Join us at DDNA and AADMD 2010

DDNA and AADMD's 2010 Annual Education Conference will begin with the PreConference on May 15^th, with the Conference held May 16^th - 18^th in Reno, Nevada. Register now! Schedules and session descriptions are available on the Schedule page. To make hotel reservations for the conference, see details are on the Hotel, travel, and activities page.

Preconference and Conference Registration

Online conference registration is now available. For mail-in registration, you may download the registration form. The complete 2010 Conference brochure have been delivered to member's mailboxes. If you haven't received yours, or would like an additional copy, contact us at the DDNA office. You may also download the brochure as a pdf here.

Important information about DDNA and AADMD 2010 from the Executive Director

You have been hearing and reading that this year's annual education conference in May is going to be a "truly historic event" with "nationally renowned speakers." What does this mean to you as an I/DD nurse? Why is it so important for you to be at this particular conference?

If I said to you "People with I/DD are a medically underserved population," I am sure that your response would be "Tell me something that I don't already know and see every single day in my nursing practice." There can be little dispute that people with I/DD do not always get the health care that they need, much less optimal health care. Why is this? The reasons are myriad. Appropriate funding used wisely on health care for this population is a big one. Lack of access to nurses, dentists, and physicians with expertise in the care of people with I/DD is another. I am sure that you can think of many more reasons for and examples of situations in which health care needs were not met. As nurses, we see the effects of health care disparities on our clients, especially those who are most vulnerable and medically fragile.

Since the conference brochure was originally published, there have been changes in the Sunday conference day schedule and some new speakers have been added. These changes have arisen because the speakers themselves have recognized the potential for improvement through cooperative effort that can arise from having a joint presence and participation in a conference focused on the health care of persons with I/DD -- a conference organized and attended by I/DD nurses, physicians, and dentists -- the experts in I/DD healthcare.

At 8:15 AM, Dr. Michael Wilkins will open our conference with his personal reflections on the closing of Willowbrook, a large institution for people with I/DD. Dr. Wilkins was the physician who gave Willowbrook's keys to Geraldo Rivera, who filmed and broadcast the horrible conditions he saw. This started the movement to deinstitutionalize the care of persons with I/DD. What better starting point could we possibly have for this conference?

At 9 AM, Dr. Gloria Krahn will speak. She is currently the Director of Human Development and Disability at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is a past-President of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), and has also served as the Chair of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association, on the executive committee of the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, and in the Healthy People 2010 and 2020 Disabilities work groups. Dr. Krahn will discuss the cascade of disparities in health and health care that have largely gone unrecognized in the I/DD population. This session will consider the questions: What's the disability? What's health disparity? What's disabilism? And who is monitoring the health of people with I/DD as a population. Research indicates that people with I/DD, as a group, are more likely to have complex health conditions, less likely to have their health care needs met, have less access to quality health care and fewer health promotion opportunities. While the health of the general population is routinely monitored through national surveys, the health of Americans with I/DD is neither systematically monitored nor reported.

At 10:30 AM, Steven Eidelmann will speak. He will present a broad perspective on this topic from decades of representing multiple organizations and constituencies, including the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, the Center for Leadership Development and the ARC. It is essential that we understand and appreciate the role the advocacy movement has played in changing the way we think about I/DD in this country, and on the disparities faced in all realms of life for people with I/DD.

At 11:15 AM, George Jesien, who is the current Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) and past Executive Director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, will describe the creation and evolution of AUCD and its mission. He will address the initiatives, policies, partnerships, and action steps that have arisen out of its national leadership role to address health care disparities. He will also describe the educational, research, and services roles that the UCEDDs and LEND programs can play in bringing together the I/DD world to help us address these disparities.

At 1:30 PM, Nancy Thaler, the current Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Services (NASDDDS), will speak on this association's role and its leadership in working with the states to address challenges and opportunities in the delivery of care, including the initiatives, policies, and partnerships that NASDDDS has developed to address these disparities. Are there states that have found effective solutions to address the health care disparities problem by improving front line health care services?

At 2:15 PM, Robert Gettings, who is the former long-term Executive Director of NASDDDS will speak on the implications of national health care reform for individuals with I/DD. When the conference brochure was first published, America was waiting for legislation that was expected to be enacted into law before the end of 2009. This legislation was to bring sweeping changes in the financing and delivery of health care services in the United States. Well, we are still waiting for this legislation . . . and Mr. Gettings will bring us up to date on current or proposed legislative efforts that relate to disabilities, and I/DD specifically. How might these efforts affect policy, education, funding, service model delivery, and the identified priorities and action steps identified by today's other speakers to meet health care disparities?

