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Category: CCDC in the News
You will find media coverage and 3rd party authors from sources other than CCDC referencing CCDC, its members, staff, and volunteers.
BizWest: There’s COVID. And ‘Long COVID’
by Dan Mika — March 1, 2021
LOVELAND — Chad Wittenmyer’s long, red beard has grown unmanaged since March, seemingly at the same rate as his pain.
Twelve months ago, the 40-year old father and stepfather of four was fabricating windmill blades and was in the best shape of his adult life.
But after he contracted COVID-19 in March, a host of medical issues started to emerge. Constant fatigue set in. His heart rhythm was off, and he struggled to breathe under exertion. Eventually, pains and neuropathies developed in his extremities.
Wittenmyer is among those suffering the worst form of “Long COVID,” a catch-all for ongoing symptoms that some COVID-19 survivors endure after the infection period.
To continue reading (including comments by our Legal Program Director, Kevin Williams), visit BizWest for “There’s COVID. And ‘Long COVID.'”
Southern Colorado Providers Say Coronavirus Impact Additive For Vulnerable Populations
CCDC In the News!
CCDC’s own Kristen Castor was interviewed as part of the following news report. Follow the link to read the entire article. Kristen’s section is below
Southern Colorado Providers Say Coronavirus Impact Additive For Vulnerable Populations
Kristen Castor
Non-attorney advocate with the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, based in Pueblo
On Her Work With The Organization
My primary responsibility is to represent people who are appealing Medicaid denials at the administrative law judge level with the state. And then I do a lot of miscellaneous organizing things. Right now there’s a lot, because we’re trying to get our own membership informed about the virus, the precautions they can take and the benefits that they have.
Interestingly enough, most of the people with disabilities that we serve live below the poverty level. So, anything that deals with poverty often crosses over with what we need to look at for our population.
On Supports And Challenges Due To COVID-19
I’ve been so worried about people being stuck in their homes and not able to get food. That just terrifies me. I think people with severe disabilities or possibly very elderly people are at high risk of that happening. And so far, the city [of Pueblo] has just responded by creating more networks and trying to help that particular population.
[We’ve been discussing] the fear that if you need medical help outside of your disability, that you will be triaged, and basically murdered. That’s the fear we live with that constantly. And the reason is because all of us, if we have a severe disability and lived with it for a number of years, all of us have been told to our faces by various people that we should not be alive. I’ve been told that.
We’ve been fighting for the right to live in the community for the last 40 years. So every time we go around with a threat like this, we’re thinking, ‘Oh my god, I fought all my life to stay independent, and now I might lose it with a pen stroke.’ And people with disabilities, we’re just that–we’re people. It doesn’t mean we can’t contribute.
In The Face Of Ethical Aberrations In Several States Colorado Stands Strong Against Discrimination In COVID-19 Care
DENVER, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee developed Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) after collaboration with experts and communities. Governor Polis has authorized the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to enact the standards when or if necessary.
The Colorado Cross Disability Coalition (CCDC), The Arc of Colorado, and over 140 organizations thank Gov. Jared Polis for ensuring that people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations receive equitable care under the CSC during the COVID-19 epidemic and other crisis situations.
Colorado readies guidelines for prioritizing coronavirus patient care in case of hospital overload
Colorado health officials are finalizing guidelines to help doctors on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis make the excruciating choices about how to prioritize care for COVID-19 patients should the pandemic overwhelm the capacity…
Colorado Is Creating Guidelines To Help Make Excruciating Coronavirus Care Decisions
CCDC in the News
What if four patients in respiratory distress need a ventilator to keep them alive, but a hospital has just one available? Who makes that call? And how?
Public health and community leaders are contemplating excruciating dilemmas just like that before demanding for medical help in the coronavirus crisis peaks in coming weeks.
They’re updating protocols, called “crisis standards of care,” for the most urgent medical decision-making possible, guidelines to determine, as resources get scarce, who gets care and at what level and who does not.
Denver police officer blocks handicap spot at disability advocates’ HQ during emergency call
Police officials say vehicle wasn’t there long
By SHELLY BRADBURY | sbradbury@denverpost.com | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
A Denver police officer parked a marked patrol vehicle partially in a handicap spot at the headquarters for the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition last month, blocking access to a van driven by the coalition’s legal director, who uses a wheelchair. Continue reading “Denver police officer blocks handicap spot at disability advocates’ HQ during emergency call”
Denver officer photographed blocking handicap spot at disability advocates’ headquarters
by: Evan Kruegel for KDVR Fox 31 Posted: Mar 5, 2020 / 10:12 PM MST / Updated: Mar 5, 2020 / 10:12 PM MST
See the original newscast/story
DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Police Department has issued an apology after an officer was photographed parking in a handicap spot during an emergency call.
That handicap-accessible spot happened to be in front of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, which specializes in advocating for those with disabilities.
Photos show the officer taking up a portion of the handicap spot as well as the majority of the “access aisle,” used by many at the building to get in and out of vehicles. Continue reading “Denver officer photographed blocking handicap spot at disability advocates’ headquarters”
Denver Police Park in place for the disabled at the headquarters of the disability advocacy group
By Matilda Coleman- March 6, 2020 for Upnewsinfo.com
A Denver police officer parked a partially marked patrol vehicle in a disabled place at the Colorado Disability Coalition headquarters last month, blocking access to a van driven by the coalition’s legal director, who uses a wheelchair.
Legal director Kevin Williams said Thursday that he wanted to draw attention to the incident because he routinely receives complaints about Denver police parking in places for disabled people. Continue reading “Denver Police Park in place for the disabled at the headquarters of the disability advocacy group”
Legislation geared toward people who register fake emotional support animals not likely to be introduced this year
Posted: 8:29 PM, Feb 27, 2020 Updated: 12:29 PM, Feb 28, 2020 By: Eric Ross
COLORADO — We’ve shown you the stories of people trying to pass off untrained pets as emotional support animals.
Disability advocates say as time goes on, the problem is getting worse.
State Rep. Larry Liston (R-Colorado Springs) drafted legislation as a result of a News 5 investigation we aired last Spring, but we discovered the bill is unlikely to be introduced this year. The goal of the bill would have defined the process of how people can obtain letters “certifying” their pet as an emotional support animal. Continue reading “Legislation geared toward people who register fake emotional support animals not likely to be introduced this year”
Colorado bill would allow disabled company owners to keep working
The Colorado Senate Health and Human Services Committee will consider whether to give disabled business owners another option.
By Ed Sealover Reporter, Denver Business Journal,
DENVER — Josh Winkler became paralyzed below the waist at age 17, but that didn’t stop him from getting a mechanical engineering degree in college and working for a NASCAR team until the Great Recession hit. He then launched his own company, Cripple Concepts, which makes a variety of aides for the wheelchair-bound, including joystick knobs for movement that don’t fall off and USB chargers that allow electric-wheelchair users to charge their phones without losing use of their mobility device. Continue reading “Colorado bill would allow disabled company owners to keep working”