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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIDD Provider Meeting Minutes 02-18-22Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Provider Meeting Friday, February 18, 2022 MEETING MINUTES Welcome & Introductions This meeting was held via Google Meet. Marion Rowe confirmed which providers were present prior to the beginning of the meeting. Marion Rowe  Incident Management & Adult Protective Services (APS) Updates The APS media rollout toolkit was included with the handouts that were sent out with the agenda. The APS information can be shared with staff, posted in homes, and hung up in provider facilities. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) sent an announcement with information about accessing the media toolkit. Providers should reach out to Marion if they did not receive the ODP announcement. The information is very helpful when deciding what should be reported or who it should be reported to with APS. The APS requirements for mandated reporters were also included in the handouts sent with the meeting agenda. The handout goes over all the information needed when submitting a report to APS. An incident report is required whenever reporting information to APS. Providers can contact the Administrative Entity (AE) if unsure of who should be entering information for the incident report. The AE can facilitate who will be entering the report in Enterprise Incident Management (EIM). The Department of Human Services (DHS) website has a list of trainings and webinars on APS. Providers could sign up for the certified investigation forums through MyODP under the certified investigations tab. The forums are presented as Q&A sessions for investigators. The forums go over the investigation process, expectations, and peer reviews. There are two (2) sessions offered per forum. There is a morning session and an afternoon session. The information discussed is different per session. Temple University is still participating in peer reviews. Temple University is requesting to review investigations from providers as part of their peer review process. The investigations are reviewed for educational purposes and to provide feedback to investigators about their process. Providers may receive an email from Temple University to request a peer review. Providers can reach out to Temple University if they have any questions about investigations or to request a peer review. The County peer reviews a sample of each county investigator. It is generally 10% of investigations that are reviewed for the given timeframe. o Jessica Coons with Family Care Services (FCS) asked for clarification about how long it takes to hear back from Temple University after submitting the requested information for a peer review. FCS received a request for information for two (2) incidents. The email insinuated that peer reviews were being conducted to offer guidance to providers due to the changes/updates implemented in July. Marion did not know how long it was taking Temple University to respond after completing the peer IDD Provider Meeting review. Jessica will inform Marion of the timeframe and feedback when a response is received from Temple University. A question in the first section of the incident management report relates to the notification of protective services. The question of whether or not the protective agency was contacted is throwing individuals off when completing the report. ODP interprets the answer no as an agency should have been contacted but the individual filing the report did not contact the protective agency. The correct response is N/A if a protective agency does not need to be contacted.  ODP COVID-19 Updates Marion sends emails to providers as the information is updated by ODP. The updates change regularly based on who is completing the regional review. Marion reached out to ODP for clarification on the information regarding the expectations for COVID related reports. ODP responded that the information provided for COVID related reports was accurate. A report has to be entered if the individual has symptoms related to COVID but not related to a vaccination. If the individual has no symptoms but tests positive, the incident gets filed. An incident report is not filed if the individual tests negative and has no symptoms. ODP requires the vaccination brand and date of vaccination to be included in the first section of a COVID related incident report. The report must include booster shot information, preventive measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID, and the COVID test results. Incidents can be deleted and undeleted in the system if needed. Lori Young  Provider Qualifications Update Provider qualifications for providers with a national provider identifier (NPI) number ending in three (3), four (4), or five (5) will be due this year.  