September 2011

1. Please join us at our next statewide meeting on Sept. 17 at the law offices of Chalgian & Tripp in East Lansing, 1019 Trowbridge Road (near the Trowbridge exit for I-496 and Route 127) and mark your calendars for our November 12 meeting at the same time and place. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Brittany Koziol at miqualitycare@yahoo.com or 616-570-2065.  

2. The Campaign needs a new webmaster! Can you help? The Campaign bids farewell to long time webmaster Tina Nasers as she and her family move to California.  Tina donated her time to create and maintain our website (campaignforqualitycare.org) and we are enormously grateful for her efforts.  In Tina’s absence, we need a webmaster who can keep the site updated (with help from our Board and Campaign counsel) and help us ensure it is useful, attractive, and represents the Campaign well.  The time commitment should not be especially burdensome.  If you think you can help us in this vital capacity, please contact Campaign secretary Carole Newburry at cjnewb@att.net .

 3. The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care annual conference comes to Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 25-28! –The Campaign is honored to welcome the National Consumer Voice (“Consumer Voice”) for Quality Long Term Care to Michigan for its 36^th annual meeting and conference.  This year's conference will be held at the Amway Grand (with special room rates of only $114/night) and will provide attendees with many valuable opportunities, including:

 

*       Networking with consumers, citizen advocacy groups and other advocates, family council members, ombudsmen, researchers, direct-care workers and others from all over the country who are committed to quality care;

*        Training and tools to assist in every-day advocacy efforts; and

*        Learning through expert presentations and key information to help you translate issues into action and action into better care.

You may attend the whole conference, only one day, one of the many conference events such as the intensive sessions at the beginning of the conference or the auction.  Individuals who reside in Michigan get a special conference rate and long term care consumers can attend for free.  If you wish to attend, please register now at https://www.theconsumervoice.org/conference or call The Consumer Voice at 202-332-2275.  The Campaign is pleased to sponsor the Consumer Voice conference and many long time Campaign members will attend and/or give presentations. We hope to see you there!!

4.  Campaign selects 2011 Nadene Mitcham Courage and Heart Award Winners— This award honors individuals whose determination and compassion have made a real difference in the lives of long term care consumers.  It is named for the Campaign’s former Statewide Chair, Nadene Mitcham, who was a tireless advocate for quality and a plain spoken and effective voice for consumers. This year’s awards will be presented at on Sept. 22 at the State Bar Elder Law and Disability Rights conference at Crystal Mountain Resort.  The recipients are:

 

▪ Peggy Brey- Peggy was nominated by several Campaign members.  She is a long time social worker with vast experience in long term care.  After a number of years working on quality issues at the Michigan Peer Review Organization (MPRO), Peggy came to state government to serve as the deputy director of the Office of Services to the Aging where she worked tirelessly to improve systems and programs designed to help older Michiganians.  While remaining Deputy Director, she also became Director of the Office of Long Term Care Supports and Services and managed a number of federal grants including the development of the Single Points of Entry/Long Term Care Connection and many other efforts to improve long term care services in the state and give consumers more choice and access to home and community based care.  She has been a fantastic advocate for the state Long Term Care Ombudsman program and MI Choice and a voice for consumers in the Medicaid program.  Peggy works behind the scenes with the heart of an advocate, the head of an administrator, an unshakeable focus on consumers, and the savvy and charm to overcome even the most challenging bureaucratic hurdles.

▪ Pamella S. Carlson – Pam was nominated by Paul and Barb VanWestrienen who met Pam when she was a CNA for 15 years at the Oceana County Medical Care Facility. During her tenure there, Pam trained new CNAs, developed team approaches to resident care, and advocated for both residents and staff. She also was instrumental in the formation of the Oceana Council MCF family council and a moving force behind annual fundraisers to benefit facility residents.  Pam has also worked with the Muskegon Hospice and is working to create an Organ Donor Center in Oceana County.  Barb and Paul wrote, “Pam is a very compassionate, caring, knowledgeable person who knows what needs to be done and how to get the job done.  Pam works tirelessly placing patients’ well being and decisions involved in their care foremost.  Her abilities in advocating for residents result in positive communication with the client, family members and other professional care givers.”

▪ Priscilla Cheever – Priscilla is a lawyer with a long history of advocacy for consumers.  She has served as an assistant state ombudsman for the past seven years and was nominated by State Ombudsman Sarah Slocum.  One of Priscilla’s most important duties is to be the state ombudsman’s point person for the Nursing Home Closure Team.  When long term care facilities are forced to close, Priscilla spends weeks in the field speaking with residents, family members, and staff to assure the best possible discharge plan for each resident and to ease the fears and trauma that often accompany a facility closure.  She provides critical information, comfort, and reassurance and makes sure the residents’ needs and preferences are honored.  Although Priscilla is a gentle voice with residents, she is a fearless bulldog and creative advocate in her efforts to meet resident needs and overcome bureaucratic barriers.  Priscilla also handles many other important tasks in the state ombudsman office to keep the program running smoothly.

Congratulations to all our award recipients!!

5. Thousands of Home Help consumers face termination of services—Beginning in October, approximately 10,000 Medicaid Home Help consumers will be notified after a face-to-face assessment by their adult services caseworker that they are no longer eligible for services.  Previously, financially eligible consumers who needed help with chore services like shopping, meal preparation, taking medicine, laundry, and housework could receive those services from a Home Help provider even if they did not also need help with personal care like bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, grooming, and moving from one place to another. According to the state’s new policy which the Campaign opposed, Home Help consumers will no longer be eligible for chore services unless they also require personal care.  Home Help consumers and their workers and loved ones should know the following key information:

►      No Home Help consumer should have chore services terminated if he or she also needs significant assistance with the personal care services listed above, even if those personal care services are provided by someone other than the Home Help provider.  For example, if a Home Help consumer gets the help she needs with bathing from her unpaid daughter, but gets chore services like shopping and laundry from a paid Home Help provider, she still needs personal care and should still be able to qualify for chore services through the Home Help program.

►      No services should be terminated before a face-to-face assessment by their caseworker.  These assessments should take place between October and April. During the assessment, the consumer will have an opportunity to tell their caseworker about all his or her needs.

►      If after a face-to-face assessment a caseworker determines that chore services should be discontinued, the consumer must receive a notice explaining the proposed termination and giving the consumer the right to appeal the decision and stop the termination of services until an administrative law judge can decide whether services should be continued.

►      Individuals who have questions about possible terminations or notices they receive can call Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service at 1-800-288-5923.  In addition, individuals who want to appeal a proposed termination can seek free assistance from their local legal services (“legal aid”) provider.

►      The Campaign is concerned that some Home Help consumers who lose their chore services might end up in nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, assisted living, and other institutional settings.  We are interested in hearing about these cases.  Please contact Campaign counsel Alison Hirschel at 517-394-2985 x 231 or hirschel@lsscm.org if you are aware of cases like this.

PLEASE KEEP THOSE DONATIONS COMING!— The Campaign thanks recent donors Nancy Turner, Ruth Michelhaugh, and a matching gift from the Pfizer Corporation to match a donation from Jean Schultz.  Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to Paul Van Westrienen, Treasurer, Michigan Campaign for Quality Care, 359 Park Ave., Parchment, MI 49004.  We’ll use every penny wisely and well in our no frills, all volunteer, grassroots campaign!