Celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month

To the Johns Hopkins Medicine community

Dear Colleagues,

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and we are delighted to use this opportunity to shine a light on our valued faculty members, trainees, staff members, patients and community partners living with a disability. Living with a physical or cognitive disability, hidden or visible, is common and affects all of us throughout our lifetime, directly and indirectly.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the varied and priceless contributions of workers with disabilities. In 1945, Congress passed a law that the first week of October would be National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. By 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month, recognizing a wide spectrum of physical and cognitive disabilities and changing the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

At Johns Hopkins, we appreciate our dedicated trainees and staff and faculty members who live with a disability and strive every day to promote the highest quality care, provide comfort to the patients we serve, and extend the Hopkins mission to communities locally and globally. We strive to focus on what people can do and offer all our employees a welcoming environment and the opportunity to realize their potential. We focus on what people can do and offer our staff members the opportunity to realize their potential.

To learn more about the history and meaning of NDEAM, we are pleased to release this information guide, which will undoubtedly increase your awareness of co-workers and trainees who have a disability. Importantly, this guide will review protections under the law and accommodations set to maximize the potential of all employees.

Throughout the month, we will feature in Employee Spotlight staff members at Johns Hopkins who are living with a disability and highlight valuable contributions they make.

Recognizing that a diverse workforce drives excellence and increases creativity and problem solving, the United States Department of Labor announced this year's theme for NDEAM as Inclusion Drives Innovation. We at Johns Hopkins believe inclusion pushes the boundaries of discovery, transforms health care, advances medical education and creates hope for humanity.

Sincerely,

James E. Page Jr., M.B.A.
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
Chief Diversity Officer
Johns Hopkins Medicine