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Policy Areas

Monday, March 4, 2024
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CST;
10:00 am – 11:00 am MST; 9:00 am – 10:00 am PST
Register Here

Kara Monnin, PhD
Kara Monnin, PhD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University’s School of Medicine in Columbus, OH. Dr. Monnin provides clinical services across multiple inpatient units, including complex healthcare, inpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation, and acute care services (PICU, Trauma/Surgery/Neurosurgery), and operates on a consultative basis for Complex Care clinics. Dr. Monnin also serves as a member of the Advanced Illness Management/Palliative Care team at NCH and specializes in traumatic brain injury, rehabilitation populations, and children and adolescents with complex medical needs.

Kelsey E. Bakaletz, MSW, LISW
Kelsey E. Bakaletz, MSW, LISW, is most importantly, a mother to 2-year-old Ellis. Kelsey is a clinical medical social worker in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH. Kelsey received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ohio State University. Prior to working at NCH, Kelsey spent two years in rapid re-housing of homeless military veterans, and before that, she spent almost two years in therapeutic rehabilitation of adjudicated juvenile sex offenders. Kelsey is a member of the Trauma-Informed Care Work Group at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, working to provide and teach the best trauma-informed practices. Kelsey is passionate about treating every patient interaction as though the caregiver and child are part of our family, to lead with empathy, compassion, and determination that we resist re-traumatization.

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

  • Understand what secondary trauma is and who is at risk;
  • Discuss practical self-care strategies and ways to manage secondary trauma; and
  • Implement strategies to support colleagues who are experiencing secondary trauma.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all members of the rehabilitation team, including medical staff, nurses, 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.

The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2024. The meeting will be held at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, PA, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, with a break held from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. A virtual option will also be available via Zoom. The public is invited to attend in person or call in to this meeting. The meeting notice provides the Zoom access code, and the agenda is available here.

CLASS invites people with disabilities, family members, professionals, employers, and students to join them as they discuss breaking down the barriers for people with disabilities to gain competitive integrated employment.

Self-Advocate and Set Your Path To Success
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
12:00 pm
Virtual Event
Johanna Murphy of Evolve Coaching will join to discuss self-advocating to lay the groundwork for your success in employment.

Employer Discussion Panel
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
4:00 pm
In-Person at Brother Andre’s Café
Join CLASS at Brother Andre’s Cafe and hear about navigating the workplace from employers who have experience employing people with disabilities. Other employers are welcome to come learn about how to foster a diverse workforce at their businesses too!

To register for these events or see other upcoming opportunities, visit CLASS’s collection on Eventbrite. For questions about this series, please contact Chris Phelps at 412.683.7100 x2125 or via email.

This project is funded by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has issued Information Bulletin 01-2024, reminding single county authorities (SCA) and residential treatment providers about obligations regarding individuals on high doses of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). It emphasizes adherence to Part 4.04 of the Case Management and Clinical Services Manual and relevant licensure standards. It states that SCAs must ensure providers do not exclude individuals using MOUD and that treatment is individualized without restrictions. Providers may lose funds for restricting admission based on medication use. For additional questions, treatment providers can contact the Bureau of Program Licensure, and SCAs can contact the Treatment Division.

House Resolution 212 (2021), which was adopted June 29, 2022, created a legislative task force on services provided to individuals with intellectual disability, developmental disability, and autism. It directed the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on the impact of the Commonwealth’s current needs and system capacity for providing opportunities for individuals with intellectual disability, developmental disability, and autism.

The Commission was further directed to establish an advisory committee to assist in its study. The advisory committee included representatives from the Commonwealth agencies, who were charged with the responsibility of overseeing these services, namely the Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). Other representatives included individuals and family members of individuals who are receiving home and community-based services or who are on waiting lists for services. Service providers, advocates, self-advocates, a physician, and a representative of the Pennsylvania Association of County Administrators of Mental Health and Developmental Services, as well as other interested persons, were also on the advisory committee. Richard Edley, President and CEO of RCPA, and several RCPA members served on this committee.

