The Health Care Advocacy Program began in 2006 with support from the Colorado Health Foundation. At the ground level, the program provides adults with developmental or intellectual disabilities with direct advocacy support to improve access to quality health care supports and services. AdvocacyDenver recognizes the overlapping effect of health care needs, poverty, and needs (housing, education, etc) that each individual is entitled an opportunity to receive. Trends in needs identified at this level help drive research conducted and archived in a relational database that identifies common themes in inaccessibility to quality health care services and supports. Using these trends and through the review of documented solutions (on a local, state, national, and international scale), the program educates policy decision-makers on ways to improve services and policies in the best interest of individuals with disabilities and how to better communicate with these constituents.
Our Denver community offers a wealth of educational group offerings aimed at empowering individuals with tools to effectively manage chronic health care and prevent chronic conditions. The program recognizes this and is currently working with community educator groups to make their curriculum and teaching methods available to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Click here to learn more about these efforts towards inclusive chronic disease education.
