GOP Senators Urge Colleagues To Adopt Disabilities Treaty

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Two Republican senators sat before their colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, urging them and the rest of the caucus to join Democrats in approving a treaty codifying U.S. commitment to supporting the rights of the disabled around the world.

Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) were both on the witness list for the first hearing this Congress on the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), which has been languishing in the Senate since 2009 when President Barack Obama signed it.

Seated before the panel, Ayotte read out a statement from former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) who last year lobbied hard to have the treaty finally be ratified. “While I cannot stand before you in person today, I approach you in the strong hope that on your second examination of this important treaty, you will again do the right thing and advance the rights of disabled individuals from the united states and throughout the world,” Ayotte read out.

For more on this story, visit: GOP Senators Urge Colleagues To Adopt Disabilities Treaty

VA Home Loans for Veterans and Military | Veterans United Home Loans

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The VA Home Loan Guarantee Program helps veterans purchase, refinance, or build homes through VA-approved lenders like Veterans United.

Loans are backed up to $417,000 and more in some areas with low closing cost and fewer fees than conventional loans.

Packed with money-saving advantages such as no down payment requirement and no private mortgage insurance, the VA home loan also is designed specifically for the unique challenges facing service members and their familes.

For more on this story, visit: VA Home Loans for Veterans and Military | Veterans United Home Loans.

Zot Artz, ARTS FOR ALL | Madeline Scribes

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When I clicked on the video Dwayne Szot sent me, I had no idea that a profound transformation was about to happen. After a brief introduction by the video producer, my world opened to the tinkling sounds of children laughing, squealing with joy, calling out to their new friends and having the time of their lives.

Just beneath the sound of musical mirth was a sound you would never expect to hear. It was the sound of the mechanical whirring of motorized wheelchairs.

The children I was watching in this video were all wheelchair bound and they were having a BLAST!

For more on this story, visit: Zot Artz, ARTS FOR ALL | Madeline Scribes.

Guidance Note on Disability and Emergency Risk Management for Health

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Launch of a guidance note by WHO and partners

People with disabilities are disproportionately affected in emergencies and experience particularly high rates of mortality in these contexts. To mark International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013, CBM, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Health Organization release today a guidance note to highlight the needs of people with disabilities before, during and after emergencies.

Emergencies can increase the vulnerability of people with disabilities, as people with disabilities may be less able to escape from hazards; may lose essential medications or assistive devices such as spectacles or hearing and mobility aids; or may be left behind when a community is forced to evacuate. People with disabilities may also have greater difficulty accessing basic needs, including food, water, shelter, latrines and health-care services. Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, statistics showed that the fatality rate for people with disabilities was twice that of non-disabled people.

via Guidance Note on Disability and Emergency Risk Management for Health | ReliefWeb.

See also:

The results of the first-ever UN global survey of persons living with disabilities on how they cope with disasters, illustrates why they die, or are injured, in disproportionate numbers in disasters. An estimated 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability.

Join Our Conversation on World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, 2013 | Carter Center Blog

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Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day.

In recognition of this day, The Carter Center invites you to join our fight against stigma and discrimination. With half of Americans experiencing a mental illness in their lifetime, we believe fighting stigma is an important way we can help ourselves and our loved ones enjoy better health.

One of the best ways to shatter stigma is to have communities meet and talk about these issues. For this reason, we invite you to join our conversation today.

Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, assistant director of the Mental Health Program, speaking at a symposium.

On World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, we here at The Carter Center will pause to reflect upon the many advances in the field of mental health, including improvements in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses, as well as advancing parity for mental health in our health care system. Despite this progress, however, myths and misperceptions about these disorders persist, which can lead to social stigma and discrimination.

“Unfortunately, there just isn’t a lot of education out there about mental illnesses, what causes these disorders, and how they can be treated. As a result, many people who suffer from mental illnesses are afraid that if they seek medical help, they will be ostracized by their communities,” says Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, assistant director of the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program.

“In addition, stigma and misinformation breed the more serious problem of people facing discrimination when seeking jobs, housing, or transportation,” Shimkets says. “On a larger scale, public funding, services, and supports often are considerably less available or robust than other kinds of medical care, even though mental illnesses affect one in four Americans each year.”

via Join Our Conversation on World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, 2013 « Carter Center Blog – Latest Carter Center Peace, Health Blog Posts.

State launches website to promote long-term care options, jobs

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The state has launched a website and media campaign to increase awareness about the choices Connecticut residents have for receiving long-term care and the career options for caregivers.

