Students with disabilities travel with People to People

As Hillary says, we want everyone one to travel.

At the annual Overseas Security Advisory Council meeting back in November, I heard Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say she wants every American to Travel and that she knew how important these People to People contacts are. I even tweeted these sweet words as she said them.

Our goal at People to People Ambassador Programs is much the same. We bridge cultural and political borders through education and exchange, making the world a better place for future generations.

That mission is not intended for only those that can walk, talk, and hear as most of us can. Our mission is to provide the opportunity for everyone, no matter what their physical abilities are.

That is one of the reasons we require a health form for every traveler. On the health form we ask if there are any conditions we need to be aware of, such as mobility limitations, hearing or vision impairment, allergies, diabetes, etc. We are not asking so we can disqualify these students. We are asking so that we can properly prepare for their arrival and ensure they have as good an experience any other student would enjoy.

Several years back we developed a strong partnership with the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC). This group of ADA specialists provides People to People Ambassador Programs with the most up-to-date information on ADA laws and how to effectively incorporate them within our program. With DBTAC's support and mentorship, we have worked to design one of the most comprehensive reasonable accommodation programs in our industry.

In the United States organizations such as ours has a responsibility to meet the ADA laws. Other countries sometime have very different requirements or none at all. That doesn’t deter us in our mission to open up borders for all students and we are very creative in finding a solution that works for the student in need.

Each of the past three years we have seen our enrollments for those needing reasonable accommodations flourish - which makes us very proud. That means many more students now have access to a life changing experience, including those that may not have had the opportunity with other organizations in the past.

The key ingredient in developing a solid reasonable accommodation starts long before the actual travel. It is founded on early notification of the need by the student and the parent.

For example last year in Europe, there was a portion of the day where the students had to walk a long distance uphill to visit Monmartre in Paris, France. We had a student with limited mobility, who was in a wheelchair and was accompanied by a medical attendent. We made special arrangements to ensure she could experience Monmartre with her other delegation members. One of our leaders personally escorted her medical aid and her on a tram to the top of the hill where she waited patiently for the tired hikers to arrive so so that they could all enjoy the fantastic views of Paris—together.

(My photo of the Sacre Coeur at the top of Monmartre - which has a lot of stairs. Below is the view from the top - courtesy of smemon87 via Flickr.)

I thought it was important to share this information with you all as every year we continue to have a few students arrive on program in need of a reasonable accommodation, but provided no advance knowledge of the condition (i.e., no condition is listed on the health form). This forces us to make last minute accommodations which may not be as complete as possible and can jeopardize the student's enjoyment and comfort, not to mention limit our ability to provide for necessary health and safety accommodations while on the road. That student in a wheelchair might not have been able to see Monmartre if we hadn’t known before to make special arrangements for her.

The lesson here is to always disclose ANY condition when submitting the health form. If you have failed to do so and you have submitted the health form already, please contact our Health & Safety Team at medical.team@peopletopeople.com. They are a great group of folks and they will quickly update your file, work with you to collect the needed information from your family medical provider and then work diligently to create the right accommodation that will ensure your child’s safety.

Come back next week when I will be discussing (live from China) the training we provide to the Delegation Managers around the world.

As always, I wish you all safe travels and a healthy life!

Mike

Deadline for Health Forms: It’s not the Tax Date but every bit as important

Happy New Year to all our delegates and families. Can you believe it is already January 6th? In just less than 5 months our first student programs take off for their life changing experiences. In preparation for the launch of our 2011 travel season, we wanted to share with you a most important reminder that will help us ensure the health and safety of each delegate.

[Image Credit: MoonRhino via Flickr]

Pretty much everyone in the USA knows the importance of the date, April 15th. That’s the day each American’s tax return must be postmarked and sent to the IRS. (This year the deadline is being moved due to a holiday so tax payers will have until midnight on Monday, April 18th to mail their returns.)

Well here at People to People Ambassador Programs we have an equally important date and that is January 15th of each year, and no that date isn’t changing. January 15th is the due date for each enrolled student Ambassador to submit a health form to their local leader.

The leader then makes a copy of both pages of this important form and keeps the original health forms and then ships a copy the Health and Safety Department at the Program Office. The purpose of making a copy is to allow the leader to carry the original with them for each student in their care in the unlikely event a medical situation arises. That way any listed medications or allergies or other important medical background can be shared with the medical professional treating the student in the foreign country.

Adhering to this date is important. The information on each health form must be reviewed and entered into our computer system. (We are working on a new process which will allow for students to fill in the health form online, dramatically improving the collection process starting later in the year.) Once the health form is imputed, the computer system scans for any of over 300 medical conditions. If a student should have one or more of these conditions a medical hold is then generated.

If you would like to learn more about the medical hold process, you can review, “Navigating the Health form, a Vital Step in Your Child’s Safety,” a blog entry made by the Health & Safety Supervisor, Wendy Armes, posted back in September for more information and background.

My son will be traveling on the the Journey through the South Pacific program in June and we filled out his health form last night. He will be turning it in during his first orientation meeting which just so happens to be scheduled on January 15th, so we won’t be late.

Using Cellhire and don't have a cell phone number yet?

While filling out the health form (which I helped design by the way), I did notice one difficult question to answer. On the form it suggests you consider renting a cell phone for your child for safety reasons, which I support. It also asks you to supply us with the cell number that your child might be taking along with them. My son is planning to rent a Cellhire GPS phone with the new Panic Alert button on it. We won’t have that number until a couple weeks prior to travel, though.

