Beth McKelvie is actively seeking to increase awareness of and eliminate accessibility barriers in commercial establishments for people with disabilities.
“My hope and my prayer is that people will value people that are disabled and want them to come to their business,” she said.
In a wheelchair since an auto accident in 2019 left her with a spinal cord injury, she’s experienced those barriers firsthand. Before the accident, she was aware of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), but “not to the degree I am now.”
“When I was around 13 years old, I vividly remember walking behind my uncle as he pushed my quadriplegic aunt up the ramp at our church and him complaining that the ramp wasn’t built to the new ‘code’ from the ADA. That was my first exposure to a glimpse of how the ADA affected someone who used a wheelchair and their partner,” McKelvie explained.
“My grandparents also had some issues. My grandmother had a stroke that resulted in significant loss of sight, and my grandfather had significant hearing loss and also broke his hip. My mom hired a contractor to build a ramp to enter our home so they could use it when they came for Sunday dinners. The contractor explained about accessibility and the slope of the ramp. Eventually, my grandparents moved in with us.”
She and her family, which includes her husband Bill and their children, moved to the Lebanon area over four years ago.
“When we began our home search, we knew we may have to make improvements so that it would be accessible for me. It was quite a blessing that the home we found (in South Lebanon Township) was already accessible. The kitchen had lower countertops for wheelchair access, and the doorways in the house were wider,” McKelvie explained adding that the former owner was quadriplegic.
McKelvie works from home assisting people with filling out applications for SNAP benefits and healthcare coverage. She is grateful to be able to work from home since she can take breaks needed due to medical issues that stem from her spinal cord injury.
“I absolutely love my job. It has made me realize the vast need for government assistance to those who suffer, many times due to a combination of lack of income and/or medical issues,” she said.
“There is so much joy in playing a small role in potentially reducing my client’s anxiety when it comes to applying for benefits — whether they have recently lost their job, have just gotten out of prison and need to get back on their feet, have a temporary/permanent medical condition, or immigrated to the U.S. and need a translator while we fill out an application.”
The desire to help other people coupled with her firsthand experiences has sparked her interest in disability justice.
McKelvie said finding an accessible parking space when running errands can sometimes be challenging. After some research about accessible parking, she located a government organization, Disability Rights Pennsylvania, which has a team of attorneys dedicated to answering questions about disability law and assisting people with disabilities to get full and equal access to goods, services, programs, and facilities.
She’s studied the ADA, which protects people with disabilities from discrimination, and is in the process of acquiring the ADA Coordinator Certification. The ADA’s website (ada.gov) indicates “Disability rights are civil rights. From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life.”
“For me, there have been quite a few ‘successes.’ I had an issue with accessing the toilet at Oola Bowls, and after I spoke with staff there, the trash can was moved away from the toilet, and the issue was resolved,” McKelvie said.
She also worked with the owners of the Blue Bird Inn, Andrew and Richelle Arnold. “My husband and I enjoy the Blue Bird, but there were a few issues that they corrected once I spoke with them. They were very responsive,” McKelvie said.
Andrew Arnold characterized it as a good working relationship. “The restaurant is near retirement communities, so we definitely want to be accessible. I think we do a good job overall with accessibility, but in speaking with Beth, we realized there were things we could easily change to improve accessibility. Some things are not easily changed, and we’ll address them during a renovation; we want to take away any barriers we can when we do any construction,” he said.
Some of the changes at the Blue Bird included lowering the height of soap, napkin, and toilet paper dispensers in the restrooms, removing a chair that had partially blocked access to the restroom area, repositioning accessible parking space signage, and changing bases on dining tables to allow for more leg room.
Arnold also pointed out that over the years, the Blue Bird has increased the number of its accessible parking spaces; a few years ago, there were two, and now, there are five accessible spaces.
McKelvie said one of the hot topics for businesses is service dogs. “Recently, I went into Kohl’s and a small dog on an unlocked retractable leash lunged at my chair and legs and was barking and yipping as the owner tried to reel it back in like a fish; this was not a service dog. It was unruly and not controlled and could put customers and staff at risk of injury. When I spoke with the manager on duty, I was told the store had to allow dogs. But that’s not quite true,” she said.
McKelvie said emotional support animals are not service dogs. “The business can’t ask what a person’s disability is but, under the ADA, the business owner has the right to ask two questions: ‘Is your dog a service animal required because of a disability’ and ‘What task has the dog been trained to perform to support that disability,’” she explained.
McKelvie has also spoken with students at her children’s school, Cedar Crest Middle School, about issues people with disabilities may face. Kerrie Becker, a grade 6 Blue Aggies math and social studies teacher at Cedar Crest Middle School, said McKelvie has visited her team of sixth-graders several times.
“Mrs. McKelvie’s messages are thoughtful and invite students to consider, with empathy, how people with disabilities navigate public spaces. Students have expressed their gratitude in gaining awareness of how people with disabilities desire to participate and interact with others,” Becker said.
McKelvie has also been involved with medical students at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. She’s part of a group of wheelchair users that meet every other week via Zoom through Penn State Health.
“Members of the group were invited to be part of the patient experience program that pairs two to three first-year doctoral students with a ‘patient.’ As part of the intro into the patient/doctor relationship, they were tasked with asking questions, collecting data, and meeting with us through Zoom and in person, if possible. It was such a positive experience for the students and me that I wanted to get more involved,” she said.
That desire led her to a student who was passionate about patients with disabilities and was working on a major project called ADEPT-CARE, which would change the face of how 14,000+ employees at Penn State Health would work with patients with disabilities.
“I did a presentation on sexual health as it pertains to women with disabilities, and then from there acted in a short film project with professional actors in order to illustrate how health professionals can use ADEPT-CARE as they interact with their disabled patients,” she said. “On several occasions, I have been a guest speaker on their expert panel to speak on culturally responsive care as it relates to accessibility. So many opportunities and so grateful to Penn State in being at the forefront of inclusion.”
She hopes that both the middle school students and medical school students she’s spoken with will “use their power, privilege, and resources to help those with disabilities overcome obstacles so they can make it on their own.”
To learn more about ADEPT-CARE, click here.
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