a case by case review by the respective administrator of that area.
- In addition, service animals may not be permitted in certain areas where they may pose an unreasonable risk to health or safety, such as areas in which special precautions are required, including procedural areas or other areas where exposure to allergens or animal dander presents a risk to patients.
- If the patient is immunocompromised, the physician will be consulted before the service animal is allowed to visit/stay with the patient. If there are other clinical concerns, the attending physician will be consulted.