Have you experienced problems during diagnosis or treatment at your favorite doctor's office, medical clinic or hospital? Were any of the problems you encountered caused by the inaccessible nature of the medical diagnosis or treatment equipment? There is hope on the horizon, and you can become a part of the solution.

Some of you who read my blog regularly may remember that it has been about 22 years since I was actually weighed, because none of my providers had a scale that could accommodate my large and immobile body. I was recently hospitalized for a short time, and the bed that was in use in my hospital room actually had a feature that allowed them to weigh me while still in bed. It was a new model of hospital bed that not only included a scale but actually had a built-in air mattress that could provide alternating pressure to prevent pressure sores.

Unfortunately the news about my weight was not what I had hoped to hear. I have apparently been gaining weight continuously since my spinal cord injury in 1988, and might now qualify to be listed on the same chart as some smaller sumo wrestlers.  My snack drawer will not be replenished when it gets cleaned out, and I am cutting back to only two meals per day. That should be plenty when you consider that I have limited opportunities to exercise.

The United States Access Board recently published proposed ADA standards for diagnostic medical equiupment on February 9, 2012  and it is now time to finalize them.. The next step is the convening of a panel of stakeholders of all types to determine what types of equipment are actually accessible, and where improvements are still due.  That is where you have an opportunity to get involved and make a positive difference in the application of the new standards. 

I am pasting the actual e-mail announcement just received from the Access Board in case you can get involved. Please note that the notice states that no one will be reimbursed for expenses. However,  if you do not live in the immediate vicinity of Washington, DC, I would recommend that you call the Access Board directly to see if anything is possible if you really want to get involved. It may not  matter, but if this type of assignment would create a financial hardship for you and you have limited income you should at least make the request.

 Here is that announcement:
"Applications for Medical Diagnostic Equipment Advisory Committee Due April 27
The Access Board is organizing an advisory committee to advance its development of new standards for medical diagnostic equipment and seeks applications from interested parties to serve as committee members. This committee will provide assistance to the Board in finalizing standards for diagnostic equipment it released for public comment in February. Medical device manufacturers, health care providers, disability groups, standard-setting organizations, and other stakeholders are encouraged to apply. Committee membership is voluntary, and members will not be paid or reimbursed for their services.

The deadline for applications is April 27. A notice published by the Board provides further details, including application instructions. For further information, contact Rex Pace at pace@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0023 (v), or (202) 272-0052 (TTY)."

Good luck, and thanks in advance for stepping up to the plate when such opportunities arise.

©  2012 Michael Collins

Taking my own advice as recommended in my last two blogs, I have submitted the following to the Department of Justice at the regulations.gov website. I hope you are all taking similar action.

Testimony to DOJ NPRM re Enforcement of ADA Pool Lift Requirements
Submitted by Michael C. Collins
April 3, 2012

Enforce all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act:  this is not a new regulation, as a requirement to have pool lifts or other types of access available for public pools has been a key component of the law since passage of the ADA in 1990. The failure of some hotels to accomplish that installation has resulted in very few penalties. This requirement is not unduly burdensome, and the availability of swimming pools and spas is considered a primary attraction for patrons or guests at many types of public accommodations.

People with disabilities should not be relegated to sitting poolside, watching their families and friends enjoy the water. Those in the lodging industry who complained to Congress have likely failed to comply with existing regulations for 20 years, so apparently they feel it is important to set aside a standard that provides the necessary accessibility to features that are enjoyed by the rest of American society. I feel that a survey of the “hospitality” industry would reveal that only a small percentage of pool owners have bothered to provide any type of pool lifts for the use of their patrons who need them due to disability.

This is a disturbing situation, as the argument used to stop enforcement of that portion of the law is a flimsy one at best. Any public accommodation that could not accomplish the work due to financial hardship has always had a means of avoiding fines that might have been levied for not improving access. There was even a ‘safe harbor’ granted when these new regulations were posted, allowing those with pool lifts already installed per the 1991 ADAAG to postpone improvements for the time being.

The significance of this latest action cannot be ignored. The ADA is the major civil rights bill for people with disabilities, and was originally passed by Congress only after years of planning to assure that it would accomplish its goal of improving access to our society without unduly burdening anyone. Provisions of the ADA that required architectural improvements were phased in over time, with liberal tax credits and deductions allowed for those businesses that made improvements as the law required. Changes that were architecturally infeasible or that caused financial hardship did not even have to be made.

Excusing the violation of any civil rights law is unprecedented, and suspending the enforcement of ADA regulations for the benefit of the prosperous hospitality industry is unconscionable.

Congress has begun to whittle away at our civil rights as established by the ADA almost 22 years ago. It sets a dangerous precedent.

Which other sections of the law will be targeted next? Will it be in the areas of public rights of way, which include the sidewalks and curb ramps we depend upon for wheelchair access to our communities? Will it mean that hotels with insufficient wheelchair accessible rooms or roll-in showers will lobby to strike those provisions of the law? Could businesses that fail to maintain proper accessible parking spaces plead for removal of parking requirements in order to gain back the spaces that became our access aisles? All of these items covered by the ADA have been the subject of DOJ enforcement action in the past, as well as provisions that provide us access to employment, government services, kiosks, websites and interpreters for those who need them.

