2 Ex-Steelers To Donate Brains To Pitt’s National Sports Brain Bank
Melissa Dehoff
Melissa Dehoff is responsible for all medical rehabilitation and brain injury service issues. Ms. Dehoff attends multiple state-level meetings to advocate on behalf of members on brain injury and rehabilitation issues and is a member of the Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board.
OLTL Announces New Director for Bureau of Human Services Licensing
The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) announced that Theresa Hartman is the new Director for the Bureau of Human Services Licensing (BHSL). See the announcement below:
Theresa is a dedicated health and human services professional that has dedicated her career to working with aging and disabled persons managing chronic and acute conditions for more than 30 years in Pennsylvania. Working as a nurse, she has done bedside nursing care, care management, and served in management and regional positions in the nursing home industry for over 20 years. In 2018, she made the move into Home and Community-Based Services as a Chief Operations and Compliance Officer for a Service Coordination provider and successfully led them through the transition from fee-for-service into the managed Community Health Choices program as well as NCQA accreditation. She also served on the PA HCBS Providers Board.
She is passionate about advocating for our most vulnerable populations, seniors, and those that are underserved. She believes we can improve the lives of our most vulnerable populations in Pennsylvania by supporting our providers and giving them the tools they need to succeed and reach the high-quality standards and requirements we set.
Theresa is joining the Department of Human Services from her role as Vice President of Clinical Services for GrayHawk Health, a healthcare practice provider that is building community-based programs to fill in care gaps for dual eligible populations across Pennsylvania. She earned her nursing degree from Drexel University and her Bachelor’s in Organizational Management from Eastern University. She is also a certified Case Manager and holds an active nursing license in Pennsylvania.
Questions may be sent electronically.
PHAN to Host Webinar on How Changes to Medicaid Will Impact Waiver Services — May 22
Join Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) on May 22, 2023, at 1:00 pm for a community conversation about Medicaid waivers. Amy Lowenstein, Director of Policy, and Pamela Putnam Silver, Supervising Attorney from the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, will discuss:
- The end of COVID-era policies in the CHC and OBRA waivers and what they mean for those applying or receiving waiver services;
- What to expect from the waiver renewal process;
- Addressing changes in income and resources that may impact eligibility;
- Where to go for help; and
- Any questions and concerns.
Register for the meeting here.
May 2023 MLTSS Subcommittee Meeting Documents Now Available
Documents from the May 12, 2023, Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting are now available. The documents include the agenda, transcript, and PowerPoint presentations and can be found below:
- Agenda for May 2023
- April Follow-Up Items
- CHC-MCO SNAP Data Tracker
- HCBS CAHPS 2023 Action Plan and Survey Results
- MLTSS Subcommittee Meeting Transcript
- OLTL Updates
- PDA Master Plan for Aging and Disabilities
- PHW Service Coordinator Responsibilities
The next MLTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for June 1, 2023, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm in the PA Department of Education’s Honors Suite at 333 Market St. in Harrisburg, PA. The option to participate via webinar is also available. To participate in the meeting via webinar, please register here. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar if you registered correctly. If you have trouble accessing the webinar registration through Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers, please try accessing it through a different web browser, such as Chrome or Edge.
Dial-In Number: 1 (562) 247-8321
Access Code: 856702912#
Highlights From the RCPA BI Provider/CHC-MCO Quarterly Meeting Now Available
Lawmaker Says PennDOT Needs a Voice for Disabled Drivers
Transitions of Care for Long-Term Residents — Webinar on May 18, 2023
The Pennsylvania Long-Term Care Learning Network invites you to the next webinar, “Transitions of Care for Long-Term Residents.” The webinar will be held Thursday, May 18, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
This webinar will review the Community HealthChoices Nursing Home Transitions Program. Learn about how this program can assist and empower residents who want to move from a nursing facility back to a home of their choice in the community.
All team members are invited. Visit here to register for this webinar. You will need your National Provider Identifier (NPI) to register. If you do not have one or do not know it, please enter 0 on the registration form.
CMS Releases End of PHE Guidance and FAQs
As the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 nears, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a number of resources to help with this transition. Included in these resources are FAQs for all CMS programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and private insurance. Some additional information includes:
- What Do I Need to Know? CMS Waivers, Flexibilities, and the Transition Forward from the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency fact sheet
- CMS Current Emergencies web page
Additionally, CMS released the Quality, Safety, & Oversight Memorandum to provide information about:
- Expiration of emergency waivers related to minimum health and safety requirements for long-term care and acute and continuing care providers
- Timelines for certain regulatory requirements issued during the PHE
Congressional Hearing on Pandemic Preparedness Planned for May 4
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a full committee hearing on May 4, 2023 at 1:00 pm. This hearing, “Preparing for the Next Public Health Emergency: Reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA),” will address the PAHPA set to expire on September 30, 2023. This would be PAHPA’s first reauthorization since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are significant lessons learned and issues to address from this experience. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dawn O’Connell are a few individuals expected to testify at the hearing.
MLTSS Subcommittee Meeting to Convene on May 12
The Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee will convene for their next meeting on May 12, 2023, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Pennsylvania Department of Education in the Honors Suite, 1st Floor, at 333 Market Street in Harrisburg. The meeting will be held in person and will also offer the ability to participate via webinar and remote streaming. The links to participate are provided below. Comments and questions prior to the meeting should be sent via email.
The agenda has been released for the meeting. Please note: this will be the first MLTSS meeting that the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL) new Deputy Secretary, Julie Marsala, will be attending.
Conference Line and Bridge Number:
1-415-655-0052
PIN: 377387993#
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