See our video about RHCs. It's just 5 minutes. Worthwhile. Let me know what you think.
Here are 2 links. The first is one I saved of the original version. The second is the same except we added a "thank you" to professional staff in order to cover help protect them from being accused of using government time to share their expert views.
http9qnfKk0vuGY&feature=youtu.bes://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZh8SQoOs18&feature=share
Showing posts with label RHC CLOSURE DISCUSSION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RHC CLOSURE DISCUSSION. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2011
KEEP RHCS
CREATE SYSTEMS FOR SAFETY & PREVENTION
IN GENERAL-COMMUNITY CARE SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH DD
CREATE SYSTEMS FOR SAFETY & PREVENTION
IN GENERAL-COMMUNITY CARE SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH DD
Can Tommy's preventable death make a difference? The governor, DSHS and the Wa. legislature need to back up, stop the closures of RHCs! Basic safeguards, systems for prevention of such tragedies are sorely needed in Wa. State's system of "community" residential care. DSHS depends on reporting of incidents, not their prevention. By the time the reporting stage is reached, the person is already harmed! Read this article and look at the cost comparison charts! Not only do Washington's residential habilitation centers RHCs offer safety that our general community system of care for people with developmental disabilities does not match, but it does so at less cost to taxpayers.
www.thestand.org
This past week, a tragic death occurred. Tommy, a 30-year-old developmentally disabled man, died. Among his developmental disabilities Tommy had PICA, a condition in which a person ingests non-food items. As reported, Tommy’s life ended because he ingested laundry detergent which had been improperly...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
RHC CLOSURES = COST INCREASE + REDUCTION IN SERVICES
RHC CLOSURES = INCREASE COSTS + REDUCTION OF SERVICES
In these lean times of budget crisis and harmful cuts I do not understand why anyone would even consider closing the RHCs. Ideological differences aside, just based on economics, this decision would be a BUDGET DISASTER!
•Yes, these high needs residents are more expensive to care for: no matter where they live they will be more expensive – moving them will only INCREASE their cost of care.
•Economy of scale – it is much more cost effective to care for these residents in the RHC - this is ECONOMY OF SCALE – think of a family who experiences a divorce. The living costs increase when they go from 1 household to 2 households.
•Reduction in services – Not only will the cost of care increase but there will be a drastic reduction in services with the moves that are being suggested.
•Cost shifting – maybe one budget would look better but the cost will still be there, actually increased due to not using the ECONOMY OF SCALE model.
•911 calls are 4-6 times higher in "community" group homes than at an RHC
•increased catastrophic care – increased medical expenses
The moves that are being suggested are immoral. I see a disaster waiting to happen and this process needs to be stopped and studies completed prior to these decisions being made and acted on. If RHCS are closed there is no going back – there is no other safety net and the providers will find that they are neither equipped nor capable of caring for these residents in a safe, healthy and humane manner.
Please do not consider the RHC closures as a cost-saving measure. It is exactly the opposite.
Cheryl Felak, RN
Disability Advocate
In these lean times of budget crisis and harmful cuts I do not understand why anyone would even consider closing the RHCs. Ideological differences aside, just based on economics, this decision would be a BUDGET DISASTER!
•Yes, these high needs residents are more expensive to care for: no matter where they live they will be more expensive – moving them will only INCREASE their cost of care.
•Economy of scale – it is much more cost effective to care for these residents in the RHC - this is ECONOMY OF SCALE – think of a family who experiences a divorce. The living costs increase when they go from 1 household to 2 households.
•Reduction in services – Not only will the cost of care increase but there will be a drastic reduction in services with the moves that are being suggested.
•Cost shifting – maybe one budget would look better but the cost will still be there, actually increased due to not using the ECONOMY OF SCALE model.
•911 calls are 4-6 times higher in "community" group homes than at an RHC
•increased catastrophic care – increased medical expenses
The moves that are being suggested are immoral. I see a disaster waiting to happen and this process needs to be stopped and studies completed prior to these decisions being made and acted on. If RHCS are closed there is no going back – there is no other safety net and the providers will find that they are neither equipped nor capable of caring for these residents in a safe, healthy and humane manner.