Disability civil rights are critical to our enjoyment of and access to our society. Lessening or eliminating similar civil rights would not be acceptable to other protected groups, whether for race, religion or gender. This proposed action is not acceptable to us. Do NOT stop enforcing any part of the ADA or it’s related regulations.

© 2012 Michael Collins

Doom and Gloom; Disgusted; Fed up; Beat up, or Beat down? All of these terms could describe various moods I have expressed recently about attacks on disability civil rights and our ability to live independently. Please accept my apologies if my recent blogs on the elimination of the CLASS program and the current push to keep the Department of Justice from enforcing some Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations have depressed or disappointed you. I don’t think you’re alone.

Congress apparently has no qualms about eliminating rights granted to us with passage of the ADA in 1990. As I stated in my last blog, both the House and Senate are considering legislation that would prevent the Attorney General from administering or enforcing ADA regulations that require the permanent installation of pool lifts. This is an unprecedented action, as it denies the civil rights of an entire class of protected individuals: people with disabilities.

Despite the damage being done by the aforementioned actions, there are a few bright spots that are also worth mentioning. We do have allies in Congress and throughout government who continue to serve as our champions when our rights are threatened. Just last week, Senator DeMint tried to force a quick vote on the Senate bill (S. 2191) that would prevent the Attorney General from enforcing the ADA’s requirements regarding pool lifts. His move was met by an immediate objection from Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, who has been a champion of the ADA since it was first proposed. That bill is still alive, but advocates have rallied to phone and write members of Congress to let them know that these bills should not pass.

We can still have an impact on the enforcement of the pool lift regulations, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has voluntarily suspended enforcement until May 21, 2012 and is asking the public to comment on that suspension (and a possible 180 day extension of it) by responding online to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
at regulations.gov. The initial deadline for those comments is April 4, 2012! If full access to recreation is important to you, I would recommend that you click on the above link and leave your comments as soon as possible.

Another bright spot is the work that is being done by the US Access Board to follow up on initial ADA regulations in several areas that could benefit from a more refined definition. Working in tandem with the DOJ, they solicited input on the height and characteristics of hotel beds, and have been working for several years on reviewing the dimensions of medical equipment and establishing standards for accessible medical devices of all types. The Board has scheduled two hearings on diagnostic medical equipment, and will be taking public testimony on their recommendations through June 8, 2012. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also joined with the DOJ in publishing guidance for the medical profession about how to provide care for people with mobility disabilities.

DOJ and the Access Board continue to refine the ADA Standards for Accessible Design in order to expedite compliance through better understanding of the regulations by business owners and government agencies who need to comply with them. New ADA regulations which have taken effect during the past two years provide additional guidance on such items as service animals, the use of Segways as mobility devices, recreational facilities of all types, timeshare accessibility, ticketing and lodging reservations. The Access Board recently concluded two hearings on the Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines, and additional action will be taken once the hearing testimony has been processed.

While it appears that not much improvement has occurred in the last 20 years, expanded employment opportunities for people with disabilities are actually bright spots. Public testimony is being evaluated on a new rule by the Department of Labor that would require federal contractors to increase their percentage of employees with disabilities to 7% of their total workforce. That change coincides with an effort led by the Office of Personnel Management and DOL to increase federal agency disability employment percentages.

The sun is really shining on three cities that have recently improved access to accessible taxi cabs because of solid work by disability advocates. Congratulations are due to those who fought for those changes in New York City, Washington, DC and Chicago. Thanks to their efforts, and if the Supreme Court will just leave the Affordable Care Act
intact, I may have a use for my sunglasses after all.

© 2012 Michael Collins

When we hear the term “perfect storm” it usually refers to some type of confluence in the atmosphere that leads to a wild weather phenomenon that threatens life and damages property. In the real world most such storms are of limited duration and, while they may do major damage and literally paralyze parts of the country for a period of days or weeks, people clean up and get on with their lives. For those of us living in the world of disability, our storms can be just as destructive and may last much longer.



Earlier this year I wrote about the move underway in Congress to repeal the provisions of the CLASS long-term-care program by passage of the ‘‘Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2012.” That has now been accomplished, so people with disabilities will once again be unable to pay in advance for long-term care insurance that might support us as we age. The reason for the repeal was that the plan to pay for the program would not have actually done so. I would like to think that there are plenty of smart people in government who could have devised a way to make that program self-supporting if they really wanted to work at it.

Another storm has boiled up around our beloved Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The United States Access Board issued some new ADA standards in 2010, and they took effect earlier this month. The changes were meant to improve the law, but unfortunately the lodging industry has seen this as an opportunity to seek repeal of provisions in the ADA that they feel are burdensome. The repeal movement began with protests about the requirement that all hotels and public swimming pools had to have wheelchair lifts installed that were permanently attached and immediately available for the use of people with disabilities who might want to take a dip with their families and friends.

