Category Archives: maribeth gnozzio

Pivotal Meeting for NY State’s Brain Injury Council

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So far the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council (TBISCC) has done anything but live up to its legislative mandate: offer proposals and ideas and guidance to the state’s Department of Health, a state agency that ought to be the national role model for resisting any and all input from anyone other than itself, to improve the lives of New Yorkers with brain injury disabilities. Thus far the TBISCC and the DOH is a marriage made in some kind of bizarre, dysfunctional, self-absorbed heaven.

The council meets May 31 and if the agenda (provided below) is any indication, the first portion of the meeting will provide members of the public a close-up view of two of the primary impediments to  equal rights for New Yorkers with brain injury disabilities:  Michael Kaplen and Judith Avner. Kaplen has proven in more than one venue that he is little more than a bully and Avner, the executive director of the Brain Injury Association of NY State sank to a new low last year when she blocked people with brain injury disabilities from being on a committee formed to – wait for it – represent people with brain injury disabilities.

One wonders what Avner’s presentation on “behalf of BIANYS” will include. BIANYS staff members past and present have said disagreeing with Avner on any front results in a nasty backlash; it is made clear that Judy is not to be questioned. At any rate, given that BIANYS has remained dead silent in the face of the DOH’s behavior (one example being a DOH directive that TBI Waiver Providers cannot advocate for their clients at Medicaid Fair Hearings, a move that viciously undercuts the chances that the client living with a brain injury disability will prevail) I imagine Avner’s presentation of, well, Avner, will be a dazzling display of charm-filled lip service.

Lest you think I am overstated the problems named Avner and Kaplen, one must remember that until recently, both continued to claim leadership of the council, Kaplen as chair, Avner as vice-chair, even though  Kaplen’s term had expired in 2004, Avner’s in 2003.

The DOH has allies in Kaplen and Avner. Neither will allow the TBISCC or the BIANYS to hold the DOH responsible for the suffering it is inflicting on New Yorkers with brain injury disabilities. Allowing the likes of Maribeth Gnozzio to head up the state’s TBI Waiver makes it clear the DOH doesn’t care a whit about people with brain injury disabilities. It is only by, one would assume, the grace of God (and her husband’s agreement with the FBI) that Gnozzio did not face criminal charges back when her husband, Robert C. Janiszewski, a former County Executive of Hudson County, New Jersey, pled guilty in 2002 to taking more than $100,000 in bribes. In a 2003 interview, the late Paul Byrne, a childhood friend of Janiszewski’s who was indicted for collecting thousands of dollars in bribes for Janiszewski,  said Janiszewski gave him up to spare Gnozzio from prosecution.

The one ray of hope for those who would like to see the council get its ethical head  above water will occur after lunch when the council will decide whether Barry Dain or Kaplen will be the next council chair. If Dain is elected, there may be real hope for the council. If Kaplen is elected, members of the council will have shown their real colors, colors that put them in lockstep with the likes of Kaplen, Avner, Gnozzio, and others.

If Dain is elected, then, perhaps, the council will reject the DOH’s proposed changes in the council’s bylaws. Examination of the  proposed changes to the by-laws  reveals a blatant DOH attempt to weaken a council, already in disarray, put the council under the state’s control, and weaken the current requirement that people with brain injuries and their families be fairly represented on the council.

I can tell you that this upcoming meeting will be closely watched. If, in fact, Kaplen is re-elected and the council adopts the DOH changes to the bylaws, direct action will be required and will be forthcoming.

