[nfb-talk] Medical feeding tube not accessible to a member

[Jerad Nylin]

Hello, my name is Jerad Nylin and I am the president of the Cedar Rapids
Iowa chapter.  We have a member who has a family member in the hospital who
is also blind.  The person in the hospital is on a feeding tube at this
time, and may need to be on it for a while, however the equipment that
distributes the food when needed is not accessible to the blind, as it is
touch screen, and has no auditory output to know when requests are input in
to the computer to start the feeding.  This is an issue, because the patient
may be able to get discharged from the hospital and go home while still on a
feeding tube, however there would not be a way for the patient or the family
member to read the screen to administer the feeding.  

I asked permission from the member if I could reach out to the listservs to
see if other federation members have ever had to deal with this.  Does
anyone know if there is a way or a machine that is accessible for the blind
to use on their own? The hospital social worker has never had this issue
come up, so they don't know how to help, but I beleave they would be open to
ideas to help this family out. If you have ideas, please email me at
jnylin92 at gmail.com or call me at (319)535-3723

 

Thank you so much

 

Sincerely, 

 

Jerad Nylin

President: Cedar Rapids Chapter, National Federation of the Blind of Iowa