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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a new COVID-19 Viral Testing tool. This interactive and mobile-friendly online tool will help to streamline the process of sorting through information about COVID-19 testing and next steps. The tool complements the CDC’s testing guidance and assists healthcare providers in making decisions and recommendations for their patients about the following:
On Friday, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed SB255, the 2021–22 General Appropriations bill, by a vote of 140-61 in the House and a vote of 43-7 in the Senate.
The accompanying budget code bills also passed on Friday. The Tax Code Bill, HB952, passed 46-4 in the Senate, 170-31 in the House. The Administrative Code, HB336, passed 28-22 in the Senate, 112-89 in the House, and the Fiscal Code, HB1348, passed 42-8 in the Senate and 168-33 in the House. The final code bill, the Public School Code, SB381, passed 154-47 in the House and 40-10 in the Senate.
The planned General Fund budget will spend $40.2 billion, which includes some Federal stimulus monies. The budget only appropriates approximately $2 billion out of the $7.3 billion in federal stimulus dollars. The state Department of Human Services (DHS) budget line-items are set to grow by $1.8 billion, or 11.7 percent.
While not everyone in the General Assembly was happy with the end product, the Governor is expected to sign the budget bills before June 30.
For your convenience, RCPA has compiled a summary of the Administrative and Fiscal Codes and a breakdown of the specific DHS line-items relevant to RCPA members. As more information comes to light concerning how DHS will spend these appropriations on health and human service programs, RCPA will update the membership.
If you have any questions, please contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs.
Please see the letter below published jointly by the Office of Developmental Programs and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services regarding the hiring of Donald Clark as the new Project Director for the Pennsylvania START Program:
June 25, 2021
Colleagues and Stakeholders,
It is with pleasure that we announce the hiring of Mr. Donald Clark as a Project Director to lead our dual systems initiative of the highly anticipated pilot of PA START. Don holds a Master of Education from Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. He served as the Deputy Director of the Allegheny County Office of Intellectual Disabilities for more than 20 years, the Acting Deputy Mental Health Administrator for Allegheny County on an interim basis and has worked closely with the behavioral health and hospital systems in the western region. In addition, he has experience in the management of Community Residential Programs, along with numerous recognitions and awards.
The START model is a crisis intervention and prevention program designed to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) and co-occurring mental health challenges. National data surrounding this program demonstrates significant outcomes and cost-effective system improvements.
Funding for the pilot is being provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) program which offered a unique opportunity to apply for supplemental funding for capacity building efforts. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) partnered to present the PA START pilot. Pennsylvania was one of the first states to apply and receive this award.
In his role as the Project Director for START, Mr. Clark will be working with diverse stakeholder groups, the University of New Hampshire/Center for START Services and Allegheny County.
Please join us in a warm welcome to Don to the ODP/OMHSAS team!
Sincerely,
Kristin Ahrens
Deputy Secretary
Office of Developmental Programs
Kristen Houser
Deputy Secretary
Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
This webinar will discuss vaccine hesitancy among direct service workers (DSWs), explore barriers they face, including access to information and transportation, and offer strategies to help increase vaccination rates.
Panelists:
This webinar will be held on Thursday, July 1, 2021 from 3:00 pm–4:30 pm ET.
Click here to register.
Patient Selection and Neurosurgical Decision-Making to Treat Hypertonia in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Who is a Good Candidate and Which Procedures are Helpful?
Thursday, August 5, 2021
1:00 pm–2:00 pm EDT, 12:00 pm–1:00 pm CDT
11:00 am–12:00 pm MDT, 10:00 am–11:00 am PDT
Dr. Marcie Ward, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine
Dr. Patrick Graupman, Pediatric Neurosurgery
Dr. Tim Feyma, Pediatric Neurology
Laura Area, PT, Pediatric Physical Therapy
Course Description:
Management of hypertonicity in children with cerebral palsy is multifaceted. Join us as this multi-disciplinary team from Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota discusses the neurosurgical options, considerations, and best practices for treatment of this condition.
Disclosures/Conflicts of Interest:
The presentation team are all employed by Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and did not receive any compensation for this presentation. The team has no relevant financial disclosures.
Objectives: At the end of the session, the learner will:
Audience: This webinar is intended for all members of the rehabilitation team, including medical staff, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, licensed psychologists, mental health professionals, and other interested professionals.
Level: Intermediate
Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.
Registration: Registration is complimentary for members of IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today. Multiple registrations per organization are permitted.
REGISTER here.
The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the renewal of the OBRA Waiver for 2021. The waiver had no substantive changes and will become effective on July 1, 2021. The OBRA renewal will be posted to the OBRA web page by July 1, 2021. Questions about this renewal should be directed to the OLTL Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management at (717) 857-3280.