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Brain Injury

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This is a reminder that the Call for Proposals for the 2025 RCPA Annual Conference Striving to Thrive will be closing Friday, March 14. Striving to Thrive will be held September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge for a statewide audience, and the Conference Committee is seeking workshop proposals in every area for possible inclusion, particularly those that assist providers in developing and maintaining high-quality, stable, and effective treatments, services, and agencies in an industry where change is constant. The committee looks for presentations that:

  • Provide guidance on building a culture of a committed workforce, including recruitment and employee development as well as effective remote workforce strategies;
  • Inspire ideas for organizations to be leaders in their field;
  • Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as the use of artificial intelligence and use of technology in service provision;
  • Provide specific skills and information related to individual and organizational leadership development and enhancement;
  • Discuss advanced ethics practices and suicide prevention;
  • Address system changes that affect business practices, including integrated care strategies, value-based purchasing, performance-based contracting, acquisitions and mergers, and alternative payment models; and
  • Discuss organization strategies to adapt to performance-based contracting.

The committee welcomes any proposal that addresses these and other topics essential to rehabilitation, mental health, substance use disorder, children’s health, aging, physical disabilities, and intellectual/developmental disabilities & autism.

Members are encouraged to consider submitting, and we highly encourage you to forward this opportunity to those who are exceptionally good speakers and have state-of-the-art information to share.

The Call for Proposals (featuring a complete listing of focus tracks) and accompanying Guidelines for Developing Educational Objectives detail requirements for submissions. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 14, 2025, at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted electronically on the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline may not be considered.

If the proposal is accepted, individuals must be prepared to present on any day of the conference. Workshops are 90 or 180 minutes in length. At the time of acceptance, presenters will be required to confirm the ability to submit workshop handouts electronically two weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation should not submit proposals for consideration.

Individuals are welcome to submit multiple proposals. Notification of inclusion for the conference will be made via email by Friday, May 9, 2025. Questions may be directed to Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) released the rate study that was commissioned last August after RCPA and other industry associations collaborated to access the information needed to establish rates for services.

For background purposes, HCBS are offered through Medicaid as an alternative to facility or institutional care. Reimbursement rates for these programs are set by DHS and are informed by an actuarial rate setting process and a public comment process. Long-term services and supports (LTSS) help older Pennsylvanians and adults with physical disabilities.

The rate study revealed the need for substantial and immediate rate increases for the services which were evaluated. The study concluded, “Given the comparisons to benchmark rates, it appears that revisions to the rates studied for this report would be appropriate. The tables below show detailed results from the benchmark rate comparison.” The specific rate gaps were:

  • Adult Day                                                                     19%
  • Employment and Training Services                             35%
  • Personal Assistance — Agency                                   23%
  • Personal Assistance — PDS                                       12%
  • Residential Habilitation                                                44%
  • Structured Day Habilitation                                          22%

Findings of the study are used to inform the Commonwealth’s budget and future rate setting processes. View the results here.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar or Melissa Dehoff.

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Secretary Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) hosted a webinar to discuss the proposed 2025/26 budget for the Department on Friday, February 7, 2025.

The recording is available here, and the PowerPoint has been made available.

RCPA will continue to update members on the budget as information becomes available. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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March 13, 2025
1:00 pm EST
Register Here

Greenspace Health, in partnership with Project HEAL, a nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused on equitable treatment access for eating disorders, are co-presenting an educational webinar. This unique session, moderated by Carsen Rhys Beckwith, Program Director at Project HEAL, will bring together a panel of experts in both Measurement-Based Care (MBC) and eating disorder treatment.

Greenspace’s Chief Growth Officer, Jesse Hayman, and Dr. Wendy Oliver Pyatt, Co-founder, CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Within Health and CEO and Co-founder at Galen Hope, will share how MBC fosters meaningful collaboration in eating disorder treatment, supports personalized interventions, and ultimately improves outcomes for people in care.

Don’t miss this opportunity to uncover the impact of MBC in eating disorder treatment, with a focus on driving equity and practical strategies for implementation.

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Monday, March 24, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CDT;
10:00 am – 11:00 am MDT; 9:00 am – 10:00 am PDT
Register Here

Sara Kerrick, PT, C/NDT 

Presenter Bio:

Sara Kerrick brings over 40 years of clinical experience in physical therapy. She is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy and is also Certified in Neurodevelopmental Treatment (C/NDT). Sara joined the Mary Bridge Children’s Therapy Services Team (Puyallup, Washington) nearly 37 years ago and currently serves as the Clinical Education Coordinator.

Sara received her Physical Therapy degree from Northern Arizona University and her Masters in Pediatric Rehabilitation with an emphasis on pediatrics from the University of Washington. She has a strong interest in education and has taught courses related to neurodevelopmental treatment and the use of pediatric outcome measures. Sara has a vested interest in evidence- based practices, combining her experience as a clinician and her love of research.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will:

  • Identify the key elements regarding evidence-based practice (EBP);
  • Discuss the responsibility of the frontline clinician regarding EBP; and
  • List examples of how to integrate the best scientific evidence into clinical practice.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Val Arkoosh met with systems stakeholders to provide an overview of the Governor’s proposed 2025/26 DHS budget. The Secretary began by reviewing the accomplishments of DHS under the administration and highlighted areas around Medicaid, systems enhancements, and the expansion in the delivery of services to Pennsylvanians.

The projected spending across DHS showed an investment of $21.17B, with the following breakdowns:

  • $7.13B for Long-Term Living;
  • $6.4B for Medicaid/healthcare delivery;
  • $3.22B for ID/A;
  • $1.72B for Human Services and County Child Welfare; and
  • $1.04B for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.

This budget number represents a $1.95B increase over last year’s executive budget. The most significant increases included:

  • $927M for Long-Term Living;
  • $7.23M for Medicaid/healthcare delivery;
  • $1.84M for ID/A;
  • $74M for Child Development; and
  • $32M for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.

RCPA submitted questions during the webinar in an effort to gain greater clarity on the proposed $2.4B increase in the Health Choices capitation. Several questions remain unanswered, including:

  • Are these dollars allocated towards physical health, behavioral health, or both?
  • What is the spending strategy for the 2024/25 supplemental appropriations? Is that part of the $2.4B?

There was clarification on the proposed $170M increase in the ID/A budget, but Secretary Arkoosh stipulated that this was not new investments but rather funds to sustain last year’s increase.

The remainder of the webinar was spent outlining current DHS initiatives, including the Keystones of Health 1115 Waiver, which was approved in December 2024. This year’s priority will focus on reentry services as well as planning for future implementation. The Secretary concluded her comments supporting the minimum wage increase, reinforcing the workforce infrastructure, and tackling Commonwealth-wide challenges.

The DHS Bluebook is scheduled for release in the coming weeks and will provide line item details of the budget. RCPA will continue to work with DHS and PA legislators on the budget specifics and our ongoing advocacy efforts. You can view the DHS budget webinar here.

RCPA will continue to update members on the budget as information becomes available. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting convened on February 5, 2025. During the meeting, a number of presentations were given. In addition to the presentations, the February meeting agenda and the meeting transcript from the January 8, 2025, LTSS Subcommittee meeting were provided.

Members should take time to review the PowerPoint presentations from the meeting:

The meeting transcript is available here.

The next LTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for March 7, 2025, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and will be held via webinar and remote streaming.

To participate in the meeting via webinar, please register here.
If calling into the meeting, the dial-in information is: 1 (562) 247-8422; Access Code: 145-307-305#

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