For health centers and FQHCs

Patient videos everyone can follow.

Section 504 now requires providers that receive HHS funding to meet WCAG 2.1 AA: by May 11, 2027 with 15 or more employees. Patient education, service videos and webinars all need accurate captions, and audio description where the picture carries the message.

Free, public data only. Or join early access

Section 504 (HHS), 15+ employees

May 11, 2027

Section 504 (HHS), under 15 employees

May 10, 2028

Which applies to you?

Built for the video you post

Not lecture capture. Your patients' videos.

Generic caption vendors are built around lectures and marketing. Most public video is something else. Here's what Ferndean adds to real uploads like yours.

ExplainerWe serve everyone who walks through our doors.

Audio description: On screen: Vernita Todd, CEO, Heart City Health Center, Elkhart, Indiana.

Patient education and stories

Names and titles on screen, and anything shown but not said, get described so the message reaches everyone.

Virtual tour♪ upbeat music ♪

Audio description: Title card: Heart of Ohio Family Health, Quick Virtual Tour Video.

Tours and service videos

Tours and promos are often music over pictures. We describe the entrance, the signs and the services shown.

Story

Audio description: A nurse in blue scrubs talks with a patient sitting up in a hospital bed.

Care in action

Clinical scenes carry meaning in the picture. A short description in the pause keeps viewers who can't see it with you.

WebinarPRESENTER: Health centers are part of the community.

Audio description: A presenter stands beside an inset video of a patient speaking.

Webinars and board meetings

Captions with speaker names, and slides that aren't read aloud described in the pauses.

Real public uploads. Captions are illustrative; each description only says what the frame shows.

What the rules ask for video

WCAG 2.1 AA, in plain words.

Section 504 (45 CFR 84.84–84.86) requires health providers that receive HHS funding to make web content meet WCAG 2.1 AA. For video, these are the success criteria that matter.

WCAG 1.2.2

Captions on recorded video

Every recorded video with sound. Accurate captions, not YouTube's automatic ones. A livestream replay counts as recorded video.

WCAG 1.2.5

Audio description

Only when the picture carries information the soundtrack doesn't: a scoreboard, unread slides, a vote by show of hands.

WCAG 1.2.4

Captions on live video

Livestreams while they're live. Live video itself needs no audio description; its replay does, where applicable.

WCAG 1.2.1

Audio-only and video-only

A transcript for audio-only content such as podcasts. Silent video gets a transcript or audio description.

Sign language (1.2.6) is Level AAA, so it isn't required. Older videos may be exempt as archived content or preexisting social media posts, but YouTube isn't named in either rule, and exempt content must still be made accessible when someone asks. We label old uploads “probably exempt (unclear)”, never “exempt”.

How it works

Set it up once. Every upload after that is covered.

Built so a communications office of one can keep up, without learning caption formats or WCAG.

STEP 1
Connect your YouTube channel
Sign in with Google. We read your uploads; nothing is posted until you say so.
STEP 2
See what's in scope in a minute
Every video sorted into in scope, probably exempt (unclear) and already OK, with the ones that likely need audio description flagged.
STEP 3
Every new upload handled
Accurate captions with speaker names, published back to YouTube. Audio description written for the pauses, voiced, and linked as a described version.
STEP 4
Requests answered within 48 hours
A public “request an accessible version” page. Each request is queued, the requester is kept posted, and it's logged.
STEP 5
A report you can show
Inventory, statuses, what was fixed and when, the request log and a policy template, for your board or an OCR inquiry.

Your district channel

Scanning uploads

Real uploads from district channels. The free scan does this for your channel today.

Pricing

One flat yearly price. No per-minute surprises.

A typical district posts about 18 hours of new video a year. The free scan tells you your number.

Starter

For most districts and health centers.

$1,200/ year

20 hours of new video a year

Up to 20 hours of new video a year
Accurate captions on every new upload, published to YouTube
Audio description when the picture carries information
Public request page with 48-hour turnaround
Compliance report for your board or OCR

Reserve Starter

Standard

Most districts

For districts that stream board meetings and games.

$2,400/ year

60 hours of new video a year

Up to 60 hours of new video a year
Everything in Starter
Speaker names and motions on board-meeting captions
Multiple YouTube channels
Priority turnaround on requests

Reserve Standard

Large

For large districts, cooperatives and systems.

Let's talk

Custom volume

More than 60 hours a year
Everything in Standard
Website crawl for embedded video
Purchase order and cooperative contracts
W-9, insurance certificate and data privacy agreement

Pay by card or purchase order. Under the $15,000 federal micro-purchase limit and local bid limits, so no RFP.

Older videos, when someone asks or you choose to fix them: $90 per hour, captions and description included.

Early access: reserving a plan costs nothing today. Now enrolling pilot districts and health centers for spring 2027.

Buying it

Small enough for a purchase order.

No sales cycle and no procurement project. Your communications or compliance lead can start with the free scan today.

W-9 and certificate of insurance
No patient data: we only process video you've already published
Card or purchase order, invoiced yearly
Accessibility conformance report (VPAT) for the app itself, before launch

Questions

What people ask first.

Something else? Send us a message

Do YouTube's automatic captions count?

Not in practice. WCAG 1.2.2 asks for captions that are accurate, and automatic captions miss names, terms and who is speaking. The free scan counts only uploaded caption tracks, which is what YouTube reports as captioned.

Are our old videos exempt?

Maybe. Archived content and social media posts from before the deadline can be exempt, but YouTube isn't named as social media in either rule and archived content has four strict conditions. Old video embedded on current pages of your own website is clearly in scope. And exempt content must still be made accessible when someone asks, which is what the request page is for.

Which videos need audio description?

Only those where the picture shows information the soundtrack doesn't say: a scoreboard, slides that aren't read aloud, a vote by show of hands, a music-only highlight reel. A talking-head video where everything is spoken needs none. Try the audio description checker.

How does audio description work on YouTube?

Most channels can't add a second audio track, so the common practice is a described version: the same video with the descriptions voiced in the pauses, uploaded as a separate video and linked from the original. For your own website player we also provide a WebVTT description track and a described transcript.

What happens if we miss the deadline?

There are no fines or inspectors. Enforcement starts with a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, a DOJ complaint or a lawsuit. Those usually end in a public agreement to fix everything by a date, adopt a policy, train staff and report for two to three years. It's far cheaper to keep new uploads accessible from the start.

Is it available now?

The free channel scan works today. The full product is in early access: Now enrolling pilot districts and health centers for spring 2027. Reserving a plan costs nothing, and we'll confirm the price with you before anything is billed.

Why is it called Ferndean?

After Ferndean, the house in Jane Eyre where Jane becomes the blinded Mr. Rochester's eyes, describing the fields, trees and sky so he can see them through her. That's the job: making sure what's on screen reaches everyone.

Is this legal advice?

No. Ferndean helps you meet WCAG 2.1 AA for video. It doesn't guarantee compliance with any law; talk to your counsel about your obligations.

Free channel scan

How accessible is your channel today?

Paste your YouTube channel. In under a minute you'll see how many videos have accurate captions, how much new video you post a year and which uploads likely need audio description. Free, no sign-up.