Please do not consider the RHC closures as a cost-saving measure. It is exactly the opposite.
Cheryl Felak, RN
Disability Advocate
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Advocacy Concerns
This is an abbreviated version of an open letter to people who oppose inclusion of Residential Habilitation Centers (RHCs) in the continuum of services for our family and community members who have disabilities. I felt the need to write it after receiving an extremely misleading Action Alert opposing HR 1255 (HR1255 provides a process by which parents & guardians, on behalf of their children/wards, may opt out of class action lawsuits with which they disagree.) Also, I found the documentation they provided in response to my questions to misrepresent the Supreme Court Olmstead Decision. Actually, "Olmstead" does not say that anybody is required to live in a specific place. Instead it affirms the right of an individual to live in the setting that best suits him/her - be it a private home, group home, institution. In so doing, it affirms the role of institutions within a full continuum of care.
I respect the energy and commitment that you all have to your causes. What I don’t understand is how, as strong advocates, (personal and representatives of public agencies) , you can work to deny or diminish services to people with such severe and complex needs within the DD population. I could never envision closing RHCs because I see the necessity for their existence. If you actually went, toured, met and spoke with residents, family members and guardians, you would see that each RHC is a community as well as the community of choice and safety for many people. I believe you would come away recognizing their critical role in our community.
Trying to take this choice away appears to dismiss their residents as not worthy of being safe. I saw this even before our son was in need of the services. When he was eleven, I would not have considered institutional placement for him but I would not have cut that option off for those who needed it. I realize that there is a wide variation of needs and just because one person with DD does not need those services, it does not mean that no person with DD might need them.
As our children age and change, different issues arise. As a parent who has lived through it, I can say that a dual diagnosis changes the whole scenario of needs. Care and supervision for safety becomes extremely complex, demanding and person intensive.
The estimate of the incidence dual diagnosis, (dual diagnosis is developmental disability and a mental illness diagnosis) is between 30-50%. (NADD – An association for persons with developmental disabilities and mental health needs www.thenadd.org). Often in speaking and advocating for people with DD one forgets about this extremely extra complex group of people.
Our son is very active in community events both inside and outside of the RHC. He is a well known participant in the Seattle Parks and Recreation Specialized Program – both the Saturday Activities and Day Camp. He participates in neighborhood celebrations and concerts, attends church every week and many other activities.
I invite you to join me on an RHC tour, to meet him and learn why an RHC is the home of choice for him and others with such complex needs that they can only be managed in an RHC community.
Please, do contact me – I’d love to have a discussion, take people on tours of Fircrest or Frances Haddon Morgan Center, introduce you to my son and talk about how we can come together to truly advocate for ALL people with disabilities.
People may contact me personally at cherylfelak@msn.com
I respect the energy and commitment that you all have to your causes. What I don’t understand is how, as strong advocates, (personal and representatives of public agencies) , you can work to deny or diminish services to people with such severe and complex needs within the DD population. I could never envision closing RHCs because I see the necessity for their existence. If you actually went, toured, met and spoke with residents, family members and guardians, you would see that each RHC is a community as well as the community of choice and safety for many people. I believe you would come away recognizing their critical role in our community.
Trying to take this choice away appears to dismiss their residents as not worthy of being safe. I saw this even before our son was in need of the services. When he was eleven, I would not have considered institutional placement for him but I would not have cut that option off for those who needed it. I realize that there is a wide variation of needs and just because one person with DD does not need those services, it does not mean that no person with DD might need them.
As our children age and change, different issues arise. As a parent who has lived through it, I can say that a dual diagnosis changes the whole scenario of needs. Care and supervision for safety becomes extremely complex, demanding and person intensive.
The estimate of the incidence dual diagnosis, (dual diagnosis is developmental disability and a mental illness diagnosis) is between 30-50%. (NADD – An association for persons with developmental disabilities and mental health needs www.thenadd.org). Often in speaking and advocating for people with DD one forgets about this extremely extra complex group of people.
