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Things that are going on that you might want to know. 

 

1

 

Report: Transport Fails to Serve Disabled

 

 

Government advisors have reported that despite the billions of dollars that have been spent on improving transportation for individuals with disabilities, the needs of those intended to be helped have not been fully addressed.

The following quote from a USA Today article highlights some of the issues: “Buses leave disabled commuters waiting at stops or may be ill-equipped to handle wheelchairs, the National Council on Disability said in a report being released Monday. Wheelchairs can get stuck in the wide spaces between platforms and trains, the council said. A bus driver may forget to announce stops, withholding vital information from a blind passenger.”

Improvements have been made under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has helped the percentage of accessible buses to increase from 36% in 1989 to 91% today.

However, making the buses accessible is not enough by itself. Other problems faced by passengers with disabilities include drivers not announcing stops, which hampers the ability of a blind individual to determine their stop, and drivers who will not stop to pick up a passenger in a wheelchair for fear that to do so will result in the bus falling behind schedule.

Lex Frieden, Chairman of the National Council on Disability stated: “It's not a matter of convenience for disabled people to have access to transportation. It's a matter of employment or not, a matter of health care or not, sometimes a matter of education or not. It's a matter of full participation in a community or not.”

Use the following link to read the article in its entirety:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-13-transport-disabled_x.htm?csp=34

 

 

2

 

ARM Increases Independence for People with Disabilities

 

 

A new device has been developed to assist wheelchair users with severe upper limb disabilities.

As the article by John Williams states: “Users can perform a wide variety [of] tasks at home, work and outdoors, such as eating and drinking, preparing meals, taking medicines, brushing teeth, doing dishes, opening doors and closets, watering plants, operating a computer, making telephone calls, turning the pages of a book, or taking objects down from a shelf while shopping.”

The device is called the ARM, and is described as a rehabilitation robot that is mounted to either the right or left side of a wheelchair. Through the use of a keypad or joystick, the ARM can be manipulated to pick up objects or type on a keyboard. A monitor alerts the user to any dangerous situations.

At this time the ARM is prohibitively expensive for an individual user, but it is hoped that if mass produced the price could come down, and since many believe that the ARM could be an indispensable tool to enable people to work, it may at some point be covered by Medicaid or other insurance providers.

To read more about the ARM, use the following link:
http://www.nod.org/index.cfm

 

 

 

 

3

 



  HHS APPROVES PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WITH LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS



 Low-income children in Florida, who have life-threatening conditions, and
 their families will soon have access to a new set of benefits to help them
 with their unique needs, according to an announcement today by HHS
Secretary
 Mike Leavitt.

 Secretary Leavitt approved an innovative new Medicaid model of care for
 children that will add special respite care and counseling for families to
 the package of curative and palliative care critically ill children
already
 receive under the Medicaid program.

 Traditionally, Medicaid did not offer needed respite services to family
 members providing what can be intensive at-home services to critically ill
 children, nor did the program offer family counseling.  The new program
will
 not require children to be in the last six months of life for families to
 receive the counseling and respite services.

  "I am approving this new Medicaid program in Florida because I believe we
 must do everything possible to lighten the heavy burden on families of
 children who may be near the end of their lives." said Secretary Leavitt.
 "This is a step beyond traditional hospice rules, and the right thing to
do
 for these most vulnerable children and their families."

 At any one time, Children's Hospice International (CHI) estimates that 10
 million children in the United States are living with a serious chronic or
 life threatening disease.  About 30 percent of those children are Medicaid
 beneficiaries.

 "The diagnosis of a life-threatening disease in a child is devastating for
 families," said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the
Centers
 for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees
the
 Medicaid program.  "This waiver will combine medical and support services
 currently available in Medicaid with counseling and respite care that are
 also important for families with critically ill children."

 "Florida Medicaid is committed to caring for Florida's most vulnerable
with
 compassion and common sense," said Alan Levine, secretary of the state's
 Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).  "By providing key support
 services to children and their families as they cope with life-limiting
 conditions, CMS and AHCA will not only ensure that immediate needs are
met,
 but we'll make a significant contribution to the quality of life of
 Florida's most courageous children and families."

 "This waiver is the result of a truly effective partnership between
 government and the non-profit community so that families of children with
 life-threatening conditions can get more compassionate care," said CHI
 Founding Director Ann Armstrong-Dailey.  "These families will get better
 care thanks to the leadership of Secretary Leavitt, Dr. McClellan and the
 technical support team at CMS."

 State officials hope to serve nearly 1,000 children in the waiver, which
has
 been initially approved under Section 1915(b) of the Social Security Act
to
 run through June 2007.  The program will exist in seven pilot sites around
 the state.

 The Florida demonstration, Partners In Care, is based on the CHI Program
of
 All-inclusive Care for Children (CHI PACC).  CHI is a Virginia-based
 non-profit organization.

 This proposal is the first of a multi-state effort to implement CHI PACC
 nationwide. CMS has awarded approximately $3.2 million to five states and
 CHI between 2000-2003.

 For more information about Medicaid hospice services go to:
 www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/services/hospice.asp.
 

 

 

 

4

 

 

Congress of California Seniors, Technology Authority Launch Innovative Effort Promoting Role of Technology In Aging, Disability

 

The Congress of California Seniors, a leading seniors advocacy group is launching a major first-of-its-kind effort promoting the role of technology in successful aging and disability issues under the direction of a leading authority on technologys potential beneficial contribution in those areas.

The CCS move makes it the first seniors advocacy group to establish such a specific function addressing the role technology in quality-of-life issues for seniors and the disabled.

The Congress of California Seniors (CCS) (http://www.seniors.org/  ) says that Richard Blackwell, founder and Chief Executive Officer of http://www.safehome.net/, will act as special advisor on technology issues in aging and disabilities for the organization.

Blackwell has been involved in a number of successful technology company startups. He started http://www.safehome.net/  when he examined how his technological expertise might play a role in improving seniors safety after a 76-year-old neighbor was robbed and assaulted in broad daylight in her own front yard by a mugger who followed her home from a shopping center.

http://www.safehome.net/ has expanded its product line to include personal security alert systems, emergency medical systems and a new, improved smoke detector with greater alert capabilities than regular smoke detectors.

 

 

 

 

 

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 7/13/2005  mjg  Ó2003 carmelo gonzalez    webmaster@carmelogonzalez.com   www.CarmeloGonzalez.com

Last updated on 07/19/2008