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Northeast
Center for Special Care is pleased to feature:
American Disability Coalition
www.amerdis.com
American
Disability Coalition is the website for a
Pennsylvania-based not-for-profit organization that
provides information, support and advocacy for individuals who
are amputees and to educate and bring awareness to the
public about amputation and disabilities.
The organization was founded in 2004 by Jason P.
Boockoff. Jason has dealt with Peripheral
Vascular Disease (PVD). Peripheral
vascular disease is a disease of the blood vessels
outside the heart and brain. It is a narrowing of
blood vessels that restricts blood flow. It mostly
occurs in the legs, but sometimes occurs in the
arms. Arterial by-pass and surgery are common
treatments for PVD, and Jason has had several since being diagnosed.
In 2003 Jason lost a leg as a result of a blood
clot. As with many people who have experienced
amputation Jason had a difficult time coping with the
emotional loss of losing a limb. He also found a
lack of support in his own region of northern
Pennsylvania and southern New York. That led
Jason to found the
American Disability Coalition and within
the first six months of operation, along with the help from
local hospitals and area businesses, ADC managed to
establish itself throughout the Northern Tier of
Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New
York. Its Board of Directors is comprised of
individuals who are amputees and members of area
medical, orthopedic and mobility organizations.
The focus of
American
Disability Coalition is highlighted in its
mission:
It
is our mission to educate, inform, &
promote ways to achieve healthy living among
those afflicted with chronic disease,
disability, or physical impairment.
We
offer guidance and resources to help
individuals understand and cope with the
physical, emotional, and financial
ramifications that may occur as a result of
the conditions thereof.
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The
American Disability
Coalition website well reflects the mission of the
organization. It was created to promote
education, information, and prevention on subjects
pertaining to chronic disease, disability, and
physical impairment. Although the
American
Disability Coalition and its website are
relatively new, the site contains an impressive amount
of useful information
about amputation, diet, advocacy and the work of the
organization.
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"Together we'll move through life's difficulties,"
the American Disability Coalition website is full of
useful resources. |
The
organization provides a number of services
including: peer support, education and preventative
awareness in amputation, the National Clearinghouse
for Associated Disability (NCAD), and Awareness in Developmental
Difference (AIDD). You can find out
in detail what each program is all about when you visit their
website.
Through the
American
Disability Coalition
website, information and
education about amputation and related conditions is
available. You can easily access statistics
about amputation, spinal cord injury, diabetes,
peripheral vascular disease, the heart, and
obesity. There is also a news page with current
news articles posted about the same conditions.
Awareness in Developmental Difference is a program
is designed to educate and build awareness with
elementary school aged children in the k-3 grades to
accept their peers with disabilities, even though they may look
differently. Through the use of picture books
and fictional characters, such as “Freddy the
Tailless Monkey;" AIDD gives a fun in-depth look into
the acceptance of disability.
Since diabetes is often a cause of amputation making
diabetics at-risk the
American
Disability Coalition
website includes a diabetic
cookbook with recipes for entrees, side dishes,
desserts, beverages and more.
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Part of the work of the American Disability
Coalition is advocacy.
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Advocacy
is an important part of any organization and it is a
big part of what the
American
Disability Coalition
does. As of the date of
this writing the organization is advocating for parity
in the coverage of prosthetics in Pennsylvania by group health
insurance plans that is equal to Medicaid
benefits. They make a strong argument for their
position. Currently the
American
Disability Coalition
is holding parity organizational
meetings throughout Pennsylvania. You can keep
up with their progress on this issue through their
website.
American Disability
Coalition
is a grass roots effort to fill a void
in a region that lacks supports. It has taken on
the web in an important way to promote their mission
and message and it's the kind of website we like to
make our visitors aware of.
Please take time to visit
American
Disability Coalition
on the web and learn more about this organization and
its work. Their website is just a click away.
Northeast Center for Special Care is happy to present this organization
as our website of the month. Make sure you bookmark them so you can visit again.
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Northeast
Center for Special Care QUICK FACTS:
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- In
an amputation, a surgeon removes a limb, or part
of a limb, that is no longer useful to you and is
causing you great pain, or threatens your health
because of extensive infection. Most commonly, a
surgeon removes your toe, foot, leg, or arm.
Physicians consider amputation a last resort.
Although
amputations may be required for other reasons,
such as severe injury or the presence of a tumor,
the most common reason you may need an amputation
is if you have peripheral arterial disease (PAD)
due to atherosclerosis (hardening of the
arteries). In PAD, the blood vessels in your limbs
become damaged because of hardening of the
arteries or diabetes. Your body's cells depend on
a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients from
your blood. If your blood vessels are unable to
deliver blood and oxygen to your fingers or toes,
the cells and tissues die and are vulnerable to
infection. If the blood supply cannot be improved
sufficiently or if the tissue is beyond salvage,
extensive tissue death may require amputation,
especially if you are experiencing severe pain or
infection. Source: Society
for Vascular Surgery
- Limb
Loss FAQ
- Heather
Mills McCartney Amputee Forum
- Amputee
Resources
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Do you have a web resource you think we should consider for
our website of the month? Sites can be personal,
professional, informative, educational or
organizations. Our primary criteria is that a site be
unique in some way and offer it's readers useful
information and insight. Please click on Suggest-a-Site
and let us know about it.
Sites we select will receive a customized award
graphic
Please don't forget to check back with us next month when we
highlight another award-winning website.
Website of the Month Archive:
May
2006:
Mothers
Against Brain Injury
April
2006:
The Healing
Exchange Brain Trust
March 2006: Erienne
Romaine
February 2006: Vent
Weaning.com
January 2006: Brain
Injury News and Information Blog
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