 

 

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SERVICES COORDINATING COUNCIL

Empire State Plaza, Concourse Level

Meeting Room 125

Friday, May 31, 2013

10:30 AM – 3:30 PM

AGENDA

10:30 – 10:45 Welcome

Welcome new member Megan Clothier

Review and Approval of 1/23/13 Meetings Minutes

10:45- 11:15 Review of Brain Injury Association of New York State TBI Recommendations

Judith Avner, Executive Director, BIANYS

11:15 – 12:00 State Agency Updates

NYSED Gerri Malone

OPWDD Nicole Suto/Nina Baumbach

OMH Debby Zeterstrom

CQC Colleen Scott

OASAS Cher Montayne

OVS Ann Marie Calabrese

DFS Jeff Pohl

DOH Lydia Kosinski/Helen Hines/Kitty Gelberg

12:00 – 12:45 LUNCH (Members on their own)

12:45 – 1:15 Election of Chair

Nominees: Michael Kaplen and Barry Dain

1:15 – 2:30 Discussion of role and mission of TBISCC/

Discussion of Bylaw Revisions

2:30 – 3:00 Public Comment

3:00 – 3:30 Summary/Next Meeting Dates/Adjournment

BIANYS & NY State DOH: Birds of a feather (my apology to the birds of the world)

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Trying to get New York’s Brain Injury Association and Department of Health to openly deal with some of the challenges faced by brain injury survivors in the state is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.

A case in point. Both BIANYS and DOH are tied by contract to the traumatic brain injury waiver complaint line. I can tell you from first hand experience and from hearing the experience of others from all over the state that if you file a complaint you will never learn the results, not ever.

I recently wrote to DOH Deputy Commissioner Mark Kissinger pointing out the injustice, not to mention the possible violation of due process set forth in the Constitution’s 14th amendment. He wrote back saying he would have his staff look into it and get back to me soon. Never heard another word from him, despite follow-up emails on my part.

Then I wrote to the BIANYS board president, Marie Cavallo, and executive director, Judith Avner, asking BIANYS to take a public stance citing the injustice of complainants being ignored. The request was ignored. Scary that these two are the leaders of a non-profit organization that on its website makes the following claim: “Since 1982, we have provided information, resources, programs, advocacy, and support services to brain injury survivors, family members, health care professionals, and educators.” They are absolutely right when they talk about the provision of information and resources and, to some extent, programs, but it is highly disingenuous of them to claim they are an advocacy organization because they are not.

Keep in mind, I’ve asked Avner and Cavallo, in writing, on more than one occasion, to take a public stance regarding the complaint line. They  ignored the request. I’ve asked them in writing to take a public stance regarding the DOH directive blocking TBI Waiver staff from advocating for their clients at Medicaid Fair Hearings. They ignored the request. I asked them in writing to take a stance regarding DOH’s mangling of the rent subsidy which has resulted in quite a few brain-injured individuals getting eviction notices. They ignored the request. I asked them in writing to issue some kind of public statement regarding the heartbreaking case of Francine Taishoff who had her life put in jeopardy by the DOH. They ignored the request.  And I’m a BIANYS member!

I hope the BIANYS board steps in and either straightens out or replaces both of them.

And then we have the DOH.

I sent several emails to Maribeth Gnozzio asking her to address the directive she gave last year blocking waiver staff from advocating for their clients at Medicaid Fair Hearings. Gnozzio ignored the emails. So did the DOH officials copied on them: Kissinger, Mary Ann Anglin and, of course, the DOH’s “tough guy wannabe” Carla Williams.

The pattern in both groups, at least as far as their leadership is concerned, is to do ignore anyone and everyone who holds them accountable and, God forbid, calls on them to do what they say they do in the first place.

Justice 1 NYS DOH 0

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It took the combined efforts of the NYS Commission on Quality of Care, an RRDC (Regional Resource Development Center) with real principles, the Kahrmann Advocacy Coalition, and the threat of legal action to get the NYS Department of Health to drop its efforts to block this writer’s request for three-white noise machines needed to manage marked noise sensitivity secondary to my brain injury.

A complete recount of my efforts to get the white-noise machines and the DOH’s determination to prevent me from doing so can be read in a preceding blog post. Suffice it to say that a ruling resulting from a December 1, 2010 Medicaid Fair Hearing overturned the DOH’s denial of my white-noise machine request, telling them that they needed to consider more evidence documenting the need for the machines.

