Support Group Meeting 

    On Tuesday, June 1, 2004, the Amputee Support Group of Northern Virginia held its regularly scheduled monthly meeting in the Telestar Court Building, Gemini Room. A dozen people attended the meeting.

One member complained that there was a lot of news about the Fredericksburg group in the newsletter and not very much news about our group in it.I would be more than happy to publish anything about our group, but we don’t do anything except have a support group meeting and a newsletter – not even feedback or donations.

We had one new amputee who brought his daughter.He had already received his New Amputee Information Packet and found it very helpful.His daughter asked for and received one as well.Good for her.

I recently read an article in the newspaper that said, “Low ‘health literacy’ is a growing problem.Numerous studies show patients with limited health literacy are more likely to need hospital care, have poorer health habits and are less likely to use preventive services.That, in turn, increases costs.One study found hospital spending is $993 higher, on average, for a patient with inadequate health literacy.”The Institute of Medicine released a health literacy report in April 2004 and said “the problem of low health literacy is exacerbated by the increasing complexity of the nation’s health care system, contributes to health disparities among the poor and minorities—and may cost billions of dollars.”One of the Institute’s suggestions was for “Medicare, insurers and other health groups (that’s us!) to develop creative ways to communicate clear health information.”

News and Announcements

Can You Spare a Wheelchair? - Carol McDonnell, manager at Sully Plantation, is looking for a used wheelchair to provide to visitors to the park. Sully Plantation receives many requests for a wheelchair. They currently have one wheelchair but they would like another that would be available for emergency situations. If you have an adult wheelchair you would like to donate, contact Carol McDonnell at 703- 437-1794, TTY 703-803-3354, or send an e-mail to carol.mcdonnell@fairfaxcounty.gov. (DS E-News 5/14/04) 

Fairfax Board of Supervisors Raise Asset Threshold - As part of the FY 2005 budget, the Board of Supervisors voted to increase the asset threshold for the Tax Relief Program for seniors and people with disabilities, from $190,000 to the state maximum of $240,000 for those who qualify for the program. Seniors and residents will be able to take advantage of both changes in the 2004 calendar year. (DS E-News 5/14/04)

Email a New Amputee– Angela Jones from the Washington Amputee Association has been corresponding with a member of the armed forces who will be leaving for Iraq in July. He is not an amputee but receives the WAA newsletter and wanted to know if anyone would be willing to correspond (via email) with a new amputee who has just returned to the United States from Iraq. If anyone would like to do this, please contact Angela Jones, adream@att.net, or Roy Dwyer, roydsilverspring@hotmail.com.

Services and Products

ASGNVA Lending Library– Come to a meeting and borrow a book or see what new handouts are available. Current materials include:

• Amputee Coalition of America Print and Video Resources – 2004 Edition
• Surviving Limb Loss – A series of pamphlets, developed by the Landmine Survivors Network, a leading global advocate for persons with limb loss.
• Legal Rights of the Catastrophically Ill and Injured: A Family Guide, Second Edition, Joseph L. Romano, Attorney and Counselor at Law, 1998
• Physical Fitness: A Guide for Individuals with Lower Limb Loss, Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, A Clinical Guide by Ernest M. Burgess, M.D. and Albert Rappoport, C.P.
• The Commonwealth of Virginia Roadmap to Services – A resource guide for people with disabilities, long term illnesses, and the elderly

Member Updates 

Tom Scott– Tom is a bilateral below-knee amputee who fell and broke his hip and then had bypass heart surgery while in the hospital recovering from his broken hip. When he was released from the hospital, he needed to get new prostheses and had no insurance to pay for them. Apparently he was able to get new prostheses and is now up and walking with only the aid of a cane. Way to go, Tom!

