It has been twenty years of working on Health Care Reform and as an advocate for the people on many issues, long term care, medicare, uninsured children, medication, research and more. I have worked with women's issues, families without insurance because of job loss, etc. As a writer, I believe it is the right of the people to speak out.
I have fought for individuals and talked from Boston ...to the White House on Health Care. This all began in the 90's, my fight for individual rights, health to be the care to all children and what good is it if parents are sick, and can't care for their children?
I can tell you so many stories about medication, cost, the sick without help because they can't buy drugs, so I have seen people die because of it. I have seen the increases in health care TODAY with SMALL BUSINESSES up to 30% - Does your income rise this fast? When you go to purchase a drug even with insurance, the prices change from month to month. I have never seen such drastic measures taken by big business against the people.
I have talked for over one and a half hours alone, during the 90's with Presidential Candidate Robert Dole. I have talked alone with Lamar Alexander, Arlen Specter and others on health care.
It certainly shows where the GOP is coming from when they place Lamar as the head of Health Care Reform. Lamar and I had many conversations about health care in the 90's and in my opinion he will never change, nor will he budge from his own belief system. When I interviewed Arlen Specter, he wasn't hit with the disaster in his own life, cancer. I do believe he opened his eyes, and noticed the stuggles out there with individuals. Also, Dole.
I was told I would never get an interview with these Presidential Candidates, because who was I? Well, I was a determined fighter for the people, I was one who never gave up a battle when I thought a battle was to be fought. And so, through all this I learned over the years - the people must talk, they must have a voice - and without a voice we can't expect change. Look what just happened with children and health care. Our President said that he was going to as of Sept. 24th have every child under 18 covered. And coverage for older children would take them through those college years, etc. And what happens, the system finds a loophole and up pops the cure for big business. And there is nothing bigger then the drug companies. They say they will not cover individual children - and on national TV a young girl with long term care needs, isn't going to have coverage. Something is drastically wrong. When the largest carriers will drop children. We need fixing, for sure.
Sincerely, Nancy Duci Denofio
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Smoking in NYC
SMOKING IN THE CITY
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
Can't smoke between buildings
where the homeless live
or in a park behind a tree -
or at the beach where litter
fills sand
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
between acts on Broadway
before the main course
at Tavern on the Green
oh - they closed that long
ago - you could smoke
there then
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
without a fine of fifty dollars
half the price of a carton -
Bloomberg said he knows this
rule is going to pass
Must be no one who runs the
city smokes -
Nancy Duci Denofio
all rights reserved
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
Can't smoke between buildings
where the homeless live
or in a park behind a tree -
or at the beach where litter
fills sand
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
between acts on Broadway
before the main course
at Tavern on the Green
oh - they closed that long
ago - you could smoke
there then
Can't smoke no where in N.Y.C.
without a fine of fifty dollars
half the price of a carton -
Bloomberg said he knows this
rule is going to pass
Must be no one who runs the
city smokes -
Nancy Duci Denofio
all rights reserved
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Disability Gap
When Debbie wants to breathe, she does it with a respirator that is dragged along with her wheelchair. When she wants to speak, she has someone remove a bit of air from the tube, then you can hear her. When its time to eat, they attach her feeding tube. This is how Debbie spends the day. She never thought of herself as someone who would inspire you, yet I think she has more courage then those of us with all our faculties. Her eyes are bright, they open wide when someone new comes to visit, or someone suggests a trip away from the room she lives in. She has never looked for sympathy.
"What’s happened to me is planned, I was suppose to have these difficulties,” Debbie said, “It’s not bad, I am teaching others to accept me for who I am.”
You wonder where her courage comes from. But if you look around, she isn’t alone. At the hospital many women and men are using wheelchairs, some are blind, others deaf, some are without limbs, without any hope, or even friends. Some of the people around her, are suffering from any one of the Neurological diseases which could be placed in any of our laps. Although we still hear Debbie’s voice when things are hooked up right, some women can’t talk, or they blurt out words which make no sense, because of their disease. Men and Women from all over this world of ours are suffering with disabilities.
To the able-bodied observer, one finds it hard to see someone spend a lifetime in a wheelchair, or without hands or arms; a pencil in their mouth to write or use a computer. Healthy individuals tend to nervously change the direction of their gaze, as if to wipe away a moment of pain.
So many watched the pain and suffering of Christopher Reeve, but how many really got involved with research? How many people were willing to speak out for men like he was now that he has passed on, he once had a dream. Medical Research is a must for those suffering today, and the future of tomorrow.
