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Do you know about the DDBHH Tax, also known as the Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Tax? Tune in to watch Corey Axelrod, 2axend founder and CEO, in his latest #ConversationsWithCorey video as he breaks down examples of how being Deaf, DeafBlind or hard of hearing comes with extra costs and challenges. It's time to raise awareness for #TheDDBHHTax and push for systemic change. Watch the video to learn more about our space in #TheDisabilityTax movement! #DeafAwareness #AccessForAll

Earlier today, our founder and CEO Corey Axelrod and My Deaf Therapy CEO and Clinical Director Dr. Heather Hunt kicked off a webinar series hosted by the California Department of Developmental Services on ensuring mental health care professionals operate with a strengths-based approach when supporting the unique needs of Deaf+ individuals, particularly those who have Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs). As this is a topic that is not often discussed in great detail amongst the overarching mental health care community, we were thrilled to have more than 350 participants with us today and look forward to the subsequent sessions! –– Image Description: This is a screenshot of a webinar. On the left is a PowerPoint slide with the following text: "A reminder... Power, privileges and biases may impact encounters/interactions." On the top-right is Corey Axelrod's video. He is signing. Underneath this is Dr. Hunt's video – she is looking at her screen.

Last week’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Experiences in Healthcare Summit brought together champions from all over the United States and Canada to exchange ideas and resources, learn from one another, and drive health equity and outcomes for signing and non-signing Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing individuals. With 75+ organizations represented during the summit, the future looks bright! #DHHSummit24 –– Image Description: Image of a testimonial from a 2024 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Experiences in Healthcare Summit attendee. Testimonial reads: “I enjoyed the robust conversations; the topics were very relevant to my job and my desire to advocate for this particular population. I found the presentations to be eminently practical, which is very welcome at this juncture.”

We wrapped up the 2024 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Experiences in Healthcare Summit by bringing together four experts in language access law and service leaders to discuss legal requirements, financial implications, and practical approaches to compliance.   Vonessa Phillips Costa, Shawn Norris, Mara Youdelman and Dr. Bill Rivers analyzed the impact of unfunded mandates for language access on healthcare organizations’ financial and operational capacities; discussed different strategies and approaches for healthcare organizations to implement in order to comply with requirements while managing costs effectively; and provided numerous recommendations to integrate language access services into broader healthcare equity and inclusion initiatives.   This session was well-timed, especially as there is significant worry amongst members of the disability community, including those who are Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing, about access in healthcare due to the upcoming changes of leadership at the federal level.   #DHHSummit24   –– Image Description: The image is a screenshot of a Zoom meeting with six participants displayed in a grid layout. Top row: - Shawn Norris is in the top left corner. He has short dark hair, a beard, and is wearing glasses and a suit jacket. Behind him is a colorful background with books and plants. - Vonessa Costa is in the middle. She has shoulder-length dark hair and is wearing glasses and a green top. The background shows a room with a door. - Aaryn, the ASL/English interpreter, is in the top right corner. She has light hair tied back and is wearing glasses and a dark top. There is a small plant on the table in front of her. Bottom Row: - Mara Youdelman is in the bottom right. She has dark hair and is wearing a blue patterned top. The background includes the logo "National Health Law." - Bill Rivers is in the middle. He has a mustache and is wearing glasses and a blue plaid jacket. The background shows a room with shelves. - David, the ASL interpreter, is in the bottom right. He has short light hair and is wearing a blue shirt. He is signing/interpreting.

Have you ever thought about what happens when an individual is discharged from the hospital after a major medical event and does not understand the discharge instructions? This often results in low- or non-adherence and, ultimately, readmissions and/or poor patient outcomes. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing individuals! We were so fortunate to have Dr. James Huang, Katie Prins McCarthy, MBA, CPACC, Michael McKee, MD, MPH, Dr. Kruti Shah, and Jaime Wilson, Ph.D., ABN, ABPP with us this morning to discuss different elements of safe discharge planning and solutions that healthcare organizations should put in place to ensure that these community members are positioned for success during the discharge process, regardless of whether they are being discharged to go home or to another healthcare-related facility. #DHHSummit24 –– Image Description: This image shows a Zoom video conference with six participants, each in their own video window. Top left is a man wearing glasses and a dark jacket with a University of Michigan logo, labeled "Michael McKee." His background is blurred. Top right is a man with short gray hair and a beard, wearing a blue shirt and tie, labeled "Jaime Wilson." He is in front of a solid blue background. Middle left is a woman with long dark hair, wearing a blazer, labeled "Kruti Shah PharmD (she/her)." Her background is blurred. Middle right is a woman with long curly hair and glasses, labeled as "ASL/Eng Interpreter | Aaryn (she/her)." She is sitting in front of a green wall with a small plant on the table beside her. Bottom left is a woman with long blonde hair and glasses, labeled "Katie McCarthy (she/they)." She is signing mid-sentence, with a blurred background. Bottom right is a man with short hair and glasses, wearing a light-colored shirt, labeled "James Huang (he/him)." He is sitting in an office with a window behind him.

