April 23, 2004

Opening doors: Disabilities awareness showcased at the MGH

The MGH Council on Disabilities Awareness (CDA) recently hosted a symposium, "Opening Doors: A Dialogue on Disabilities," which offered an opportunity for people with disabilities to share their experiences, advice and resources with the MGH community. Held in the Haber Conference Room April 5, the symposium featured a discussion with panel members John Stokes, a consultant formerly with State Street Corp.; Barbara Chandler, from Adaptive Environments; Cheryl Cummings, minority outreach coordinator for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind; and Warren MaGee, from the Epilepsy Foundation. The panel moderators were Dawn Tenney, RN, associate chief nurse for Perioperative Nursing, and Colleen Moran, of MGH Human Resources.

Guest speakers included Jeff Davis, senior vice president for MGH Human Resources; Maryanne Spicer, director of Corporate Compliance; Carmen Vega-Barachowitz, of Speech-Language Pathology and co-chair of the CDA; Steven Gardner, MD, an MGH internist and current physician for the Martha's Vineyard Cerebral Palsy Camp; Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse; and Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH. The event also featured a musical performance by Keith Jones, a community activist.

From left, Mondejar, Jones, Gardner (front) and MaGee

Oswald Mondejar, Human Resources manager and disability coordinator for the MGH and co-chair of the CDA, coordinated the symposium and gave the audience an explanation of the mission of the council and the goals for the symposium. "Today marks another 'first' in the MGH's history," he said. "We are setting the standard for what hospitals everywhere will one day be doing to fully embrace and better understand people with disabilities."

For more information about the CDA, contact Mondejar at (617) 726-5741 or send e-mail to omondejar@partners.org.