Some can't wait for restroom reform

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If rock stars can't access a restroom in downtown Minneapolis, what's the average person supposed to do?

Flea, renowned bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, shared on Twitter recently that he had a close encounter of the publicly humiliating kind while shopping in downtown Minneapolis before the band's recent show at U.S. Bank Stadium. Fortunately, after striking out at one cafe, a kind restaurant showed some compassion and allowed him access to its facilities.

Flea's predicament highlights a problem that is more than just an inconvenience for downtown visitors. For the nearly 1 in 100 Americans and an estimated 40,000 Minnesotans diagnosed with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, who may experience frequent urges multiple times a day, the lack of public restroom access is a deterrent to leaving their homes and engaging in daily activities.

Fortunately, due to the work of tireless patient advocates, Minnesota legislators passed the "Restroom Access Act" in 2007, which requires retail establishments to allow those with eligible medical conditions, like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom, to use an employee-only restroom during normal business hours, if a public restroom is not available and certain conditions are met.

For example, businesses can deny customers bathroom access if it is not safely accessible. And the law does not require establishments to make any physical changes to their employee-only restrooms.

But this law is clearly not enough. The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation recently launched the "We can't wait" app, which offers patients — and all app users — a simple way to locate publicly accessible restrooms. I checked the app to see what options Flea had. Unfortunately, minus the Target store where he encountered a line for the bathroom 10-deep, downtown Minneapolis is currently barren of accessible bathroom listings.

Fortunately, that can change. We encourage sympathetic establishments to list their businesses, and we urge those in the know about publicly accessible restrooms locations to submit them at bit.ly/RestroomApp.

Businesses can benefit from letting the public take care of business. A recent survey commissioned by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation found that:

As downtown Minneapolis works to lure visitors back, providing restroom access is an easy and cost-effective way to attract them, while also helping solve an urgent public health crisis. We hope business and civic leaders will heed the call so visitors have options when nature calls.

Amber L. Backhaus, of Minneapolis, is a volunteer for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, serving on the local chapter board and as chair-elect of the national board.