Our son is very active in community events both inside and outside of the RHC. He is a well known participant in the Seattle Parks and Recreation Specialized Program – both the Saturday Activities and Day Camp. He participates in neighborhood celebrations and concerts, attends church every week and many other activities.
I invite you to join me on an RHC tour, to meet him and learn why an RHC is the home of choice for him and others with such complex needs that they can only be managed in an RHC community.
Please, do contact me – I’d love to have a discussion, take people on tours of Fircrest or Frances Haddon Morgan Center, introduce you to my son and talk about how we can come together to truly advocate for ALL people with disabilities.
People may contact me personally at cherylfelak@msn.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
RHC Closures=Jail
Here is still another lucid argument & plea by the mother of a person with autism. Having recently lived in the "community," her son now is in an RHC." One can readily understand his family's strong support for retaining them.
"This is my family's story if Fircrest is closed:
We just barely survived Fodor Homes and the stress of the closure. Our severely autistic son, who can be violent, came home to live with us; and it put me into the cardiac care unit at Virginia Mason for one week. We had to pay, out of pocket, six thousand dollars for one month for his respite care. Nobody even offered to help us.
If we build up services too fast in the community we will be repeating another Fodor Homes scenario. Look at the mess the adult homes are in! Didn’t we learn this the last time? Why are we going to do it again to severely autistic people and their families? Haven’t we suffered enough already? Our kids are autistic, this should NOT be a criminal offense nor should it be a reason to toss our kids out of medical support living situations into the “community” where these medical and behavioral supports do NOT exist.
Once again, we are repeating history. We still see, everyday, the results of state closure of Mental Hospitals that has resulted in homelessness for millions of mentally ill people. Are we going to do the same thing? Are we now going to make autistic people the new homeless? We do not have the proper services outside the RHCs to care for many with severe autism, so are we going to ignore the problems and solutions. Just like we did the mentally ill and veterans, so that we can save a few bucks?
My son should not be thrown onto the street or into the justice system JUST BECAUSE HE IS AUTISTIC! Are we going to become the state known for jailing it’s autistic citizens? Yet this is EXACTLY what we are doing. Closing the RHCs will not make severe autism go away, it will just dump these kids, when they hit a crisis, as they do, into a Jail which has no ability to meet their medical needs at all. This is not a fear, it is a CURRENT REALITY.
If Fircrest is closed it will put my son in danger of the three strikes law just because he is profoundly autistic. My son can be aggressive and this is common for those who are non-verbal autistic. My son does not understand that it is against the law to assault. In fact, he does not even know what the law is. He can not, at times, control his emotional outbursts. This is why he has the intensive medical and behavioral intervention that the RHCs can provide him. He will more likely be physically and sexually abused in prison. My son will take off all his clothes if he even gets one drop of water on them. What do you think will happen to a handsome, non-verbal, autistic, person in jail when they and take off all their clothes because they are wet? How can we put someone like my son in jail or prison? What does this say about us in Washington State that we punish the innocent? What will the rest of the country think about us? If the safety net of Fircrest is taken away, my son could be sent to prison simply because he is autistic. How would you feel if this was your child?
Jailing autistic people will cost the state and us more money in the long run. One lawsuit that the state lost was for 4 million in Kitsap County because one poor autistic man spent 4 years in jail without being charged just because he hit his mother due to an autistic crisis. We are shutting down our safety net that will prevent many future lawsuits.
Advocates are supposed to help families like mine but they don’t and if Fircrest is closed it will make my life a living hell. It will put my 19-year-old son at risk to go to jail, prison, or become homeless, and it will make him an easy target for emotion, physical, or sexual abuse. This is about money, it is about taking away what my son and other people like him need to survive so that others can have the funds. This is discrimination and it is putting vulnerable autistic people knowingly in harm’s way. Why would any of us think that autistic people are better off in Jail or prison? Why?
Rebecca Sargent"
"This is my family's story if Fircrest is closed:
We just barely survived Fodor Homes and the stress of the closure. Our severely autistic son, who can be violent, came home to live with us; and it put me into the cardiac care unit at Virginia Mason for one week. We had to pay, out of pocket, six thousand dollars for one month for his respite care. Nobody even offered to help us.
