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State details agenda to improve disabled people's access to services in St. Lawrence County, rest of NY

Posted 7/29/18

The governor’s office has launched a series of programs aimed at enhancing accessibility to state programs and services for people with disabilities in St. Lawrence County and the rest of New York. …

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State details agenda to improve disabled people's access to services in St. Lawrence County, rest of NY

Posted

The governor’s office has launched a series of programs aimed at enhancing accessibility to state programs and services for people with disabilities in St. Lawrence County and the rest of New York.

The Department of Health will lead the first phase of what the governor calls the “Able New York” agenda, an initiative with a series of policies aimed at supporting community living for New Yorkers with physical disabilities.

The department will issue a series of guidance documents for providers and other entities on existing requirements and programs that emphasize choice and integration for people who receive support from the agency for their physical disabilities. Included in this series will be:

• a “Dear Administrator Letter” to all nursing facilities reminding them of their obligations to provide assistance to any resident that wishes to return to the community.

• new guidance to local divisions of social services regarding the immediate need program for authorizing personal care services. The department will intervene in counties that are not complying with all aspects of the program.

• education to nursing homes, adult homes, local governments, and Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) Plans about the MLTC Housing Disregard, which provides nursing home residents who are discharged back to the community with additional housing allowance should they join a MLTC plan.

In addition to providing guidance on existing programs, DOH will move to establish a new requirement for nursing homes to highlight the importance of providing education and assistance on community living options. The department will explore:

• Medicaid-enrolled nursing homes to certify each year that they have assessed all residents' functional capacity, asked residents about their interest in receiving information regarding returning to the community, and provided sufficient preparation and orientation to residents to ensure safe and orderly discharge from the facility.

• requiring any new application for additional skilled nursing home beds or change of ownership to include, as part of its business plan submitted with a Certificate of Need, an assessment of the home and community based services (HBCS) in the service area, and a description of its current or planned linkages to such HBCS services, and how its admission policies will ensure that residents are placed in the most appropriate least restrictive setting.

• requiring all nursing homes to inform residents and their families and representatives of their discharge rights, in writing, upon admission, including information on home and community-based services and community transition programs. The department will require all nursing homes to publicly post information regarding available resources and services that can assist residents in moving to the community. The department will explore additional ways to highlight discharge options and will engage the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

• incentivizing nursing home discharges by developing a quality metric that rewards facilities that discharge long-stay residents to the community. Discharged residents must be successfully maintained in the community for at least 90 days.