October 26, 2005

Extreme Makeover to be Honored during "Celebrating Persons with Disabilities"

An HHS press release lists honorees including:

* Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Los Angeles, Calif.), the award-winning
television show, for extraordinary contributions to educate America
about disabilities and to demonstrate how universal design
and
innovative home accommodations, the spirit of community involvement, and
corporate creativity can help persons with disabilities enjoy lives of
promise, purpose and value.

Even so, KSL Channel 5 in Salt Lake City reports, Few Homes Accommodate Physical Disabilities




WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Health and Human
Services and its Office on Disability will honor seven individuals and
organizations from across the country, who are working to empower people with
disabilities to lead lives of independence, promise and self-determination.
The third annual "Celebrating Persons with Disabilities" helps bring greater
national awareness of the abilities of persons with disabilities during
October's National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Department will present the Secretary's Highest Recognition Award to the honorees for
advancing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act and President
Bush's New Freedom Initiative to eliminate barriers that keep persons with
disabilities from participating fully in community life.

WHO: Alex Azar, HHS Deputy Secretary
Claude Allen, Director, Domestic Policy Office, White House
Dr. Richard Carmona, US Surgeon General
Dr. Margaret Giannini, Director, HHS Office on Disability

WHAT: HHS will recognize individuals and organizations for their work
with persons with disabilities.

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005
2:00 p.m.
*Media is advised to arrive at 1:45 p.m.

WHERE: Hubert H. Humphrey Building (Great Hall)
200 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C.

CONTACT: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

HONOREES:

* Governor Robert L. Ehrlich (Annapolis, Md.), Governor of the State of
Maryland, for establishing the first Cabinet-level State Department of
Disabilities in the nation and for advancing state policies and programs
that promote the importance, value and contributions of persons with
disabilities.

* Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Los Angeles, Calif.), the award-winning
television show, for extraordinary contributions to educate America
about disabilities and to demonstrate how universal design
and
innovative home accommodations, the spirit of community involvement, and
corporate creativity can help persons with disabilities enjoy lives of
promise, purpose and value.

* American Academy of Pediatrics (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), a professional
medical association focused on the health and wellness of children and
youth, for creating and implementing the Medical Home concept that
promotes accessible, continuous, integrated, family-centered primary
care services for children with special needs and their families.

* Deaf West Theatre (Los Angeles, Calif.), one of the premier innovators
in deaf theater, for its award-winning contributions to enrich the
cultural lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing actors and theater patrons
nationwide by bridging the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds
through theater.

* Jayne Greenberg, Ph.D. (Miami, Fla.), Executive Director of the Division
of Life Skills and Special Projects, Miami-Dade County Public Schools,
for pioneering work and partnership to implement throughout the Miami-
Dade school district the I Can Do It; You Can Do It program, a physical
fitness and well-being initiative for children and youth with
disabilities, enriching their health and wellness, and emphasizing the
strengths, abilities, and potential in every child.

* William Henderson, Jr., Ed.D (Dorchester, Mass.), Principal of the
award-winning Patrick O'Hearn School, for tireless effort as an educator
and a person with a disability to create a model of inclusion and
success for children with disabilities at O'Hearn Elementary School,
emphasizing the inherent value, contribution, and importance of persons
with disabilities in school and in later life as adults engaged in their
community.

* Sound Associates, Inc. (N.Y.), Tony award-winning sound company for
Broadway and beyond, for distinguished contributions that bring the
magic of live theater to persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind,
or with limited vision through the development and application of
assistive technologies.

Posted by rollingrains at October 26, 2005 03:39 PM