The committee has completed their work, resulting in their finalized report and one-page summary.

RCPA is continuing to accept proposals for our 2024 Conference Embracing Challenges, Empowering Success, which will be held September 24 – 27 at the Hershey Lodge for a statewide audience. Our Conference Committee seeks 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:

  • Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as the use of artificial intelligence, telehealth innovations, and employing people with disabilities;
  • 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;
  • Provide guidance on building a culture of a committed workforce, including recruitment and employee development as well as effective remote workforce strategies;
  • Offer concrete skills and tools to operate more efficient, effective businesses; and
  • Inspire ideas for organizations to be leaders in their field.

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. Individuals are welcome to submit multiple proposals.

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 Monday, March 11, 2024, at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted electronically on the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline will 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 four weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation should not submit proposals for consideration.

Notification of inclusion for the conference will be made via email by Friday, May 17, 2024. Questions may be directed to Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

RCPA invites you to join us and the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) for a free webinar on creating equitable planes for access to care in physical and behavioral health settings. The webinar will be held March 12 at 12:00 pm and will feature William Seto, Chief Diversity Officer from the National Council of Mental Wellbeing. You can register for the webinar here.

This webinar will focus on addressing diversity and health disparities that lead to health inequities within both the physical and behavioral health spaces that you work in on a daily basis. It has been designed for members of both organizations and supports equity work our organizations have undertaken the last three years as a Delta Center grantee. We are appreciative of your support and look forward to you joining us in the webinar.

Register here. If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

Multidrug Resistant Organisms in Medically Complex Adults Living at Home, Non-Institutional, Shared Living
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Register for this event!

This webinar is for all interested stakeholders. Presentation topics from Dr. Rabea Khadimi and Dr. Antonie Auguste will include multidrug resistant organisms in medically complex adults living at home, non-institutional settings, and shared living.

Presenters:

Rabea Khedimi, MD
Rabea Khedimi, MD, is a faculty member and ID Specialty Physician with UPMC/ID Connect. Rabea served as the Chief of the Infection Prevention and Control at the NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has been involved in the management of patients with suspected infectious diseases since she joined the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Khedimi completed her internal medicine training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Elmhurst and her Infectious Diseases Fellowship training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Her career as a Clinician-Educator and Clinician-Administrator includes leadership roles at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine/Elmhurst Hospital in Queens and Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. She was an Assistant Professor of Medicine and an Infectious Disease Attending at Montefiore Medical Center. She also served as a Co-Director of Microbiology/Infectious Diseases courses at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Khedimi has experience in both teaching and providing clinical care to patient with HIV, Hepatitis B and C, STDs, and other infectious diseases. She also has expertise in infection control and was most recently the Chief of the Infection Prevention and Control Department at the NYC HHC/Elmhurst Hospital.

Antonie J. Auguste, MD, MPH
Dr Antonie J. Auguste has been recognized as an IDSA Fellow (FIDSA). Dr. Auguste serves the ID division at UPMC/ID Connect. Her primary role focuses on providing inpatient on infectious diseases consultation services via the Infectious Diseases Telemedicine service to multiple additional sites across telemedicine sites and rounding on the in-person services at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. Additionally, she provides telemedicine infection prevention and control consultation to various telemedicine sites. Antonie earned her medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, and she completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her Fellowship in Infectious Disease at the State University of New York at Stony Brook University Hospital and School of Medicine. She obtained her MPH degree from Columbia University School of Public Health and has a BA degree in biology from Columbia University.

Kate Gass, RN, BSN, CIC
With a varied background in clinical nursing and nursing management, Kate has spent time working in intensive care, emergency departments, and the cardiac cath lab. Earning her ASN from Butler County College and BSN from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, she is certified as a cardiac invasive specialist and is also certified by the Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology.