2022 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Experiences in Healthcare Summit
Optimizing the Patient Experience
October 21, 2022
Join us for the 1st ever Deaf and Hard of Hearing Experiences in Healthcare Summit!
During this one-day virtual summit designed for healthcare professionals and administrators, you’ll be given tools, strategies and best practices to improve communication access, drive systemic change and, ultimately, improve the patient experience for Deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind and late-deafened individuals.
Conference Registration
Summit Agenda
Friday, October 21, 2022
| 8:45 – 9:00 AM (CT) | Welcome Session |
| 9:00 – 10:00 AM (CT) | Journey of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patient Experience Corey Axelrod, MBA and Crystal Kelley-Schwartz |
| 10:15 – 11:15 AM (CT) | Legal Landscape and its Impact on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals Andrés J. Gallegos, Esq. |
| 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (CT) | Achieving Excellence in Clinical Communication with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals Christopher Moreland, MD, MPH and Erica Dwyer, MD, PhD |
| 12:30 – 1:45 PM (CT) | Exhibit Hall / Lunch |
| 1:45 – 2:45 PM (CT) | Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Patient Experience Panel Moderator: Corey Axelrod, MBA Panelists: Korian “Koko" DeMont Thomas, MS, MPA; Chaitanya Manchanda; Maleni Chaitoo, BS; Mary Jane ‘MJ’ Grant, CI, CT, NIC |
| 3:00 – 4:00 PM (CT) | Driving Systemic Change that Benefits Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patients Carol Bradley, JD |
| 4:15 – 5:15 PM (CT) | Optimizing Language Services to Meet the Needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patients Shawn M. Norris, RID: ED K-12, NIC, CoreCHI |
| 5:15 – 5:30 PM (CT) | Wrap-up Session |
Meet our Presenters and Panelists
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Andrés J. Gallegos, Esq.
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Andrés J. Gallegos, Esq. is a shareholder at Robbins DiMonte, Ltd. in Chicago, Illinois, where he focuses his practice on disability rights and healthcare law. Andres is also the Chairman of the National Council on Disability. Andrés was recently elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association on Health & Disability. He is the immediate-past Chairman of the Board of Directors for Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, Chicago’s Center for Independent Living. Andrés is also a member of the Board of Directors of Disability Lead. Andrés is a former two-term member of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois, appointed by the Illinois governor in 2010. In 2015, Andrés was the recipient of the prestigious Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities.
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Carol Bradley, JD
(SHE/HER/HERS)
Ms. Carol Bradley is a subject matter expert in all aspects of disability laws, and regulations working with a broad range of disability access persons and issues. Ms. Bradley served as a member of the Access Board’s Medical Diagnostic Equipment Advisory Committee responsible for recommendations on national standards for medical equipment accessibility. She served as the Disability Access/504 Officer for a large California healthcare system; an ADA Coordinator for the City of Sacramento; and ran several disability non-profit organizations. She also spent a number of years in leadership of CIL and other non-profit agencies and an appointee to the State Independent Living Councils in both Indiana and California.
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Chaitanya Manchanda
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Chaitanya Manchanda (he/him/his) is a Cybersecurity Professional and Disability ERG Leader at Discover. Chaitanya is also an Accessibility evangelist involved in creating accessible employee experiences and aiding in the design of accessible products & services for customers. As a former 2017 Chicago ADA25 Fellow, Chaitanya is actively involved in spreading awareness, advocating for disability rights and representing the deaf/HOH community. Prior to joining Discover, Chaitanya was an active advocate in Accessibility & Inclusion at his alma mater University of Windsor, Canada. Chaitanya completed his education as a Computer Science major and is currently pursuing an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
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CHRISTOPHER MORELAND, MD, MPH, FACP, FHM
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Dr. Chris Moreland is an academic internal medicine physician and associate residency director at Dell Medical School at UT Austin. As a clinician educator and administrator, and as President of Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL), he supports and mentors current and future healthcare professionals, and has been highly engaged in interpreter education. His publications and presentations address health disparities, workforce diversity, and the education of interpreters as healthcare specialists.
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Corey Axelrod, MBA
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Corey Axelrod, MBA, is fourth generation Deaf, a passionate social justice advocate and social entrepreneur. As founder and CEO of 2axend, he helps organizations deliver user-centric experiences for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Corey currently serves as a member of the ASTM International F43.06 Subcommittee on Captioning Standards. Previously, he served as a member of the Northwest Community Hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council and as a three-term president of the Illinois Association of the Deaf. He also served as a member of the Village of Arlington Heights’ Commission for Citizens with Disabilities, Illinois School for the Deaf Advisory Council and Chicago Hearing Society Advisory Council.