The campaign, called My Place CT, is part of an effort to expand the ability of seniors and people with disabilities to live in communities, rather than institutional settings like nursing homes. The move to reshape the state’s long-term care system also includes trying to help the nursing home industry broaden its business model to serve the needs of people living outside their facilities.

One of the major challenges in expanding the use of home and community-based long-term care options is a shortage of workers, and the My Place CT campaign is aimed in part at promoting the home care field.

via State launches website to promote long-term care options, jobs | The CT Mirror.

Gov. Malloy signs legislation strengthening rights of nursing home residents

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(HARTFORD, CT) – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined Connecticut Department on Aging Commissioner Edith Prague, state Long-Term Care Ombudsman Nancy Shaffer, Connecticut Legislative Commission on Aging Executive Director Julia Evans Starr, aging issue advocates and state and local lawmakers for the ceremonial signing of legislation (Public Act 13-70) that requires nursing home administrators to provide their staff with training on how to identify and respond to patients’ fear of retaliation.  This is in addition to existing law which requires administrators to ensure all nursing home staff receive, from a trainer familiar with the home’s patient population, annual in-service training in an area specific to the patients’ needs.

“Most of these supportive living facilities provide excellent long-term care and are staffed with compassionate, skilled professionals who, along with residents, will benefit from the training required by this legislation,” Malloy said.  “Reprisal against residents for reporting mistreatment can either be obvious or subtle – that’s why we need to ensure the dedicated and hardworking attendants at nursing homes around the state have the best possible training to identify and respond to all cases of retaliation.  Considering Connecticut has one of the largest aging populations and highest rates of seniors in nursing homes, protecting the rights of elderly residents in supportive living is a priority for this state.”

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Jonathan Stoklosa, Delaware Man With Down Syndrome, Is A Powerlifting Champ VIDEO

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Jonathan Stoklosa may have a gentle smile, but he’s as tough as they come — in the gym, at least.

The 31-year-old with Down syndrome lives in Newark, Delaware. He works as a bag boy at a local grocery store. But in his spare time, he trains as an elite powerlifter. In August, CBS News profiled the Special Olympian who has also found success at regular powerlifting matches. Remarkably, Stoklosa can bench-press more than 400 pounds.

“You walk away going, ‘Wow,’ or ‘Did I really just see what I just saw?'” his trainer, Brandon McGovern, told the station.

via Jonathan Stoklosa, Delaware Man With Down Syndrome, Is A Powerlifting Champ VIDEO.

Disney to change disability policy after abuses

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Disney theme parks are ending a policy that allowed the disabled to get “instant access” to rides, instead of waiting in line.

Under the current policy, visitors can get a guest assistance card that gives quicker access to them.

There were widespread reports that able-bodied people were reportedly abusing Disney’s disability policy.

Reports said some wealthy park visitors were even hiring disabled people to pretend to be family members, so they could skip lines.

Disney said the new policy won’t allow immediate access to rides.

via Disney to change disability policy after abuses – WFSB 3 Connecticut.

The New Haven Prescription Discount Card is available to all New Haven residents

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The New Haven Prescription Discount Card is available to all New Haven residents at no cost and without regard to age, income, health and health insurance status. The card provides an average of 45% savings on prescriptions as well as savings on vision and hearing care.

The City of New Haven was able to secure the Prescription Discount Card benefit for its residents as a result of its membership with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), which is a statewide association of towns and cities.
The City of New Haven Prescription Drug Discount Card will provide immediate financial relief at the pharmacy counter for uninsured and underinsured residents and offers the following features and benefits:

• Any New Haven resident can participate regardless of age, income, health or insurance status.

• There are no enrollment forms, membership fees, restrictions or limitations on use.

• All prescription medications are covered, including pet prescriptions that must be filled at a pharmacy.

• There is no cost to the municipality or to participating residents.

• Cost savings vary depending upon the medication being purchased, but average at 45%.

There are over 63,000 participating pharmacies nationwide, including CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Stop & Shop, Big Y and many independent pharmacies.

Discounts are also offered on other medical services including vision, hearing and Lasik procedures.

Each residence in New Haven will receive a City of New Haven Prescription Discount Card by direct mail, which they may use at any participating retail pharmacy.

Cards can also be printed out immediately by visiting www.CTRxDiscountCard.comand selecting New Haven from the drop-down menu. The New Haven Prescription Discount Card is currently accepted at 22 pharmacies in New Haven and 646 pharmacies statewide, with more pharmacies expected to sign on. A list of participating pharmacies can be found at www.CTRxDiscountCard.comand.