We are real, Debbie is real like you, with hopes and dreams and promises. Debbie may feel a true reason behind her own disability, and the courage to go on regardless of changes in her life, but her disability does matter. The outside has ignored change. Debbie herself made a giant step in her attitude. Four years ago, before her disease, she was dancing at a wedding, she was driving, singing, hugging her nieces and nephews and the disabled went unnoticed. She never remembered her own sister in law in a wheelchair.
I say the disability rights movement is slow, unchanging and the attitude of people who never tasted change, sit back and dream, not them.
How often have we heard about those living with a disability getting mainstreamed? Now, we here only job cuts, less employment, no money to change the physical demure of a building to suit just one person. How often do you here someone say, we can’t invite her, or him, because our building or home won’t accommodate the chair, the respirator, another body, such as a caretaker, someone we don’t know. Attitude is pulling down progress for such people, like Debbie. How many times have Debbie’s friends searched for a suitable place for her to live among people her own age.
Being disabled is a challenge. My goal is to challenge the people who don’t understand the why and the where, the when and the how. When something hits home, the pressure is on, the mold you made from life becomes weaker, and cracks. What was once perfect has changed, what was beautiful has now turned ugly.
Who are the activists and advocates for the disabled? Are they only the ones who have lived, touched, grew close to a situation, or are they the ones who do not turn their heads when someone different smiles, or passes in their path.
I use to ride in a wheelchair, and I have gone from chair to cane, and now I walk; I recall a lady in downtown Saratoga Springs NY, during a block concert, shooing her children away from me, because I rode in a chair. My legs weren’t carrying me about. I still smiled at the lady, and her children. I couldn’t tell if her children had blue, brown or green eyes. I wasn’t sure about the face, or exact outline of their bodies, but they were there in front of me until a guardian pulled them clear of me. It was my first day out in the chair since rehabilitation. It made a lasting memory.
Strange enough, those of us who have used a wheelchair, or who have other disabilities, do not search for help, from a stranger. Most of the time we strive to be independent, make plans to get here or there, either alone or with a care taker. When such plans fall apart, and a wheelchair can’t get up a curb on its own, or a door is too heavy to open… it seems like people melt away, into corners, perhaps because we have been independent in the past. Help is a simple thing, if someone asked to help you with the door, you would smile, and thank them. Think about the person in a wheelchair, with machines attached to her chair, and the fear in eyes of strangers. It’s hard to get anyone to help.
Although many disabled people have found an Avenue of independence, those around them believe they can’t be living in a Wheelchair. Wrong. Wheelchairs are now designed to fit each and every need and bring independence. Living in a wheelchair is no longer a death sentence for the outside world.
There was a day and age when disabled bodies were invisible. Today, they are part of the main stream, people wheel around office buildings, up main street, into markets and restaurants. They are one of us, with some differences. When a blind person walks down a street, waving her red and white cane in front of her, she knows where she is heading. When someone uses his or her mouth to touch a keyboard to talk, they know what they want to say.
Many dependent people aren’t disabled physically. They have stickers for their car windows, but you can’t see what’s wrong with them. This doesn’t mean they aren’t disabled. The less you see, the more uncomfortable it is for those with disabilities. Although, those with feeding tubes and respirators may scare away the children, of adults who do not educate at home, they too are uncomfortable but you are aware of their misgivings.
I guess the most important thing is education. If you are able bodied, and stare at someone with a problem, never attempt to teach your children about the differences in life, and the progress made in the past to understand and accept people for who they are, not what they are, then its high time, as my Irish Mother would have said.
It’s another journey, a process, a reality. With all these reality TV shows, one should step in the shoes of those who have changed from one life to another. Adjusting to circumstance. Don’t end someone’s journey because they are different from you.
Although those with disabilities are learning, and have learned to accept and move forward, they still dream of the future, of the day when someone will come up with a cure for their disease. Some have stopped waiting, and do get discouraged, not everyone is a mountain of strength, which makes research even more important. Some people have courage enough to breathe with a machine, or get dressed in the morning. Some people call courage, survival. I call courage a lifetime ambition.
Nancy Duci Denofio
Healthcare Advocate
When Debbie wants to breathe, she does it with a respirator that is dragged along with her wheelchair. When she wants to speak, she has someone remove a bit of air from the tube, then you can hear her. When its time to eat, they attach her feeding tube. This is how Debbie spends the day. She never thought of herself as someone who would inspire you, yet I think she has more courage then those of us with all our faculties. Her eyes are bright, they open wide when someone new comes to visit, or someone suggests a trip away from the room she lives in. She has never looked for sympathy.
"What’s happened to me is planned, I was suppose to have these difficulties,” Debbie said, “It’s not bad, I am teaching others to accept me for who I am.”
