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Be the Voice for Medication Label Safety!

Oct 9th, 2024 by

We know you love Accessibility!  Now’s the time to “Be the Voice” in your community!

October is Medication Label Safety Awareness Month.  This is a great time to talk about talking, large print, Braille or dual language prescription labels with friends, family, health care providers, senior centers, social workers or local legislators.

Let them know access to prescription label information helps keep people safe!

Download a printable brochure here.

 

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Available Now: Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests, Including More Accessible Option

Oct 8th, 2024 by

Blue banner with white text: ACL Announcement

Every U.S. household can now order free at-home COVID-19 tests through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the United States Postal Service (USPS). These tests will detect the currently circulating COVID-19 variants and are intended for use through the end of 2024. Each order will include four tests.

One of the available options is the Orasure InteliSwab test, which is more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision, as well as people who have low manual dexterity.

For more information, including ordering instructions and information about the features that make the InteliSwab test more accessible, please visit ACL.gov/AccessibleTests.

About the Program

This round of ordering follows six previous opportunities to obtain free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests through this program. Since the program began in the winter of 2021, ASPR and USPS have distributed more than 900 million tests, free of charge, to American households nationwide. 
 
These efforts complement ASPR’s ongoing distribution of free COVID-19 tests to long-term care facilities, low-income senior housing, aging and disability networks, and other community organizations to support older adults and people with disabilities living in the community, uninsured individuals, and underserved communities. More than 1 billion over-the-counter tests have been provided to date through this community access program. 
 
In addition to collaborating with USPS on ordering and distribution of free COVID-19 tests, ASPR previously invested approximately $600 million across 12 domestic COVID-19 test manufacturers to strengthen the nation’s capacity to manufacture these tests, reduce reliance on overseas manufacturing, secure millions of new over-the-counter tests for future use, and improve preparedness for COVID-19 and other pandemic threats of the future. 
Order your free tests

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From IMAGE Center Wellness Series: “Beyond the Surface: Living with Invisible Disabilities”

Oct 2nd, 2024 by

Wellness Banner

Date & Time:

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, October 9, 2024 Eastern Time (US and Canada)

In recognition of Invisible Disabilities Awareness Month, join us for an insightful panel discussion exploring the lived experiences of individuals with invisible disabilities. Titled “Beyond the Surface: Living with Invisible Disabilities,” this event will feature staff members from The IMAGE Center of Maryland – Crystal Brockington, Chris Nusbaum, and Stephanie Schwartz – who will share their personal stories and professional insights on navigating life with disabilities that aren’t always visible to others.

Moderated by Keyonna Mayo, the conversation will delve into the challenges, misconceptions, and triumphs of living with invisible disabilities, while offering valuable tips for wellness, self-advocacy, and creating a more inclusive community.

This event is part of The IMAGE Center’s ongoing IMAGE Wellness Series, which promotes health and well-being within the disability community. All are welcome to attend and engage in this important dialogue. CART Services will be provided.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

VIEW FULL CALENDAR 

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Letter to ACL Grantees on Section 504 Rule

Sep 26th, 2024 by

Blue banner with white text: ACL Announcement

Letter to ACL Grantees on Section 504 Rule

Yesterday, ACL and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a joint letter to ACL grantees on the historic May 2024 final rule implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The comprehensive update — the first since the initial regulation was put into place more than 50 years ago — is a powerful tool to combat discrimination based on disability in health care and human services.

For ACL’s networks and entities receiving ACL funding, this rule has special significance. It advances our mission to expand community living for disabled people, including the nearly 50% of older adults who have disabilities. It also creates new compliance requirements for recipients of federal funding from HHS, including all ACL grantees.

The letter highlights a new section-by-section fact sheet created by OCR that can help ACL grantees understand the Section 504 rule and their compliance obligations as covered entities. The fact sheet addresses important obligations, including:
  • Web, mobile, and kiosk accessibility: Web content and mobile apps must comply with the specific technical standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 levels A and AA (WCAG 2.1 AA), the internationally recognized private standard that the rule adopts.
  • Reasonable modifications and effective communication requirements: Section 504 now includes regulatory provisions that mirror long-standing requirements under the ADA for public and private health care and social service providers. Recipients that are covered by both Section 504 and the ADA will now have many of the same disability nondiscrimination obligations under both laws. For example, recipients must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with individuals with speech, hearing, and vision disabilities are as effective as communications with others. They must also make reasonable modifications to policies and procedures to accommodate people with disabilities unless they can demonstrate a modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or activity.
  • Requirements for implementing the new rule: Recipients with 15 or more employees must designate an individual to coordinate efforts to comply with the rule and must adopt grievance procedures that provide for a prompt and equitable resolution of complaints. They must also provide accessible information to employees, applicants, and participants on the rule’s protections against discrimination.
ACL grantees with questions about the Section 504 rule are encouraged to contact their project officer and send a copy of the message to 504@acl.hhs.gov.

For more information:

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JSSA ASL Therapists Accepting New Clients

Sep 19th, 2024 by

From JSSA:
 
As a leading community provider of mental health services, JSSA is proud to have expanded its team of ASL therapists to support the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in the National Capital Region. We believe it’s crucial to provide access to mental health support to all our neighbors and are proud to be growing our team fluent in ASL. 
Personal counseling sessions are offered in-person or virtually. JSSA’s team of ASL therapists are top-quality providers committed to providing comprehensive care and reducing stigma, so people feel confident and able to access the support they need when they need it.
Anyone seeking therapy or group counseling with our ASL team can fill out the form at www.jssa.org/contact-us/. Please note if Deaf or Hard of Hearing an intake specialist can arrange a video call.
 

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Department of Justice Adopts Access Board’s Minimum Standards for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment

Sep 13th, 2024 by

Department of Justice logo

On August 9, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule on the accessibility of medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This final rule establishes standards for MDE used by state and local government entities that are consistent with the standards issued by the Access Board on January 9, 2017. The rule adopts a 17 to 19-inch low transfer height for MDE used in the supine, prone, side-lying, and the seated position, although DOJ indicated a willingness to consider future rulemaking in light of the Access Board’s adoption of its final rule on July 25, which set a low transfer height of 17 inches.
Learn More

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