Speaker: Monica Albert Still

When you go to most hospitals and other medical facilities you do find disabled people. Usually, they are there as either patients or non-clinical support staff who are not working with patients. What if disabled people were equally represented in direct care? Imagine if 1 in 4 people providing direct care were disabled. Is this how we combat ableism in medicine? Lived experience is having a renaissance in the healthcare community. Often it is showcased with peer programs and disability resource offices. This has not been enough to stem the tide of ableism that prevails in all aspects of healthcare. What are the benefits and the risks of having clinicians with lived experience caring for patients with the same or similar conditions? Let’s talk about how one local clinic is working towards lessening ableism and improving care via representation.

Join us for our upcoming Community Lecture Night! Due to the scheduling constraints and potential bad weather, this lecture will be online only. Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtc-GrqTIoHtITkgt9PjmPzQF3PGRFBjKD

• When: January 27th from 6:00-7:30 PM
• Where: Zoom AND streaming on YouTube
• Meeting Accessibility:
  • There will be sign language interpreters and closed captioning available on Zoom.
  • Chat will be disabled on Zoom during the lecture to better serve people using screen readers. Participants will still be able to message the hosts.
  • When it comes time for the Q&A, people may ask by messaging in the chat so the host can read it out loud or by raising their hand on Zoom so the host can call on them to ask by voice or by ASL.
  • For more information, check out our Technical Info page.

If anyone has any other access needs please contact accessmobpittsburgh@gmail.com as soon as possible, but no later than January 22nd.

Speaker Biography:

Monica Albert Still, RN, BSN is an adult with Spina Bifida who is proud to be among the first generation of kids with SB on the threshold of Senior Citizenship. She lives in the wilds of Western Pennsylvania with her tribe of cats.  Monica is the mom to two beautiful adult daughters and grandmother to one adorable girl. She is very proud of the women that they are growing into.

Monica spent most of her life in Connecticut and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Connecticut University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. She has spent her nursing career keeping people in the community. Working her way from client care in the home to starting two Home Health Care Agencies as the administrator, she decided to take on a new challenge.

 After 30 years in nursing, she has now turned her focus to the advocacy part of nursing and serving her community on a broader level. She is involved in advocacy at the local, state and national levels. Monica currently serves as a board member of Access Mob Pittsburgh. She is honored to serve as the secretary of the board for Disability Rights PA, chair for the Mental Health Advisory Council and member of the CT Health Law Project board.  She is on the planning committee for Disability Pride Pittsburgh.  She is also a founding member of the SBA Adult Advisory Council and continues to serve to this day as well as serving on various other committees. She returned to nursing when she got her dream job at the UPMC Adult Spina Bifida Clinic. She combines care with advocacy.

Monica would like to thank her parents, Dorothy Albert Crockett and Alberic Albert for giving her the support, care and love to have accomplished everything listed above. Without them and her grandparents, Mary and Joseph Zukowski, she would not be here today.

Funding for this lecture comes from a grant from the Three Rivers Community Foundation.