Paula Golladay – Paula was not at the meeting as she is not allowed to drive yet, is having many pain problems with her new amputation (she’s 
already a BK), and her chauffer, husband Bob, is now in Louisiana and soon to leave the country.  It is not phantom pain but real honest to 
goodness pain.  She may have to have further amputation of the heads of the metatarsals.  Of course Dr. A. does not wish to amputate more and 
Paula wants to be out of pain.  She said, “this is not the path I wish to walk.”  We’re thinking of you, Paula.  Call if you need anything.

Scheduled Events

Amputee Coalition of America Annual Conference & Exposition - The Amputee Coalition of America will hold its 2004 Annual Conference and Exposition in Nashville, Tennessee August 5-7. The purpose of the conference is to bring amputees, their peers, health care and other industry professionals together in one arena to interface, share expertise, keep abreast of new technologies, products and services, and find solutions to common problems. The conference includes educational sessions, technology information, and peer-support sessions; fitness and gait labs to improve mobility; advocacy information on access to care; and exhibits displaying the latest technology. For more information, please call 1-888-267-5669 or go online to http://www.amputee-coalition.org/annual_meeting_about.html.

June
			1 ASGNVA Meeting		2	3 Abdelgani Hamid	4	5
6	7		8  Winchester ASG  Fredericksburg ASG		9	10	11 Paula Golladay	12
13	14		15  WAA Meeting		16  Kernan ASG Brenda Blake	17	18	19 Chuck Rattman
20 Bud Atchison	21		22		23	24  Georgetown ASG Meeting Kessler ASG	25	26
27	28		29		30
July
						1 Ayalew Assaye & Missy Wolff-Burke	2	3 Bill Shaffer
4		5		6 ASGNVA Meeting	7 Steve McCarthy	8	9	10 Betty Roberts
11 Lenny McGarvey		12		13  Winchester ASG Meeting Fredericksburg ASG Mtg	14 Kernan ASG	15	16	17
18		19 Keith Bridgett & Frank Rackley		20  WAA Meeting	21	22  Georgetown ASG  Kessler ASG  Debbie Pearce & Helen Weinberger	23	24 Pat Baker
25		26		27	28	29 Irv Axelrod	30	31

Washington Amputee Association– National Rehabilitation Hospital, 102 Irving Street, NW, Washington, DC, Ground Floor Dining Room (rear section, near the windows and behind the partition), 3^RD Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:30 pm.Contact Roy Dwyer (301-897-2816), Angela Jones (301-794-0183) or Becky Lehman, RT/NRH, 202-877-1578, rebekahlehman@juno.com 

Georgetown University Hospital– 4^TH Thursday of every month, 7:30-9:00 pm, Martin Marietta Conference Room, Lombardi Cancer Center, Entrance 1 (park in the Levey Center; handicap parking available; transit access can drop off/pick up at this location. Call 202-444-8037 and leave a message.

Kessler Adventist Group– Fourth Thursday of the month, 6:00-8:00 pm, 2nd floor, Kessler Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital, 9909 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD.Contact Sandy Shadea, 240-864-6196.

Kernan Hospital Group – 3^rd Wednesday of the month, 6:00-8:00 pm, Room G604, Kernan Hospital, 2200 Kernan Dr., Gwynn Oak, MD.Contact Mark Senker at 410-581-7027 for more information.

Winchester Amputee Support Group – 2^nd Tuesday of the month, 5:30-6:30 pm, Conference Room, 2^nd floor, Winchester Rehabilitation Center, 333 W. Cork St, Winchester, VA.Contact Christie Augustine, 540-536-5113.

Fredericsksburg Amputee Support Group – 2^nd Tuesday of the month, 7:00-9:00 pm, the disAbility Resource Center, 409 Progress Street, Fredericksburg, VA.Contact Greg Wright, 540-899-2655 or 800-333-4102.

American Board for Certification

Contact ABC:info@abcop.org (703) 836-7114

ABC believes that the future of the orthotics and prosthetics profession depends on unity. With an uncertain healthcare environment, continuing changes in Medicare's payment policies, and competition from outside, less qualified health professionals, the O&P profession needs the strength, voice, and recognition of a single certification board.

