Tag Archives: medicaid waiver

NY’s TBISCC Meeting Agenda for April 14th

Posted on by
1

One of the things that must happen is improved communication across the board. Having said that, here is a copy of the agenda for the Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council (TBISCC) meeting this April 14th. The meeting is open to the public.

 

Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council

NYS Department of Health

Empire State Plaza, Room 125 (near Concourse entrance to Corning Tower)

Thursday April 14, 2011

10:30 AM – 3:30 PM

AGENDA

 

10:30am – 10:45am Welcome, Introduction of New Members,

Review and Approval of Minutes from the December 6, 2010 Council Meeting

10:45am – 11:15pm DOH senior staff attendance to discuss the following to the extent possible:

· executive budget – possible implications for TBI

· identification of new administration/staff

· report back on service coordinator involvement in fair hearing process

· update on the status of the universal screening tool/its potential to replace the PRI for appropriate access to TBI waiver services

11:15pm – 12:00pm Presentation: Analysis of the TBI service provider surveys with follow-up questions and TBISCC member discussion/input.

12:00pm – 12:45pm Lunch (members on their own)

12:45pm – 1:15pm Subcommittee reports –

· Healthcare Reform/Non-Waiver Service Needs

· Public Awareness/ Injury Prevention and Information Dissemination

1:15pm –1:45pm Veteran’s Activities and Service Update (to be confirmed)

1:45pm – 2:00pm TBI Waiver Update

2:00pm – 2:30pm Carry Over Issues from Last Meeting

2:30pm – 3:15pm Public Comment/Summary/Next Steps/Adjournment

3:15pm – 3:30pm Meeting Wrap-Up/Date for next meeting

 

We Are Not Children, We Are Not Slaves: Living With a Brain Injury- Part I

Posted on by
Reply

Discrimination denies people what they deserve – their freedom.

I have lived with a brain injury for nearly 20 years and have worked in the field for nearly 15 of those years. Raised in a civil rights family I am very much an advocate for every individual’s right to be who they are, in safety, with equality, in the world they live in. When I talk with survivors of brain injuries in this state and others, the number one complaint I hear is They treat us like we are children. Tragically this is true.

My injury was sustained when I was held-up and shot in the head at point blank range in 1984.

The dehumanization of people with brain injuries (of people with disabilities) is epidemic in scope. In too many instances those who live with brain injuries are treated by health care providers as chattel. Living things used to make money for the greedy. No matter how you hold this truth up to the light, it is a form of slavery: emotional, spiritual and physical slavery.

My state, New York State, offers what in common parlance here is referred to as the Medicaid Waiver. The waiver is a form of Medicaid reimbursement for healthcare providers who offer services to people with brain injuries who live in the community. While the lives of many brain injury survivors has improved as a result, the lives of many on the waiver have been turned into a form of community-based incarceration.

This is not a situation that calls for broad brush strokes. There are waiver providers in this state who, in my view, do an extraordinary job. The Cortland Community Re-Entry Program in Cortland and Living Resources in Albany are two superb providers. Others, like the Albany-based Belvedere Brain Injury Program is not even close to its website’s claim that it is “the Capital District’s leading traumatic brain injury community rehabilitation program”. An arrogant and unfounded claim if ever there was one.

to be cont’d