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Showing posts with label Disabled. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disabled. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Around the world, people with disabilities face physical, social, economic and attitudinal barriers that exclude them from participating fully and effectively as equal members of society. December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year's theme is "break barriers, open doors: for an inclusive society for all." The commemoration of this year's International Day of Persons with Disabilities provides an opportunity to further raise awareness of disability and accessibility as a cross cutting development issue. It will also further the global efforts to promote accessibility, remove all types of barriers, and to realize the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in society and shape the future of development for all.1

A CDC Initiative: Including People with Disabilities

At CDC, we operate on the principle that people with disabilities are best served by Public Health when they are included in mainstream public health activities. To that end, inclusion might require appropriate accommodations to reduce or eliminate barriers that limit the participation of people with disabilities in health activities. When children and adults with disabilities receive needed programs, services and health care across their lifespan, they can reach their full potential, have an improved quality of life, and experience independence.
In 2010, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden established an initiative to serve the health needs of people with a disability in the United States. CDC's Disability and Health Work Group was established in 2010 for centers and offices within the agency. The disability inclusion initiative has increased awareness and fostered activities focused on integrating disability into CDC's mainstream public health activities.

Objectives

People with disabilities need public health programs and healthcare services for the same reasons anyone does—to be well, active, and a part of the community. CDC works to include people with disabilities by
  • improving health monitoring of people of all ages with disabilities to identify disparities in health between people with and without disabilities;
  • including disability status indicators in key CDC monitoring programs;
  • conducting public health research to understand the health risks experienced by people with disabilities;
  • encouraging participation of people with disabilities in program activities conducted or supported by CDC;
  • developing and disseminating accessible health communications and messages to people with sensory (e.g., blindness, deafness) or cognitive (e.g., intellectual disability) limitations.

Disability Resources at CDC

Being healthy means the same thing for all of us—staying well so we can lead full, active lives. Having the tools and information to make healthy choices and knowing how to prevent illness is key to being well, with or without a disability.
Visit these resources to learn more:
As we commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we ask you to join us in being a part of the global disability movement to change attitudes and approaches to disability to promote the equity and full inclusion of people with disabilities in society and across public health activities.

Resources

References

  1. International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December 2013. United Nations Enable. Available at http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1607External Web Site Icon. Accessed October 21 2013

Saturday, October 12, 2013

The startling rise of disability in America

The increase in disability claims in the US is reported in today's post shared from npr.org

In the past three decades, the number of Americans who are on disability has skyrocketed. The rise has come even as medical advances have allowed many more people to remain on the job, and new laws have banned workplace discrimination against the disabled. Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government.

The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined. Yet people relying on disability payments are often overlooked in discussions of the social safety net. The vast majority of people on federal disability do not work.

Yet because they are not technically part of the labor force, they are not counted among the unemployed.

In other words, people on disability don't show up in any of the places we usually look to see how the economy is doing. But the story of these programs -- who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that -- is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It's the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net.

For the past six months, I've been reporting on the growth of federal disability programs. I've been trying to understand what disability means for American workers, and, more broadly, what it means for poor people in America nearly 20 years...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Thursday, August 1, 2013

High Disability Rates Persist in Old Age

Aging and "late life disability" is an an increasing trend. Injured workers' are surviving longer making total disability claims and Medicare involvement an increasing factor in adjudication and settlement of workers' compensation claims. Today's post was shared by The New Old Age and comes from newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com

Weird berries. Capsules of unpronounceable supplements. Yoga or tai chi. Crossword puzzles. Such amulets, we’re told, may ward off disability — which is the real fear that accompanies aging, isn’t it? Not the sheer number of years that will have passed, but the things we’ll no longer be able to do.

But our efforts to dodge disability appear to be falling short. Gerontologists once hoped for a “compression of morbidity”; the idea was that we could remain healthy and active until our bodies fail at advanced ages, and we swiftly died. But new research shows that this has not materialized for most of the elderly. The price we’re paying for extended life spans is a high rate of late-life disability.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Tips for Disabled Persons to Prepare for a Hurricane

President Barack Obama receives an update on the ongoing response to Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Pete Souza
Disabled persons have special needs and special actions are required to help disabled individuals in advance of of a hurricane. 

For the millions of Americans who have physical, medical, or other disabilities, emergencies such as hurricanes, floods and tornadoes present a real challenge. The same challenge also applies to the elderly and other special needs populations.

"Individuals with special needs are in the best position to plan for their own safety when disaster strikes, because they know their own personal needs and limitations," said Sandy Coachman, director of the Austin Transitional Recovery Office operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "However, their unique needs may require more detailed planning and involve neighbors, friends, family, co-workers and personal care attendants."

While preparing their own plan, family members with relatives in nursing facilities also may want to contact the facility's administrator to see what its emergency plans are and to make sure the facility has the family's communication plan and contact numbers in case of an evacuation, according to Coachman.

For those who have special needs and live alone, FEMA suggests the following four steps to prepare for hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30:

Get informed
Find out about special assistance that may be available in your community through your local emergency management coordinator or local chapter of the American Red Cross.

Make a plan
Decide what you will be able to do for yourself and what assistance you may need before, during and after a disaster. This will be based on the disaster type you might encounter and your capabilities. Consider your needs for daily living, getting around after a disaster or evacuating to a safer area.
Organize a network of assistance that includes care attendants, neighbors, friends, relatives and co-workers at home, school, workplace, volunteer site and any other places where you spend a lot of time. The members of your network should know your capabilities and needs and be able to provide help within minutes. It may be important to depend on more than one person at each location where you regularly spend time since people work different shifts, take vacations and are not always available.

Assemble a kit
A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items you would probably need to stay safe and comfortable during and after a disaster. They should be stored in a portable container as close to an exit door as possible. Special needs items should be considered as well, such as extra batteries for hearing aids and wheelchairs; food and water for companion animals; essential medicines, a list of current prescriptions and medications, and your medical history; and type and model numbers of medical devices you need.

Service animals may become confused, panicked, frightened or disoriented immediately before, during and after a disaster. Keep them confined or securely leashed or harnessed. A leash (or harness) in your kit is an important item for managing a nervous or upset animal.

If you have been disabled due to a work-related accident or exposure, be sure keep contact information for: your employer's workers' compensation insurance company, names and address of your treating physicians, and your attoney's contact information with you.

Maintain your plan and kit
Discuss the plan with your care attendant and the people in your network. Review the plan every six months and periodically quiz your assistants about what to do. Ensure that they know how to operate any medical equipment you need. Rotate food and water supplies.

Keep appropriate licenses for your service animal updated and keep them with you in the event you choose to use an emergency public shelter.
 ....
For over 3 decades the
 Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Read more about Hurricane Safety for Workers and the Disabled


Oct 25, 2012
The NJ Office of Emergency Management and the National Hurricane Center are closely monitoring Hurricane Sandy ("frankenstorm") as it has the potential to become an historic storm as it moves up the Eastern seaboard ...
Aug 04, 2012
Workers' Compensation insurance provides benefits if an employee is injured because of because of a hurricane. Preparing for a hurricane is important, and that should include reporting work related injuries to your employer ...
Aug 30, 2011
Hurricane relief volunteers are entitled to workers compensation benefits for injuries and illnesses that occurred as a result of their participation in relief efforts. In order to claim those benefits injured volunteers need to make ...
Aug 24, 2011
The recent earthquake in the northeast US highlights that workers become aware of what to do in case a hurricane strikes. Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually ...