People who use electricity-dependent durable medical equipment (DME) at home—such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators—can face life-threatening consequences during a power outage. HHS reports that 2.7 million Medicare beneficiaries ...
The Louisiana Department of Health has developed Power Outage Partners, a first-of-its-kind program to recruit owners of stand-by residential generators to recharge the batteries of neighbors’ life support equipment during power outages.
After a year and a half of work as embedded disability specialists, 5 program participants share their reflections on important lessons learned and why disability inclusion is critical to the future of emergency preparedness.
With Omicron surges pushing jurisdictions to activate protocols for providing healthcare during crisis, it is important to incorporate disability inclusion into these crisis standards of care.
Better Defining Disability Will Make Data More Inclusive and Usable ASTHO, association of state and territorial health officials, access to health care, centers for disease control, syndromic surveillance systems, health outcomes, person ...
This ASTHO report, which was co-authored with the World Institute on Disabilities, answers top questions around disability preparedness initiatives, and prioritizes inclusive planning while providing overarching guidance that can be ...
This series explores the critical need for engagement of disability stakeholders and disability-led organizations as equity partners in public health preparedness.
Inclusive practices that prioritize the safety and well-being of all residents, regardless of age or ability, are essential in ensuring effective disaster preparedness and response.
ASTHO has been helping jurisdictions prepare for and respond to the needs of people with disabilities during public health emergencies by embedding disability preparedness specialists in 16 state and 2 territorial health agencies.
Information on disability status and type is not systematically collected during emergency department visits and, as such, it cannot be used during surveillance. ASTHO conducted six key informant interviews with disability professionals to ...
On Dec. 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ASTHO is commemorating nearly 12 months of supporting disability and preparedness specialists in state and territorial health agencies. Throughout 2021, ASTHO embedded 20 full-time ...
When Beatriz Vallejo, the disability and preparedness specialist in Puerto Rico, first joined the health agency, she took on planning a novel program to share knowledge and clarify each sectors’ roles and responsibilities during an ...
The Embedded specialist in South Carolina used an ASTHO tool to assist the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control improve inclusivity of people living with disabilities in their public health programs.
Leading Health Security Efforts Through Strategic Collaboration and Innovation Margaret Nilz This blog post illustrates how health agencies' strategic plans can improve health security and emergency preparedness. Strategic planning is ...
As new diseases or emergencies arise, working alongside trusted committees can help health officials quickly respond and prevent undue burden on at-risk groups such as people with disabilities, pregnant people, and children.
Examining Health Service Utilization in Medicaid Participants with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Findings from Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming Health Service Utilization in Medicaid Participants with Disabilities Learn ...
The COVID-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to speed up developing Delaware’s Functional Assessment Service Team and to test it at scale.
This brief dives into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability of people with disabilities to access vital healthcare services during the public health emergency.