Sometimes as much as we run simulations and plan, it takes participating as a parent of a Student Ambassador to get some of the minor annoyances to our system out. We will be modifying the health form for 2012 so that we don’t ask for the number yet.

Anyway, no worries, Casey will be able to provide the leader the number when he meets in the departure city so that the leader has his contact information in the event he ever needs it. It doesn’t happen often but like any parent I want Casey to be as reachable as possible in any situation.

Besides, the Cellhire phone will be local to Australia so the phone rates I get will be much less than if he were to take his personal cell and have me activate the international calling option. I have to admit that since I helped guide the development of the GPS tracking options I can’t wait to track my own son with it!

I will be able to see the same road he is standing on and freak him out by sending a SMS message commenting on something he is looking at from my home in Spokane. Talk about being a helicopter parent!

If any of you are interested in renting a Cellhire cell phone, just go to http://www.cellhire.com/ambassador and view all the many phone options you can select from.

So remember, get the health form in by January 15th. My staff is waiting with anticipation for them to arrive on-time in the program office so we can check that step off your list of things to do before embarking on your wonderful life changing experience with People to People Ambassador Programs.

As always, I wish you all safe travels and a healthy life!
Mike

Navigating the Health Form, a Vital Step in Your Child's Safety

The health form is one of the most important aspects of enrolling with People to People Ambassador Programs. I asked Wendy Armes, our Supervisor of the Health and Safety Team, to shed light on the form - and our medical review process. The following is a guest blog post from Wendy (pictured at left). Enjoy!
- Mike Bowers, Senior Director of Health & Safety

The importance of a Health Form
Without question, filling out the health form is one of the most important steps in preparing your child for his/her upcoming adventure. Assessing health forms is one of several procedures we use to make sure your child is safe while on one of our life-changing travel programs. Our team requires a health form be submitted for every single student who will travel. Even our teacher leaders must submit this important form before they travel on one of our programs!

Why does this form matter? The health form provides parents or legal guardians the opportunity to disclose any medical conditions, allergies or dietary requests that affect the well-being of your child. This information is vital in preparing for your child to travel safely - and their safety is our number one priority.

[Above, a picture of the rest of our medical team members at a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation: Kenna Powel, Mary Wilbur, Audra Krislock, Jeanne McKelvy and Viki Erdman]

In addition to past and present health conditions, we also ask for the following information:

• Medical insurance: The insurance policy you purchase for the program is considered the primary provider while on program.
  
  
• Emergency contact information: This is the phone number we will call (if necessary) while your student is on program.
  
  
• Student’s cell phone number: Many of our students bring mobile phones on their travel experiences, and we keep their cell numbers on hand.
  
  Cell Phone Options: If you would like to rent a phone for the program - and be able to check in with your child at any time - we have a partner program that offers reasonable rates.
  
  Additionally, we offer phone options that allow you to track your child's adventure by a GPS device built into the phone. Alternatively, if you don't want your child to use a mobile phone during travel, you can subscribe to a service that tracks the teacher leader's phone via GPS. (Every People to People Ambassador Program delegation has a GPS phone on the program.)
  
  
• Authorization: The form also has an authorization section that allows for People to People Ambassador Programs to seek medical treatment for your child, in the highly unlikely event it is needed during the program. This authorization also grants permission for the medical professional who treats your child, to share important information with us to help manage the situation.

What Happens After You Fill Out the Health Form?
After you submit a completed health form, your child's information is evaluated by our medical team. Based on the data provided on the form, the medical team decides whether or not a medical hold is necessary. (No one other than the medical team in the program office has access to this very private information.)

What’s a Medical Hold?
A "medical hold" means we need more information prior to clearing a student for travel. There are more than 300 medical conditions for which we diligently screen - not to deter your student from traveling, but to ensure that we clearly understand their needs before they travel.

• If a student's form is placed on a medical hold, our medical team members contact the parents or guardians directly to collect additional information. They'll also take time to answer any questions or concerns. The medical team will work with personal physicians as needed, and ensure all leaders (and on-location site staff, if necessary) are aware of any reasonable accommodation our team has developed with the family.
  
  
• If your child needs an accommodation: Our medical team is trained annually on Title III of the American with Disabilities Act Requirements (ADA). We will work directly with you to develop an accommodation that is unique and right for your child. The more time we have, the greater our options are for those accommodations. So we encourage you to contact us immediately if you believe your child will need a reasonable accommodation during travel.
  
  
• Your Privacy Matters: We only share student health information on a “need to know basis,” and our staff is certified in HIPAA laws. Although our organization not required to follow HIPAA standards (we don't provide medical services like a hospital), we still uphold confidentiality standards to protect our students' privacy. We believe this is the right thing to do.
  

Health Form Due Dates - Beat the Rush!
Health forms are due to your primary leader no later than January 15th of each year. Keep in mind, we collect thousands of health forms every year; the sooner we get your student’s health form, the sooner we can clear him/her for travel. That's why we always tell parents to submit the health form immediately after enrolling your child.

We're Here to Answer Your Questions
Any parent or guardian considering their child's travel adventure will have questions about health and safety. We on the medical team are standing by to address those questions and provide peace of mind.

Please feel free to contact us at any point during this process. We have Spanish speaking staff on the team, and translators within the organization that speak most any language. You can contact our team by phone toll-free at 1-800-669-7882 ext 7555 or email us at Medical.Team@PeopletoPeople.com.

Our team is here to serve you, to learn, to accommodate and to assist in offering the best travel opportunity for your child!

Warmly,


Wendy Armes
Supervisor of Health & Safety and the Medical Team