Derby City Area Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.
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OFFICERS
PRESIDENT David Allgood - (502) 589-6620
VICE PRESIDENT Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206
TREASURER Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865
LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE Dr. Bill Kraft – (502) 582-5865
FUNDRAISING CHAIR Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368
PAST PRESIDENT Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE- Mike Perry Kelly Young
NSCIA DERBY CITY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Editor- Barbara Davis
Contributor- David Allgood
TRAVEL INDUSTRY TAKES INITIATIVE (Continued From Page One)
Enter Delta's new, 42 inch gate information screens. Currently being deployed in many major airports, and eventually system wide, these easy to read screens not only display gate numbers and flight times, but also provide information on boarding times, connecting flights, bathroom locations, in-flight movies and more.
Of course, getting to the gate on time is only half the battle for wheelchair users. Getting on the plane is the real chore. Sadly, plane aisles aren't wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through. As a result, a wheelchair user must be transferred from the chair, to a narrow "aisle chair", and then again into the plane seat. This can be difficult and precarious, both for the traveler and the airline employees who are assisting. Being dropped or banged into an armrest are common worries for the passenger, as are straining ones back or accidentally hurting the traveler, or the employees.
Delta's answer was to design a hydraulic aisle chair. Now, the aisle chair can be raised or lowered to the height of the wheelchair or plane seat, allowing a traveler to slide from seat to seat rather than being lifted.
For some time now, Princess and Royal Caribbean have been the names most commonly associated with progressive accessibility in cruising. However, it is Holland America who has leapfrogged all others in regard to shore excursion accessibility.
While it is true that most cruise lines are now building bigger, more accessible ships—often featuring a dozen elevators and upwards of twenty accessible staterooms—it is the very size of these ships which causes shore excursions to be inaccessible. Especially in smaller Caribbean ports, large cruise liners cannot enter the shallow waters surrounding the docks. Instead, ships anchor further out and employ smaller boats, known as "tenders," to bring passengers ashore. Boarding of tenders is most often done via a flight of gangway stairs, and the boats themselves offer no accessibility features.
Holland America and Cap Sante Marine, Inc. tackled this issue, developing the Shore Tender Accessibility Project. Deployed on its first ship this year, with the remainder of the fleet to come, the system uses a wheelchair lift to traverse the gangway. A ramp on the adapted tender allows the chair direct entry, where it is then locked down to another lift that raises to give the passenger a view through the tender's window.
For those disabled travelers who feel fortunate when they find a hotel room with grab bars in the bathroom, lowered light switches or Braille room numbers, they are going to be quite impressed with Microtel Inns.
