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Archives for December 2018

Christmas Wishes

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The team at Pacific Medical Law wishes you all of the magic and wonder of the holidays, and we hope that you are able to be with loved ones during this joyous season. We know that people living with cerebral palsy can sometimes feel isolated, especially around the holidays. Charisse Hogan is a young woman living with cerebral palsy who understands that isolation.  She uses social media to let the world know the importance of accepting each other as we are, the harmful effect that bullying can have, and the positive impact that small acts of kindness can have on anybody, especially those who may feel isolated at Christmas.  In 2016 she started a campaign to encourage acts of kindness, especially around the holidays.  She continues the tradition to this day.  Here is her 2016 story:

I remember sitting in my first hour class, watching students give and receive gifts from their friends. It was my second year at my new high school, and I still struggled with making friends. Many of the kids didn’t know how to react to the way my cerebral palsy causes me to speak and move. I became the kid who was just kind of there, invisible to many. I was going through the lowest part of my life. Just like the year before, I felt empty inside, knowing I didn’t have friends to share the Christmas cheer with. I remember talking to my mom about this the morning of the last school day before winter break.

But a few hours later, something happened that I will never forget. Like every morning, I sat at my desk watching the clock as the other students chatted with their friends. Out of the blue, one of my classmates placed a small gift box on my desk. This girl had never really talked to me before, so I was very confused why she set it on my desk. I was assuming it was hers or for someone else. Then she said, “I wanted to get you something. Merry Christmas.” Inside the box was a pink princess Gigi’s cupcake.

Then another classmate handed me a small red gift bag. Inside was a little stuffed reindeer and some Hershey’s Kisses. I was so surprised, I was speechless. I couldn’t believe what happened. My eyes teared up with joy. It wasn’t the gifts that overwhelmed me with happiness, it was knowing someone thought of me when I believed no one ever did.

These acts of kindness left a smile on my face the whole day. Those girls will never know how powerful their small gifts were. They will never know how long I will remember that moment.

I believe kindness is the greatest gift you can give someone, especially during the holiday season. My Christmas wish is to spread random acts of kindness worldwide during the month of December. I’m asking others to perform at least one act of kindness. I want others to experience the power of kindness. Your act of kindness can be small or big. It can be donating toys, paying for someone’s coffee, giving someone a compliment, or just sitting by someone who may be sitting alone. Anything!

I would love to hear your act of kindness. Please post about it on social media with #CharissesChristmasWish and let me know where you are from. You can make someone’s holiday a bit brighter!

How is your baby’s well-being determined after delivery?

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The Apgar score is a set of numbers assigned to a baby at birth to quickly report on the well-being of the baby immediately after birth.

Named after Dr. Virginia Apgar who developed the system over 65 years ago, the Apgar score provides a standardized method for reporting the status of a baby immediately after birth, and directs the medical team to promptly intervene to establish breathing if the baby is in need of resuscitation. The Apgar score has become a standard part of the labor and delivery process, with most babies receiving Apgar scores when they are born.

The Apgar score is comprised of five components: 1) colour; 2) heart rate, 3) reflexes, 4) muscle tone, and 5) respiration, each of which is given a score of 0, 1, or 2. The sum of the five criteria equals the infant’s Apgar score, and thus can be anywhere from 0 to 10. The Apgar score quantitates clinical signs of neonatal depression, such as pallor, bradycardia, decreased reflex response to stimulation, hypotonia, or gasping respirations. The lower the score, the more likely the infant requires resuscitation.

The Apgar score is typically assessed at 1, 5, and 10 minutes after birth. Scores typically increase at 5 or 10 minutes as the baby’s condition improves with or without medical intervention. It should be noted that Apgar scores do not predict the baby’s future outcome, and should not be used for any purpose other than the quick, non-invasive assessment of newborns.

How is the Apgar scored?

