|
|
Congress is urged to pass financial aid rider for wounded warriors and their families.
Staff Sergeant Ryan Kelly (Ret.) served with the 490th Civil Affairs attached to 3rd ACR. On the morning of July 14, 2003, Sgt. Kelly was on his way to Baghdad to attend a health and education conference when the Humvee he was riding in passed bales of hay by the side of the road. Explosives, hidden in the hay, detonated and shrapnel pierced the Humvee, severing Kelly’s right leg below the knee.
Ryan’s recovery, and rehabilitation—as a patient both in, and out of, Walter Reed Army Medical Center—took 13 [...]
Hiring a home care aide can be a daunting experience. This article takes you through the
process step-by-step.
Whether you are looking for a home care provider or have utilized home care services previously, United Spinal Association offers the following tips on locating, training, and managing a personal home care provider. This information will be applicable to you whether you pay out-of-pocket for services or receive funds for home care through a state program. You have a right to choose a home care provider that best matches the qualities and experience you decide on. At the end of this article, there is [...]
RespiteMatch.com matches people who need attendant care with people who provide it.
Finding quality attendant care can seem like a complicated maze, with stress awaiting at every turn. Thanks to David Jayne, founder of RespiteMatchSM, www.respitematch.com, there just might be a way out.
“In 1987, I was twenty-six years old and an avid fly fisherman,” Jayne says. “I tied my own flies and noticed a loss of dexterity in my left hand. I soon began dropping things with my left hand for no reason. I went to a neurologist, thinking I had nothing more than a pinched nerve.”
The diagnosis was something [...]
The 1990s were a golden age of travel for people in wheelchairs. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 each contributed to making people with disabilities more mobile than at any time in history.
But then came the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and security measures at our nation’s airports changed drastically for everybody.
The federal agency responsible for security screening at airports is the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. The TSA, with the assistance of a number of disability groups, has developed guidelines for security screening of [...]
An issue that we have been following for quite some time has finally been resolved. The signs that were once posted at the moving walkways at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, that prohibited people in wheelchairs from using the moving sidewalks are no longer in place.
As of January 18, 2005, the Manager of Aviation Planning Division at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (the agency that oversees the management and operation of Newark airport) confirmed that all of these signs have been removed from all airport terminals (A, B, and C) .
If you are traveling through [...]
As I cruised the aisles in the exhibit hall of the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2005 Conference, Showcasing Excellence in Assistive Technology, in Orlando, Florida, in January, I watched consumers with disabilities, special education teachers, school and government administrators, rehabilitation counselors, human resource managers, and people in the information technology fields clutch and seriously inspect the products. It was a scene I have witnessed many, many times over more than two decades in this field. Each time I see the exhilaration coming from people embracing these products, I marvel at their excitement and the hope they show and express in their [...]
Step into the dating world with confidence.
When I was asked to write a short article for this month’s issue, I enthusiastically agreed until I heard the topic: the dreaded ‘Dword’—dating. I never thought that I’d still be dating at 40 years old. I was actually married for five years, but, unfortunately, it ended in divorce—the other dreaded ‘D-word.’
Dating can be difficult and awkward for anyone, but it is even more so for someone with a disability. Individuals with disabilities acknowledge that certain “details” have to be discussed with their partner that might not otherwise be relevant. Of course, these details [...]
United Spinal Association has created a new Web site dedicated to reversing Medicare’s in-the-home policy, which restricts beneficiary access to needed wheelchairs and scooters. Rightwheelchair.org, a joint project of United Spinal Association, Independence Through the Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition and the Clinician Task Force, will serve as a vehicle for inspiring grassroots activities and as a clearinghouse for information regarding Medicare’s unfair coverage and administrative policies relating to mobility devices.
Visitors to Rightwheelchair.org will find important background information on Medicare’s in-the-home restriction and they will have an opportunity to share their experiences in trying to obtain a wheelchair or scooter [...]
United Spinal Association has joined two national disabilities rights organizations, Equal Rights Center (ERC) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), in a lawsuit against Archstone-Smith Trust—one of the nation’s largest residential developers—and other defendants, including architects involved with designing Archstone buildings. The complaint alleges that Archstone designed and constructed thousands of housing units across the country without including accessible design features required by the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
The FHA was amended in 1988 to include nondiscrimination against people with disabilities by housing providers and requiring newly constructed developments with four or more units to provide basic features of accessibility, [...]
A fundamental goal of our organization is to help individuals with spinal cord impairment (SCI) get their lives back and become fully participating members of society. The process, of course, begins with initial treatment and rehabilitation, and then securing the means to resume life back in the community. One basic and necessary tool to accomplish the latter is, in most cases, a wheelchair or scooter.
As we continue to navigate the world of Medicare and Medicaid, we unfortunately find that the rules and regulations for the issuance of “durable medical equipment” become ever more stringent, and the regulating bodies more remote from [...]
This is a reminder to all who might be putting off going to the doctor for small, but nagging, problems that won’t go away—or for an overdue physical examination. Attending to health issues is important for all of us and, as we get older, this becomes even more crucial. Getting the care we need not only improves our physical health, but also our mental health because we know we’ve done something good for ourselves.
The annual physical that our veteran members receive at VA hospitals generally includes the following: chest x-ray, sonogram, blood work to check sugar, cholesterol levels, and other conditions, [...]
|
|
