Disabilities Rights Conference To Be Held October 21 in Sioux Falls

Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that the Disabilities Rights Conference will be held on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.  The conference will be held at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, located at 1101 N. West Avenue in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The conference is co-sponsored by Avera Health and LifeScape. 

In conjunction with the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and October’s designation as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the conference is designed to raise awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities, and to educate the public about its role in protecting those rights.

The conference agenda is geared towards physicians, nurses, health care administrators, social workers, counselors, behavioral health professionals, long term care administrators, attorneys, law enforcement, business owners, state officials, federal officials, local officials, tribal officials, educators, and school administrators.  The one-day conference will begin at 8:00 am and conclude at 5:30 pm.  Registration opens at 7:30 am.

Among the featured speakers will be Heather Abbott, a Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor, whose presentation will focus on Thriving Instead of Surviving.  Also featured will be Jeffrey Cain, MD, FAAFP. Dr. Cain has been practicing and teaching family medicine in Denver, Colorado for over 30 years, where he now serves as an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado.  A past President and Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Cain was honored in 2013 by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in the country.  The conference will also highlight Mario Arnauz Bonds, a motivational speaker and singer/songwriter.  Born with Morning Glory Syndrome, a degenerative condition that gradually took his sight, Bonds will share with the audience a message about his childhood, which depicts triumphs over abuse and abandonment, and his adjustment and acceptance of going totally blind.

The luncheon speaker will be South Dakota State Senator Billie Sutton, who will talk about learning to live with a disability.  As the result of a rodeo injury in 2007, Sutton suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury.

Panel discussions will address substantive areas of disability rights, learning to live with an acquired disability, and respect for people with disabilities.  Additionally, Dan Lusk, Division Director for Developmental Disabilities for the South Dakota Department of Human Services, will close the conference with a presentation on Home and Community Based Services: Supporting Community Integration.

The conference is free and open to the public.

For the full conference agenda and to register, please follow this link:
www.avera.org/disabilitiesconference