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Authors Posts by Richard Edley

Richard Edley

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Dr. Richard Edley is the lead executive for RCPA and is responsible for all aspects of operations and direction for the association. His professional career began in 1988 and most recently he was president and CEO of PerformCare/Community Behavioral HealthCare Network of Pennsylvania, Inc., a national, full-service, behavioral health managed care organization.

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Photo by René DeAnda on Unsplash

Today, on the 31st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we celebrate the inclusion and access promoted by the landmark civil rights law for disabled Americans [view official White House release]. Below are some facts about the ADA:

  • The Act is now 31 years strong — however, the work for disability inclusion is a long way from being done.
  • RCPA serves the disability community of all ages, from children to the elderly, for services including Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) supports, from early intervention to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Mental Health (MH).
  • Supporting consumers requires supporting the community organizations who do the work — it is not enough to just hail the workers as heroes; we need to reinforce that acknowledgement with investments to maintain the level of services needed.
  • The ADA was the start of advocacy, while subsequent work by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) continue to evolve it. Resources in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) should continue the journey.

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RCPA submitted comments regarding the PA Department of Human Services spending plan for funding available to home and community-based services (HCBS) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Section 9817 that was due today, July 6, 2021. The document details several overall, cross-system comments for review in addition to specific comments from each RCPA Division; Adult Mental Health, Children’s Services, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (including Supports Coordination), Drug and Alcohol, Physical Disabilities and Aging (including Brain Injury services) and Pediatric Rehabilitation.

RCPA appreciates the opportunity to provide this feedback on the DHS ARP plan. We look forward to further discussion and stand ready to assist DHS as a key community stakeholder.

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Image by succo from Pixabay

Please join RCPA in supporting this important legislation.

Message from Michael Gamel-McCormick:

Senators Casey, Wyden and Schumer, along with Senators Murray, Duckworth, Brown and Hassan, and Representatives Dingell, Pallone, Schakowsky and Matsui will soon introduce the bicameral Better Care Better Jobs Act. The Better Care Better Jobs Act will make President Biden’s bold vision to expand home and community-based services (HCBS) infrastructure, a key component of the American Jobs Plan, a reality.

  • The one-pager and section-by-section can be found here.
  • The legislative text can be found here.

If your organization would like to be listed as a supporting organization of the bill, please email: josh_kramer@aging.senate.gov.

For questions about the policy, contact Liz Dervan, Keith Miller, Michael Gamel-McCormick, Tim Huebner, or Rick Van Buren.

We hope that your organization will support this transformative piece of legislation. Thank you.

Michael Gamel-McCormick
Disability Policy Director
Special Committee on Aging
Sen. Bob Casey, Chair

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RCPA Members are invited to attend this FREE webinar Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST offered by Beacon Health Options and Anthem. Register here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it is becoming more and more evident that it is taking a toll on our nation’s mental health and wellbeing. To learn more, Anthem Inc. and its affiliated health plans issued a report based on behavioral health claims analysis. The report’s broad takeaway is that there is a disconnect between self-reported distress and diagnoses in 2020, which could have implications for the nation’s long-term mental health.

Speakers:

  • Neil Leibowitz, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Cheryl Perkins, Chief Clinical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Rowland Pearsall MD, Staff VP, National Behavioral Health Medical Director, Commercial Business Division
  • Shantanu Agrawal, MD, Chief Health Officer, Anthem, Inc., Moderator of the session

Join them for a virtual discussion on Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST as their expert behavioral health panelists provide insights about the findings of this inaugural report, State of the Nation’s Mental Health. The webinar will provide a national context to help healthcare organizations and other stakeholders make decisions at the local level. Attendees will learn about the populations most and least affected by the pandemic, the dominant diagnoses, and what these findings suggest we do to improve behavioral health services in post-pandemic years.

Register here today.

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RCPA’s Jim Sharp, Rep. Schlegel Culver, and Rep. Mehaffie received awards

HARRISBURG (June 9, 2021) — The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) congratulates the recipients of the ABA in PA Initiative’s 2021 award recipients. The ABA in PA Initiative is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to changing the future for all children in Pennsylvania with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by ensuring access to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy via Medical Assistance. Each year, the organization recognizes several individuals who have gone above and beyond for the autism and special needs children’s community. The 2021 award recipients include distinguished legislative advocates as well as the director of RCPA’s Children’s Division.

The ABA in PA Initiative today recognized the following award recipients:

  • RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp received the Pioneer and Key Collaborator Award;
  • Representative Lynda Schlegel Culver (R–Northumberland) received the Advocate for Excellence Award; and
  • Representative Thomas L. Mehaffie III (R–Dauphin) received the Champion for Behavior Analysts of Pennsylvania Award.

You can view the full press release here.

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RCPA members are invited to join the next Member Update Webinar on Friday, June 25, 2021 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. We are pleased to offer a presentation on Cybersecurity in Health Care, sponsored by Lockton Companies. The presentation will provide members with a better understanding of the FBI’s perspective on nefarious cyber techniques and trends targeting the health care industry, and discuss how health care industry employers can streamline and improve the training and skills of their employees to protect the organization from cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity in Health Care
In October 2020, the FBI warned that the US health care system is urgently vulnerable to cyber-attacks to an unprecedented magnitude. While COVID cases continue, the US health care sector saw a 71 percent increase in ransomware attacks in October, compared to September. At the same time, a 2020 study by Emsi, a national labor analytics firm, found that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is twice as great as the supply in the job market. Because of this shortage, the study recommends that employers focus time and money in training and promoting current employees within the organization to best protect the business from cyberattack.

Presenters include:

  • Paul Bingham, Associate Dean in the College of IT and Academic Program Director for the Western Governors University (WGU) cybersecurity degree
  • Cerena Coughlin, FBI Special Agent, Employment Recruiter and Applicant Coordinator for the Philadelphia Field Office
  • Al Wilson, Information Security Specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Caroline Chapman, Assistant Vice President, Account Manager and member of the Cyber Technology Practice within Lockton Financial Services

Please register here to attend this webinar. We look forward to your participation!

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Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

RCPA is pleased to announce that the Ability Network of Delaware (A.N.D.) will be joining our 2021 Annual Conference. This is in addition to our previous announcement that the Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland (CBH) would also be part of the Conference. We are all working in conjunction with both of these organizations to develop a unique collective approach. Leading in 2021: Hope, Help, Heal is set to take place from September 28, 2021 through September 30, 2021.

We are currently working out details of this event, but it is assumed that it will be a primarily virtual event with concurrent planning for a hybrid event if possible. We are working to maximize some in-person conference events that will take place at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA. More to come on that aspect of the event.

RCPA is excited to have this opportunity to work with A.N.D. as well as CBH. This will highlight our ability to share ideas and best practices across state borders and will further enhance the Conference experience for our members. Additional information will be made available as conference planning continues.

We look forward to your participation.

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