You wonder where her courage comes from. But if you look around, she isn’t alone. At the hospital many women and men are using wheelchairs, some are blind, others deaf, some are without limbs, without any hope, or even friends. Some of the people around her, are suffering from any one of the Neurological diseases which could be placed in any of our laps. Although we still hear Debbie’s voice when things are hooked up right, some women can’t talk, or they blurt out words which make no sense, because of their disease. Men and Women from all over this world of ours are suffering with disabilities.
To the able-bodied observer, one finds it hard to see someone spend a lifetime in a wheelchair, or without hands or arms; a pencil in their mouth to write or use a computer. Healthy individuals tend to nervously change the direction of their gaze, as if to wipe away a moment of pain.
So many watched the pain and suffering of Christopher Reeve, but how many really got involved with research? How many people were willing to speak out for men like he was now that he has passed on, he once had a dream. Medical Research is a must for those suffering today, and the future of tomorrow.
We are real, Debbie is real like you, with hopes and dreams and promises. Debbie may feel a true reason behind her own disability, and the courage to go on regardless of changes in her life, but her disability does matter. The outside has ignored change. Debbie herself made a giant step in her attitude. Four years ago, before her disease, she was dancing at a wedding, she was driving, singing, hugging her nieces and nephews and the disabled went unnoticed. She never remembered her own sister in law in a wheelchair.
I say the disability rights movement is slow, unchanging and the attitude of people who never tasted change, sit back and dream, not them.
How often have we heard about those living with a disability getting mainstreamed? Now, we here only job cuts, less employment, no money to change the physical demure of a building to suit just one person. How often do you here someone say, we can’t invite her, or him, because our building or home won’t accommodate the chair, the respirator, another body, such as a caretaker, someone we don’t know. Attitude is pulling down progress for such people, like Debbie. How many times have Debbie’s friends searched for a suitable place for her to live among people her own age.
Being disabled is a challenge. My goal is to challenge the people who don’t understand the why and the where, the when and the how. When something hits home, the pressure is on, the mold you made from life becomes weaker, and cracks. What was once perfect has changed, what was beautiful has now turned ugly.
Who are the activists and advocates for the disabled? Are they only the ones who have lived, touched, grew close to a situation, or are they the ones who do not turn their heads when someone different smiles, or passes in their path.
I use to ride in a wheelchair, and I have gone from chair to cane, and now I walk; I recall a lady in downtown Saratoga Springs NY, during a block concert, shooing her children away from me, because I rode in a chair. My legs weren’t carrying me about. I still smiled at the lady, and her children. I couldn’t tell if her children had blue, brown or green eyes. I wasn’t sure about the face, or exact outline of their bodies, but they were there in front of me until a guardian pulled them clear of me. It was my first day out in the chair since rehabilitation. It made a lasting memory.
Strange enough, those of us who have used a wheelchair, or who have other disabilities, do not search for help, from a stranger. Most of the time we strive to be independent, make plans to get here or there, either alone or with a care taker. When such plans fall apart, and a wheelchair can’t get up a curb on its own, or a door is too heavy to open… it seems like people melt away, into corners, perhaps because we have been independent in the past. Help is a simple thing, if someone asked to help you with the door, you would smile, and thank them. Think about the person in a wheelchair, with machines attached to her chair, and the fear in eyes of strangers. It’s hard to get anyone to help.
Although many disabled people have found an Avenue of independence, those around them believe they can’t be living in a Wheelchair. Wrong. Wheelchairs are now designed to fit each and every need and bring independence. Living in a wheelchair is no longer a death sentence for the outside world.
There was a day and age when disabled bodies were invisible. Today, they are part of the main stream, people wheel around office buildings, up main street, into markets and restaurants. They are one of us, with some differences. When a blind person walks down a street, waving her red and white cane in front of her, she knows where she is heading. When someone uses his or her mouth to touch a keyboard to talk, they know what they want to say.
Many dependent people aren’t disabled physically. They have stickers for their car windows, but you can’t see what’s wrong with them. This doesn’t mean they aren’t disabled. The less you see, the more uncomfortable it is for those with disabilities. Although, those with feeding tubes and respirators may scare away the children, of adults who do not educate at home, they too are uncomfortable but you are aware of their misgivings.
I guess the most important thing is education. If you are able bodied, and stare at someone with a problem, never attempt to teach your children about the differences in life, and the progress made in the past to understand and accept people for who they are, not what they are, then its high time, as my Irish Mother would have said.
It’s another journey, a process, a reality. With all these reality TV shows, one should step in the shoes of those who have changed from one life to another. Adjusting to circumstance. Don’t end someone’s journey because they are different from you.
Although those with disabilities are learning, and have learned to accept and move forward, they still dream of the future, of the day when someone will come up with a cure for their disease. Some have stopped waiting, and do get discouraged, not everyone is a mountain of strength, which makes research even more important. Some people have courage enough to breathe with a machine, or get dressed in the morning. Some people call courage, survival. I call courage a lifetime ambition.
