Merck Partners with eSSENTIAL Accessibility to offer app for people with disabilities

Global healthcare leader now offers a free app that makes it easier for people with disabilities to browse its websites

TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - eSSENTIAL Accessibility is proud to announce its partnership with Merck, the global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Through the partnership, Merck now offers a desktop app that empowers people with physical disabilities to access merck.com and merckengage.com. People who cannot browse the web using conventional methods due to conditions such as arthritis, paralysis or amputation, can use this app to browse completely hands free using tools like motion technology and voice-activated navigation.

The eSSENTIAL Accessibility app™ provides a suite of keyboard and mous3e replacement solutions, among other tools, designed to help people with physical, reading and age-related disabilities get online. The app is free of charge to the end-user and can be downloaded by clicking the blue wheelchair and keyboard symbol located on merck.com and merckengage.com. Once downloaded, the app can be used on any website.

Visitors who click on the icon are directed to a special Merck landing page. Here, they can download the app, access MerckEngage for online resources for healthy living, view job opportunities within the company, learn about Merck's global diversity and inclusion practices and programs, and access the Merck Manual for Pet Health, which offers readers information on animal-assisted therapy and service animals for people who are differently abled.

"We are pleased to join this important coalition of organizations that are working together to empower people with different abilities by making inclusivity the norm," says David L. Gonzales, chief diversity officer, Merck.

"Merck has recognized, from the get-go, the importance of being a diverse and inclusive organization," says Simon Dermer, Managing Director of eSSENTIAL Accessibility. "From developing products that serve people with disabilities, to offering their employees with disabilities the outstanding Workplace EnABLEment program, to their community giving efforts and their partnerships with organizations that promote thought leadership on diversity, Merck truly sets the bar. We are proud to have them join the coalition and we look forward to working together to help take their inclusivity efforts to the next level."

On November 11, former Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Merck, Deborah Dagit, will be joining eSSENTIAL Accessibility at the much-anticipated anticipated 2014 ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference. For the first time ever, the three day conference will highlight people with disabilities as perhaps the last hidden demographic and explore how organizations and brands are creating economic and social value by tailoring their information and offerings for people with disabilities. Drawing on her extensive experience at Merck and as a pioneer in the diversity and inclusion realm, Deborah will share with attendees how weaving a people with disabilities message into brand experiences engages at a basic, powerful, emotional level to adapt to the changing demands of this consumer segment.

About eSSENTIAL Accessibility:
eSSENTIAL Accessibility helps organizations build loyalty with people with disabilities. We offer our partners an assistive technology app that enables people with disabilities to interact with their brand online, and execute marketing communications campaigns that support customer service, diversity and inclusion efforts.  By joining our growing coalition, leading organizations from around the world are reinforcing a disability-friendly brand presence and creating sustainable business and social value by engaging and serving this overlooked market. For more information, please visit essentialaccessibility.com, follow us on Twitter, or connect with us on LinkedIn. 

SOURCE eSSENTIAL Accessibility

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