UW’s Wyoming Institute for Disabilities Receives Funding for Health Care Education

The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND), part of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wyoming, has been awarded funding from the Working for Inclusive and Transformative Healthcare Foundation to support the development of an asynchronous course, followed by a virtual symposium, during summer 2026.

This initiative aims to build capacity among health care professionals to provide accessible, quality and culturally humble care for people with disabilities.

The virtual symposium will address legal obligations and responsibilities, the third competency from the core competencies on disability for health care education from the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education. The asynchronous course, delivered online and covered at the learners’ own pace, will address the first two competencies: contextual and conceptual frameworks, and professionalism and patient-centered care.

These activities will continue to build upon WIND’s Inclusive Health and Disability Virtual Symposium held in June 2024, with recordings in English and Spanish available upon request.

“WIND is very pleased to continue offering these professional learning opportunities,” says the institute’s director, Michelle Jarman. “Many health care professionals feel underprepared to fully support patients with disabilities, so participants have been very receptive to the curriculum and eager to integrate accessible and inclusive design into their practice.”

The mission of the Working for Inclusive and Transformative Healthcare Foundation is to promote the establishment of comprehensive health care for adults with developmental disabilities and is designed to address their unique and fundamental needs.

As part of this work, WIND will create an advisory committee of people with lived experience and content experts that will guide and inform this project. Students, faculty members or community partners interested in engaging in this work through the advisory committee are asked to email Tai Baker, senior program manager, at tai.baker@uwyo.edu or Emily Lube, senior project coordinator, at ekirsch2@uwyo.edu.

“As dean of the College of Health Sciences, I am proud to support the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities in advancing this important work,” Patrick Hardigan says. “Ensuring equitable and inclusive care for people with disabilities is central to our mission of improving health and well-being across Wyoming and beyond. By equipping health care professionals with the tools and knowledge to provide culturally humble, patient-centered care, we take a critical step toward addressing persistent disparities and building a more just health care system. I commend Dr. Jarman and the WIND team for their leadership and commitment to fostering this progress.”

This project is part of the community education and training initiatives led by Canyon Hardesty. WIND expresses thanks to Kara Enyeart for her support during the submission process.

To learn more about WIND, visit www.uwyo.edu/wind/index.html.

About UW’s College of Health Sciences

UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.

With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and frontier populations.