Inclusive Health Care

Inclusive health care has improved over the past 25 years. There is more widespread understanding of how to support people of all ages with disabilities in a respectful and responsive manner. The Department of Developmental Services in Massachusetts uses Inclusive Health Care to provide training to area hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to work diligently at formulating an action plan to support more consistent and better quality health care for people with disabilities across the world. USAID also supports a number of projects in this area along with many others. We have to continue to be diligent in this area. I can remember not so long ago when I had just started out in my career, people with more significant disabilities who were not mobile did not even have their broken bones set all of the time. We were told to only use certain elevators so that other people would not have to see these individuals. There are many unpleasant memories which come to mind. Although things have improved enormously, there is still much to do. It comes down to value and respect for all.