Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (Stanford Med ADIE)

SMADIE Celebrates National Disability Employee Awareness Month October 2025

Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion & Equite - SMADIE is ready for 2025 NDEAM!

In October 2025, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an annual recognition of the positive impact of people with disabilities in the American workforce. This yearly event began in 1945 as a weeklong national observance of the contributions of people with physical disabilities. In 1988, Congress designated the commemoration as NDEAM, which then evolved to acknowledge the importance of increasing opportunities for people with disabilities, including those with mental health conditions and other nonobvious disabilities, in the workforce.

In addition to this The Americans with Disability Act passed in July of 1990 is celebrating it's 35 anniversary in 2025. With the current culture change, people with disabilities seem to be fighting for even basic disability rights, once again learning we all see we cannot take our eye off this extremely topic. important topic

Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SMADIE)

What is SMADIE ?

SMADIE, Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity started as an Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Stanford Medicine, and its scope and mission now extend globally and well beyond the initial ERG.

Specific Mission Functions - MARCHE

Support and expand a mutual Mentorship program with individuals from all levels of healthcare training committed to fostering initiatives that enrich life-long excellence.
Leverage human-and digitally-driven institutional, governmental, and community partnerships to Advocate for long-term sustainable disability-inclusive structures.
Accelerate the discovery of transformational human-centered Research to advance inclusive institutional practices and significantly impact the lives of people with and without disabilities.
Invest and center Community to advance disability equity and visibility in medicine through educational, community-building, peer support, and networking initiatives and dialogues.
Design and support value-based Health equity initiatives that combat health inequities and improve access to personalized and seamless care and services for patients with disabilities.
Educate for sustainable change for patients with disabilities by developing accessible and practical resources to advance healthcare, medical education, and training.