The five Apgar criteria are scored as follows:

Colour

Pale or Blue = 0 points

Blue at extremities = 1 point

Completely pink = 2 points

Heart Rate

Absent = 0

Less than 100 beats per minute = 1

Over 100 beats per minute = 2

Reflex irritability

No response = 0

Grimace = 1

Cry or active withdrawal = 2

Muscle Tone

Limp = 0

Some flexion = 1

Active motion = 2

Respiration

Absent = 0

Weak cry or hypoventilation = 1

Good crying = 2 

Limitations

A baby’s Apgar score is affected by many factors, including gestational age, maternal medication, resuscitation, and cardiorespiratory and neurologic conditions. While a low Apgar score may mean that an infant likely requires medical attention and resuscitation, it is important to remember that this is a tool to assess the health of the newborn at the time of birth, and its predictive value for determining the long-term health of the child is poor. In other words, if your baby was born with low Apgar scores, it does not necessarily mean that your child was injured and will have long-term deficits. Most infants with low Apgar scores do not go on to develop cerebral palsy. A normal Apgar score, however, does not rule out a potential birth injury. Determining whether a child’s injuries are attributable to events surrounding their birth, a careful examination of the medical records, fetal heart monitoring tracing, and the child’s neuroimaging is necessary.

*Photo courtesy of https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/apgar.html

Potential employees with disabilities represent an untapped market

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Companies want employees that will excel in their jobs and stay with the organization for a long period of time. People with disabilities are a group that are often overlooked by hiring managers, but have a proven track record of success and loyalty. Studies have found that workers with disabilities were five times more likely to stay on the job than their colleagues without disabilities, and these findings have been reflected in several real-life industries. Further, people with disabilities are frequently well educated and highly innovative, after a lifetime of navigating societal systems that could otherwise leave them at a disadvantage.

Data has long shown, that unfortunately, people with disabilities are greatly under-employed as compared to their non-disabled counterparts. But some say this represents a large, untapped market.

“…[I]n today’s market, when we are always hungry for growth, by ignoring that market you are ignoring a huge opportunity to grow,” says Rich Donovan, an expert on disability and corporate profitability.

Advocating for people with disabilities in the workforce

Donovan, a former Wall Street trader living with cerebral palsy, is also the founder and CEO of the Return on Disability Group, a company that manages a tool that helps measure the impact of the disabled workforce. He has dedicated his life to promoting the employment of more people with disabilities in the workforce as well as advocating for a market that attracts more customers with disabilities. But he does not see this as a charity effort.

“We tell our clients, ‘You want to do this to benefit your shareholders’,” Donovan says. Return on Disability provides data and strategies that allow companies, governments, and investors to act on disability in ways that add value to many types of shareholders. The company’s long-term vision is to be the firm that unlocks the economic potential of disability globally and creates catalysts and processes for their customers to act on this market.

In 2006, Rich founded Lime, the leading third-party recruiter in the disability space, and has worked with Google, Pepsi, TD Bank, and others to help the companies attract and retain top talent from within the disability market.

In his book, Unleashing Different: Achieving Business Success Through Disability, Donovan writes that there are over six million Canadians who identify as having a disability, and that group controls $55.4 billion in disposable income. Globally, Donovan says the population of people with a disability – a population of 1.3 billion, about the same size as China – is the world’s last emerging market with billions of dollars of untapped potential.

“We want businesses to understand how including people with disabilities can be beneficial to the company’s bottom line or their top line. That it would help enhance their profitability, rather than looking at this as an act of charity,” says Donovan.

With major companies setting the trend for hiring people with disabilities, attitudes are certainly changing. More brands are running ads including people with disabilities, and incorporating disability into their core messages and campaigns. Donovan says that he now hears companies talk about how workers with disabilities improve customer satisfaction, increase market share, and drive value. The success of these companies further shows that hiring people with disabilities is not only a positive step towards inclusivity, but makes good business sense.

*Image courtesy of https://www.reward-strategy.com/news/news/guidance-update-access-to-work-4629

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