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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is excited to announce a new program available for any individual registered with ODP. ODP has funded online Speech and Language Pathology services, Just SO (Short-Term Online), through TechOWL at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University.

Individuals and their families/teams can receive up to 10 hours of virtual services from a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist (SLP). An SLP can work with your team to:

  • Assess current communication;
  • Recommend a communication focus;
  • Develop a communication support plan;
  • Teach practical strategies for communication;
  • Select, set up, and/or customize a communication device, if recommended;
  • Plan for getting an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device, including writing an insurance report, if necessary; and
  • Troubleshoot communication strategies, AAC devices, and more.

Visit here if you are interested in this new, free program. For questions, contact TechOWL at 800-204-7428 or via email.

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Tablet on a desk - Newsletter

The Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) Division of Quality Management’s QM Spotlight is now available. This is the third in a series of quarterly publications that are intended to shine a light on ODP’s revised Quality Management Plan & Action Plan Review Checklist. Administrative Entities (AEs), Supports Coordination Organizations (SCOs), Providers, Quality Assessment and Improvement (QA&I) reviewers, and anyone who reviews QM plans – including their own – should reference this information as they develop/evaluate QM plans.

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To better support professionals assisting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training Collaborative (ASERT) want to learn more about the training needs of professionals. The data collected from this survey will be used by ODP to inform trainings to reflect the needs of provider and professional organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact ODP via email.

Note: This survey is anonymous, and any contact information that you provide will be kept separate from your survey responses.

Please use this link to complete the survey. This survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Please complete by February 10, 2023.

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Shared by RCPA member MITC:

Much of this content was originally published by OPEN MINDS in September 2022. In turn, this content was derived from a presentation by Dee Werline, President and Chief Executive Officer at New Vista, and Dee DeWitt, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Momentum for Health. The article matched a lot of our own thinking at MITC and thought the content deserved a wider audience.

Download Weathering the Staffing Storm.

Check out these recommendations and best practices: Guidelines for Better Recruiting and Hiring.

Email MITC to talk to a hiring specialist.

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PA Family Network is offering several workshops in January. The next topic of focus in Community Engagement will be Emergency Planning. January will feature three workshops on the subject, including “Emergency Preparedness,” “Snapshot of Me: Creating a One-Page Profile,” and “Planning For Community Safety.”

Waiver Basics Part 1 1/4/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Waiver Basics Part 2 1/5/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Using LifeCourse to Plan for ISP 1/6/2023 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Waiver Advanced Part 1 1/9/2023 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Waiver Advanced Part 2 1/9/2023 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Community Safety 1/11/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Community Safety (Spanish) 1/12/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Emergency Preparedness 1/17/2023 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Emergency Preparedness 1/17/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Family Forum 1/18/2023 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Waiver Basics Part 1 1/19/2023 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Waiver Basics Part 2 1/19/2023 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
LEAD the Way to Healthy Relationships 1/23/2023 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Good Life Group 1/23/2023 6:30 pm
Snapshot of Me, Creating a One-Page Profile  1/24/2023 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Snapshot of Me, Creating a One-Page Profile 1/24/2023 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Waiver Advanced Part 1 1/25/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Waiver Advanced Part 2 1/26/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Waiver Basics Part 1 – Sibs 1/30/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Planning for Community Safety 1/31/2023 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Planning for Community Safety 1/31/2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

For more information and links to these workshops, visit their website or call 844-723-2645.

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Treasurer Stacy Garrity and disability advocates across Pennsylvania hail Congress’s passage of the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, which will expand ABLE program eligibility to include an estimated 6 million more Americans, including one million veterans, by raising the age limit for onset of a disability from 26 to 46 starting in 2026. ABLE accounts are a tax-free way to save for disability-related expenses while maintaining means-tested government benefits.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is distributing an updated Acronym Guide for external stakeholders. The guide is current as of December 29, 2022.

If there are additional acronyms that you would like to have added to the Guide, please feel free to submit them to the ODP Outreach inbox. The Guide will be updated periodically to allow for the addition of new acronyms.

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The Office of Developmental Programs is issuing this Health Alert to bring awareness that GFA Production (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. is voluntarily recalling one lot of Easy Care First Aid® AfterBurn® Cream, 0.9 g single-use packets. FDA analysis found the product to be contaminated with Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus sonorensis.

This recall is to the consumer level. The single use packets are sold in:

  • boxes of 10; or
  • packaged in certain First Aid kits.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a Safety Communication that provides additional details and information, including guidance for people who have used or have purchased the affected product and their caregivers.

If you have used or have purchased one of these affected products, talk to your health care provider to decide on a suitable alternative and discuss if additional treatment is necessary because of using the recalled products. Additionally, please follow the recommendations provided by the FDA.

Where to Learn More:

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A message from the Department of Health:

We are writing to inform you that the Pennsylvania Department of Health will no longer be able to provide short-term crisis staffing support or staffing support for test swabbing missions as of January 14, 2023. This decision has been made due to the exhaustion of funds designated for this purpose. We want to assure you that we will do our best to assist with a smooth transition.

The Department remains committed to providing opportunities to build long-term resilience into long-term care facilities that includes bolstering Pennsylvania’s long‑term care workforce development and retention.

We strongly encourage you to engage with your local LTC RISE partner. LTC RISE will continue to provide COVID-19 outbreak response consultative support. LTC RISE will also continue to support quality improvement project opportunities, including projects focused on workforce development and retention.

We also remind you that the Long-Term Care Quality Investment Pilot (QIP) is another opportunity which can benefit skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, assisted living facilities, and intermediate care facilities. We urge facilities to apply for funds to invest in key areas that include staff development and retention. Applications for QIP are due Saturday, December 31, 2022, by 1:30 pm.

Thank you for your continued efforts protecting Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents and for your understanding and cooperation during this time.

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

As the holiday season approaches, remember to protect yourself and others by staying up-to-date with your COVID-19 and flu vaccines. You may be eligible to receive your flu vaccine at the same time as a recommended COVID-19 vaccine. Your healthcare practitioner or pharmacist can help you decide if you should receive both vaccines at the same time.

Flu Vaccine

CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every flu season, with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza. A full listing of people at Higher Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications is available.

COVID-19 Vaccine

CDC recommends that people ages 5 years and older receive one updated (bivalent) booster if it has been at least 2 months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose, whether that was:

  • Their final primary series dose; or
  • An original (monovalent) booster.

People who have gotten more than one original (monovalent) booster are also recommended to get an updated (bivalent) booster.

Staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccination is important for maximum protection. You are up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines if you have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and received the most recent booster dose recommended for you by CDC.

You are still up-to-date if you receive all COVID-19 vaccine doses recommended for you and then become ill with COVID-19. You do not need to be immediately revaccinated or receive an additional booster.

Updated (bivalent) boosters became available on:

  • September 2, 2022, for people 12 years of age and older; and
  • October 12, 2022, for people aged 5–11.

Your healthcare practitioner, including your pharmacist, can help you determine if you are up to date with your vaccines.

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