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Disability Advisory Committee Member Highlights
The Parents' Place of Maryland (PPMD) is Maryland's statewide federally funded Parent Training and Family-to-Family Health Information Center. PPMD serves as a central source for families of children and youth with special health care needs to obtain support, advocacy, and information about health care. PPMD supports thousands of Maryland families each year. It is staffed primarily by family members, and is founded on the belief that experienced parents are a key source of knowledge and support to help other families become effective voices for their own children.
Yetta Myrick and Leilani Hardy, PPMD's Health Information Specialist and Parent Educator for the Lower Eastern Shore Region, respectively, represent PPMD on the Maryland Disability Health Inclusion Program's Advisory Committee. To learn more about PPMD, please visit our website at www.ppmd.org
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NCHPAD's Inclusive Community Implementation Process (NiCIP)
NiCIP was born out of a need for communities across the United States to develop health promotion opportunities that are equitable for and inclusive of people with disabilities. NiCIP funds are used to plan and implement projects that increase access to physical activity, healthful food, and healthy weight management initiatives for people with mobility, intellectual or sensory disabilities.
The Maryland DHIP is providing funding to the Charles and Washington county local health departments to plan and implement the NiCIP program in their jurisdictions. The programs will mobilize inclusive health coalitions, assess and incorporate disability data collection into an existing intake and assessment tool, select inclusion solutions with community input, and implement an inclusion solution to at least one evidence-based program. Please look out for more funding opportunities to support NiCIP in Maryland.
The awardees will also join the Disability Advisory Committee to learn more from the members and share their experiences.
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Disabilities and Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, is a serious chronic disease that causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling associated with limitation of joint function and mobility. This condition, which can result in a disability, affects 1 in 7 US adults (32.5 million people) and 24.1% of Maryland adults aged 18 years and over, according to the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data (this is inclusive of all types of arthritis).
In 2020, the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance (OAAA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Arthritis Foundation (AF) released the National Public Health Agenda for Osteoarthritis: 2020 Update. The agenda is based upon best research available related to arthritis and appropriate evidence based interventions (AAEBI) with a blueprint for action composed of nine strategies. The Arthritis Committee of the Maryland Health and Wellness Council plans to address the first three strategies (self-management programs, low impact moderate intensity physical activity, and weight management) shown to improve the health and quality of life for people living with OA.
Article by Rachel Pigott, Chair, Arthritis Committee, Maryland Health and Wellness Council.
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Tools and Resources
This toolkit is a compilation of various resources on information and strategies to support public health professionals to create a welcoming, healthy environment for people with disabilities. It was created by the Maryland Disability Advisory Committee.
The Maryland DHIP has partnered both with the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to provide a series of disability focused training webinars. To access the recorded webinars, please visit here.
This is a set of survey tools used to help communities gather information on the extent to which there are health living resources that are inclusive of all members of the community, including persons with disabilities. Healthy living resources are defined as resources that aid in the promotion of Physical Activity and Healthy Eating, two key areas that the CDC has focused on in the national effort to combat obesity.
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Announcements
The Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Maryland Department of Health is seeking for an Inclusion Coordinator who will lead, support, monitor, and coordinate a wide range of complex strategic health policy and planning activities related to the inclusion of those experiencing disparities and disabilities within Public Health and Chronic Disease Prevention and Control programs. To learn more about the position and to apply, please visit here.
Jared Ciner, SPIRIT Club Founder and Director and David Godoy, SPIRIT Club Fitness Demonstrator and Administrative Staff Member hosted a webinar titled, Exercise as a Human Right: Providing Inclusive Physical Fitness Opportunities to People with IDD During the Pandemic and Beyond on September 29, 2020. Please visit here to view the archived webinar.
The United Healthcare recently funded the Parents' Place of Maryland to work with community partners in Baltimore and Prince Georges' counties to support families of children with disabilities and special health care needs to be more connected and included in their communities.
Both the SPIRIT Club and the Parents' Place of Maryland are DHIP partners on the Disability Advisory Committee and we congratulate them on these great achievements.
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