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Authors Posts by Melissa Dehoff

Melissa Dehoff

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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.

A Financial Management Services (FMS) stakeholder meeting has been scheduled for March 4, 2022, from 1:00 pm–2:30 pm. This public meeting will include a discussion on the upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 Programs. Representatives from both the CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will be in attendance to discuss the upcoming changes.

Registration is required to participate. Once registered, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you choose to use your phone to call in, please use the numbers below:
Dial in: (562) 247-8321
Access Code: 625418280#
Audio PIN: shown after joining the webinar

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has updated its guidance about payments to strengthen the home and community-based services (HCBS) workforce and assist Adult Day Service (ADS) providers. The updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is available under the “Strengthening the Workforce” heading on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers page.

To maximize the use of federal funding under Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, OLTL has moved the date by which providers must spend “Strengthening the Workforce” and “Adult Day Services” funds from March 31, 2024, to October 1, 2023. This change allows sufficient time for providers to file an expenditure report and return unspent funds as applicable. OLTL will offer additional details about ARPA expenditure reporting in coming months.

Providers that have questions about this information should contact the OLTL Provider Helpline at 800-932-0939.

The Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of Adult Protective Services (APS) developed a media toolkit designed for facilities, mandatory reporters, and community members to assist in the awareness of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment of adults ages 18 to 59 living with a disability within the Commonwealth. Learn more about APS and use these resources to help promote APS to your clients, constituents, and network at the Adult Protective Services Media Toolkit web page.

Additionally, there are several dates (that are subject to change) where DHS will be publishing different social media posts that everyone is encouraged to share. These are available at the Adult Protective Services Media Toolkit web page on:

  • Wednesday, February 9, 2022;
  • Tuesday, February 15, 2022;
  • Wednesday, February 23, 2022;
  • Thursday, March 3, 2022;
  • Monday, March 14, 2022; and
  • Wednesday, March 23, 2022.

Questions regarding the materials found in the APS Media Toolkit or suggestions of additional resources that might be helpful in promoting the program should be directed to the APS Division.

A Financial Management Services (FMS) Stakeholder meeting has been scheduled for February 18, 2022, from 1:00 pm–2:30 pm. This public meeting will be held to discuss upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 programs. Representatives from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) and CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be in attendance to discuss these changes.

Those interested in participating should register prior to the meeting. After registering, a confirmation email will be sent containing information about joining the webinar.

If you choose to use your phone to call in, please use the numbers below:

Dial in: 1 (415) 930-5321
Access Code: 159291259#
Audio PIN: shown after joining the webinar

The next Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting will be held on March 1, 2022, as a webinar from 10:00 am–1:00 pm.

You can register for the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Remote captioning and streaming services will be provided; if you require these services, please visit here. If you require another accommodation, including an alternative method for submitting questions or comments about meeting topics, please send an email no later than February 18, 2022, so other accommodations can be scheduled.

On February 2, 2022, the monthly Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee held their monthly meeting. The handouts referenced and shared during this monthly meeting are provided below:

The next MLTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for March 1, 2022.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the updated Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Provider Preview Reports. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures and contain data submitted by IRFs from Quarter 3 (Q3) 2020 through Quarter 2 (Q2) 2021.

Providers have until February 25, 2022, to review their performance data. Providers can request CMS review their data during the preview period if they believe the scores are inaccurate. The final reports will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the March 2022 refresh of the websites. For additional information, visit the CMS IRF QRP Public Reporting website.

The Council on Brain Injury (CoBI) has announced an upcoming clinical forum entitled “Brain Injury Across the Pediatric Lifespan” on February 8, 2022, from 3:30 pm–5:00 pm. The presentation and discussion will be conducted by Dr. Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa.

Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, PhD, is a senior health scientist on the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Team in the Division of Injury Prevention (DIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Injury Center. As a health scientist, her role on the TBI team is to devise research projects and products to better understand trends in TBI in the United States and to improve health outcomes for individuals living with a TBI. She is Project Lead on the Report to Congress on the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and a scientific collaborator for clinical decision support and return to school projects in the division.

This webinar is intended for a professional audience and is free of charge. Attendees must register prior to the webinar. Questions about the webinar should be directed to MJ Schmidt via email.

The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Advisory Board (Board), established under section 1252 of the Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C.A. § 300d-52), will hold a virtual public meeting on February 4, 2022. Due to health concerns related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the virtual public meeting will be conducted by means of Microsoft Teams from 10:00 am–3:00 pm.

Meeting materials will be sent out before the virtual public meeting and will also be available on the Board’s website. Questions should be directed to Nicole Johnson. To join the Microsoft Teams meeting, call (267) 332-8737. The conference ID is 126 841 107#.

The Department of Health’s (DOH) Head Injury Program (HIP) strives to ensure that eligible individuals who have a TBI receive high quality rehabilitative services aimed at reducing functional limitations and improving quality of life. The TBI Board assists the DOH in understanding and meeting the needs of persons living with traumatic brain injury and their families. This quarterly virtual public meeting will provide updates on a variety of topics, including the number of people served by HIP. In addition, meeting participants will discuss budgetary and programmatic issues, community programs relating to traumatic brain injury, and available advocacy opportunities.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has announced a virtual traumatic brain injury (TBI) stakeholder day planned for March 8, 2022, from 12:00 pm–4:30 pm. This free event will be held via webinar, and attendees will spend the afternoon talking about important issues around TBI services, supports, and systems.

Attendees will hear from brain injury survivors, family members, support networks, and state and federal representatives. This year’s sessions include Survivor Engagement Strategies, Domestic Violence and the Effect on Children, Effective Partnerships with Behavioral Health with a Focus on Suicide, and Effective Strategies for Using and Leveraging Data.

Individuals interested in participating should register here.