9-28-26 What Healthcare Gets Wrong About Disabled People and How You Can Help Clinicians Get It Right

Speaker: Monica Still

Healthcare often gets disabled people wrong. We are talked over, underestimated, blamed for problems that have nothing to do with our disabilities, and expected to accept care that does not meet our needs. As both a disabled woman and a registered nurse, I have experienced healthcare from both sides. In this talk, I will share practical ways to advocate for yourself, what to say when someone tells you no, and where to turn when the healthcare system refuses to listen. Disabled people, families, allies, and healthcare professionals are all welcome.

Join us for our upcoming Community Lecture Night! This will be online only. Please register for the event here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ajt1O5YhSx6FuxB4rhKV_Q

  • When: September 28th 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 September 23rd.

Speaker Biography:

Monica Albert Still, RN, BSN, is a disabled registered nurse, disability advocate, and
community leader committed to advancing equitable, accessible, and person-centered
healthcare. She serves as the RN Care Coordinator for the Adult Spina Bifida Clinic at UPMC
Mercy, where she combines professional expertise and lived experience to support adults
with spina bifida and other disabilities in achieving their health and life goals.

Monica serves on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on People with
Disabilities and co-chairs its Healthcare Working Group. She is also Chair of the Protection
and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Advisory Council and Treasurer of
the Board of Directors for Disability Rights Pennsylvania. She serves on the boards of the
Connecticut Health Policy Group, United Spinal Pittsburgh, and Access Mob Pittsburgh. In
addition, she volunteers with the Spina Bifida Association and Disability Pride Pittsburgh,
working to advance disability rights, improve healthcare access, and strengthen
opportunities for community inclusion and civic engagement.

Through her work and advocacy, Monica champions a healthcare system where disabled
people are respected as experts in their own lives and supported to live fully,
independently, and well.

Funding for this lecture comes from a grant from the Opportunity Fund.