Efforts initiated last fall to unify the American Board for Certification and the Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification through negotiations have proven unsuccessful. This regretful announcement leaves our profession divided, our patients confused, and our referral sources and regulatory bodies unclear on the qualifications of providing O&P care.

Both organizations agree that the long term benefits to unification are overwhelmingly positive. As a result of action by legislative bodies and numerous third party payors who make no distinction between us, a 'leveling of the playing field' has occurred between the ABC and BOC. It is now time for O&P practitioners to accept our alternative certifications as equal, and move forward together to protect our patients and our profession.

As of March 5, 2004, ABC is inviting all BOC orthotist/prosthetists in good standing to become ABC Certified Practitioners, with all associated rights and privileges.

We understand that these actions do not immediately bring about the complete unification of our profession. However, with the addition of large numbers of qualified practitioners to the ranks of ABC certified practitioners, we believe that our certification board is strengthened, and thus closer to the goal of establishing one single certification body, recognized as such by the entire medical community. ABC continues to look forward to the day in which all professional providing O&P patient care are educated, trained, and certified by one set of standards. We believe that the actions undertaken today are an important step towards this goal.

This disappointing announcement follows formal negotiations, including a meeting on January 12, 2004, as well as a series of subsequent communications. The following issues, among others, were agreed to at the January 12, 2004 meeting:

• ABC and BOC certified orthotist/prosthetist practitioners will be given equal and equivalent certification status in the unified organization.
• BOC accredited facilities will be given ABC accreditation for the appropriate scope of practice.
• Two pathways for certification as orthotists and/or prosthetists will be available to future practitioners, ensuring that future patient care needs will be met. ABC’s primary education pathway will be retained and an alternative pathway to ABC’s primary certification pathway for orthotist and/or prosthetist certification, similar to BOC’s current primary pathway for orthotist and/or prosthetist certification, will be developed and implemented.
• The current ABC examination process will be adopted for certification of orthotists and/or prosthetists.
• The current BOC examination process will be adopted for orthotic and mastectomy fitter credentialing.

For more information on this offer or for an application form, please visit ABC’s website at www.abcop.org.

From the Editor:May was National High Blood Pressure Education Month and, although this is the June edition of the newsletter, I am personally experiencing a family crisis where one of the medical conditions involved is high blood pressure and I would appreciate it if you would read this article from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Plus, it was YOUR tax dollars that paid for this article so you ought to read it anyway.Thanks.

Know Your High Blood Pressure Numbers for National High Blood Pressure Education Month

Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers-the systolic pressure (the force of the blood against the artery walls as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (the force of the blood as the heart relaxes between beats). A blood pressure level of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high. If your blood pressure is between 120/80 mmHg and 139/89 mmHg, you have prehypertension. This means that even though you don't have high blood pressure now your chances of having a heart attack or stroke are increased. 

About two-thirds of people over age 65 have high blood pressure. If you do not have high blood pressure at age 55, you face a 90 percent chance of developing it during your remaining lifetime. So high blood pressure is a condition that most people have at some point in their lives.

Fortunately, high blood pressure can be prevented and controlled.Often lifestyle changes can prevent or control it. These include:

• Losing weight, if necessary, and maintaining a healthy weight;
• Being physically active;
• Eating less salt and sodium;
• Following an eating plan rich in fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy foods, moderate in total fat and cholesterol, and low in saturated fat;
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, doing so in moderation. 

For more information on how to prevent and control high blood pressure, visit "Your Guide to Controlling High Blood Pressure" online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/index.html. 

From Bill Mears
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Disabled Americans deserve the same right as everyone else to access and accommodation at government buildings, such as courthouses and schools, a lawyer for two Tennessee paraplegics told the Supreme Court Tuesday.

