Attached is the updated DAAA Eldercare Directory and a flyer on the Community Navigators.
Archive | May, 2014
An Advocate’s Guide to New Consumer Rights in Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services
New federal Medicaid rules, for the first time, set standards to ensure that Medicaid-funded home and community-based services (HCBS) are provided in settings that are non-institutional in nature. These standards, which took effect in March 2014, apply to residential settings, such as houses, apartments, and residential care facilities like assisted living facilities. The standards also apply to non-residential settings, such as adult day health care programs.
The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) has developed a guide to the new rules, entitled Just Like Home: An Advocate’s Guide to Consumer Rights in Medicaid HCBS. The Guide’s discussion and analysis include the rules themselves, along with commentary and subsequently-issued guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and will be updated as further information becomes available.
Importantly, many details remain to be determined by individual states, subject to review and approval by the federal government. Stakeholder involvement and advocacy will be critical as state Medicaid programs transition through implementation of the new rules. Throughout the transition process, both the states and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must accept and consider recommendations from consumers and other stakeholders.
NSCLC is available to assist consumer advocates in thinking through the issues and developing state-specific recommendations. Under Medicaid law, HCBS funding exists to give consumers the ability to receive necessary long-term services and supports without moving into a nursing home or other healthcare institution. The value of the HCBS alternative would be destroyed or diluted if HCBS were provided in institution-like settings.
Information about Mariners Inn
Information regarding Mariners Inn in Detroit.
Meet Regina McIver
By Steven Villareal
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6.”
Regina McIver’s career as a social worker has been guided by her Christian faith, and this verse from the Bible, is one that she often goes back to throughout her life. It has been with her since she started her social work career in the military. She was a social worker in the military for 20 years, and retired in 1997 with the rank of Major. She then proceeded to use what she learned in the military to work for Detroit Public Schools as a school social worker until 2013. She dedicated these years to working with children who were on the brink of being expelled from school, she then retired.
At this point she could have enjoyed life being retired spending it with her husband, but she felt that she had more to give, another career in her that was waiting to come out. This is when she applied to be a site coordinator at River Town Assisted Living. Now, she has had a career working with diverse populations, from people in the military to students in Detroit and so her career would not be complete without a time of working with older adults. She took an interest of working with older adults when her mother became sick twelve years ago, as she had to learn about caregiving and dementia and even earned a certificate in care for patients with dementia.
Now, at River Town Assisted Living since fall of 2013, Regina is a social worker who helps to make sure that residents are receiving what they need to live the kind of independent life that they want. In the brief time that she has been here she is already trying to form a resident council so that the residents can learn how to advocate for themselves. She enjoys working here and particularly likes the staff because she can tell that they enjoy their work. She takes a creative approach to getting clients involved in residential activities and helping them to make healthy choices about their lives.
During her time off, Regina enjoys the festivals that Detroit has to offer. She and her husband are looking forward to going to “Concert of Colors”, the Jazz Festival in Hart Plaza, and the Detroit Techno Festival. Additionally, they enjoy going to car shows and in fact, own two classic cars, a Delta 1988 and a 1978 Oldsmobile. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority since her college years, she is still a very active member and volunteers in community service and mentoring of the younger Deltas. She looks forward to working at the River Town Independent Living building when it is finished.