Lawmaker fights for those with disabilities
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Wednesday, February 07, 2007
DES MOINES -- The Iowa Statehouse's winding staircases can prove difficult or even impossible to navigate for people with disabilities.
But new safety measures and evacuation procedures are in place after Rep. Mark Kuhn, D-Charles City, found himself temporarily in a wheelchair after a farm accident last year.
"That was very frightening going down those 110 stairs being carried by people who had never done that before," Kuhn said.
Kuhn's struggles last session helped highlight the problems for people with disabilities, and he has helped champion improvements. A farmer, Kuhn fell from a ladder inside a grain bin more than a year ago, rupturing the tendons in his knees. He underwent surgery, and no longer has to use a walker or wheelchair.
"For a man my age, I'm just fine," Kuhn said.
But despite his recovery, he hasn't left behind the cause. He now wears a lapel pin with the universal handicapped sign in support of the people he hopes to help.
"I have a whole new constituency," Kuhn said.
After Kuhn's experience, Capitol officials established "areas of refuge" inside the Capitol that help rescuers find people with disabilities who need help.
Five of the areas exist in the House, five in the Senate and one in the Statehouse Rotunda, where lobbyists gather and the public often holds rallies.
The areas of refuge are equipped with emergency buttons that send a call within seconds to a control panel inside the Capitol. The person with the disability can remain in contact with emergency personnel there after making the call.
If no one is at the Capitol to receive the call, it rolls over to the Iowa State Patrol post at Terrace Hill.
The new security upgrades cost $40,000 and have made the Capitol safer than what is required by law, officials say.
In the House, 18 people, including some legislators, have trained as part of the evacuation team to make sure everyone gets out safely.
Officials also have added evacuation chairs around the Capitol which help transport people down stairs when elevators cannot be used. New emergency evacuation maps have been posted as well.
"You can't go through any hallway now without finding an emergency evacuation plan telling you where you're at and how to get out of the building," Kuhn said.
Rik Shannon, policy manager for the Governor's Developmental Disabilities Council, said positive changes have been made at the Capitol in recent months. His agency heard complaints throughout the years about the difficulties of simply getting in and out of the building.
"I don't think that by and large people with disabilities had really thought about the nature of evacuation and some of the difficulties associated with it prior to Rep. Kuhn's problems," Shannon said.
The fact that Capitol officials went above and beyond the requirements demonstrates a good faith effort, Shannon said.
Kuhn is not the only lawmaker to experience the difficulties of the Capitol's many stairs.
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, also is finding challenges after returning to the Capitol with a broken leg she suffered after slipping on a patch of ice. She's using a wheelchair and crutches to get around.
"Rep. Kuhn's been amazingly helpful in helping me negotiate all of this," she said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
But new safety measures and evacuation procedures are in place after Rep. Mark Kuhn, D-Charles City, found himself temporarily in a wheelchair after a farm accident last year.
"That was very frightening going down those 110 stairs being carried by people who had never done that before," Kuhn said.
Kuhn's struggles last session helped highlight the problems for people with disabilities, and he has helped champion improvements. A farmer, Kuhn fell from a ladder inside a grain bin more than a year ago, rupturing the tendons in his knees. He underwent surgery, and no longer has to use a walker or wheelchair.
"For a man my age, I'm just fine," Kuhn said.
But despite his recovery, he hasn't left behind the cause. He now wears a lapel pin with the universal handicapped sign in support of the people he hopes to help.
"I have a whole new constituency," Kuhn said.
After Kuhn's experience, Capitol officials established "areas of refuge" inside the Capitol that help rescuers find people with disabilities who need help.
Five of the areas exist in the House, five in the Senate and one in the Statehouse Rotunda, where lobbyists gather and the public often holds rallies.
The areas of refuge are equipped with emergency buttons that send a call within seconds to a control panel inside the Capitol. The person with the disability can remain in contact with emergency personnel there after making the call.
If no one is at the Capitol to receive the call, it rolls over to the Iowa State Patrol post at Terrace Hill.
The new security upgrades cost $40,000 and have made the Capitol safer than what is required by law, officials say.
In the House, 18 people, including some legislators, have trained as part of the evacuation team to make sure everyone gets out safely.
Officials also have added evacuation chairs around the Capitol which help transport people down stairs when elevators cannot be used. New emergency evacuation maps have been posted as well.
"You can't go through any hallway now without finding an emergency evacuation plan telling you where you're at and how to get out of the building," Kuhn said.
Rik Shannon, policy manager for the Governor's Developmental Disabilities Council, said positive changes have been made at the Capitol in recent months. His agency heard complaints throughout the years about the difficulties of simply getting in and out of the building.
"I don't think that by and large people with disabilities had really thought about the nature of evacuation and some of the difficulties associated with it prior to Rep. Kuhn's problems," Shannon said.
The fact that Capitol officials went above and beyond the requirements demonstrates a good faith effort, Shannon said.
Kuhn is not the only lawmaker to experience the difficulties of the Capitol's many stairs.
Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, also is finding challenges after returning to the Capitol with a broken leg she suffered after slipping on a patch of ice. She's using a wheelchair and crutches to get around.
"Rep. Kuhn's been amazingly helpful in helping me negotiate all of this," she said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
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