If we build up services too fast in the community we will be repeating another Fodor Homes scenario. Look at the mess the adult homes are in! Didn’t we learn this the last time? Why are we going to do it again to severely autistic people and their families? Haven’t we suffered enough already? Our kids are autistic, this should NOT be a criminal offense nor should it be a reason to toss our kids out of medical support living situations into the “community” where these medical and behavioral supports do NOT exist.
Once again, we are repeating history. We still see, everyday, the results of state closure of Mental Hospitals that has resulted in homelessness for millions of mentally ill people. Are we going to do the same thing? Are we now going to make autistic people the new homeless? We do not have the proper services outside the RHCs to care for many with severe autism, so are we going to ignore the problems and solutions. Just like we did the mentally ill and veterans, so that we can save a few bucks?
My son should not be thrown onto the street or into the justice system JUST BECAUSE HE IS AUTISTIC! Are we going to become the state known for jailing it’s autistic citizens? Yet this is EXACTLY what we are doing. Closing the RHCs will not make severe autism go away, it will just dump these kids, when they hit a crisis, as they do, into a Jail which has no ability to meet their medical needs at all. This is not a fear, it is a CURRENT REALITY.
If Fircrest is closed it will put my son in danger of the three strikes law just because he is profoundly autistic. My son can be aggressive and this is common for those who are non-verbal autistic. My son does not understand that it is against the law to assault. In fact, he does not even know what the law is. He can not, at times, control his emotional outbursts. This is why he has the intensive medical and behavioral intervention that the RHCs can provide him. He will more likely be physically and sexually abused in prison. My son will take off all his clothes if he even gets one drop of water on them. What do you think will happen to a handsome, non-verbal, autistic, person in jail when they and take off all their clothes because they are wet? How can we put someone like my son in jail or prison? What does this say about us in Washington State that we punish the innocent? What will the rest of the country think about us? If the safety net of Fircrest is taken away, my son could be sent to prison simply because he is autistic. How would you feel if this was your child?
Jailing autistic people will cost the state and us more money in the long run. One lawsuit that the state lost was for 4 million in Kitsap County because one poor autistic man spent 4 years in jail without being charged just because he hit his mother due to an autistic crisis. We are shutting down our safety net that will prevent many future lawsuits.
Advocates are supposed to help families like mine but they don’t and if Fircrest is closed it will make my life a living hell. It will put my 19-year-old son at risk to go to jail, prison, or become homeless, and it will make him an easy target for emotion, physical, or sexual abuse. This is about money, it is about taking away what my son and other people like him need to survive so that others can have the funds. This is discrimination and it is putting vulnerable autistic people knowingly in harm’s way. Why would any of us think that autistic people are better off in Jail or prison? Why?
Rebecca Sargent"
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Gram's Letter to Legislators
Here is a grandmother's letter that was recently sent to legislators. I am posting it in the hope that it will help RHC opponents understand the importance of the programs for which they are advocating closure, and too, that along with the "community," RHCs have also sustained severe cuts in revenue, forcing elimination &/or decline of important services.
"Our grandson is in an institution; and he and many others are in desperate need of the care and safety offered to them there. They are residents that are unable to care for themselves mentally and/or physically. Many do not have families or the families that there are can not physically, emotionally or financially provide the care and safety to their loved one. Our grandson was born with severe Downs Syndrome; is aggressively Autistic and mute. He is unable to care for himself personally and requires 24/7 one-on-one care. After 18 years of being cared for at home, he was placed in an institution and has made lots of progress.
In the short time he has been there, there have been many cuts in the budget and the facilities. First it was the closing of the indoor pool and then progressed to the closing or eliminating of the senior citizen center; infirmary and outside activities. Recently the cafeteria has been closed and food service to the units has been eliminated on weekends. Our grandson and others have had their caregivers reduced from two caregivers for each resident to one caregiver to two or three residents. You can really see how this has affected him and how he has regressed, recently, as I am sure is true with many more of the others. The facilities have suffered severe cuts to their budget already and should not suffer anymore.