The justices heard arguments over the scope of protection offered to people under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Outside the court about a dozen protesters, some disabled, attempted to crawl up the Supreme Court's exterior steps in a show of support of the plaintiffs. Some shouted, "Justice for all; we won't crawl."

The Supreme Court building is handicapped-accessible, and a number of disabled spectators were inside and watched the court arguments.

In previous cases, the high court has repeatedly limited the effect of the ADA, a landmark law passed in 1990 meant to guarantee equality for the disabled.

At issue now is the right of private citizens to sue over alleged violations such as the lack of an elevator in the small-town courthouse where George Lane was scheduled to appear in 1996.

The case is also another in a long-running series of legal disputes over the power of the federal government to influence state sovereignty, known as federalism.

The Rehnquist court has taken a keen interest in the issue in recent years, and has usually sided with the states.

"People have a right to be a citizen in all its aspects," said attorney William Brown in an emotional appeal to the justices.

Brown said basic liberty is at stake, and that the disabled "have a right to participate in those activities without an onerous burden placed on them because of their disability."

Brown helped filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lane, Beverly Jones and four other disabled people.

Lane was unable to walk after a car accident in which he was accused of driving on the wrong side of the road. A woman was killed in the crash, and Lane faced misdemeanor charges of reckless driving.

'I don't feel like an equal part of society'

Jones is a certified court reporter who is confined to a wheelchair. She experienced extreme difficulty getting into at least two dozen state courthouses, and feels humiliated having to be carried into buildings without wheelchair access.

Part of the plaintiffs' case rests on the arguments that the state holds a virtual monopoly on the services offered and places of employment for Lane and Jones.

"It is very difficult, if not impossible, for us to conduct our business," Jones said outside the Supreme Court. "I don't feel like an equal part of society."

No widespread violation, Tennessee argues

Justice Antonin Scalia seemed to side with the states, stating forcefully that the lack of elevators or ramps at courthouses and other public buildings would be a violation of the Constitution only if the disabled were refused access.

The ADA requires the government, businesses and other private groups to accommodate the disabled.

The law states "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination."

But since the law's inception there have been legal disputes over whether states have 11th Amendment immunity to provisions of the ADA.

The Supreme Court last month wrapped up a dispute over the law and alleged discrimination by a private employer.

The justices ruled 7-0 against a former missile technician from Arizona who had sued under the ADA to get his job back.

A ruling in the case is expected by June.

The case is Tennessee v. Lane, Jones, et al., No. 02-1667).

High Court Rules In Favor Of Disabled Man

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court upheld the rights of disabled people under a national law meant to protect them, ruling Monday that a paraplegic who crawled up the steps of a small-town courthouse can sue over the lack of an elevator. 

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that people with disabilities who are denied access to courthouses can sue states for money damages under a milestone civil rights law. The 5-4 decision was a departure from the justices' pattern of limiting individuals' ability to sue states for violations of federal rights. 

The ruling, which broadly interprets a section of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that bans bias in public services and programs, will put pressure on states to make sure people can easily reach courtrooms. And it is likely to spur litigation over access for the disabled to other government venues, such as legislative buildings and welfare offices. 

Monday's decision, along with a ruling in 2003 that allowed state workers to sue their employers for violations of a family leave law, also suggests the court could be slowing its campaign to protect states at the expense of federal power.

The Tennessee dispute decided by the court Monday was brought by two paraplegics who use wheelchairs.One of them, George Lane, had to crawl up two flights of stairs at the Polk County Courthouse in Benton for a hearing related to criminal misdemeanor charges he faced. The courthouse had no elevator.

Three years ago, the high court ruled that states could not be sued for money damages under a part of the ADA that deals with workplace bias.

In distinguishing that decision from Monday's, the court's majority emphasized that access to courts affects an array of basic constitutional guarantees, including the right to be present at all stages of a trial and to have a jury from a fair cross section of the community.

The justices also said that when Congress was drafting the ADA, it compiled more evidence of bias in state services than it did for job discrimination.

