Tag: United Spinal Association

WASHINGTON – About 100 wheelchair users from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., recently for the United Spinal Association’s 11th Roll on Capitol Hill. They led more than 160 office visits with legislators and their staff to discuss three policy priorities: improve air travel protections, wheelchair coverage and accessible ground transportation. “I always say that this ‘isn’t my thing,’” said wheelchair user Meg Hammond, who represented Ohio....

KEW GARDENS, N.Y. – United Spinal Association will host its 2022 Member Awards Gala virtually on Nov. 10, culminating its year-long #StrongWheeled Together campaign. United Spinal welcomes all friends and supporters, as well as the SCI/D community, to join the association as it presents its #StrongWheeled Together Award to an up-and-coming group of exceptional individuals. Honorees will include Dominick Evans (Michigan), filmmaker and disability activist - Performing Arts; Erik Kondo (Massachusetts),...

NEW YORK – United Spinal Association will participate in a virtual crew to remotely test Callisto, a technology demonstration payload embedded on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, during the upcoming Artemis I mission. The mission will evaluate how Amazon’s Alexa and other innovative technologies integrated with Callisto could be used to assist astronauts in future crewed missions to the moon and beyond. Rhonel Cinous, a member of United Spinal from Miami, will have the opportunity to simulate...

KEW GARDENS, N.Y. – The United Spinal Association has announced that this year’s Roll on Capitol Hill, and all future events, will include in-person and virtual participation. This year's event takes place June 12-15. “This is due to the rapid acceptance of accommodations that our community has long asked for, such as telework, telehealth and the use of virtual platforms for meetings,” the association stated. United Spinal is reincorporating in-person visits for the first...

KEW GARDENS, N.Y. – Vincent Piscopo kicked off the United Spinal Association’s 2022 campaign message, “Strong Wheeled Together,” in a recent address on YouTube.  The campaign will focus on three things: Increasing connection around fitness and athletics and mental health and wellness; and building a platform for achievements.   “United Spinal is excited to reconnect the tenacity and resilience that makes our community strong,” said Piscopo, president...

WASHINGTON – The United Spinal Association has come out in support of the Build Back Better Act, which cleared a key procedural vote in the House of Representatives over the weekend. The BBB would fulfill key goals for the disability community by providing a permanent improvement in Medicaid home and community-based services, with an investment of $150 billion over the first 10 years after enactment. The funding to states would be used to clear waitlists for home-based care, which can be years...

WASHINGTON – The United Spinal Association has been awarded a grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to support the immediate relief and recovery efforts for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders following natural and human-caused disasters, including hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. With support provided by foundation, United Spinal is offering disaster relief grants to its 53,000 members across the country who have been impacted by disasters through the loss or damage of mobility...

NEW YORK – It wasn’t until Chris Pangilinan was in college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and started using a wheelchair instead of crutches that he saw his interests in public transportation, which he was studying, and disabilities collide. Pangilinan, who has cerebral palsy and who is now the head of global policy, public transportation at Uber, recently joined the board of the United Spinal Association. He talked with HME News about advancements in wheelchair-accessible...

KEW GARDENS, N.Y. – The United Spinal Association is urging members to reach out to their members of Congress to ask them to co-sponsor a resolution, introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., supporting National Spinal Cord Injury Month, which takes place in September. The average lifespan for people with SCI has not improved significantly since the 1980s. Increased education and investment in research are key factors in improving outcomes and enhancing the quality...

TAMPA, Fla. – The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association and the United Spinal Association will kick off their Automotive Mobility Awareness Tour on Aug. 26 at the Moss Rehabilitation Center in Elkins Park, Pa. At the event, the two associations will highlight accessibility solutions and showcase how hospital administrators, case managers, physical and occupational therapists, automotive mobility dealers and manufacturers are all working together to improve the lives of their clients....