Equal access at THHS

Care belongs to everyone.

Nondiscrimination & Language Access Notice
Affordable Care Act Section 1557

Tender Hand Healthcare Services believes every person deserves a fair opportunity to receive information, communicate, participate, make choices, and access appropriate care and support. Discrimination should never stand between a person and the services, information, or opportunities they need.

Last updated: May 19, 2026   ·   Effective: May 19, 2026

2. Language assistance, communication support, and disability access

THHS works to make important information and covered services meaningfully accessible. When required by applicable law, appropriate assistance is provided without charge.

3. Language access

Your primary language should not prevent you from understanding important information, asking questions, participating in decisions, or accessing appropriate care and support.

Tell THHS your preferred language as early as possible. Language assistance may include:

• Qualified oral interpreters.
• Qualified bilingual personnel, when appropriate.
• Translation of important written information.
• Help understanding service information, rights, consent materials, privacy information, complaint procedures, care information, or safety instructions.
• Other language-assistance services required by applicable law.

4. Effective communication for people with disabilities

THHS works to give individuals with disabilities a meaningful opportunity to understand information, communicate, participate in decisions, and access covered services.

Depending on individual needs and the circumstances, appropriate assistance may include:

• Qualified sign-language interpreters.
• Qualified oral interpreters.
• Communication support for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or have speech-related disabilities.
• Large-print information.
• Accessible electronic information.
• Audio, Braille, or another appropriate format, when required.
• Other auxiliary aids or communication services.

5. How to request assistance

Requesting help is simple, and you can do it in your own words. Here is how.

6. How THHS helps you raise or file a concern

If you believe you were treated unfairly, denied access, or not given the language or communication help you needed, you can raise a concern — and THHS will help you. Our role is to help you put the concern into words, document it, and bring it to the person or agency responsible for reviewing it.

7. What happens after you tell us

Once you bring a concern to THHS, the goal at every step is to support you and move your concern toward the right place.

• We receive and acknowledge it. Your concern is written down, and we may contact you to confirm we have it and to ask anything that would help.
• We look after immediate needs. We consider whether a temporary language service, communication support, reasonable modification, or other interim measure would help you right away. Anything urgent or unsafe is directed immediately to the appropriate response process.
• We help you document it. We help you put the concern into clear words and gather anything you want included, so it is ready to be filed.
• We help route it to the right place. When a concern belongs with an outside agency such as HHS OCR or the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, we help you file it there. Where the law requires THHS to review a concern internally, we will do so or coordinate that review.
• We keep you informed. We let you know what we did, where the concern went, and who to expect to hear from — in a format you can access.

8. Protection from retaliation

9. What THHS can do to help

While a civil-rights complaint is reviewed by the appropriate authority, there are things THHS can often do right away — especially around access and communication. Depending on the situation, we may be able to:

• Provide requested language assistance.
• Provide an auxiliary aid or communication service.
• Provide information in an accessible format.
• Reconsider or arrange a reasonable modification.
• Remove or reduce an identified access barrier.
• Clarify a policy, practice, decision, or communication.
• Review or improve a form, website feature, workflow, or service practice.
• Help you file your concern with the agency responsible for reviewing it.
• Explain why a requested action cannot be provided and discuss reasonable alternatives.

10. If you want to take it further

You do not have to come to THHS first, and you never have to stop with us. If you are not satisfied with how a concern was handled, or you simply want an outside review, you can take your concern to a government civil-rights agency at any time.

THHS will help you do that. On request, we can:

• Explain your external options.
• Help you complete an outside agency’s complaint form.
• Provide language assistance or an accessible format so you can file.
• Provide a copy of what you shared with us, where appropriate.

Outside agencies have their own deadlines and procedures — some as short as 180 days — so it is best to reach out to them promptly. Their contact information is below.

11. Where civil-rights complaints are reviewed

Civil-rights complaints are reviewed and decided by government agencies. You can contact any of these directly — you do not need to come through THHS first — and we are glad to help you file. Each has its own deadlines and procedures, so contact them for current information.

12. THHS contact information

For help with language access, communication support, disability access, a reasonable modification, or to raise or file a concern, contact:

Tender Hand Healthcare Services LLC   ·   Nondiscrimination & Language Access Notice   ·   Effective May 19, 2026