Comcast and Kids

Comcast Newsmakers, a local public service program that runs short five-minute clips on shows such as CNN Headline News, has always been a friend to PCPA. For the past few years, they have helped PCPA report the great work done by members and the challenges faced by community providers. George Kimes has recorded two Newsmakers, and as magnetic and inspiring as the man who signs my paychecks is, this time around a new face was needed.

So with Children’s Mental Health Day on May 3, we felt that the camera could just as easily fall in love with Connell O’Brien, PCPA Children’s Policy Specialist. Connell recorded his Newsmakers in April, and it will be airing at random times this May (since it will be airing all month, the interview did not specifically mention Children’s Mental Health Day).

Anyone interested in viewing Connell’s Newsmakers clip can do so from PCPA’s Vimeo site. Congratulations to Connell for a comfortable performance and for representing PCPA’s children’s providers well.

A Dilemma

I have a confession. I’ve been  neglecting my blogging duties for quite awhile now. One may ask, if I am neglecting the blog, am I neglecting my job duties? Now if I read over my job description, there’s nothing in there about blogging or even social media. But there is a bullet point that reads “promote appropriate use of other current technologies to expedite and enhance training for members”. So is blogging a current technology that expedites and enhances training? Some would say “yes”. So by not blogging on a regular basis, am I not fulfilling my job duties? Thus, my dilemma. But is it an ethical dilemma? What are ethics? This question was recently answered at a Central Region Meeting where the topics was Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace. Presented and hosted by CBHNP, 20 PCPA members enjoyed a presentation that included a history of various ethics theories that provide a framework when making decisions, as well as a lively group discussion of some real-life scenarios.

The next PCPA Regional meeting will take place in the SE region, at Human Services, Inc. in Downingtown on April 26. The topic Prevention, Detection, and Reporting of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of Medicaid Resources is certainly timely and sure to provide attendees with great information. Access the PCPA web site for more information and to register.

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy…

At the suggestion of our PR friends at the Bravo Group, PCPA has submitted an op-ed to several local prime news outlets. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Butler Eagle, Hazleton Standard-Speaker, and Chambersburg Public Opinion have printed a letter from PCPA Executive Director George Kimes.

While the budget hardly accounts for the significant cuts in years previous, human services did not see the budgetary carnage that other line items saw (i.e. universities, hospitals, school districts). Which has put providers in a somewhat defensive position, something unusual for us. Some conservative legislators have already questioned the large DPW budget and why these funds couldn’t go towards higher education, obviously not taking into account the cuts that our services have already absorbed.

PCPA encourages members to utilize the media to tell the stories of the people you serve and the people you employ. Your services are important. They keep our communities together and turn lives around. For the first time in a long time, we don’t need to decry the dangerous effects of state budget cuts on behavioral health and intellectual disability programs. But budgetary line items will be heavily scrutinized between now and the day the budget is passed, and the stories of the people you serve will remind legislators and the public at-large of the importance of maintaining the safety net of services.

PCPA Salary Survey – Why Not?

As friend-of-the-association and PCPA Benchmarking Initiative partner Dr. Paul Lefkovitz likes to say, “If you were to take your temperature, and didn’t know that 98.6 degrees is the normal body temperature, how would you know if you were sick?”

This is why the CFO work group developed the 2011 PCPA Salary Survey. The results of the survey will allow community providers to compare compensation packages to determine how their salaries and benefits measure up with providers across the state. The results will be distributed free-of-charge to all respondents.

But so far, only 61 respondents have completed the survey. So why would providers ignore such a valuable opportunity? Let’s shoot down some of the excuses:

1. It takes too long. The work group eliminated several sections from the 2001 version and revised the survey to accomodate the busy CFO. In addition, the online format hosted on Surveymonkey.com makes responding quicker and easier.
2. The results will not apply to my agency. The survey accounts for all types of providers; urban, rural, suburban, multi-service, single-service, etc. This will allow providers to do an accurate apples-to-apples comparison.
3. I don’t have salary information for most of these jobs. While many of the questions surrounding benefit information require an answer, the compensation figures do not, allowing you to choose which titles and job descriptions best represent your agency.
4. I am not comfortable with sharing this information. All responses are completely confidential. Individual respondents will not be identified, and no records of individual responses will be retained after the report is distributed.
5. I have plenty of time to complete it. You don’t. The survey closes at the end of March.

