“What I want is to trust that if I–or especially the people that I love–engage with a provider, that they’re going to get the best care. That they will be seen and respected and cared for as a human.”
– Amanda Neatrour from FISA’s Centering the Voices of People with Disabilities Video Series
Despite federal laws and decades of advocacy, people with disabilities continue to receive inadequate healthcare because of bias, lack of accessible facilities and equipment, economic disparities, and many other persistent barriers.
In 2024, FISA Foundation launched the Access to Healthcare Initiative to better understand these barriers and issues that people with disabilities encounter in healthcare settings. As part of this initiative, FISA commissioned a report, A Far Cry From Fair: Health-care Access for People with Disabilities. This report created the foundation for the programming FISA has launched to address the findings. Additionally, FISA released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for grants to improve access to healthcare for people with disabilities. From this competitive RFP process, FISA Foundation is excited to announce that $171,016 in grants have been awarded to organizations working to improve accessible healthcare for people with disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania. These grantees are focusing their work on developing training for healthcare professionals, addressing accessibility in health services, providing training to people with disabilities on their rights in healthcare, and advocating for the preservation of Medicaid.
Training Healthcare Professionals
$20,000 to Adagio Health for professional development for key staff related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and accessibility. Additionally, Adagio Health will conduct an accessibility review of its healthcare facilities.
$20,000 to Allegheny Health Network (AHN) – West Penn Health System for a project to provide comprehensive training for healthcare workers and to ensure that adaptive equipment is available at six AHN hospitals in southwest Pennsylvania.
Improving Accessibility in Health Services
$11,231 to InVision Human Services for an initiative designed to make healthcare more accessible for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities served by InVision.
$20,000 to Primary Health Network for purchasing a compact wheelchair recliner, a piece of adaptive equipment that allows individuals who use manual wheelchairs to receive easier and safer dental care.
$20,000 to The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh to recruit a team of teens and young adults with disabilities to be Health Ambassadors at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Ambassadors will be trained to recognize accessibility barriers, devise improvements, and effectively communicate needed changes and opportunities to various divisions at Children’s Hospital.
$20,000 to University of Pittsburgh – Office of Institutional Engagement and Wellbeing for a project that will engage students with disabilities to co-create accessible and healing-centered approaches to improve accessibility of campus health and counseling services.
Rights Based Training for People with Disabilities
$20,000 to Disability Rights Pennsylvania to conduct know-your-rights in health care trainings for people with disabilities and their allies.
$19,785 to University of Pittsburgh – Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (Spina Bifida Clinic) to develop and implement a program that aims to educate and empower adults with spina bifida to advocate for their rights and better navigate complex medical systems.
Advocacy to Preserve Medicaid
$20,000 to Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) to support an initiative to identify and engage leaders with disabilities in sharing and amplifying their stories on the importance of Medicaid for people with disabilities.
Learn more about FISA’s Access to Healthcare for People with Disabilities Initiative. The page includes the report, A Far Cry from Fair: Health-care Access for People with Disabilities, our video series, Centering the Voices of People with Disabilities, and webinars from our Breaking Barriers Series.