Communication First has created a COVID-19 Communication Rights Toolkit with Printable Patient Accommodations Request Form in both English and Spanish. It is important that no matter our way of communicating, we are listened too. "Hospitals and other health care facilities must meet your communication needs at all times. They also have an ethical duty to try to obtain your informed consent before treating or withholding treatment."-Communication First
"FCIC's My Health Passport is a health advocacy document that describes the unique supports and preferences of an individual. It is designed to be shared with many types of healthcare providers, in clinic and hospital settings, especially for those who are not very familiar in providing care to individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities." You can find the My Health Passport here...
Perkins, E.A. (2011). My Health Passport for Hospital/Clinic Visits. Florida Center for Inclusive Communities, http://flfcic.fmhi.usf.edu/docs/FCIC_Health_Passport_ Form_Typeable_English.pdf. Development of this material was supported by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (#90-DD-0668, Fox and Kincaid). For more information visit www.flcic.org For further information contact Dr. Elizabeth Perkins at eperkins@usf.edu
AID in PA is a resource collection for Pennsylvanians in the autism and intellectual disability communities. A joint effort between ASERT (Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training) and the statewide HCQUs (Health Care Quality Units), this site is designed to connect individuals with disabilities, families, professionals, and community members with resources that can best serve them in emergency situations.
Dr. Michael Murray from ASERT Central Region-Partner of AID in PA, interviewed Values Into Action Supports Broker, Amber Borelli on how she is staying connected while socially distancing! Click the below link to watch/listen to the interview.
Human Services Research Institute "works across all sectors of human services" to improve community-based and person-centered systems.
https://www.hsri.org/
ABLEnow accounts help individuals with disabilities save money to pay for qualified expenses, without being taxed on the earnings – and in most cases, without losing eligibility for certain means-tested benefit programs. Find more information on their webpage and open an account online
https://www.able-now.com/
Thanks to Delaware County Advocacy & Resource Organization for sharing the following resources in their newsletter.
The National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) in partnership with the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota set out to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on direct support professionals and identify the most effective ways to protect DSPs and the people they support. The results of this survey can be seen here
http://z.umn.edu/dsp-covid19 and will be shared widely with policymakers, services providers, direct support professionals, families, and stakeholders.