Nancy Duci Denofio
Healthcare Advocate
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Information You Can Use
Pre-existing conditions: By July 2010, people unable to get health insurance because of pre-existing conditions will be able to use temporary high-risk health insurance pools in each state, giving them the opportunity to buy insurance that includes an annual limit on out-of-pocket costs. (Note: Most states are now preparing to meet this deadline; 18 have declined, asking that federal government handle the responsibility for their state instead.)
These insurance pools will remain in place until January 2014, when everyone will have access to health benefit exchanges in each state.
Retirees: Beginning June 1, 2010, the new Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will provide a subsidy to employers to help pay for healthcare coverage for some retired workers ages 55 to 64 who don't yet qualify for Medicare. Employers now providing health coverage to retirees must apply for the subsidy, which is designed to encourage companies to continue – and even to resume – coverage.
We’ll continue to keep you informed about key provisions of health reform as they go into effect. For more information, see the Kaiser Family Foundation’s website.
These insurance pools will remain in place until January 2014, when everyone will have access to health benefit exchanges in each state.
Retirees: Beginning June 1, 2010, the new Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will provide a subsidy to employers to help pay for healthcare coverage for some retired workers ages 55 to 64 who don't yet qualify for Medicare. Employers now providing health coverage to retirees must apply for the subsidy, which is designed to encourage companies to continue – and even to resume – coverage.
We’ll continue to keep you informed about key provisions of health reform as they go into effect. For more information, see the Kaiser Family Foundation’s website.
Monday, May 3, 2010
As I write about health care reform, I am waiting like many of you for the education which is lacking, without listing, without knowing when. I believe far too many families with hard ships due to sick children, sick parents, sick people they themselves are helping, need to know, when, what and where.
I am pleased we are making a step forward, but the steps are many, and the time is long.
Those with long term care needs do not have the time to wait, and I am hoping those dealing with this "signed" bill see the image of those suffering and who have waited.
I know a child, more then one, who sit with tubes, to breathe, to eat, and hopefully MORE RESEARCH and MORE AVAILABILITY to those findings will benefit these families.
Thanks for reading. Any comments are welcome.
I am pleased we are making a step forward, but the steps are many, and the time is long.
Those with long term care needs do not have the time to wait, and I am hoping those dealing with this "signed" bill see the image of those suffering and who have waited.
I know a child, more then one, who sit with tubes, to breathe, to eat, and hopefully MORE RESEARCH and MORE AVAILABILITY to those findings will benefit these families.
Thanks for reading. Any comments are welcome.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Help for Small Business
Today President Obama announced his plans for
those employers whom employ less then 50
people.
The information was favorable for these groups
which would include artists and freelancers,
and any small company or non profit.
I would suggest, if you fit into this pattern
to read today's posts by all news organizations,
especially those who go into detail.
Health care is costly, and if any help can
be given to those struggling for proper care
and coverage - this might be your answer.
those employers whom employ less then 50
people.
The information was favorable for these groups
which would include artists and freelancers,
and any small company or non profit.
I would suggest, if you fit into this pattern
to read today's posts by all news organizations,
especially those who go into detail.
Health care is costly, and if any help can
be given to those struggling for proper care
and coverage - this might be your answer.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Pepsi and Coke Change
PEPSI and COKE
I feel that Pepsi and Coke are not doing anything to help the children when it comes to their products. Why? Because sugary drinks are one thing, but replacing them with diet drinks, which includes artifical sugar, is another.
Didn't mother tell you diet soda is worse then regular soda? How can Mrs. Obama feel that this is progress?
When you read "We applaud Pepsi for its global commitment." said Bruce Silverglade, legal affairs for the Center of Science in the public Interest... doesn't Bruce understand where it's heading?
A corporation as large and worldly as Pepsi and Coke isn't going to lose out. Even the work sugary can be defined, less sugar... we really don't know what sugary means.
How do you feel about diet drinks in our schools instead of regular pepsi or coke?
I feel that Pepsi and Coke are not doing anything to help the children when it comes to their products. Why? Because sugary drinks are one thing, but replacing them with diet drinks, which includes artifical sugar, is another.
Didn't mother tell you diet soda is worse then regular soda? How can Mrs. Obama feel that this is progress?
When you read "We applaud Pepsi for its global commitment." said Bruce Silverglade, legal affairs for the Center of Science in the public Interest... doesn't Bruce understand where it's heading?
A corporation as large and worldly as Pepsi and Coke isn't going to lose out. Even the work sugary can be defined, less sugar... we really don't know what sugary means.
How do you feel about diet drinks in our schools instead of regular pepsi or coke?
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