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ODP Announcement 24-064 is to inform trainers and learners of an upcoming system upgrade for the Medication Administration system. The system will be undergoing an upgrade starting Thursday, July 25, 2024, and ending Friday, August 2, 2024. During this time, it will be completely unavailable to learners and trainers. Please finish any self-paced learning by Monday, July 22, 2024, including online lessons, quizzes, activities, post multiple choice, and post written documentation exams.
If you have questions about this upgrade or if you need assistance during this transition, you may contact the Medication Administration Help Desk website to log a ticket. The help desk will be available to address any concerns during this transition.
The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced that they will be hosting a Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) provider call on July 18, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm that will include a presentation from Mercer providing an overview of the HCBS rate and wage study.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) contracts with Mercer Government Human Services consulting for actuarial services, Medicaid policy and fiscal analysis, financial monitoring, and other technical support.
Mercer will evaluate the following services categories in this rate study:
Because this is an HCBS Provider Call, registration for the call will be limited to providers who are enrolled with DHS to provide any of these particular services to individuals. Participant-Directed Common-Law Employers are also encouraged to attend. If you are not a provider of these services or are unable to attend the July 18 HCBS Provider Call, you are welcome to attend the July 2 Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting to hear from Mercer about the HCBS Rate and Wage Study and ask questions.
Everyone is welcome to submit questions about the HCBS Rate and Wage Study electronically to OLTL in advance of the July 18 call. Questions submitted will be read during the call as time allows. Questions and Answers will be compiled into a Q&A document that will be available after the call.
A registration link for the July 18, 2024, HCBS Provider Call will be issued shortly. If you have any questions about the call itself, please contact Kristi Mundis.
This week is marked annually in honor of leading humanitarian Helen Keller’s birthday on June 27. Being deaf and blind herself, Keller’s work made a large difference in the lives of DeafBlind people. It is much more common than many people realize. Over 15 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with severe DeafBlindness. This week is a chance for us to raise awareness of deafblindness and make Pennsylvania a more DeafBlind-friendly place.
ODP Announcement 24-062 is to inform all provider agencies employing DSPs that the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) has extended the deadline for completing the 2023 National Core Indicators® (NCI) State of the Workforce Survey. The portal will now close on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
HSRI is aiming for a 5% or lower margin of error (MoE) for each participating state. The lower the MoE, the more representative and impactful the data will be. Pennsylvania currently has a 5.5% margin of error, and ODP would like to see it reach the recommended level since it is within reach. Therefore, ODP strongly encourages eligible provider agencies to complete the survey if they have not already done so. A final reminder will be issued via the portal in mid-July.
For questions, contact Ms. Lee Stephens, ODP IM4Q/NCI Statewide Lead.
Today, both the ISAC Performance Review Subcommittee and the Medical Assistance Advisory Committee (MAAC) meetings were held. During these meetings, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) announced that as a result of public comments received regarding Performance-Based Contracting, some adjustments are being made to the plans. Tomorrow, ODP will release an announcement with more details, but for now, we know the following:
ODP plans to submit the proposed waiver to CMS on July 19, 2024.
In addition, the presentation from the MAAC meeting can be found here.
Documents from the Performance Review Subcommittee can be found below:
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-061. The purpose of this communication is to inform providers of:
Please view the announcement for information and details.