Interview with MDPH's Rachel Tanenhaus: Making Accessibility a Priority at the 2013 Ounce of Prevention Conference (Part 1)

Rachel Tanenhaus

Thanks to the hard work of the Ounce of Prevention Accessibility Committee, this year’s conference is shaping up to be the most accessible one ever organized.  

We recently caught up with Rachel Tanenhaus, an active member of the Accessibility Committee and Program Coordinator at MDPH’s Health and Disability Program, which is part of the Office of Health Equity.

Tell us about some of the ways this year’s Ounce of Prevention Conference will be more accessible than past conferences.

I think the whole approach is different. We've got the Ounce of Prevention Accessibility Committee working on every aspect of the conference from the word go, so that's a huge change. We're also going to be providing accessible transportation from a nearby public transit station, since Marlborough is a little hard to get to for folks who don't drive. The conference will integrate accessibility features ranging from a quiet room for folks on the autism spectrum or with sensory processing issues, to reserved seating at the keynote and in breakout rooms for people who need to sit up front, to accessible formats for all printed conference materials. As the event gets closer, we'll educate venue staff and conference volunteers on disability etiquette, and we'll be asking presenters to observe certain guidelines in order to enable everyone to enjoy their presentations.