Health Equity

Health outcomes for people with disabilities are not as good as those for people without disabilities. SCDD works to understand these differences, while creating and supporting programs and projects that promote health equity. We address many systems and issues, including chronic disease, preventive care, dental care, and inpatient care.

Health Equity Programs

SCDD focuses on the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the life course. Our health equity programs include:

• Pre-service training and education to healthcare professionals.
• Providing health screenings in collaboration with Special Olympics Healthy Athletes.
• Developing tools in the URMC electronic health record for providers to use when caring for a patient with IDD.
• Conducting research to identify community healthcare and dental providers who provide care or address other health concerns for people with IDD.
• Advocating for people with IDD to be designated a Medically Underserved Population.
• Collaboration with Transitional Care Medicine to improve inpatient experiences for individuals with IDD.

Health and Health Equity Projects & Initiatives

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

This is a title V project with the office of the Maternal Child Health Bureau. This project is a collaborative effort between the NYS Department of Health, local health departments (LHD’s) and the three University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD’s) (Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, Westchester Institute for Human Development & Albert Einstein College of Medicine).

The goal of this project is to positively impact the lives of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) and their families by assisting Local Health Departments (LHDs) in providing needed and appropriate services.

Learning to De-stress - A Course For Neurodiverse Individuals

In this course you will learn proactive ways to avoid stressful situations, how to identify triggers, how to make personalized goals for meeting goals, and exercises for maintaining mindfulness. This course is intended to be attended by both neurodiverse individuals and members of their care team so that through a mutual understanding of shared information a team can choose what tools they want to implement for life changing results. Course provided in partnership with Mindful Traditions.

Community Collaborations

American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry

The aim of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry is to provide a forum for healthcare professionals who provide clinical care to people with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD) and improve the quality of healthcare for individuals with IDD. Every year the University of Rochester AADMD Student Chapter partners with Special Olympics New York to improve health outcomes for athletes participating in the Special Olympics. The chapter also participates in the Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign every year to raise awareness of the hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using it.