Department of Health: Pennsylvania to Receive 97,500 Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Going to 87 Hospitals; Philadelphia County to Receive 13,650 Doses
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RCPA would like to wish long-term member Marcia Reynolds of ACT Rehabilitation the best on her retirement! Ms. Reynolds has worked in the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) service system since 1977. She first worked at Impact Systems and later worked for Keystone Human Services. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Operations at Alternatives in Community Treatment (ACT).
The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) recently announced the date of the next Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting. The meeting will be held as a webinar on January 5, 2021 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.
To participate in this webinar, members should register prior to the call. After registering, a confirmation email that contains the information about joining the webinar will be sent. If you are unable to join via webinar, the dial-in information is below:
Dial-In Number: 1-(914)-614-3221 Access Code: 660-883-807
RCPA would like to wish long-term member Linda London of Goodwill Keystone Area the best on her retirement! Ms. London has worked at Goodwill Keystone Area for 33 years. She had many roles in Mission Services during those 33 years, including her most recent work as the Mental Health/Intellectual Disability (MH/ID) Compliance Monitor.
We are pleased to announce that the frequently asked questions (FAQ) document for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) alignment of Level 2.0 Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization Services has been posted on the DDAP website.
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf announced today that more than 327,000 Pennsylvanians will gain access to high-speed Internet service through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction.
Thirteen providers in Pennsylvania successfully bid in the auction and will provide high-speed Internet access in locations across the state that are underserved or do not have access to broadband that meets the current federal standard. The FCC will allocate $368.7 million to these providers over the next 10 years. Virtually every Pennsylvania county will benefit from the broadband build out supported by this funding.
“In the twenty-first century, reliable high-speed Internet service is a critical utility for homes and businesses alike. The lack of this technology in our communities inhibits our students and educators, businesses, the health care system, and more from truly connecting locally and globally. If we want to support our economy, give our students the tools to learn, and improve the quality of life, we must expand broadband access,” Governor Wolf said. “The current pandemic has vividly demonstrated the pressing need to expand high-speed Internet access to enable telehealth and allow students to connect with their classmates and teachers. As a result of this auction, hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians will gain this access, which is a significant step toward bridging the digital divide.”
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is an effort by the FCC to ensure high-speed Internet access in underserved communities. In total, the FCC will allocate $9.2 billion to 180 bidders, who will deploy high-speed broadband to more than 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses across the country.
Nearly a million Pennsylvanians lack access to reliable high-speed Internet access according to the FCC. Ensuring that all Pennsylvanians have access to high-speed Internet access is a top priority of the Wolf Administration. The governor’s Restore Pennsylvania plan, a $4.5 billion bipartisan proposal funded through a common sense severance tax, would provide funding to completely bridge the digital divide in every community in Pennsylvania. Funding would be available to support the installation of infrastructure needed to bring high-speed Internet to every corner of the commonwealth.
View more about the plan here.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is disseminating communication ODPANN 20-113 – “Public Comment Starts December 18, 2020 for Proposed Amendments to the Intellectual Disabilities and Autism (ID/A) Waivers and Adult Autism Waiver”. The purpose of this communication is to announce that proposed amendments to the consolidated, person/family directed (P/FD), community living, and adult autism waivers effective March 1, 2021, will be available for review and comment starting on December 18, 2020. This date will begin a 30-day public comment period that will end on January 18, 2021.
Information regarding the proposed waiver amendment changes, including how to provide comments, can be found in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, Volume 50, Number 50 published on Saturday, December 12, 2020 on this webpage.
This publication was released earlier than anticipated, and as a result, waiver documents with proposed changes are not currently available on the Department of Human Services (DHS) website. For this reason, the start of the public comment period will be delayed until December 18, 2020 when all needed information will be available on the DHS website. Another communication will be published on December 18, 2020; it will provide more information about the changes proposed in the waiver amendments and the public comment process.
CONTACT: Questions about this communication should be directed here.