The Disability Section’s Accessibility Committee will be working throughout 2008 with Section members and APHA officials to strengthen current accessibility policy and its implementation for the next Annual Meeting in San Diego. Although results from the annual online survey are not yet completely available, preliminary findings indicate difficulties with translating existing APHA policies into actual practice and gaps in accessibility policy that must be addressed this year.

Members of our Section Council will be working closely with APHA officials to ensure to the best of our ability that (1) the written accessibility policy is practiced during the next Annual Meeting, and (2) gaps in policy are addressed ahead of time to prevent access problems during the Annual Meeting.

To accomplish these goals, we need input from all interested individuals. Anyone who cares deeply about this issue is encouraged to send suggestions/experiences to Gwyn Jones at gbj4@cdc.gov. Additionally, if you are planning a presentation for our October meeting, or you anticipate that you will be a moderator, please make sure that you follow the accessibility guidelines that you will receive later this year. We can have wonderful policy on the books, but it won’t do any good if no one is willing to put it into practice.