More evidence was provided and the Southern Tier Independence Center, the RRDC in my area,  sought to approve the request before the DOH’s Maribeth Gnozzio stepped in and blocked the approval. How do you spell retaliation? Try G-n-o-z-z-i-o. However, were Gnozzio the exception to the rule at DOH she’d be long gone, but she’s not, which tells us she is an example of what the rule is at the DOH, and those DOH employees who do care, are in the minority.

Once Gnozzio blocked the white-noise machine request a request for an expedited Medicaid Fair Hearing went into effect. Once that happened, and once, I am sure, Gnozzio and the DOH realized their actions would accurately be seen as retaliation, a knowing attempt to harm me, and a flat-out violation of the ADA, they backed off. Gnozzio and the DOH also realized they were dealing with an RRDC who truly does care and was not about to back off its principles for anyone.

If the DOH wants to reveal that Gnozzio is an exception to the DOH mindset or signal that it is committed to changing it’s mindset, I’ve got a two-word suggestion that would go a long way on both fronts: fire Gnozzio.

NY State DOH Communicates but…

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If material presented by the New York State Department of Health  is to be believed, no DOH employee has ever mentioned Medicaid Fair Hearings in writing and the DOH has absolutely no policies and procedures when it comes to Medicaid Fair Hearings, not even one.

It is hard to imagine that the absence of any Medicaid Fair Hearing policies and procedures and the absence of any mention of them in writing by anyone in the DOH is anything but a willful act on the part of the DOH.

Some background. In December of last year this writer filed a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law)  request with the DOH seeking, and I quote:

– Any and all policies and procedures and any and all emails or other forms of written or recorded communications that are related to Medicaid Fair Hearings.

– Any and all policies and procedures and any and all emails or other forms of written or recorded communications that are related to the state’s traumatic brain injury waiver, the RRDCs ( Regional Resource Development Centers) and RRDSs (Regional resource Development Specialists) and assistant RRDSs and their role in Medicaid Fair Hearings

– Any and all policies and procedures and any and all emails or other forms of written or recorded communication that are related to directives from DOH (and or contract employees of DOH) that relate to TBI Waiver providers and their role in Medicaid Fair Hearings

– Any and all information that relates to DOH Policies and Procedures that apply to Medicaid Fair Hearings

In response to this request I received only a training binder for fair hearing officers, that’s it.

A case in point: DOH employee Maribeth Gnozzio has a seemingly well-earned reputation for, with rare exception, not returning phone calls or emails. Nevertheless, she communicates rather frequently with the the Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver’s RRDCs  she is charged with overseeing across the state. The RRDCs oversee waiver providers and participants in different regions.

However, it seems that despite sending in the neighborhood of 3,658 emails to RRDCs in 2010, she too never mentions Medicaid Fair Hearings once. A remarkable feat indeed since several sources say it was Gnozzio who told RRDCs during a phone conferences last year that waiver providers are not to appear in support of waiver participants in Medicaid Fair Hearings, a nasty Machiavellian directive to say the least and a directive that can only be designed to undercut a waiver participant’s chances in a fair hearing. The results have no doubt  been brutal for more than one person living with a brain injury since it no coincidence that this rather sadistic DOH directive was issued at a time when there seems to be a wide-ranging effort to discharge people from the waiver or notify them their services are being cut. To send some of us who live with brain injuries into a Medicaid Fair Hearing without our waiver case managers can be like asking someone to climb Mount Everest without oxygen, and the DOH knows it.

Here is a regional breakdown of the approximate number of emails sent by Gnozzio to RRDCs in 2010:

Capital District – 226

Buffalo – 236

Long Island – 886

Lower Hudson Valley – 506

New York City – 704

Adirondacks – 244

Rochester – 140

Binghamton – 260

Syracuse – 130

Sent to all RRDCs – 326