Bill A3922 is before the Assembly Health and Senior Services
Committee.
It is important that it goes through immediately.
It may not be enough to stop injustices to the
Developmentally Disabled, but it is a beginning.
Hopefully this is not too little too late for this fragile
population.
SYNOPSIS
Requires training of certain staff
and health care professionals in interacting with individuals with
developmental disabilities.
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I have been writing Senators and Assemblymen to push this
through.
This is October 2017.
We have taken a step back in time by at least 75 years or so.
True scenario: A
doctor in a North NJ Hospital walks into the room of a developmentally disabled
patient getting ready for Surgery and says, “Oh, he’s retarded!”
Another Doctor states, “He’s retarded and doesn’t need
anesthesia for the surgery”.
The disabled person takes laxatives to prepare for surgery
and has diarrhea and vomiting. The staff
says in front of them, “I’m not paid enough to clean this up”.
Many of these kids they refer to as "retarded" are
Autistic and have dual diagnoses. Many
don't talk. But, most of them understand
the spoken word, regardless of their lack of speech and communication. All of them feel pain, often more so then the
normal population. They all have social
inadequacies resulting in a lack of being able to care for themselves.
The disabled person, like many now, are their own
guardian. They are too incapacitated to
agree to surgery. While the doctor waits
and the disabled person agonizes in pain, a parent has to be called as a last
resort. A parent who placed the child,
left the State, and has had no contact for years. The Hospital would not allow the staff to
have any say in the matter, even though they are high level professionals,
clinicians, and social workers from the placement, and who know the disabled
person best on a daily basis.
This has got to STOP !
I requested that the staff of Hospitals and the Doctor’s
have the same level of training as the State and County Police
Pass Bill A392
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