Concepts of Independence, Inc.

09/09/2021

Attention Concepts of Independence, Inc. Consumers & Personal Assistants. During the pandemic the NYS Department of Health temporarily suspended the requirement that PAs have an annual health assessment. However, the suspension of the health assessment has been removed and EVERY PA MUST HAVE THEIR ANNUAL PHYSICAL by September 30, 2021. Please use the link below to schedule your annual physical ASAP.

Please click the link to complete this form.

08/13/2021

New York State Department of Health (DOH) requires that Personal Assistants must have an annual health assessment and be tested and/or screened for tuberculosis, in order to remain an active worker. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NYS DOH had temporarily suspended this rule but has now reinstated this requirement.

The purpose of this notice is to inform Consumers and Personal Assistants (PAs) that they will now be required to have their health assessment in order to continue to work. NYS DOH is only giving to the end of September 2021 to have all PAs exams fully complete or they will be suspended until such annual exam is obtained. We recommend that your PA contact us immediately to schedule an appointment. We have set up special phone extensions and an email address for your PA to reach us, along with an expanded unit to make appointments.

All PAs across the state should call 212-293-9999 - Extension: 1001 (English) - Extension: 1002 (Spanish) in order to make an appointment. Or they can email: scheduleexam@coiny.org to schedule an appointment.

08/12/2021

Attention Consumers and Personal Assistants: recently the NYS Department of Health reinstated the requirement for an annual physical, which had been suspended during the pandemic. Before the end of September, all Personal Assistants must have their annual physicals up to date. Don't wait until the last minute to schedule your appointment for the annual physical.

04/09/2021

New York City’s vaccine rollout makes an effort, but sometimes falls short of meeting the needs of people with disabilities

03/19/2021

This column about the healthcare economy is very interesting. The description of the importance and size of the healthcare labor force is spot on. For far too long, we as a society have not taken this issue seriously or planned accordingly. This inattention to the importance of healthcare, partly explains the death toll in nursing homes and other congregate care settings.

Here in New York state there is a campaign to address part of this unbalanced healthcare labor force economy called , which is making progress up in Albany.

Health care workers are crucial to our society, yet we reward them with low wages and dangerous conditions.

02/26/2021

The budget season is heating up and this Monday there will be a virtual rally in support of changes to in order to . Not if, but when these changes are adopted, it will promote the campaign.

01/10/2021

For both consumers and Personal Assistants taking the Covid vaccination is an important step towards getting through this pandemic. For folks in NYC, the link below provides information about where to get the vaccine in New York City.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-locations.page

03/25/2020

For New Yorkers with significant disabilities, the link below provides important information about visitors and hospitals during the coronavirus situation. In summary, visitors are permitted if they are medically necessary and meet the clearance criteria.

03/21/2020

Personal Assistants are a vital part of the healthcare delivery system!

01/08/2020

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is declaring war on disabled New Yorkers.