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Service Animals Service animals are animals (primarily dogs) that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a service animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability and documentation. Employees may be asked to confirm that the service animal is required because of a disability and the work or task the animal has been trained to perform. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, health care facilities must permit the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, including during a public health emergency or disaster. ● Service animals are to accompany the individual with a disability in all areas of
● It may be appropriate to exclude a service animal from limited access areas that employ general infection control measures where the animal’s presence may compromise a sterile field environment. ● Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or if an individual’s disability prevents using these devices. The handler/owner must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls. ● When encountering an individual with a service animal, do not interact with or distract the animal.
COPC offices where employees, visitors, and patients are normally allowed during patient services, unless the animal’s presence or behavior creates a fundamental alteration in the nature of a facility’s services in a particular area or a direct threat* to other persons in a particular area. *A “direct threat” is defined as a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be mitigated or eliminated by modifying policies, practices, or procedures. ● A person with a disability will be asked to remove their service animal from the premises if the animal is not housebroken, is out of control, or if the handler/owner does not take effective action to control the service animal.
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