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United Spinal Association

@unitedspinal

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We support and empower wheelchair users ♿️

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Rachel Miller, the founder of our new California chapter, is currently studying stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Southern California. She talks about why it is important for people with disabilities to be represented in healthcare.

“When I’m working in the emergency department, half the time doctors will see me wheeling around going to patient rooms and they’ll think that I’m a patient and will tell me ‘hey you can’t be back here’. So it really clicked in my mind that there’s so much that people don’t understand about people with disabilities and that inspired me to show them I can do whatever I put my mind to.”

Email unitedspinalofla@gmail.com to get involved! Or find another chapter near you: unitedspinal.org/support/chapter-network by @unitedspinal

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3 days ago

‪Nancy Berg, a wheelchair user, and Diane Ulmer, an occupational therapist, saw the need for connection and support for wheelchair users in Nebraska. So they teamed up.‬

‪“I had tried to start the chapter a couple of times and I was like, ‘oh, this is too much to do alone.’ Nancy was already trying to network people and collectively it felt like, ‘oh wow, this is bigger than me now. We both have the same vision, let’s do it. Let’s jump in,” says Ulmer, vice president of @unitedspinalne.

‪The chapter has over 150 members and counting. They recently secured a non-profit membership to the Kiewit Luminarium, an interactive arts and science museum in Omaha, which allows their members to visit for free in 2026.‬

‪While the chapter does a lot of events in Omaha and Lincoln, they aim to support people throughout Nebraska as well. “It gets more rural as you go west in Nebraska, so it’s hard for us to physically get there. We’re working to build up leadership out west so that those members can pull people in and host their own events with our support,” says Ulmer.‬

‪Ulmer and Berg recognize how far the chapter has come and are excited to keep growing it. “We have been busy,” says Ulmer. “I’m proud of us. We do a lot.”‬

‪Looking for community? Find a chapter near you — link in bio. by @unitedspinal

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11 days ago

“I became a paraplegic 40 years ago and I was out on an island, an information island, a civil rights island, I knew nothing. I needed an organization like United Spinal to help me make my quality of life better,” says Carmen Jones, United Spinal board member, after attending the Chapter Leadership Meeting.

“I’m invigorated by the work of the chapters. The board of directors is committed to supporting the chapters at a national level so they can reach and serve more people.”

Get involved with a chapter near you: https://unitedspinal.org/support/chapter-network/ by @unitedspinal

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16 days ago

For a decade, wheelchair users on Medicare who wanted a titanium or carbon fiber frame have had to cover the entire cost themselves.

That’s changing. On Sept. 30, the Senate passed the Choices for Increased Mobility Act (H.R. 1703). It cleared the House in July, and now it heads to the president’s desk.

Once it becomes law, Medicare must create separate billing codes for carbon fiber and titanium frames by Jan. 1, 2028, so you pay only the difference for an ultralight frame. It costs taxpayers nothing.

This happened because of you. Advocates carried this bill into congressional offices at Roll on Capitol Hill, then kept the pressure on with messages to their senators.

Thank you to Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., for leading the way.

We’ll keep you posted as the bill is signed and as Medicare builds the new codes. Follow along for updates. And in the meantime, join our Grassroots Advocacy Network to continue the momentum — link in bio. ‪"WE WON!" "HOUSE: PASSED" and "SENATE: PASSED," each followed by a check mark, and a navy pill reads "H.R. 1703." Two ultralightweight manual wheelchairs sit side by side: on the left, a black carbon fiber chair with bright blue handrims and accents; on the right, a brushed titanium chair with copper-orange rims and hubs.‬ by @unitedspinal

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17 days ago

Take Action to Support the Bipartisan House Resolution Reaffirming the Right of Disabled People to Live in Their Communities

- Ask your legislators to cosponsor the resolution: https://bit.ly/4yp80Pb
- Read the resolution: https://bit.ly/3VjgJno
- Watch a short video about the resolution: https://bit.ly/4z5jKpZ

This week, a bipartisan House resolution was introduced in Congress affirming the right of disabled people to live in their homes and communities, not segregated in institutions. The Defend Community Integration Coalition (DCIC) applauds this introduction.

We thank Bipartisan Disability Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Debbie Dingell (D) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R) for leading and introducing H. Res. 1586, which affirms that the Olmstead decision reflects Congress's intent that people with disabilities should live and receive services in their communities. The resolution is also cosponsored by Representatives Kean (R), Lawler (R), Wilson (R), Scanlon (D), and Simon (D), showing strong bipartisan support for community integration, and reflecting its bipartisan history.

