OCT 25 1995

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin

Member, U.S. House of Representatives
P.O. Box 790
Springfield, Illinois 62705

Dear Congressman Durbin:

I am responding to your inquiry on behalf of your

constituents, Dr. Kermit W. Bell and Reverend Paul D. Frazier,
regarding the elevator exemption in the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Dr. Bell and Reverend Frazier
wish to know whether an elevator must be installed in the medical
facility being constructed in Calhoun County, Illinois. We
apologize for our delay in responding.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) authorizes the

Department of Justice to provide technical assistance to
individuals and entities having rights or obligations under the
Act. This letter provides informal guidance to assist your
constituent in understanding the ADA's requirements. It does
not, however, constitute a legal interpretation and it is not
binding on the Department.

The ADA and the Department's ADA Standards for Accessible

Design require an elevator to serve each level of newly
constructed or altered buildings. An exception to that
requirement exempts privately owned and operated buildings that
are less than three stories or that have less than 3000 square
feet per story unless the building is a shopping center, a
shopping mall, or the professional office of a health care
provider. Congress, in enacting the ADA, specifically required
that elevators be installed in the newly constructed offices of
professional health care providers in recognition of the
importance of providing access to health care for people with
disabilities.

The Department has provided further interpretation of this

provision in its Technical Assistance Manual for title III of the
ADA. The manual explains that, where a physician has offices on
an accessible floor of a two-story building and the other floor

cc: Records; Chrono; Wodatch; Milton; McDowney; FOIA

udd\milton\congress\elev_dr.dur
01-03846​ Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-1520
September 18, 1995
Mr. Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General For the Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
PO Box 65808
Washington, D.C. 20035-5808

Dear Mr. Patrick:

I am writing on behalf of my constituents Dr. Kermit W. Bell and

Reverend Paul D. Frazier of the Calhoun Medical Center Board in Hardin,
Illinois.

The only medical facility in Calhoun County was destroyed in the Flood
of 1993. The community is now in the process of rebuilding. The community is
planning to build a two story building to house its medical facilities -- the
upper level to be used for the medical center and the lower level to be used
for storage and public meetings. Both levels are accessible separately by
entrances to outside parking lots.

The Medical Center Board has been advised that an elevator should be
installed in the building to meet ADA requirements. They have contacted my
office in an attempt to appeal this decision.

The Medical Center Board states that the added cost of this elevator
has resulted in the downsizing of the medical center itself and the
elimination of many needed medical features. The Board feels that a
state-of-the-art medical facility is needed to guarantee quality medical
service to its patients and to attract much needed physicians to this rural
area.

The Medical Center Board contends that both levels of the building are
accessible to the handicapped from the outside parking lots on each level.
Therefore, the elevator is unnecessary.

I respectfully request that this matter be examined further and a

decision be made regarding the necessity of this elevator in order to meet ADA
requirements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Wendy Feezel in
my Springfield, Illinois office at P.O. Box 790, Springfield, Illinois 62705
or telephone #217/492-4062. I would also appreciate being kept apprised of
the status of this inquiry.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I await your
response.

Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
Member of Congress
01-03847
RJD:wf
cc: Dr. Kermit Bell
Reverend Paul Frazier
01-03848