We, at the DPC, have been heavily involved in healthcare reform for the last eight years.

We advocated for quality Long Term Supports and Services (LTSS) to be woven throughout the Dual Eligible Initiative.  This initiative would come to be known as One Care in Massachusetts.  

We have studied One Care in research projects with the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital.

All of our advocacy and research has shown one inescapable fact.  LTSS is the cornerstone for people with disabilities to live a healthy life.  Community based services, in which a strong bond exists between the provider and the person with a disability, enable us to stay out of the emergency room and out of in-patient settings. 

In-patient settings (institutions, hospitals and mental health services) and emergency rooms are the most costly place to provide services.  Ironically, through our research, these are the last places people with disabilities want to be.  This finding applied to both people with severe physical disabilities and those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disability.

For people with severe physical disabilities, a trip to the emergency department represents a loss of control.  It often means leaving mobility devices behind (such as wheelchairs, walkers and canes).  It also requires interacting with professionals who are totally unfamiliar with our disabilities and the particular vagaries of our personal routines.  And hospital floors are even worse. Stories abound of experienced PCA's performing tasks quicker and more effectively than a ward full of nurses.

For people with a lived history of mental illness, a trip to the ER can mean a complete loss of freedom.  Many individuals have personal horror stories of reporting a physical ailment and professionals not believing them. Worse, the decision by a physician to ignore the patients complaint can lead to involuntary commitment or imprisonment.  

For some of you, this will not be new information.  For others, this will come as a surprise.  My goal with this column is to set a base line for a series of editorials to follow.   So tune in next week....

John Winske

[email protected]

When:  March 29 - April 6, 2017

Where:  Various Venues in the Boston area

I would like to invite the members of the Disability Task Force to the Sixth Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival Boston, which will be held between March 29-April 6, 2017. ReelAbilities strives for the inclusion of all people and is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities from a variety of communities.

https://www.facebook.com/ReelAbilitiesBoston/.

www.reelboston.org 

Thank you very much for your help,

Mara

Festival Director
ReelAbilities Film Festival
1001 Watertown Street
West Newton, MA 02465
p: 617.244.9899 x202
f: 617.244.9894
www.bjff.org

Engaging Consumers to Prevent Healthcare Errors, Fraud and Abuse

When Friday, April 28, 2017, 8:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Where: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,  600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA

To register or for more information go to www.masmp.org  or contact Caroline Cole at 978 946-1256 or at [email protected].

When:  Tuesday, May 2, 2017,  5:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.

Where:  Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA  02142

The Disability Law Center Honors

Frederick Wiseman

with the

Impact Award

Art that Changes Lives

50th Anniversary of Titicut Follies

Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 40 documentaries-dramatic, narrative films that seek to portray ordinary human experience in a wide variety of contemporary social institutions. His films include TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, JUVENILE COURT, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, BALLET, CENTRAL PARK, BALLET, LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE, and CRAZY HORSE. He has directed a fiction film, THE LAST LETTER (2002). His films are distributed in theaters and broadcast on television in many countries.

For more information please visit  http://www.dlc-ma.org/fw/

When: Wednesday May 3rd, 2017, 10:00 A.M. -2:00 P.M.

Where: Non Profit Center Community Room.
89 South Street, Boston, MA 02111

Vendors and advocates will be on hand to demonstrate and explain the latest devices and resources in the areas of Deafness & Hard of Hearing

This event is free and open to all!

Please RSVP and request accommodations by April 12. Contact Keri Chamberlain 617-226-2634 or [email protected]

MassMATCH is funded by the Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and managed by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.

MassMATCH Assistive Technology Regional Center-Boston operated by Easter Seals MA provides device demonstrations and loans of the latest equipment to the general public.