Trach Mommas of Louisiana

Guidance is available about the Screening for Urgency of Need, also known as the SUN.

The document explains how urgency is determined, how Medicaid State Plan services are considered and how to request a review or reconsideration.

Learn more and view the guidance here: https://conta.cc/4fWxvzs

Meet the team behind the smiles! 💙 As National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month comes to a close, we want you to meet the people who make our Craniofacial Center so special. We are the only full-service pediatric hospital in Louisiana and the Gulf South, and home to the largest team of fellowship-trained craniofacial surgeons in the region.

Our team brings together specialists in craniofacial pediatrics, plastic surgery, genetics, audiology, speech pathology, orthodontics, neurosurgery, and more — all working side by side to build one coordinated care plan for every child. This multidisciplinary team approach ensures that all healthcare providers work together to implement a single, coordinated treatment plan for each child. The plan is shared with the family, the child’s pediatrician and all other pertinent providers.

To this incredible team: thank you for showing up for our kids every single day!

Learn more about our Craniofacial Center at Manning Family Children's > https://bit.ly/4pKqfuI

✨ Prepared people are empowered people! ✨

Join us for Lafayette Parish's Disability Disaster Preparedness Workshop to learn practical emergency planning strategies, connect with local resources, and gain the knowledge you need to prepare before disasters happen.

📅 Saturday, August 29 @ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Robicheaux Recreation Center (1919 Eraste Landry Blvd, Lafayette, LA)
🔗 Register now: https://tinyurl.com/Lafayette082926

This FREE workshop is designed by and for people with disabilities and welcomes the disability community, older adults, caregivers, family members, service providers, and anyone interested in inclusive emergency preparedness.

Topics include:
✔️ Personal preparedness planning
✔️ Disability-specific considerations
✔️ Understanding weather reports
✔️ Sheltering and pets
✔️ Lafayette Parish resources
✔️ And more!

🍽️ Lunch will be provided while you explore community resource tables and connect with local organizations.

A huge thank you to ALL of the community partners, local agencies, presenters, and volunteers working together to help ensure everyone in Lafayette Parish is better prepared. 💙

🤝 Bossier Parish, let's build a more prepared community — together! 🤝

Join us for Bossier Parish's Disability Disaster Preparedness Workshop to learn practical tips and disability-specific strategies that can help you prepare, stay safe, and recover after disasters.

📅 Saturday, August 22 @ 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Bossier Central Library Complex (7204 Hutchison Dr, Bossier City, LA 71111)
🔗 Register today: tinyurl.com/Bossier082226

We'll cover:
✔️ Personal preparedness planning
✔️ Understanding weather reports
✔️ Sheltering and pets
✔️ Disability-specific considerations
✔️ Local Bossier Parish resources
✔️ And more!

🍽️ Lunch is included, along with opportunities to connect with local organizations and valuable community resources.

Whether you're a person with a disability, caregiver, family member, service provider, or emergency management partner, there's something for everyone.

A huge thank you to ALL of the community members, partner organizations, local agencies, and presenters helping coordinate this event and support a more prepared and connected Bossier Parish community. 💙

Justice Department Deems Major ADA Guidance 'Not Enforceable' The Trump administration is tossing aside key guidance that federal officials have used to steer enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act for more than a decade.

We’re officially on watch for Tropical Storm Bertha. Now is the time to review your emergency plans, gather essential supplies, and stay informed by checking guidance .

Take a few minutes today to:
• Charge your devices.
• Refill prescription medications.
• Stock up on water and nonperishable food.
• Review your hurricane kit and evacuation plan.
Preparing before conditions worsen can help keep you and your family safe.

🏠 FEMA Assistance Available for Survivors with Disabilities 🏠

If you live in Avoyelles, St. Landry, St. Tammany, or Terrebonne Parish and your home was damaged by Tropical Storm Arthur, FEMA may be able to help pay for accessibility improvements if you or someone in your household has a disability.

Examples of items that may be covered include:
✅ Exterior ramps
✅ Grab bars
✅ Paved paths from your vehicle to your home

To qualify, the accessibility item must:
✱ Be necessary to make the home safe and functional & meet the accessibility need.
✱ Not be covered by insurance or another funding source.

📲 Need to apply or learn more?
🔹 Apply online at disasterassistance.gov,
🔹 Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362,
🔹 Download the FEMA Mobile App, or
🔹 Find a nearby Disaster Recovery Center at FEMA.gov/DRC.

⏩ Watch FEMA's accessible application video — Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance: youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI

👉 For additional information about this disaster declaration, visit: fema.gov/disaster/4927

Please help us share this information with anyone who may benefit. 💙

A reminder for the people chatting nonsense about disabled people being a burden, a drain on society, or living some luxury lifestyle on benefits:

Disability can literally touch any family, at any time.
You can have a clean bill of health for years, work a manual job, never see a doctor and then, in an instant, everything changes.

It could be your child.
You.
Your partner.
Your parent.
Your sibling.
Your best friend.
And overnight, you may even need to become a carer.

A car accident
A stroke.
A progressive motor disease.
A cancer diagnosis.
A mental health crisis.
Long Covid.
A neurological condition.
A child born with needs no one expected.
A life that changes in one single phone call.

Disabled people are not “them.” They are us.

And the support systems that people are so quick to sneer at, are the exact same systems they may one day desperately need and rely on.

So maybe, before people mock disabled children, blame families, or act like support is some luxury lifestyle funded by taxpayers (it’s really not), they should stop and ask themselves:

Would I still think like this if it was my child?
Would I still think like this if it was my father?
Would I still call it “handouts” if it was my partner?
Would I still sneer at reasonable adjustments if I needed them in order to keep my job?
Would I still expect a carer to survive on pennies if that carer was me?
Would I still complain about support if it was the only thing keeping my family afloat?

Because the truth is, a decent society does not wait until disability lands at its own front door before it learns compassion