"Congress learned that many individuals, in many states across the country, were being excluded from court proceedings by reason of their disabilities," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote. He was joined by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

O'Connor had been with the majority in the 2001 decision forbidding lawsuits against state employers for workplace bias.

She did not explain her switch Monday, but she might have been induced by the emphasis on access to justice and Stevens' narrow focus on courthouses, rather than the range of public buildings the ADA covers.

The message of Tennessee vs. Lane is that ADA disputes will be considered on a case-by-case basis — and that the stronger the claim that fundamental rights are involved, the greater the chance the court will allow Congress to hold states accountable.

The ADA, adopted after several years of investigation into discrimination against disabled persons, was intended to open doors and to create opportunities for people who generally had been excluded from jobs and public services.

At issue in Monday's case was a provision of the law lifting states' usual immunity for discrimination in public services, programs and activities. 

In past cases, the court had said Congress lacked adequate grounds to lift the states' immunity in several federal laws, including those covering age discrimination, patent rules and, in 2001, the ADA provision on job bias.

But Stevens said the ADA section at issue in Monday's case deals with a "wide array of constitutional guarantees" tied to access to justice.

In dissent, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said the decision conflicts with the ruling in 2001 that victims of job bias could not sue their state employers.

Rehnquist was with the majority last term when the court ruled in Nevada Department of Human Resources vs. Hibbs that state workers could sue when their employers did not follow the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and grant them time off to care for sick relatives.

Rehnquist said the family leave law stemmed from an extensive legislative record that documented sex discrimination in leave policies. He said no comparable record of bias exists for the ADA.

Also dissenting were Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

It's unclear whether swing-vote Justice O'Connor would be willing to allow Congress more leeway in other situations that do not specifically involve access to courts.

"We cannot conclude from this case or Hibbs that the court has a whole new view of state sovereignty," Yale University law professor Paul Gewirtz said.

But, he said, Monday's ruling makes clear that when Congress is addressing fundamental rights, such as the due process of law in court, "it is going to get more respectful attention from the Supreme Court."

Lawyer William Brown, who represented Lane and Beverly Jones, a court reporter who claimed she had not been able to get into several courthouses, predicted Monday that the decision could "make states more proactive in dealing with problems" in government buildings.

Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers stressed the limits of the ruling but said in a statement that he was "grateful that the court clarified the states' obligations under the ADA in at least one important area."

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."-Theodore Roosevelt

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, thinking, walking, breathing, or performing manual tasks.You also must be able to do the job you want or were hired to do, with or without reasonable accommodation.

What are My Rights Under the ADA?The ADA protects you from discrimination in all employment practices, including:job application procedures, hiring, firing, training, pay, promotion, benefits, and leave.You also have a right to be free from harassment because of your disability, and an employer may not fire or discipline you for asserting your rights under the ADA.Most importantly, you have a right to request a reasonable accommodation for the hiring process and on the job.

What is a “Reasonable Accommodation”?A reasonable accommodation is any change or adjustment to a job, the work environment, or the way things usually are done that would allow you to apply for a job, perform job functions, or enjoy equal access to benefits available to other individuals in the workplace.There are many types of things that may help people with disabilities work successfully.Some of the most common types of accommodations include:

• Physical changes, such as installing a ramp or modifying a workspace or restroom;
• Sign language interpreters for people who are deaf or readers for people who are blind;
• Providing a quieter workspace or making other changes to reduce noisy distractions for someone with a mental disability;
• Training and other written materials in an accessible format, such as Braille, on audio tape, or on computer disk;

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Addendum

Nascott Rehabilitation Services is proud to host the National Amputee Golf Association's "NAGA First Swing" clinic Rehabilitation and Golf Professionals, which includes a "Learn to Golf" session, for amputees and other physically disabled persons at the University of Maryland golf course on Wednesday, July 14, 2004.  For more information, go to NAGA First Swing.