-----Original Message-----
From: US Dept of HHS: Press Releases, Other Info
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Henneghan, Martha (HHS/OS)
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 12:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: HHS RELEASE--U.S. SURGEON GENERAL ISSUES FIRST CALL TO ACTION ON
DISABILITY

Date:  July 26, 2005
For Release:  Immediately
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

Headline;  U.S. SURGEON GENERAL ISSUES FIRST CALL TO ACTION ON DISABILITY

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, today released
"The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of
Persons with Disabilities," appealing to all Americans to help increase the
quality of life for people with disabilities through better health care and
understanding.  This first-ever Surgeon General's Call to Action on
disability is being issued on the 15th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

"This Call to Action is a call to caring.  Every life has value and every
person has promise," Surgeon General Carmona said.  "The reality is that for
too long we provided lesser care to people with disabilities.  Today, we
must redouble our efforts so that people with disabilities achieve full
access to disease prevention and health promotion services."

Developed by the Surgeon General in collaboration with the HHS Office on
Disability, the Call to Action describes the particular challenges to health
and well being faced by persons of all ages with disabilities and identifies
four goals that, together, can help people with disabilities experience
full, rewarding and above all healthy lives as contributing members of their
communities.

The four goals included in "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Improve
the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities" are:

.       Increase understanding nationwide that people with disabilities can
lead long, healthy, and productive lives.
.       Increase knowledge among health care professionals and provide them
with tools to screen, diagnose, and treat the whole person with a disability
with dignity.
.       Increase awareness among people with disabilities of the steps they
can take to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
.       Increase accessible health care and support services to promote
independence for people with disabilities.

"Americans with disabilities often face unique challenges to achieving good
health," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "As with the American's with
Disabilities Act, this Call to Action is a reminder that people with
disabilities are important members of our society, and that including them
in all aspects of American life is not only required by our nation's law,
but also by our nation's conscience."

Today, 54 million Americans, or one in five people, are living with at least
one disability, and most Americans will experience a disability some time
during the course of the lives.  Some individuals are born with a
disability; others acquire them through an illness, an injury, genetics, or
any number of other causes.

"We must learn to recognize the abilities of persons with disabilities," HHS
Director of the Office on Disability Margaret Giannini, M.D., FAAP said.
"People with disabilities can learn, get married, have a family, worship,
vote, work, and live long, productive lives.  We need to make sure we treat
them as active members of our society."

The "Surgeon General's Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of
Persons with Disabilities" is available at www.surgeongeneral.gov.




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