To assure data reliability, PCPA is pushing for 100 completed surveys. Don’t miss this opportunity; Respond today either online or via hard copy.

Fried Chicken and the Governor’s Budget

Have you ever heard the story of the Kentucky Fried Chicken secret recipe? The urban legend is that the recipe is written in pencil on a sheet of notebook paper by Colonel Sanders himself, and that notebook paper, faint and yellowing, is in a company vault in KFC’s Louisville headquarters guarded by motion detectors and security cameras. Only two KFC executives can access the vault.

This level of secrecy can only be matched by the office of Governor Tom Corbett. The scarcity of budget specifics is unprecedented. Many of Harrisburg’s best insiders have been reduced to guessing. But despite the Governor’s close-to-the-vest style, we can expect a few predictions to come true for tomorrow.

1. It’s going to hurt. The Governor’s budget secretary, Charles Zogby, referred to it as “a day of reckoning” at his press club luncheon last week. (Incidentally, this Press Club luncheon has been well covered and printed among PA’s newspapers, not because it was hosted by the Press Club, but because it’s one of the only times a member of the Governor’s administration has spoken publicly about the budget.) The Governor’s budget has to fill a reported $4 billion hole, all while fulfilling his campaign promises of no tax increases and no fees on shale drilling. No amount of creative accounting can cover that shortcoming. Cuts will be made.
2. There’s no shortage of blame to go around. And from Zogby’s presentation, most of the blame for this $4 billion deficit was laid at the feet of Governor Rendell. One of the early sacrifices to the overspending gods was AdultBasic, a health insurance program for low-income working adults, which the Corbett administration did not refund last week. This signaled the Governor’s resolve to forgo programs rather than raise tax or fee revenue.
3. Is there a silver lining? If there is any good news with Secretary Zogby’s presentation, it is that he seemed to recognize human services as a core function of government. “I think there’s also a desire to want to address the needs of the most needy and most vulnerable in our commonwealth. I think that’s been certainly the priorities of Governor Corbett as he’s gone ahead and put together this budget.”
4. Cuts will not be constant across-the-board. Part of the doom-and-gloom rhetoric is that every government program, regardless of function, will be slashed by a fixed percentage regardless of function. But advocacy groups have gotten assurance that every government program will be evaluated separately.

While specifics are light, there are some near-constants that we can count on. The remainder will be filled in with the Governor’s budget address at 11:30 tomorrow. Please keep an eye on PCPA’s web site, www.paproviders.org, for PCPA’s budget summary, which will be sent to members tomorrow evening.

The Things He’ll Do For the Kids…

When Irish Ice are Smilin'... Thanks to the Pocono Record for this tasteful photo of Connell.

PCPA staffers sacrifice a lot for their communities. For example, a week ago, Connell O’Brien sacrificed his remaining dignity and any feeling below his shoulders.

On Sunday, February 21, Connell and several of the O’Brien family took the 11th annual Polar Bear Plunge in 20 degree weather in Albrightsville, PA. For those unfamiliar with the tradition, it’s just as it sounds: A large hole was cut into ice of a frozen pond, and the intrepid swimmers took the plunge, literally, including Connell and several of his impetuous siblings. Although it is more likely that a combination of Jameson and a dare was the impetus for this idiocy, the event was also a fundraiser for a local family whose 5-year-old son has complex medical needs. Those interested are encouraged to read the Pocono Record article for more information.

Congratulations to Connell for braving the winter weather for his icy adventure and living to tell about it.

Insurance Verification

To all you provider heroes out there:

One of PCPA’s members is in the market for a consumer insurance verification vendor. They currently verify internally, but have found that some web-based services do not cover everyone, and some insurers require you to verify manually. The are looking to streamline the process. Does anyone out there outsource your verifications, and do you have any recommendations?

