ADVOCACY UPDATE – 50,000 voices make a difference.
In less than one month, support for protecting the rights of people with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD) during the Covid-19 crisis is now 50,000 people strong and includes 54 organizations. The growing number of advocates continues to inspire and move our important work forward.
Caring is about more than physical health. We have to care for the whole person.
- Laura, Visitation Rights Petition Signer
I have an adult daughter with Down syndrome. I am her VOICE.
- Patricia, Visitation Rights Petition Signer
Your “reason for signing” is ours too. We urge you to continue sharing these 2 petitions…
Ventilator Rights: The first petition asked hospitals not to discriminate against people with IDD who need a ventilator during a resource scarcity. Right now, we have 39 organizations as Official Signatories helping to spread the word!
Hospital Visitation Rights: In the second petition, we urged hospitals to allow caregivers to accompany patients with IDD for in-hospital support. Right now, we have 54 organizations as Official Signatories helping to spread the word AND 50,000 SIGNATURES!
Below is a growing list of states, medical centers, organizations and press addressing this issue.
March 20: Alabama State Health Officer issued a statewide policy to allow caregivers to accompany people with IDD for in-hospital support.
April 10: New York Department of Health updated its hospital no-visitation policy to allow caregivers to accompany people with IDD for in-hospital support.
April 25: New Jersey Department of Public Health issued a statement requiring acute care facilities to permit persons with disability a designated support person. News site NJ.com covered the story.
April 27: Disability Rights Oregon issued a guide “Know Your Rights: Covid-19 & Reasonable Accommodations in Hospitals to address the issue.
May 2: California Department of Health issued a statement allowing caregivers to accompany people with IDD for in-hospital support.
May 6: Ohio Department of Health issued a policy to allow family members or caregivers to accompany people with IDD for in-hospital support.
May 8: Disability Scoop covered the issue and AADMD’s petition in their lead story.
May 13: Tim Shriver for The Washington Post discussed the unique threat Covid-19 presents to people with IDD.
Want to join the movement? Learn More | Ventilator Petition | Hospital Visitation Petition
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Why do we advocate?
To change policy and systems of care, it takes persistence, passion — and it takes time.
Recently our friends at Rush University Medical Center and Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities produced a documentary None of Us Want to Stand Still that reveals the reality of how poorly people with IDD are treated in the healthcare system - and what one university is doing to change that. Watch this video in our Advocacy section or click the link below.