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HHS Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement with Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue in Florida to Improve Access to Care for Communities of Color March 07, 2023

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue, in Hillsborough County, Florida, on corrective steps the County will implement to ensure that individuals needing emergency medical services are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue agreed to implement a revised nondiscrimination policy to better protect individuals receiving its services from discrimination. OCR initiated a compliance review of Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue in response to public press reports indicating that its paramedics refused to transport an African American woman to the hospital because they assumed she could not afford the ambulance cost due to her race.  Today’s announcement furthers HHS’s work to reduce health care disparities and improve access to health care services for communities of color.

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