Other areas have closed their facilities forcing residents like our grandson into group homes. Residents like him could survive BUT would not be able to function properly. They would have to be heavily drugged and kept under lock and key. These facilities, either funded group homes or private ones, can not offer the educated 24/7 caregivers, daily medical monitoring or the safety that is needed.
We also have to LOOK AHEAD to the fact that when these programs are found to not be working or can not get adequate funding, or in the case of private ones they are not making a profit and have to close, the residents will be left with no place at all. THEN WHAT? We have to look ahead and not just act for the moment.
DON’T SACRIFICE THE RESIDENTS TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. BUT MAKE CUTS ELSEWHERE.
Please rule with your hearts and not your budget. All those like my grandson desperately need our help to be safe, healthy and in the best of conditions possible. Their families also need to have the peace of mind knowing their loved one is safe, healthy, cared for and as happy as possible. Please do NOT eliminate or cut the budgets and funding of these institutions.
Respectfully,
"Gram" Donna Evans
(published with the author's permission)
"Our grandson is in an institution; and he and many others are in desperate need of the care and safety offered to them there. They are residents that are unable to care for themselves mentally and/or physically. Many do not have families or the families that there are can not physically, emotionally or financially provide the care and safety to their loved one. Our grandson was born with severe Downs Syndrome; is aggressively Autistic and mute. He is unable to care for himself personally and requires 24/7 one-on-one care. After 18 years of being cared for at home, he was placed in an institution and has made lots of progress.
In the short time he has been there, there have been many cuts in the budget and the facilities. First it was the closing of the indoor pool and then progressed to the closing or eliminating of the senior citizen center; infirmary and outside activities. Recently the cafeteria has been closed and food service to the units has been eliminated on weekends. Our grandson and others have had their caregivers reduced from two caregivers for each resident to one caregiver to two or three residents. You can really see how this has affected him and how he has regressed, recently, as I am sure is true with many more of the others. The facilities have suffered severe cuts to their budget already and should not suffer anymore.
Other areas have closed their facilities forcing residents like our grandson into group homes. Residents like him could survive BUT would not be able to function properly. They would have to be heavily drugged and kept under lock and key. These facilities, either funded group homes or private ones, can not offer the educated 24/7 caregivers, daily medical monitoring or the safety that is needed.
We also have to LOOK AHEAD to the fact that when these programs are found to not be working or can not get adequate funding, or in the case of private ones they are not making a profit and have to close, the residents will be left with no place at all. THEN WHAT? We have to look ahead and not just act for the moment.
DON’T SACRIFICE THE RESIDENTS TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. BUT MAKE CUTS ELSEWHERE.
Please rule with your hearts and not your budget. All those like my grandson desperately need our help to be safe, healthy and in the best of conditions possible. Their families also need to have the peace of mind knowing their loved one is safe, healthy, cared for and as happy as possible. Please do NOT eliminate or cut the budgets and funding of these institutions.
Respectfully,
"Gram" Donna Evans
(published with the author's permission)
Monday, March 8, 2010
ARC/DDC videos
You are strongly encouraged to visit this website: http://olympiainsider.org/. Cut and paste this URL or click on the link in the left hand list. You will see a list of pictures representing podcast videos, below which are links that you can click to play or download. You can read instructions at the top.
What you will find is a series of surprisingly well done, very political videos, shot on the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia, many featuring public officials such as Victor Moore, Director of the Office of Financial Management, along with Sue Elliott of ARC and Ed Holen of the DDC and others. Each is about 4 minutes long and many promote the closure of residential habilitation centers. They were produced as a joint project by the Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and ARC of Washington. I do not know if any tax money is used by ARC (of 501c3 status) to fund this project, but, as I understand it, the DDC is a state agency funded by Federal grant which matches State funding, which means tax money is certainly funding their participation.
