Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder Groups Unite To Advance National Policy Issues
Jackson Heights, NY– At a recent summit in Washington, DC, 19 national organizations/institutions working to improve the lives of individuals with spinal cord injuries or disorders joined together to establish the Spinal Cord Leaders Council. The purpose of the Leaders Council is to advance federal legislative and regulatory policies that would empower persons with SCI/D to lead more active and productive lives.
Participating organizations in the Spinal Cord Leaders Council include the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the Kennedy Kreiger Institute, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Craig Hospital, the American Spinal Injury Association, the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, the National Rehabilitation Hospital, the Shepherd Center, the United Spinal Association, the University of Utah-Rehabilitation Services, the Rehabilitation Institute of Indianapolis, the Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, the ITEM Coalition, New Mobility magazine, and Quickie Wheelchairs.
The New York City-based United Spinal Association was elected Secretariat of the Spinal Cord Leaders Council, and its President, Paul J. Tobin, was elected the Council’s first chairperson. Tobin noted, “the formation of this Council is a unique opportunity to pool resources and grass roots voices of people with SCI/D in our nation to achieve breakthroughs on issues too long neglected.”
The Council agreed to pursue three major issues in its 2007-2008 Policy Agenda: first, to abolish the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “in the home” policy, which allows issuance of a power-operated wheelchair or scooter to a beneficiary only if it is needed to move within the home, but bans this type of wheelchair if needed to move within the community; second, enactment by the Congress of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act to promote spinal cord paralysis research and to improve SCI/D rehabilitation; and third, ensure that critical health care issues facing all Americans with disabilities are clearly articulated in the 2008 national presidential debates.