Reframing workplace inclusion through the lens of universal design: Considerations for vocational rehabilitation professionals in the wake of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The experience of disability and of how work is conducted in the American economy is undergoing new shifts in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This unique space in time provides an opportunity to re-examine the importance of universal design (UD) as a way to respond to a workforce that is growing more diverse and living longer with disabilities. UD is a set of strategies that creates places and resources that are accessible to all and considers the needs and wants of people from the outset. Through the use of UD, work environments can be more accessible and useable to all employees. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the changes in the experience of disability within the context of COVID-19 and defines UD and UD for learning principles. We then consider how UD reduces stigma and reduces the need for individual accommodations while promoting inclusivity and improving productivity in the workplace. CONCLUSION: We offer strategies for embedding UD into vocational rehabilitation from pre-professional training to practice, all with a new sense of urgency and opportunity that is present as a result of COVID-19.

Acute coronary syndromes and COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and interventional cardiologists as well as other healthcare workers. The number of COVID-19 positive or suspected positive patients requiring hospital admission has overwhelmed many health systems and negatively affected standard of care for ACS patients in these countries. This manuscript aims to assist cardiologists in the invasive management of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Modified diagnostic and treatment algorithms, which have been developed in countries heavily beaten by this unpredictable challenge, are discussed as are various clinical scenarios and management algorithms for patients with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection presenting with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or non-ST elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). Further described topics include the need for re-organization of pre-hospital (STEMI networks) and in-hospital structures (emergency rooms and cardiac units), with examples coming from multiple European countries. Finally, this manuscript aims to help re-organizing of catheterization laboratory structures and personnel and to discuss measures for protection of healthcare providers involved with invasive procedures.