About Us
The National Advisory Board on Improving Health Care Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities (NAB) is composed of distinguished and culturally diverse community advocates, health care experts, and academics who provide guidance and policy recommendations for improving programs and services for seniors and people with disabilities.
Vision
We believe it is necessary for all Americans to be educated about the issues facing seniors and people with disabilities for two critical reasons.
• First, the course of aging is a naturally occurring process which affects each of us.
• Second, no person is impervious to disability. A parent or spouse can become paralyzed as a result of a stroke, an infant can be born with an intellectual disability, a child can become disabled as a result of a playground injury, or a best friend can develop major depression and substance abuse as a result of being a soldier at war.
Disability can occur at any time or through the natural process of aging. Disability extends across race, age, ethnicity, level of education, and socioeconomic status. Simply, none of us is immune to aging or living with a disability.
Therefore, we believe Americans must be educated on the health, wellness, social, and economic issues facing seniors and persons with disabilities so that we collectively can design a future infrastructure that works and is accessible by all.
Who We Are
National Advisory Board
As a Board, we are people with disabilities; children of aging parents; parents of children and adults with disabilities; and sisters, brothers, spouses, children, and friends of people with disabilities. We represent millions of Americans with disabilities and seniors and their family members, who have struggled with the complexities of our fragmented health care system. Each of us brings a personal perspective to the subject of long term care because each of us has personal experience with it. We, individually and collectively, have worked along with other Americans to overcome the many hurdles to obtain the services we need to live successfully in our communities—hurdles such as the lack of coordination between acute and long term services and supports, antiquated systems and policies, and lack of infrastructure development for long term services.
The National Advisory Board would like to thank Amerigroup Corporation for funding the work on this project. Amerigroup Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves health care access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniors, and people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health services for the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, Amerigroup Corporation serves approximately 1.8 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Leadership
National Advisory Board Members
- Lex Frieden (Convener)
Professor of Health Information Sciences and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - Kathy Brill, MEd, MPS
Parent, Disability Advocate Consultant - Charles Christiansen, EdD, OTR, OTC, FAOTA
Executive Director, American Occupational Therapy Foundation - Yanira Cruz
President/CEO, National Hispanic Council on Aging - Matthew M. Davies
Board of Trustees Member, Winter Park Health Foundation - Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, MA
Member, The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities - Sita Diehl
Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Tennessee - The Honorable Chuck Graham
Former State Senator, Missouri - William H. Graves, EdD, CRC
Dean of Education and Professor of Educational Leadership and Counseling, Old Dominion University - Hunter Hurst
Executive Director, St. Joseph’s/Candler SOURCE Program - Mark Johnson
Director of Advocacy, Shepherd Center - Leonard Kirschner, MD, MPH
Director, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (1987-1993); current Member Arizona State Medicaid Advisory Committee - Woodrow Lucas
Vanderbilt University Doctoral Student - Mark R. Meiners, PhD
Professor of Health Policy, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University - Suzanne Mintz
President and CEO, National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) - James (Jim) M. Parker IV
Director, New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability - Lee Schulz
Executive Director, IndependenceFirst - Dallas “Rob” Sweezy
Chairperson, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities and
President/Co-Founder, Public Affairs Strategies/Healthcare - The Honorable Jane Woods
Liaison for State Health Policy and Community Development, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University - Ad Hoc Member: Jean Herzog, Ph.D.
Amerigroup Disability Informatics and Health Policy Fellow, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who produced the White Paper?
A. The National Advisory Board (NAB) on Improving Health Care Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities.
Q. Who is the NAB?
A. Convened by Lex Frieden, who was instrumental in conceiving and drafting the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the NAB is comprised of 19 distinguished and culturally diverse community advocates, health care experts and academics. Focused on meeting the needs of seniors and people with disabilities, NAB members represent individuals with disabilities; children of aging parents; parents of children and adults with disabilities; and sisters, brothers, spouses, children, and friends of people with disabilities.
Q. What role does Amerigroup play?
A. In 2007, Amerigroup developed the National Advisory Board (NAB) to focus solely on meeting the needs of seniors and people with disabilities - a significant population within our membership. The NAB has been instrumental in providing trusted guidance and added insight into the communities and individuals we serve. The NAB provides policy recommendations for improving programs and services for seniors and people with disabilities. Amerigroup supports and endorses the NAB’s Six Principles and Call to Action.
Q. With whom has the NAB shared the Paper?
A. The NAB has distributed the White Paper to advocates, community-based organizations, legislators, trade associations, stakeholders, family caregivers and policy/research organizations. Getting this Call to Action in front of as many people as possible who could stand up for independence is critical to long-term supports and services’ inclusion in health reform policy. We continue to encourage people to log onto the web site (www.mydfi.org) and review the Call to Action, pass it on and share their thoughts.
Q. How will the NAB use the Paper?
A. The White Paper will be used as a Call to Action to promote dialogue among consumers, advocacy groups, health care organizations, legislators, stakeholders and community-based organizations about long-term supports and services and health care reform. This Call to Action can serve as the opportunity for individuals to declare their independence, reach out to their legislators with a defined message along with their personal story, blog with other interested persons around the country with like missions and help drive long- term supports and services to the forefront of health reform.
Q. How can I get involved?
A. To get involved, visit the NAB web site to declare your independence, blog with us, share your stories, view weekly news updates and provide valuable feedback. You may also view a video replay of the Virtual Town Hall meeting online at www.declarationforindependence.org or www.mydfi.org.
Q. What do the NAB and Amerigroup wish to accomplish?
A. Our goal is to compel consumers, advocacy groups, health care organizations, legislators, stakeholders and community- based organizations to engage in efforts to modernize the health care infrastructure in America and drive long-term supports and services to the forefront of health reform.
Q. Who does the NAB impact?
A. The NAB represents millions of seniors, people with disabilities and their family members who have struggled with the complexities of our fragmented health care system.
Q. Can I get an electronic version of the White Paper?
A. Visit the NAB web site at www.declarationforindependence.org or www.mydfi.org.
to download a PDF version of the White Paper.