More than 27 years ago, the Supreme Court held in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis that the unjustified isolation of people with disabilities is discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That ruling did not come out of nowhere.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4d8qTNQ by @unitedspinal

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19 days ago

Our chapter leaders from near and far got together this weekend to create connections, explore new ideas & learn from one another. Thank you to Lakeshore Foundation for hosting and for the generous support of our sponsors!

Learn more about our chapter network — link in bio. by @unitedspinal

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20 days ago

That’s a wrap on our 2026 Chapter Leadership Meeting! For the first time in a while, United Spinal chapter leaders from across the country were together in one room, and we plan to keep doing it.

Over two days, leaders swapped ideas and resources, worked on how the national organization and our chapters can support each other, and learned about adaptive fitness and recreation at Lakeshore Foundation’s world-class facility.

Thank you to @lakeshorefoundation for hosting us and partnering with us to bring more resources and programming to our chapters. Thank you to the United Spinal staff and our sponsors who made the meeting happen. And thank you to our chapter leaders who traveled across the country to join us and for their endless commitment to wheelchair users in their communities. taken in Lakeshore Foundation by @unitedspinal

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22 days ago

Yesterday, a federal judge in Texas v. Kennedy threw out the community integration provisions of the 2024 Section 504 rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The order applies nationwide.

Here's what that means for wheelchair users and people with disabilities: Your right to live in your own home and community still stands. Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision are still the law. What's gone is the federal government's clear direction to states that services should support people in community settings whenever appropriate.

That puts the pressure on governors, attorneys general and state legislatures. United Spinal Association and the rest of the Defend Community Integration Coalition are calling on governors, attorneys general and state legislatures to recognize that this order runs against decades of established law, and on legislatures to write the right to live in the community into state law.

We will not go back.

Full statement at: https://unitedspinal.org/texas-kennedy-statement/ by @unitedspinal

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24 days ago

One of the most-asked questions in the spinal cord injury community is “What’s the best advice you wish someone had given you when you were injured?” New Mobility writers have been answering this question since the magazine’s founding in 1989. As we celebrate SCI Awareness Month, we thought it would be fun to dig through the archive and highlight some of the most memorable answers and advice shared in our stories.

‪Swipe to see some of the top answers to this question and see the full list — link in bio.‬ by @unitedspinal

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“United Spinal continues to drive the vision and mission set forth by four veterans 80 years ago. We want to make sure that all community members have the opportunity and support to define their own lives no matter what challenges they face,” says Matt Castelluccio, CEO of United Spinal Association, in recognition of the organization’s 80th anniversary.

We went back to our roots in New York City on Thursday and celebrated the legacy of United Spinal alongside staff, members and supporters. Wandercraft also showed a glimpse into the future and unveiled their new exoskeleton, Eve.

Please help us to continue to our mission for the years to come: unitedspinal.org/support-our-mission/ taken in New York City by @unitedspinal

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Right now, there are zero wheelchair securement systems that a rider can operate alone in a bus, rideshare or autonomous vehicle. Getting secured still means someone else kneeling on the floor with four straps and a lot of waiting.

This Friday, United Spinal’s SecureRide Coalition is bringing an alternative to the first U.S. Department of Transportation Roadway Safety Innovation Expo in Washington, D.C. Our partners at Physical Sciences Inc. and Tool Inc. will run a live demo of automated wheelchair securement that lets a rider dock without a driver’s help.

The goal is one docking standard for paratransit, buses, trains and autonomous vehicles alike, so wheelchair users can lock in independently, on whatever form of transit they choose.

Our demo is one of about 40 exhibits chosen to show DOT what safer roads look like. If you’re in D.C., come see it. Friday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, USDOT Headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE.

Register is required — link in bio & learn more about SecureRide’s work at unitedspinal.org/secureride by @unitedspinal

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Grand Central Terminal, 1948. Two years after a group of World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries founded what became United Spinal Association, they rolled into Manhattan to demand better care at the VA hospitals that were failing them.

For 80 years we’ve kept showing up. For better medical care, accessible buses and subways, building codes that let a wheelchair through the door. For the Americans with Disabilities Act, safer air travel and the newly injured person leaving rehab with no idea where to turn.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, we’re celebrating in Manhattan, and we’ll stream the whole night so you can be there from anywhere. You’ll hear the story from the members and advocates who lived it. Then you’ll see something no audience has seen: the first public stand-up of Eve, Wandercraft’s newly FDA-cleared personal exoskeleton.

Program starts at 6 p.m. ET. Register at the link in our bio and we’ll email you the livestream link. taken in New York, New York by @unitedspinal

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