Regional Collaborative Virtual Kick Off - February 22, 2022 The regional collaborative meetings did not take place for two (2) years due to COVID. ODP has requested that the regional collaborative restart using the supporting families and life course tools. Provider staff members that took part in the regional collaborative should have received an email from Lori unless they are no longer with the organization. Lori reached out to a different provider staff member if she was aware they were no longer with the organization. The Regional Collaborative Virtual Kick Off is scheduled for February 22, 2022. The values and principles of the life course tools will be discussed at the event. Regional collaborative members will discuss what has been done in the past and what the plan is going forward. Providers who did not receive the link can reach out to Lori to have it resent to them. All members should respond to Lori and let her know if they are still interested in being part of the regional collaborative. IDD Provider Meeting Jane Cline  ODP Inquiry/Polk Center Referral Jane sent an email to residential providers on November 4, 2021 about an individual at the Polk Center who does not reside in Franklin or Fulton Counties. ODP reached out to IDD providers about finding the individual a residential facility in Franklin or Fulton Counties to be closer to family in Cascade, MD. Residential providers should review the documentation sent by Jane to determine if they would be willing to support the individual transitioning out of the Polk Center. The documentation includes the physical, Essential Lifestyle Plan (ELP), Individual Support Plan (ISP), and the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS). Jane will resend the information to providers. o Shelly Rosenberry with PA Mentor reviewed the information but does not have the staffing to support the individual. o Jessica Coons with Family Care Services requested the information about the individual be sent directly to her.  ODP Rate Increase Announcement An ODP announcement was released yesterday regarding rate increases for all services except community participation supports (CPS) and transportation. The CPS and transportation rates increased in August of 2021. The rates will be added into HCSIS on March 1, 2022. Providers should only submit billing up to February 28, 2022. This will prevent services being billed at the old rate going into March. Providers should submit billing with the new rate starting March 1, 2022 or payment will be based on the old lower rate. The units will be split 66% by 33% for the rate increase. A total of 66% will be utilized from July 1, 2021 through February 28, 2022. The remaining 33% will be utilized from March 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. Providers should make sure they will have enough units based on the split to make it to June 30, 2022. The caps are increasing for the Person/Family Directed Support (PFDS) and Community Living waivers. Jane reviewed companion services with the rate and PFDS cap increases. Based on the review, providers will not be getting an increase in additional services. There would be an additional 79 units based on the review of just the companion services.  Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) Surveys Residential providers may be contacted by the Mental Health Association (MHA) about IM4Q surveys for group home individuals. Providers need to make sure they call MHA back to schedule the surveys for individuals interested in participating. Shanna Golden and Matt Yingling  Supports Coordination Organization (SCO) Updates/Refresher Laekhan Hull started as the twelfth supports coordinator at the beginning of January. Staffing shortages continue to be an ongoing issue. IDD Provider Meeting Katie Freeman  Health Care Quality Unit (HCQU) Updates The spring training syllabus has been published for April, May, and June. A webinar on assistive technology is scheduled for March 1, 2022 from 1:00 P.M. to 2:30 P.M. The webinar will cover more than just communication devices. The webinar will include two (2) individuals from TechOWL who will go over different available assistive technology options. Providers can email Katie to request the link for the webinar if they are interested in attending. The web based training topics are in the process of being updated. Providers should notice changes to the website over the next couple of weeks. New topics are being added and old topics are being removed from the website. ODP and the HCQU are still working on the pressure injury project. There were forty (40) cases of pressure injury claims received that were filed between October of 2019 and September of 2021. Only four (4) of the claims received were for Franklin and Fulton Counties. The HCQU will be reaching out to the providers and supports coordinators involved in the four (4) cases to gather as much information as possible for ODP. Information will be provided about the four (4) cases once the reviews have been completed. Reports  Friendly reminders of due dates for our Base funded providers (See Procedure Statement MHIDDEI-416) o February 15th – Quarterly Report of Expenditures (October – December) o March 31st – Appendix A and Budget Packets (for upcoming fiscal year) o May 15th – Quarterly Report of Expenditures (January – March) If you have any fiscal questions, please contact Ashley McCartney (almccartney@franklincountypa.gov). Round Table/Provider Updates  Merakey – Teresa McNally Merakey is struggling with staffing issues to support individuals. A few new hires have been