ADA/504 Compliance
The Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) promotes equitable access and full participation for individuals with disabilities across education, employment, research, and patient care.
The ADA/504 Compliance Officer, who is a part of OPHD, advances compliance across the UCSF Campus and UCSF Health community with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other applicable federal and state laws, policies, and procedures that protect the rights of individuals with disabilities.
The ADA/504 Compliance Officer provides guidance and consultation; partners with the UCSF community to remove barriers and improve accessibility; facilitates informal resolution of disability-related concerns; and develops and advises on policies and practices.
OPHD facilitates the resolution of disability-related complaints of harassment and discrimination.
To Schedule an ADA/504 Consultation
If you have a question or concern regarding disability or accessibility matters, contact the ADA/504 Compliance Officer, Cecile Puretz, at [email protected] to discuss your questions and explore options for informal resolution.
ADA/504 Consultations
ADA/504 consultations are an informal resource available to members of the UCSF community seeking guidance on disability-related issues. Consultations may include technical assistance; information regarding applicable disability laws, regulations, and University policies; referrals to appropriate disability accommodation resources; guidance regarding accessibility and the interactive process; and assistance with the informal resolution of disability-related concerns.
ADA/504 consultations are educational and advisory in nature and are separate from the University's formal ADA/504 complaint processes. A consultation does not constitute the filing of a complaint or initiate a formal investigation. Individuals who wish to report alleged disability discrimination may file a complaint with OPHD (see below).
To File a Disability Discrimination Complaint or Report an Access Barrier
If you believe you have experienced disability harassment or discrimination, including denial of a reasonable accommodation, or have encountered a physical, digital, or programmatic accessibility barrier at UCSF, you are encouraged to report your concern to OPHD.
OPHD reviews complaints involving alleged disability harassment and discrimination. OPHD also works with the appropriate departments to address reported accessibility barriers.
Requesting an ADA/504 consultation is separate from filing a complaint. Filing a complaint will initiate the University's complaint resolution process in accordance with the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.
To submit a complaint or report an accessibility barrier, contact OPHD:
If you need assistance submitting a complaint because of a disability or require an alternative format, please let OPHD know when you contact the office so OPHD can provide appropriate accommodations.
For additional information on reporting specific types of accessibility concerns, including digital accessibility, physical access barriers, and event access issues, see the Additional Resources section below.
Reasonable Accommodation Resources
Below is a non-exhaustive list of resources available to help UCSF students, employees, patients, companions, guests and visitors access accommodations and navigate UCSF disability-related services.
- Employees, including staff, faculty, residents, fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and student employees should contact Disability Management Services (DMS) for disability-related accommodations and workplace support by emailing [email protected] or calling (415) 476-2621.
- For complaints of disability harassment and discrimination, contact [email protected]
Resources for Patients, Companions, Guests, and Visitors
- Patients, companions, guests, and visitors in UCSF Healthcare facilities seeking information about accessibility services or accommodations should contact Patient Relations, by emailing [email protected] or calling (415) 353-1936.
- Patient Relations hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For requests after 4:30 p.m., on weekends, or on holidays, call the hospital operator at (415) 476-1000 and ask to speak with a hospital supervisor.
- For complaints of disability harassment and discrimination, contact [email protected]
- UCSF provides a wide range of auxiliary aids and services for patients upon request, including:
- American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation
- Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) captioning
- Large-print and Braille documents
- Alternative (hands-free) call lights
- Door strobe lights
- Other reasonable accommodations based on individual needs
- School of Dentistry clinic patients seeking information about accessibility services or accommodations should contact the Dental Center by emailing [email protected] or calling (415) 502-5800.
- MyChart Accessibility: If you need accessibility assistance with the UCSF MyChart Patient Portal, contact MyChart Customer Service at (415) 514-6000.
Patient Access Barriers
- Patients and companions experiencing access barriers may raise concerns informally with their clinical care team or campus-owned clinical program.
- If unresolved, patients and patient companions may file a formal complaint with Patient Relations by calling (415) 353-1936 or OPHD at [email protected].