The use of Federal or State tax money for these purposes is of grave concern to those of us whose loved ones depend on RHCs for their safety and wellbeing. Shouldn't public money, both contributed by the government & retained by virtue of exemption from taxation, be used for the benefit of all of the people with dd instead of just those who fit the bias of the groups receiving it?
I will be interested to hear/see your reactions.
Saskia
What you will find is a series of surprisingly well done, very political videos, shot on the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia, many featuring public officials such as Victor Moore, Director of the Office of Financial Management, along with Sue Elliott of ARC and Ed Holen of the DDC and others. Each is about 4 minutes long and many promote the closure of residential habilitation centers. They were produced as a joint project by the Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and ARC of Washington. I do not know if any tax money is used by ARC (of 501c3 status) to fund this project, but, as I understand it, the DDC is a state agency funded by Federal grant which matches State funding, which means tax money is certainly funding their participation.
The use of Federal or State tax money for these purposes is of grave concern to those of us whose loved ones depend on RHCs for their safety and wellbeing. Shouldn't public money, both contributed by the government & retained by virtue of exemption from taxation, be used for the benefit of all of the people with dd instead of just those who fit the bias of the groups receiving it?
I will be interested to hear/see your reactions.
Saskia
Monday, January 18, 2010
RHCs: Keep or Close & Why?
Ever since Gov. Gregoire proposed in her budget to close all of the residential habilitation centers, (RHCs), I have been asking: "What would be gained?"
"Revenue savings?" Hardly! Even though the closure study missed many of the costs associated with "community" services for people with developmental disabilities, it did admit that RHC closures would cost the state money!
Liberation for RHC residents? From what? From their homes and friends? From excellent care, services and activities? How about from safe environments and programs assured by Federal audits ?
RHC residents are not prisoners. Their parents and guardians probably had to struggle to have them admitted. Despite the general rule that people receiving short term admissions (the only ones permitted), will be returned to "community" placements, some guardians are so happy with RHC care and services that they petition for long term residence.
"Better services for current RHC residents?" No.
For 3 reasons:
1) Most still living in RHCs are those requiring the most intensive services, more so than most "community" providers can offer. When DSHS last attempted to close Fircrest, it opened it's doors to "community" vendors who were encouraged to "window shop" for potential clients. Repeatedly and often, "community" vendors were reported to have said, "Keep Fircrest open: our facility cannot take care of these people."
2) RHC s comply with Federal Standards and are required to pass stringent audits; the quality assurance by the state for it's privatized, "community" clients is weaker.
3) Emergency departments, jail or mental hospitals are poor alternatives for people with developmental disabilities whose medical, psychiatric or behavioral conditions escalate beyond their "community" placements' capacity to accommodate them. RHCs provide the safety net and venues for their stabilization, in most cases for return to the "community".
So....what am I missing?
Saskia
"Revenue savings?" Hardly! Even though the closure study missed many of the costs associated with "community" services for people with developmental disabilities, it did admit that RHC closures would cost the state money!
Liberation for RHC residents? From what? From their homes and friends? From excellent care, services and activities? How about from safe environments and programs assured by Federal audits ?
RHC residents are not prisoners. Their parents and guardians probably had to struggle to have them admitted. Despite the general rule that people receiving short term admissions (the only ones permitted), will be returned to "community" placements, some guardians are so happy with RHC care and services that they petition for long term residence.
"Better services for current RHC residents?" No.
For 3 reasons:
1) Most still living in RHCs are those requiring the most intensive services, more so than most "community" providers can offer. When DSHS last attempted to close Fircrest, it opened it's doors to "community" vendors who were encouraged to "window shop" for potential clients. Repeatedly and often, "community" vendors were reported to have said, "Keep Fircrest open: our facility cannot take care of these people."
2) RHC s comply with Federal Standards and are required to pass stringent audits; the quality assurance by the state for it's privatized, "community" clients is weaker.
3) Emergency departments, jail or mental hospitals are poor alternatives for people with developmental disabilities whose medical, psychiatric or behavioral conditions escalate beyond their "community" placements' capacity to accommodate them. RHCs provide the safety net and venues for their stabilization, in most cases for return to the "community".
So....what am I missing?
Saskia
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