Let’s Talk About Access2Care

Non-emergency medical transit (NEMT) is a federal requirement of state Medicaid yet due to the privatization of Medicaid users are discouraged from utilizing the service as a “cost-saving” measure. Here’s what you need to know:

What is NEMT?

NEMT is a service that helps people with Medicaid get to and from their medical appointments, either through direct transportation or mileage reimbursement. According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, NEMT is for anyone who meets the state’s requirements for the service, from healthy individuals to people like Tucker, who is quadriplegic with a large wheelchair who cannot readily access public transit (and because Waterloo doesn’t believe in sidewalks).

Water Intoxication: Hyponatremia & Spinal Cord Injury

Oh no! Not dihydrogen monoxide!!!

When I was in middle school chemistry class our teacher thought he’d be a wise guy and tell us about this terrifying chemical called dihydrogen monoxide that could kill us by accidental inhalation, wipe out whole cities, or burn us in its gaseous state. After convincing a bunch of students that the chemical should be banned he revealed that it was water. A chemical none of us, or life as we know it, could live without. But too much of a good thing can be dangerous.

But water intoxication? Really?

Humans need to drink water every day to stay hydrated but it’s a balancing act with our body’s electrolytes, like sodium. If the blood becomes too diluted we can get very sick. “Water intoxication is a rare phenomenon that occurs due to an excessive intake of water, and when the amount of water intake exceeds that of water excretion in the kidney. As a result, the sodium concentration in the blood is diluted, and hyponatremia develops,” (Joo and Kim, 2013).

Hockey Game

By Aradia Wyndham, Nov. 19, 2018

Tucker’s cousin got a bunch of tickets for us to see a Black Hawks hockey game at Young’s Arena in Waterloo, Iowa. What followed was a lesson for our able-bodied friends in the daily hassles disabled people face with functionally inaccessible venues, inadequately trained staff, and inconsiderate members of the public.

Iowa Democratic Party Fall Gala

Tucker with Black Hawk County Democratic Chairwoman, Vikki Brown

By Aradia Wyndham, Oct. 7th, 2018

Tucker and his mom, Mickey Dunn, were invited to the Iowa Democratic Party Fall Gala in Des Moines where New Jersey Senator Cory Booker did the keynote speech. Booker is considering a presidential candidacy in the 2020 election. You can watch his full speech here on C-span.

Debate: Rod “Special Needs” Blum Vs. Abby “Get Sh!t Done” Finkenauer

Jenn Wolff, Tucker Cassidy, and Eric Donat attended the debate along with other members of the Disability Caucus.

By Aradia Wyndham, Oct. 6th 2018

Tucker attended the first debate between the incumbent 1st Congressional Senator Rod Blum and Abby Finkenauer. To see the full debate, click here to watch it on KWWL. 

Last year, after Blum supported the repeal of the Affordable Healthcare Act he was confronted at a Town Hall meeting by an upset father of an epileptic child that relies on Medicaid for care. It wasn’t the first time voters let him know they were unhappy with his actions. Earlier in 2017, the audience at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, IA confronted him on his decision to support the repeal of ACA and restricting women’s reproductive rights.

AMA: Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week

Compiled by Aradia Wyndham,  Sept. 11th, 2018

A lot of people have questions about being quadriplegic but are afraid to ask because they don’t want to be rude or nosey. In honor of SPI awareness week, Tucker invited people on social media to ask him anything.

“Feel free to ask me anything you have wanted to know about my injury, or what I go through. If you’ve wondered it, ask it. I won’t take offense to any question, and will be completely honest. Please, ask away!” -Tucker