Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
At HHS' 35th ADA anniversary celebration, Alexis Ratcliff, speaks about the successful complaint she filed with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to obtain the home modifications and services she needs to live in the most integrated setting in the community as required by the ADA. Learn more at hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/community-living-and-olmstead/index.html.
In the video, Alexis explains that she finally moved back to the community after being held in a North Carolina hospital for close to seven years. There was no medical reason for her prolonged hospitalization. Although as a toddler she was in an automobile accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator, she lived at home and went to school until age 13.
She would have continued to grow up at home but, when her caregiver grandfather became ill, she was put in a hospital, where she spent all of her teenage years. While confide in the hospital, she attended high school virtually, graduated with honors, and received a full scholarship to a local college.
When Alexis turned 18, the hospital sued her for trespassing to get her to move to an out-of-State nursing home. Alexis refused because she wanted to return to her community to go to college and pursue her dreams to become a disability rights advocate. She worked with Disability Rights North Carolina, a grantee of the Administration on Community Living, to file a complaint with OCR. OCR worked closely with North Carolina officials, the hospital, Alexis, and Disability Rights North Carolina to resolve her complaint and secure Alexis’s right under the ADA to live in the community. OCR also involved CMS to provide technical assistance about federal funding sources, including Money Follows the Person, for Alexis to move from unnecessary and costly hospitalization to an apartment in the community.
The resolution agreement with North Carolina coincided with the recent anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a fitting reminder that everyone has the right to live with self-determination. Alexis returned to her community during the week of July 4th (Independence Day), marking a long-overdue recognition of her right to live freely and independently.
--
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | hhs.gov
Twitter.com/HHSGov | Facebook.com/HHS Instagram.com/HHSGov
LinkedIn.com/company/us-department-of-health-and-human-services
HHS Privacy Policy: hhs.gov/Privacy.html
At HHS' 35th ADA anniversary celebration, Alexis Ratcliff, speaks about the successful complaint she filed with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to obtain the home modifications and services she needs to live in the most integrated setting in the community as required by the ADA. Learn more at hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/community-living-and-olmstead/index.html.
In the video, Alexis explains that she finally moved back to the community after being held in a North Carolina hospital for close to seven years. There was no medical reason for her prolonged hospitalization. Although as a toddler she was in an automobile accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator, she lived at home and went to school until age 13.
She would have continued to grow up at home but, when her caregiver grandfather became ill, she was put in a hospital, where she spent all of her teenage years. While confide in the hospital, she attended high school virtually, graduated with honors, and received a full scholarship to a local college.
When Alexis turned 18, the hospital sued her for trespassing to get her to move to an out-of-State nursing home. Alexis refused because she wanted to return to her community to go to college and pursue her dreams to become a disability rights advocate. She worked with Disability Rights North Carolina, a grantee of the Administration on Community Living, to file a complaint with OCR. OCR worked closely with North Carolina officials, the hospital, Alexis, and Disability Rights North Carolina to resolve her complaint and secure Alexis’s right under the ADA to live in the community. OCR also involved CMS to provide technical assistance about federal funding sources, including Money Follows the Person, for Alexis to move from unnecessary and costly hospitalization to an apartment in the community.
The resolution agreement with North Carolina coincided with the recent anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a fitting reminder that everyone has the right to live with self-determination. Alexis returned to her community during the week of July 4th (Independence Day), marking a long-overdue recognition of her right to live freely and independently.
--
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | hhs.gov
Twitter.com/HHSGov | Facebook.com/HHS Instagram.com/HHSGov
LinkedIn.com/company/us-department-of-health-and-human-services
HHS Privacy Policy: hhs.gov/Privacy.html