If you have problems that are stealing your work time and would like to get advice from your colleagues out there, consider PCPA at your service. Contact me at steve@paproviders.org and we can put it out on ProviderNet.

Choose Your Tagline

In our occasionally attention-deficit culture, a good tagline may be the best and only way people associate your product or service. A tagline can inspire (“Just Do It”), give sage advice (“Don’t Leave Home Without It”), or embarrass with its unintentional messaging (“Toyota: Moving Forward”).

Which is why we would like your help in selecting a PCPA tagline. Since we represent your agency and your profession, your input is critical in our final choice. Which of the following (developed with help from our friends at Bravo) do you prefer, and why:

Progress for Providers
Advocacy. Education. Impact.
The Voice for Human Service Agencies
We Advocate. So You Can Deliver Better Care
Paving Your Road to Better Care
Strengthening Human Services Agencies
Caring for the Caregivers
Championing Human Services

Thank you. blogosphere, for your help in this important decision.

Today’s Blog Post Brought to You by the Letter “C” and the Number “150″

If your job title starts with the letter “C”- CEO, COO, CIO, CFO, then this blog post is meant for you. I would like to personally invite you to attend the upcoming PCPA Technology Conference. You are the folks we had in mind during the planning of the conference. You are the ones who make the decisions about what technology to purchase, how to implement that technology and let’s face it, you are the ones that write the checks. If you were already planning to attend the annual meeting (which precedes the conference), then plan to stay the extra day.

So I’ve explained about the letter “C” so let me now explain about the number “150″. I would like to see 150 of you at the conference. If every full member sent one person, that’s all it would take. But let’s be honest, if you can send one person, you can send two.  After all, the early bird registration rate is a bargain at $125. We’ve included most of your meals in that cost and you can get a great night’s sleep at the Holiday Inn for only $95/night. Plus, there will be a variety of exhibitors and workshop presentation that will show you how to can save your agency even more money so it’s totally worth the investment of time , travel and money.

The link to the conference information can be accessed here. We look forward to seeing you in Harrisburg on March 16-17!

It’s Not Just About EHR

Over the past several months, I’ve gotten several emails and phone calls with people asking for information about the “EHR Conference” that PCPA is having. Although I’m thrilled people have been interested, I need to emphasize that the conference is more than just EHR. There are lots of other technologies out there that our members can benefit from and my goal has been to offer information about lots of different kinds of technology at the conference. I’d like to use the next few blog posts to highlight some of those “non-EHR” things.

Sometimes the perception is that PCPA is mostly focused on behavioral health providers and issues so I wanted to ensure we had some things to draw the IDD folks to the conference. I’m very excited to say that we have two presenters coming from Imagine! Imagine! is an agency in Colorado provides support services to more than 2,600 people of all ages with developmental delays and cognitive disabilities including autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome and they do a lot with technology. I first found out about Imagine! while attending the ANCOR/National Council/NADSP Technology Summit last fall and have been following them on Facebook ever since! I met their Director of Public Relations, Fred Hobbs at the summit and invited him and his colleague, Greg Wellams to present at our conference. It was actually pretty easy to talk them into coming to Harrisburg (so let’s show them a good time!). More on Fred’s presentation later but Greg will be presenting on “SmartHomes and the Use of Remote Monitoring Technology in Supporting Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”. I think that SmartHomes are the wave of the future, not just for individuals with disabilities but for all of us so be sure to attend Greg’s presentation! Imagine! is doing some pretty cool stuff so be sure to check them out of facebook or become a follower of their CEO’s blog, “Then Again, What Do I Know?”. It’s pretty cool.

Another event that I’m pretty excited about are our Product Showcases. While most of them are in fact EHR vendors, I was able to secure a demo of what I think is a pretty cool, unique product called talintel. talintel is an online pre screening tool to identify those job applicants with the highest probability for success in the Direct Support Professional career, based on two consumer profiles. I think every agency that struggles with hiring quality DSP’s should check this out!

Early bird rates are in effect until February 11. Register now!