added to the staff but more are needed. Merakey is looking for general technology training for their staff. Teresa wanted to know if the HCQU provided technology trainings. Katie Freeman stated this is not something that the HCQU generally offers and wasn’t sure if TechOWL offers this type of training. The new Merakey hires are having difficulties logging on to their laptops. Merakey is also looking for time management training for new hires. o Marion mentioned the ODP trainings that were being offered to families who are struggling with technology. Marion wasn’t sure if ODP was working on trainings that would benefit provider staff. She will send providers information about trainings that may benefit their staff. There are some professional level training tools that require payment. IDD Provider Meeting o Stacey Brookens will share any relevant training information with providers. Links to possible training options will be included in the email with the meeting minutes.  Mental Health Association (MHA) – Nikki Wilkerson MHA is hosting a job fair on Friday, February 25, 2022 from 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M for current vacancies. MHA is asking providers who work with mental health and intellectual/developmental disabilities to participate in a survey through the Minnesota Project. MHA has partnered with the ARC of Franklin and Fulton Counties and Occupational Services, Inc. (OSI) on this project. Survey participants will receive a $10 gift card and can receive up to three (3) $10 gift cards for participating. Providers can reach out to Nikki for more information about participating in the surveys. o Jessica Coons stated they are waiting on releases for a couple of Family Care Services individuals that will be participating.  SafeinHome – Linda Knecht There are new videos available from SafeinHome. Linda is happy to share the link with any interested providers. SafeinHome is a great supplement but not a replacement for direct support professionals (DSP). Linda is happy to provide a Q&A for any interested providers. A link to a SafeinHome video will be included in the email with the minutes.  Occupational Services, Inc. (OSI) – Gabby Snider Referrals are being accepted for all OSI programs. There are a number of vacancies that still need to be filled. OSI is currently hiring for a training supervisor, vocational job coaches, and production team members. Michelle Lane, OSI’s Executive Director, will be participating in a 103.7 radio interview at 8:50 A.M. on February 19, 2022. Michelle will be discussing the 14(c) certificate.  Tender Hearted Services – Rochelle Mays Tender Hearted Services is still trying to hire staff and fill additional evening shifts. There have been requests from clients for additional service hours. There have been a couple of new hires but two (2) to three (3) direct care spots still need to be filled. The current staff is doing a great job picking up additional shifts to make sure there are no gaps in coverage.  PA Mentor – Shelly Rosenberry PA Mentor is still trying to hire staff to fill current vacancies. PA Mentor has hired three (3) new staff members in the last couple of weeks. It is a struggle to hire and keep staff. The process of trying to open new homes is still ongoing. There is a home that is ready to be licensed but there is not enough staff to open the home. o Marion wanted to know if American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds could assist with recruitment and retention. Providers across the board were increasing their hourly rates but it didn’t seem to help with hiring or retaining staff. Providers are encouraged to share any creative ways the funds could be used to help with staffing issues with Marion. IDD Provider Meeting o Stacey stated other counties have been offering sign on bonuses or purchasing equipment for staff with ARPA funds. The template for providers to apply for ARPA funds should be coming out in the next three (3) weeks. Providers can send Stacey or Marion ARPA fund requests prior to the template being released. Stacey will get the information to Kim Eaton to be added to the priority list.  AHEDD – Karen Price Employment supports are still being provided in the community.  Family Care Services (FCS) – Jessica Coons A lifesharing specialist position will be offered to an individual today. There were twenty (20) applicants for the position. A sign-on/retention bonus was offered but requires a two (2) year working contract. The retention bonus is $5,000 but is prorated if the individual leaves the position prior to completing the two (2) year commitment. Incentives are being considered for referrals of caregivers. FCS has contracted to put seven (7) rotating billboards up in Franklin and Fulton Counties for the next five (5) months. The billboards are for caregivers and lifesharing providers. There are four (4) homes in the process of being opened including two (2) lifesharing homes. The application process has started for the lifesharing homes. Upcoming Trainings  See attached HCQU trainings Next Provider Meeting Friday, May 20, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. 2022 Provider Meeting Schedule May 20th August 19th November 18th Minutes by Larry Reed