The White House and members of Congress were lobbied hard on the issue, as was the Department of Justice
that is responsible for ADA enforcement. This has resulted in introduction of bills in both the House
and Senate that prohibit the Attorney General from enforcing accessibility regulations relating to pools at public accommodations and other public venues.

It is important for people to realize that this is not a new regulation, as a requirement to have pool lifts or other types of access available to public pools has been in effect since passage of the ADA in 1990. The failure of some hotels to accomplish that installation has resulted in very few penalties. Those in the lodging industry who complained have not taken the necessary action for 22 years, so apparently they felt it was important to simply set aside a standard that provides the necessary accessibility to features that are enjoyed by the rest of American society.

This is a disturbing situation, as the argument used to stop enforcement of that portion of the law was a flimsy one at best. Any public accommodation that could not accomplish the work due to financial hardship has always had a means of avoiding fines that might have been levied for not improving access.

The significance of this action cannot be ignored. The ADA is the major civil rights bill for people with disabilities, and was originally passed only after years of planning to assure that it would accomplish its goal of improving access to our society without unduly burdening anyone. Provisions of the ADA that required architectural improvements were phased in over time, with liberal tax credits and deductions allowed for those businesses that made improvements as the law required. Changes that were architecturally infeasible or that caused financial hardship did not even have to be made.

Congress has begun to whittle away at our civil rights as established by the ADA almost 22 years ago. I shudder when I think of which other sections of the law will be targeted next. Will it be in the area of public rights of way, which include the very sidewalks and curb ramps we depend upon? Will it mean that hotels with insufficient accessible rooms or roll-in showers will lobby to strike those provisions of the law? Could businesses that fail to maintain proper accessible parking work toward removal of parking requirements in order to gain back the spaces that became our access aisles? All of these items have been the subject of DOJ enforcement action in the past, as well as provisions that provide us access to employment, government services, kiosks, websites and interpreters for those who need them.

We all have an obligation, for our friends and family as well as future generations, to express our opinions about the type of actions that are occurring today. It is important to let your elected officials know that disability civil rights are critical to our enjoyment of and access to our society.

Lessening or eliminating similar civil rights would not be acceptable to other protected groups, whether for race, religion or gender. It should not be acceptable to us.

© 2012 Michael Collins

Bulletin: Showing a complete lack of CLASS, elected representatives in Congress proudly proclaimed that they were voting to repeal the CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Read More

It’s the start of another year, but some things remain unchanged. At this moment, thousands of my colleagues are experiencing the effects of a glut of health conditions that can result in premature death and the onset of diseases most people will never face.  We wait, impatiently, for research scientists to discover the elusive cure for paralysis. That cure is unlikely to help many of us who are wheeling around today if we are so out of shape and unhealthy that we are seen as not able to benefit from whatever cure protocols are discovered. Read More

In my recent blog, Uplifting News, I shared some exciting developments in the form of new Department of Transportation (DOT)  regulations that affect paratransit service, fixed route bus transportation and even the railroads. Several of the new regulations will provide opportunities for people with disabilities who might have previously been unable to use various types of transportation to finally have access to those modes of travel. Read More

When airlines have inclement weather to use as an excuse, it helps them justify everything from flight delays to cancellations, and might even allow them to avoid fines for tarmac delays in excess of three hours. Unfortunately it often appears that there is no one in charge when these events start happening, as hundreds of people are milling around waiting for news or for somebody to make a decision about which flights will be delayed and which ones canceled. Read More

Our friends at the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) have done it!  They have expanded our transportation options while traveling on trains and on paratransit vehicles. The new regulations, which were posted earlier this month, take effect at various times during 2011. Read More

In the dictionary, inertia is defined as: The tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force. Read More

If you read my August blog about airline damage to mobility equipment: Concerned about Wheelchair Damage?, you know that September 13 is the deadline for submitting comments to the Department of Transportation about the importance of tracking airline handling of wheelchairs and other mobility equipment. Read More

Recently I received an email from a mother whose son was taking his first flight in15 years. Since her son and I are both quadriplegic and power chair users, I was able to provide some condensed advice (based on over 100 flights) that should help make their trip a success. Read More

After years of mistreatment by the airlines, those of us who travel with wheelchairs or other mobility equipment may actually have our concerns recognized. Up until now there has been no attempt to capture the accurate number of wheelchairs or other mobility devices transported by the nation's air carriers, or how many incidents of damage occur. Read More

Treasure hunting has been an important pastime throughout history, and the search for lost treasures can span decades or centuries and cost much money and even some lives. We have read with interest, and watched movies, about the searches for King Solomon’s mines, the pirate Blackbeard’s plunder  and many ships that sank in storms, taking their gold and silver cargoes with them to the bottom of the seas. Read More

What “ticks” you off? Is it the para-transit system with reservation rules that don't work with your lifestyle? Do you want to take a local trip spontaneously, but find you should have planned for it days before? Do the hours of service end before you wanted to come home? Read More