Salem, Oregon – Bridges Oregon was selected by Oregon Community Foundation to produce training videos for healthcare providers and their support staff to learn about best practices, equity, and effective communication when caring for Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Oregonians. The funding included support from Jack R. and Mary B. Dant Special Disability Fund of Oregon Community Foundation. This project ends on August 13, 2023.

The organization is the only statewide linguistic and culturally-responsive nonprofit organization in Oregon to provide advocacy, education, and communication services to Oregonians who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing. Bridges Oregon is grateful to Don Bruland and John Curtis, who donated their services as the lead co-writers for the proposal.

The awarded grants will support the mission of Bridges Oregon in the following ways:

  • The project will 1) educate providers and their staff, and 2) empower Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing individuals in self-advocacy around healthcare and their rights.
  • Funding this training will produce recorded videos on various topics lead by national experts. For example:
    • Best Practices and Effective use of Assistive Technology in Healthcare
    • BIPOC and Deaf Intersectionality Experiences in Healthcare
    • Why Virtual Interpreting is not always the best solution
    • Section 1557 and ADA compliance in Healthcare settings
    • Redesigning and Reframing Healthcare for Patients with a Hearing Loss
    • Reframing Systemic Change in Healthcare
    • And many more.
  • The video will be accessible with ASL interpretation, captioning, and text transcript.

Chad A. Ludwig, Executive Director and founder of Bridges Oregon stated, “Many accessibility disparities within the healthcare industry were noted in Oregon’s Community-based Needs Assessment, which was published in 2016 by the Research and Resource Center with Deaf communities at Western Oregon University. We are excited to have this funding opportunity from Oregon Community Foundation to address these disparities by providing training to healthcare professionals. This will enhance the quality of services for the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities.”

About Bridges Oregon:

Bridges Oregon is a nonprofit for Oregonians who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing or face other communication barriers. It is in our mission to facilitate equity and inclusiveness and to provide a bridge to opportunities through advocacy, education, and communication.