As the new Section 1557 rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) strengthens the nondiscrimination protections in health care, this conversation about healthcare organizations providing real-time captioning was quite timely. A huge thanks to Leticia Fox, Christa Moran, and Morgan Underwood for taking us on a much-needed journey in discussing regulatory requirements, internal protocols, technological infrastructure, and triaging approaches as it pertains to the provision of real-time captioning services in healthcare settings. #DHHSummit24 –– Image description: The image shows a virtual meeting with five participants, each in their own video frame. Top left: Morgan Underwood, a woman with long brown hair, wearing a black top and earrings, is sitting in an office with shelves and a whiteboard behind her. Top center: Christa Moran, a woman with long dark hair and glasses is speaking, gesturing with her hand. She is in an office setting with a desk and papers behind her. Top right: Leticia Fox, a woman with light brown hair and glasses is wearing headphones and a brown sweater. She is sitting in front of a window with curtains. Bottom left: The interpreter, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair is wearing a black top and is interpreting. Bottom right: Our moderator, Corey Axelrod, is a man with short brown hair and glasses is wearing a black polo shirt with a logo that reads "2axend." In the bottom right corner, there is a text box with captions.

The other session concluding Day I of the #DHHSummit24 was the panel discussion with Valoree Boyer (ASL) she/her, Erika B. and Sarah Serralta on effectively triaging interpreters. Topics discussed included how the panelists’ organizations prioritize the allocation of in-person interpreters, ensuring continuous improvements with interpreter triaging and performance and how healthcare organizations can increase the number and quality of healthcare interpreters in their respective service areas. A dynamic conversation, this one really gave much-needed insight to help participants ensure their Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing patients have access to timely and effective access to care. –– Image Description: The image shows a virtual meeting with five participants, each in their own video frame. Top left: The interpreter, a woman with long blonde hair is wearing a black top. She is voicing for Erika. Top center: Corey Axelrod, a man with short dark hair and glasses is wearing a black polo shirt with a logo that reads "2axend." He looks directly at the camera and is smiling. Top right: Valoree Boyer, a woman with long wavy hair is wearing a dark top. She is looking downward and is seated in front of a fireplace with green plants. Bottom left: Erika Boyer, a woman with curly dark hair is wearing a dark top and is signing in ASL.

One of the last sessions yesterday was “An Interactive Conversation about the DeafBlind Experience in Healthcare Settings” led by Yashaira Romilus and Rhonda Voight-Campbell and moderated by Bee Gehman. Through an open forum where participants asked questions, Yashaira and Rhonda touched on topics including the provision of access-related services for DeafBlind patients and how healthcare organizations can practice and implement intersectionality and inclusion awareness amongst their team members. As always, we are grateful for Yashaira and Rhonda joining us again as presenters and sharing much-needed insight and expertise! #DHHSummit24 –– Image Description: The image is a screenshot of a Zoom meeting with three participants visible. In the top left corner, a woman named Rhonda Voight-Campbell is sitting facing the in-person interpreter who is providing tactile interpretation. In the top right corner, a woman named Yashaira Romilus, who uses they/them pronouns, is sitting against a blue background, wearing glasses and a black top. Yashaira is facing the in-person interpreter who is providing tactile interpretation. In the bottom center, the moderator, an individual with curly hair and glasses is signing in American Sign Language. They are wearing a dark top and a watch.

Ben Daniel, M. Cody Francisco, CDI and Nikki Moran joined us earlier today for a phenomenal conversation on key considerations for healthcare interpreting partnerships between healthcare organizations and language service companies/sign language interpreting agencies. Topics discussed covered every element of partnerships, including various factors healthcare organizations should consider when evaluating potential partners; strategies and approaches to use to audit partners to ensure quality benchmarks are being satisfied; and protocols for partnership and collaboration. The three panelists each provided a unique perspective due to their respective backgrounds and experiences; however, there was one common denominator – they all are Deaf and shared experiences and expertise with a Deaf lens. #DHHSummit24 –– Image Description: The image is a screenshot of a Zoom webinar. On the top-left is Ben Daniel; Corey Axelrod is on the top-right; Cody Francisco is on the bottom-left; a signing Nikki Moran is on the bottom-right. Ben, Corey and Cody are watching Nikki share an answer to a question.

Katie Prins McCarthy, MBA, CPACC shared some amazing information this afternoon about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program at Boston Children's Hospital, a program that provides comprehensive evaluation and consultative services to d/Deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind and Deaf Plus babies, children and adolescents. Her presentation focused on how the program improves language access for children; assists families to create a roadmap that emphasizes communication, language proficiency, and social-emotional well-being; provides mentors to meet with families; and trains hospital staff to care for d/Deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind, and Deaf Plus patients in a way that provides equitable care. As research from Michael McKee, MD, MPH (one of our esteemed presenters) and his team has shown Deaf individuals are 6.9 times more likely to have inadequate health literacy than hearing individuals, we only can imagine how rolling out carbon copies of this program on a nationwide basis would help make a huge dent on issues with health literacy for the Deaf community. #DHHSummit24 –– Image Description: The image is a screenshot of a Zoom webinar. On the left side, there is a presentation slide with the title "Benefits of meeting other families and/or d/D/HH role models through our outreach program." The slide lists several benefits in colored boxes: - The ability to imagine what life may look like for their deaf child as they grow up - Accurate representation - The sense of belonging - Knowing their child will be supported - Development of identity and self - Knowledge of services and advocacy tools for school so families or their child can ask the right questions On the right side of the image, there are two video feeds, one of presenter Katie McCarthy and the other of the interpreter.