San Mateo, CA, October 12, 2021—The WITH Foundation is pleased to announce that more than $230,000 will be awarded to five organizations as a result of our previous open cycle. These grants will fund a variety of programs that promote comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities.
“We enthusiastically support these efforts as they work to enhance training and curricula that improves the capacity of the healthcare community to address the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation. The following projects were selected for funding:
University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability/UCED, Durham, New Hampshire
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience barriers to accessing healthcare, which can result in worse health outcomes than people without disabilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer in-person office visits were available, and the change to telehealth care posed new challenges for people with IDD. Telehealth and Individuals with IDD: Challenges and Best-Practices in the COVID Era is a partnership of the Institute on Disability, the New Hampshire Self-Advocacy Leadership Team, and a trained medical librarian. The project will explore barriers to care, identify best practices for providing telehealth to individuals with IDD, and share findings with primary care providers to inform their practices.
UCF ECHO Adult Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Orlando, Florida
The UCF ECHO: AAC for Adults project will improve the competency of speech-language pathologists in providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) assessments and intervention for adults with developmental disabilities. By capitalizing on the tested hub-and-spoke approach of the ECHO model, cohorts of providers will receive, free of charge, evidence-based strategies from subject matter experts in the field of AAC. The project will utilize distance technologies to reach professionals and reduce barriers to knowledge, increasing the capacity for AAC services throughout the region.
UC Regents, San Francisco, California
The Campaign for Exceptional Smiles project aims to improve the oral health of people with Developmental Disabilities (DD) in the San Francisco Bay Area through dental workforce development, increased availability of dental services in dental offices and within community settings, and reduction in the dependence of people with DD on sedation and/or general anesthesia for dental care. The goal of the project is to educate and empower the dental community (predoctoral dental students, postgraduate residents, dentists, dental hygienists, and RDHAPs) by conducting sessions led by multidisciplinary professionals, experts, and self-advocates to promote a patient-centered approach and enhance optimal oral healthcare for the SF developmental disability community.
Sepsis Alliance, San Diego, California
Intellectually disabled (ID) adults are at elevated risk for sepsis, the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to any infection, including viral infections like COVID-19. However, ID adults receive scant attention in sepsis studies and are not a focus in healthcare provider training on sepsis, despite difficulties that arise in diagnosis and treatment, and the heightened vulnerability of this population. The Sepsis Risk, Treatment, and Care Delivery: Special Considerations for Intellectually Disabled Adults project will implement a nationwide training program and provide educational materials for healthcare providers on sepsis risk and treatment considerations in the ID adult population, including case studies, with a special focus on navigating communication with ID patients.
Center for START Services, Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire, Concord, New Hampshire
Gaps in evidence-based training lead to poor patient care and satisfaction, lack of patient engagement, and polypharmacy. The recently developed Integrated Mental Health Treatment Guidelines for Prescribers in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, an integrated health guide (funded by the WITH Foundation), focuses on caring for persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and provides the foundation for a companion training curriculum for medical students and residents to improve outcomes. This study aims to develop and evaluate an evidence-informed, easy to use training for medical students and residents on the mental healthcare for persons with IDD.
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WITH Foundation promotes comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities in the United States.
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Press Contact: Laura Shumaker
Director of Communications, WITH
communications@withfoundation.org