Don’t miss this clinical conference for health professionals who provide services to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
SAVE THIS DATE
Don’t miss this clinical conference for health professionals who provide services to people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Congressman Seth Moulton (MA) has just introduced the Healthcare Extension and Accessibility for Developmentally Disabled and Underserved Population Act, or the HEADs UP Act of 2018. This piece of legislation would designate people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) as a Medically Underserved Population (MUP).
Governor Announces Plan To Improve Accessibility for all New Yorkers
But…
New York’s subway system described as one of the least accessible in the country.
A lawsuit against the transit agency, recently joined by the Justice Department, described New York’s subway system as one of the least accessible in the country.
Governor Cuomo marked the 28th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with the launch of the “Able New York” agenda, a multi-agency initiative that will emphasize enhanced accessibility to state programs and services for New Yorkers with disabilities.
On the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we celebrate this historic legislation, which echoed our Nation’s founding promise to recognize and secure the equal rights of all men and women.
In case you missed it, New York City Ballet (NYCB) Soloist Ashley Laracey and Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring conducted a dance workshop for children with disabilities on Saturday, July 21, at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs. The two world-renowned dancers led 19 participants in ballet-based warm-up and movement combinations inspired by NYCB’s Romeo + Juliet, and included a lively performance for family and friends. Following the event, there was time for a photo and autograph opportunity with the artists. Below are links to images from media coverage of the event.
Two interesting and related stories in today’s news.
Individually, these discrete pieces of data may appear useless. But data-broker companies can easily combine them to create “mosaics” about our health and health status.
July 25, 2018
@crainshealth
Mount Sinai creates center to study health care applications for blockchain
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said Tuesday that it has created a Center for Biomedical Blockchain Research to evaluate potential health care uses of blockchain technology at Mount Sinai Health System.
The center will be part of Icahn’s Institute for Next Generation Healthcare, which has more than 50 staffers specializing in disciplines such as artificial intelligence, robotics, genomic sequencing, sensors and wearable devices.
The new center will be able to add a level of academic rigor to the discussion about blockchain in health care, said Noah Zimmerman, the Institute’s director of the health data and design innovation center in Redwood City, Calif., where half the Institue’s staff is located. The other half work in Manhattan.
“There’s not a technological solution that is going to save health care. We’re trying not to be part of the blockchain hype cycle,” Zimmerman said. “We want to balance that out. That’s what we’re adding as an academic medical center joining the fray.”
Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that is shared among a network of computers but not controlled by any one entity, such as a bank or the government. Users can inspect the transactions which are encrypted to prevent tampering. Blockchain is used to track transactions for digital currencies, such as bitcoin. But innovators are also looking for applications that address ways to share health data securely.
Stanford University runs a Center for Blockchain Research and last week Columbia University and IBM said they would create a Center for Blockchain and Data Transparency that will focus on data security and incubate new companies.
“The thing that differentiates this is that this is not just an academic center but an academic medical center,” Zimmerman said. “We’re the first people to drill into the biomedical and health care use cases for blockchain as a focus area.”
In addition to academic projects, the Mount Sinai center will allow the Institute’s researchers, many with engineering backgrounds, to create prototypes of their own. It will also partner with technology and health care companies experimenting with blockchain to help apply the technology outside of academia.
As one of its first projects, the Center has created a database of 144 companies that are working on blockchain projects for health and biomedical uses. The companies have raised a combined $670 million through initial coin offerings and venture capital funding, according to the database.
It includes two New York companies. CoverUs, based in Brooklyn, plans to allow users earn royalties from their health data in a blockchain-enabled health data exchange. Manhattan-based Embleema, which launched this month for patients and providers, connects patient-generated health data and electronic medical records in a secure repository.
Zimmerman cautions that blockchain is still in its infancy, comparing the current progress to the building blocks that shaped the Internet.
“The projects that are most interesting are building the plumbing of the ecosystem,” he said. —J.L.
“This agency is a false promise to families who want quality care and justice for their loved ones,” says Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti.
New York City Ballet (NYCB) Artists Ashley Laracey and Adrian Danchig-Waring conducted a dance workshop for children with disabilities on Saturday, July 21, at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs. Accompanied by NYCB Musician Nancy McDill, the two world-renowned dancers led 19 participants in ballet-based warm-up and movement combinations inspired by the NYCB’s Romeo + Juliet, and included a lively performance for family and friends. Following the event, there was time for a photo and autograph opportunity with the artists.