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Crystal Kelley-Schwartz
(SHE/HER/HERS)
Crystal Kelley-Schwartz is a national speaker and consultant working with a variety of agencies, schools and organizations regarding solutions toward equity and communication barriers. She promotes and shares tools on achieving collaborations effectively and has made it her mission to continue to promote that collaborative success through effective restoration- in spite of bias or oppression that is often experienced when it comes to marginalization-indeed works. When she is not working or spending time with her family, she is volunteering for organizations, including the National Association of the Deaf, National Black Deaf Advocates, Texas Association of the Deaf, and Dallas Black Deaf Advocates.
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ERICA DWYER, MD, PHD
(SHE/HER/HERS)
Dr. Erica Dwyer is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a hospitalist at Cambridge Health Alliance in MA, where she also is Associate Medical Director of Informatics and Vice Chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). She received her medical degree and her PhD in History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Dwyer has hearing loss and practices with the help of assistive technology and spatial rearrangements. She has been a board member of the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL) and spoke publicly about her hearing loss for NPR and the #DocsWithDisabilities campaign.
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Maleni Chaitoo, BS
(SHE/HER/HERS)
Maleni Chaitoo’s professional prowess in the fields of Business, Education and Performing Arts are fueled by her versatile skill set, interests, experiences and passions followed. She has worked in the following industries: fashion, art galleries, film, television, digital marketing/advertising, video relay services, as well as education. Her adept creative endeavors include sign language lecture tours in museums of fine arts, and performances in numerous plays, dance productions, TV/films, and commercials.
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Mary Jane ‘MJ’ Grant, CI, CT, NIC
(SHE/HER/HERS)
Mary Jane 'MJ' Grant was born and raised by two Deaf parents. As a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), MJ Grant is a native user of American Sign Language (ASL) and a proud member of Maine’s Deaf community. MJ’s intuitive nature led her to a career as a professional sign language interpreter. She has worked with Deaf communities across the U.S. and has taught interpreting at the University of Southern Maine. In 2010, MJ Grant extended her professional reach within the Deaf community when she established Mary Jane Grant Sign Language Interpreting Services. In recent years, MJ walked alongside her father, who passed away in 2019, after his battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Currently, MJ is navigating care for her mother, who is living with dementia and living in a memory care home.
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Korian "Koko" DeMont Thomas, BSW, MPA
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Korian "Koko" DeMont Thomas was born and raised in Dallas, TX, and identifies as Black DeafBlind. Koko currently works for the Oregon Health Authority and previously for the LightHouse for the DeafBlind. Koko earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree specializing in HIV education and a Master of Public Administration, both from Gallaudet University, and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of North Texas. He has been an advocate of the DeafBlind community for more than 20 years.
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SHAWN M. NORRIS, RID: ED K-12, NIC, CoreCHI
(HE/HIM/HIS)
Shawn Norris currently works at Flagler Health+ in St. Augustine, Florida as the Coordinator of Interpreting Services, Section 1557 and ADA Coordinator, and ASL Interpreter. He created the Interpreting Services program and provided a more robust service to the community. Due to being raised by Deaf parents, Shawn has close ties to the local Deaf community and serves as an advocate and volunteer. He spends time mentoring new interpreters both at work and as a volunteer. Shawn has been working in the interpreting field for over a decade, serving as an interpreter and manager for several companies and government agencies. Previously, he established a local agency that provided interpreting services in ASL and Spanish.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
All sessions will be accessible via Zoom. All details will be provided to participants as we get closer to the summit.
$199 – this will include access to all sessions and virtual exhibit booths, as well as opportunities to interact with conference attendees via our conference app.
No, this summit will not be recorded.
Sign language interpretation and real-time captioning will be provided.
Additional reasonable accommodations may be requested by emailing info@2axend.com.
Our Wonderful Sponsors
Ascending Sponsors
Contributing Sponsors
Participating Sponsors
RID CEU Sponsor
Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre, Inc. is an Approved RID CMP Sponsor for Continuing Education Activities. This General Studies and Professional Studies program is offered for .6 CEU's at the ‘Some’ Content Knowledge Level.
