Paralympian Visits Jefferson to Discuss the Importance of Disability-Specific Training in Health Care
Athlete Emelia Perry highlights the need for accessible facilities and trained physicians.
On Feb. 12, Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s division of internal medicine hosted a grand round and presentation for over 60 medical students, residents and faculty to discuss the importance of disability-specific care.
Along with a presentation from general internist Dr. Michael Stillman, Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s assistant dean of academic affairs, the grand round featured testimonies from people with various disabilities, including Emelia Perry. She won the wheelchair race at the 2022 Broad Street Run and competed in the paratriathlon in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
An avid runner before sustaining a spinal cord injury at age 24, Perry recounted the vast differences between how she approached her personal health care before and after becoming someone who uses a wheelchair.
“When someone with a mobility disability needs to see a doctor, the last thing they want to do is worry if the building or bathroom is accessible, but they have to,” she says. “If a person can’t feel their legs, like I can’t, they don’t have normal pain that would tell them or a doctor if something is wrong. They need physicians who understand that and can adapt their approach. They need doctors who will care about the problems they think they have.”
When someone with a mobility disability needs to see a doctor, the last thing they want to do is worry if the building or bathroom is accessible.
Perry feels fortunate she doesn’t have these concerns when she needs medical care through providers at Jefferson Health, where her appointments and exams are accessible.
“Dr. Stillman has been my doctor since my spinal cord injury, so I don’t have first-hand, difficult experiences,” she shares. “However, I’ve heard stories from other people with spinal cord injuries, and it’s very different from mine.”
Physical, cognitive, developmental and neurological disabilities impact over 40 million Americans, Dr. Stillman says. A disability requires specific expertise and training to address, but people with disabilities also need to see healthcare professionals for a litany of illnesses and injuries, from common colds to sprained ankles. Without the skillset to adapt and adjust their techniques to a patient’s needs, a clinician’s exam can be hindered and care negatively affected.
Sidney Kimmel Medical College addresses disability-specific care in medical education through a formal disability-specific track. Classes and programming offered at the medical school and residency level cover a variety of disabilities and their treatments and outcomes, Dr. Stillman says. This instruction improves patient care, enhances knowledge of available services and showcases universal design principles and accessibility within healthcare facilities—like the elements in Jefferson’s Honickman Center.