- Please note: School of Dentistry clinic patients experiencing access barriers may raise concerns by emailing [email protected] or calling (415) 502-5800.
- Patient Relations can assist with concerns related to your care and provide additional information related to your concerns for all six UCSF hospitals (Mt. Zion, Parnassus, Mission Bay, BCH Oakland, Hyde Hospital, and Stanyan Hospital). You may contact Patient Relations using their Patient or Visitor Report Form, or by calling (415) 353-1936. Patient Relations is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. On weekends and holidays, please contact the nursing supervisor by calling the hospital operator at (415) 476-1000.
- The Patient or Visitor Report Form is available in these languages in addition to English:
Wheelchairs are available at the entrances of most hospital and clinic buildings. For assistance, please ask a member of Guest Services.
Guest Services contact numbers by location:
- Parnassus Heights (Helen Diller Hospital): (415) 353-1664
- Parnassus Healthcare Center: (415) 353-2869
- Mount Zion Information Desk: (415) 353-9548
- Benioff Children's Hospital Guest Services: (415) 476-1583 (5:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.) or (415) 476-1588 (overnight)
- UCSF Stanyan Hospital: (415) 668-1000
- UCSF Health Hyde Hospital: (415) 353-6000
UCSF provides free medical interpretation services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please ask your clinical care team or contact Patient Relations and an interpreter will be provided at no cost to you.
Services may include:
- In-person interpretation
- Video interpretation
- American Sign Language (ASL)
- TTY Services: Medical center operators are available 24 hours a day by TTY (teletypewriter) at: (415) 885-3889 (3TTY)
- California Relay Service: Patients who use TTY may communicate with people who do not have TTY by using the California Relay Service at no charge. Simply dial 711 from your phone or TTY device.
Additional Resources Information
Please refer to the list below to determine the fastest way to resolve access barriers and review complaint policies and procedures. Procedures vary depending on the constituent group (i.e., employee, student, patient, visitor, companion, guest) involved and the type of barrier.
- Students, staff, faculty, patients, companions, guests and visitors of the University may report digital access barriers by submitting a report to: Report a Digital Accessibility Issue form.
- Alternatively, individuals may contact the website owner or the ADA/504 Compliance Officer, Cecile Puretz, at [email protected] to report digital accessibility concerns.
- For event accessibility concerns, including physical barriers to event venues, visitors and guests should contact the event coordinator.
- If an event coordinator is not available, visitors or guests can contact the ADA/504 Compliance Officer, Cecile Puretz, at [email protected].
- For physical accessibility barriers in UCSF buildings or public spaces, individuals may submit a complaint to OPHD at [email protected].
- For physical accessibility barriers in UCSF Housing facilities, individuals may submit an accessibility report complaint to UCSF Housing Services at [email protected].
Patients ADA Parking
Patients, companions, visitors, and guests with a valid state-issued DMV Disabled Person Parking Placard may park in ADA-accessible parking spaces located throughout UCSF parking garages.
UCSF offers a discounted flat parking rate of $7 per day for patients and visitors displaying a valid California DMV Disabled Person Parking Placard. Display your placard when entering a patient parking garage or present it to the valet attendant upon arrival. If accessible parking spaces are full, you may park in any available parking space.
For additional information about:
- Valet parking
- Campus maps
- UCSF shuttle services
- Patient parking locations
Visit the UCSF Health Locations page.
Additional shuttle information is available through UCSF Transportation Services.
Students & Employee ADA Parking
UCSF is committed to supporting individuals in need of disability accommodations. While the $7/day ADA parking rate and designated ADA-accessible locations remain the same, the process for obtaining a valid UCSF ADA permit is evolving to ensure better support and access. A DMV-issued Disabled Person Parking Placard or License Plate alone is not sufficient for ADA parking at UCSF. All requests must go through UCSF's official accommodation process. For more information visit the Disabled/ADA Rate FAQ.
UCSF staff, faculty, residents, fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and student employees
Contact your assigned DMS Analyst, or contact UCSF Disability Management Services (DMS):
UCSF Students
Contact Student Disability Services (SDS):
Relevant Policies