At 3 PM, we have a new speaker, Dr. Ruben Pamies, who is the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Minority Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Minority Health. He is also the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dean for Graduate Studies, and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Widely recognized for his expertise on health care disparities, Dr. Pamies will speak to the recent initiative of the Advisory Committee on Minority Health to include I/DD within the health care disparities debate, and their recent report and recommendations to the Office of Minority Health. We will learn what follow-up steps the Advisory Committee will take to support advancing the issue of health care disparities for persons with I/DD.

At 3:30 PM, Dr. Rick Rader will present information about the development and rationale for formal recognition of persons with I/DD as a Medically Underserved Population (MUPS). MUPS are groups of persons who face economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to health care, which certainly describes the individuals with I/DD for whom we provide health care and services. He will outline existing recommendations from multiple reports, and DDNA's and AADMD's vision to collaboratively work this issue forward.

At 4:30 PM, Diane Moore, President of DDNA, will offer a nursing perspective on health care disparities for persons with I/DD based on the day's presentations. She will also set the stage for a panel discussion during which each of the day's speakers will provide a brief reflection on the entire day's presentations and where we are all going as associations, organizations, centers, academies, committees, and foundations to improve the health care of persons with I/DD.

Immediately following the panel discussion, there will be a Town Hall Meeting at which time you will have an opportunity to share your concerns and ask questions of the speakers. The Town Hall will be moderated. You may submit your questions to the moderators throughout the course of the day.

A truly historic event cannot go undocumented. Dr. Leslie Rubin, who established the Institute for the Study of Disadvantage and Disability, and who was a speaker at our conference last year on this topic in Orlando, has offered to take the lead on having the presentations from our conference published in a journal or monograph. Dr. Barry Waldman, one of three distinguished scholars in the State of New York, who will be presenting on writing for publication at this conference in Reno, and the author of 900+ articles in his 50-plus year career, has agreed to help edit this monograph.

DDNA plans to videotape this historic day, which is bringing together key leaders in all fields of developmental disabilities, including health care. We hope to be able to make these videotapes available to identified partners who share our concerns about I/DD healthcare to archive on their respective websites to promote ongoing education, collaboration, and action as we continue to advance the issue of improving health care for our individuals.

We know that you as an I/DD nurse are a strong advocate for your clients' health care needs and rights to optimal health care. Your membership in DDNA and your attendance at the annual conference demonstrates your commitment to your specialty practice of I/DD nursing. This gathering of leaders from all areas of I/DD to speak at our annual education conference is unprecedented for our nursing association and for AADMD. We appreciate their enthusiasm and their awareness of the importance of optimal health for every individual with I/DD. These speakers are not only presenting at our conference, but have committed to work with us to develop a consensus statement outlining the core health care issues in I/DD, specific steps that we collectively need to take to improve health care, potential actionable time line goals, and identification of other key partners and organizations who want to work with us to eliminate health disparities for persons with I/DD.

So now you know why we are calling this day a "truly historic event" and why it is so important for us as nurses, physicians, and dentists to be present at this conference-- because improvement in health care is possible . . . and we are needed to help shape and lead it!

Would you like to sponsor or exhibit at DDNA and AADMD 2010?

Interested in exhibiting your products or services at DDNA and AADMD 2010? Would your company or organization like to become a valued sponsor of DDNA? Download a sponsor and exhibitor prospectus for opportunities and the application.

Conference photos

Interested in photos from past conferences?
2009 Conference in Orlando,FL.

2008 Conference at Foxwoods Resort, CT.

Conference information for your employer

Does your employer need more information about the value of supporting your attendance at DDNA 2010? Download a letter that you can customize and give to your employer.

Speakers for the 2010 Conference

The DDNA Education Committee has selected its speakers for the 2010 Conference. Interested in speaking at DDNA 2011? Submit an application. Applications for DDNA 2011 will be accepted until October 15th, 2010.

Poster Sessions for the 2010 Conference

DDNA is accepting poster session proposals. Visit the Poster Sessions Application page for information about submitting a 2010 poster presentation proposal. If you would like to submit a poster presentation proposal for the 2010 Annual Conference, you may do so here.