Year: 2015

Medical Home Meeting: January 14, 2015

sncwma Work Group Meetings

Our January meeting took place on a cold winter’s day.  Kate Agin, from Northeast Utilities (now Eversource Energy), spoke to us about gaining protection from termination of utility services.  If income eligible, anyone is protected from utilities shut-off during the winter moratorium–Nov 15-Mar 15.  Household incomes must qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or be 60% of the state’s median income.  Documentation must be renewed every three months.  Kate emphasized that protection from shut-off does not mean that people will not have to pay for the energy that they used during that period, and it doesn’t eliminate the unpaid bills.  Many families do not understand that distinction.  Utility bills accumulate during the protected time.  One common myth is that the State is picking up for the unpaid bills.  THIS IS NOT TRUE.  Payment arrearage management plans are available, so Kate urges families to call if they are overwhelmed by mounting utility bills.

Shut-off protection is provided to income-eligible customers with serious or chronic diseases.  A certification of illness must be completed by a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, Board of Health, or other authorized agency.  Medical certification must be renewed every 3 months (serious illness) or 6 months (chronic illness).  Kate pointed out that income, not disability, determines hardship protection.  Another common myth is that if a child needs electricity for a medical device, there is automatic protection for the household. THIS IS NOT TRUE.  Families are qualified due to income, not illness.

Families with special needs children should contact their energy providers to place a “Medical Notice on File”.  Although this doesn’t guarantee shut-off protection for financial reasons, this notice will alert the utility company about the family’s circumstance.  Having this file in place DOES NOT impact the financial responsibility for the bills.  Electric companies will provide generators during power outages, but the company must be informed about the family’s need.

Utility companies do have several programs to help low income households.  If a Western Massachusetts family does not qualify for state or federal energy assistance, the Good Neighbor Fund may help.  Kate urged us to tell our families not to be afraid to call the utility company.  There are programs to help families.

For detailed information about energy assistance, including help from non-government programs, please check out MassResources.org.  Energy assistance includes cord wood and wood pellets.

For important reminders about storm safety, check out this video:

Medical Home Meeting: December 10, 2014

sncwma Work Group Meetings ,

At our December meeting, we welcomed Soloe Dennis, Regional Director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).  He spoke about the Western Massachusetts Health Equity Summit held on October 2, 2014 at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.  One segment of this summit was devoted to understanding and utilizing local data to address health disparities.  MDPH collects data and will share it with interested organizations.

According to the website, MDPH holds data relating to births and fetal deaths that occur in Massachusetts.  MDPH tracks newly diagnosed cases of malignant disease and benign brain-related tumors that occur to Massachusetts residents. The Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS) manages admission, discharge and invoice information for over 150 publicly funded treatment agencies.

MDPH provides grants for community partners working to address health disparities.  Matthew Sadof, MD, mentioned that the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition (PVAC) received seed money to start a home visit program in Springfield, MA.  MDPH is especially interested in working with collaborative partnerships such as PVAC.  Any partnership that is looking for assistance with preparing a grant proposal is encouraged to reach out to Margot Malachowski, Community Outreach Librarian at Baystate Health, for help with doing the preliminary research that is often necessary for a successful grant proposal.  This link offers many ways to contact Margot.

This video explains the PVAC:

At our meeting, Dr. Sadof announced that Jane O’Brien is the new Care Coordinator at Baystate Children’s Specialty Center.  Congratulations, Jane!  Dr. Sadof reminded us that his new “4C”  grant-funded project will be enrolling families starting in January 2015.  4C = Collaborative Consultive Coordinated Care for families coping with medical complexities.  The focus of the grant is to create a cloud-based care plan that the families control.

Finally, from the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality:

  • A new resource, the Family Engagement Guide, provides step-by-step guidance, checklists and tips for medical practices on how to engage families in the medical home transformation and ongoing quality improvement process. The guide helps practices determine if they are ready to work with families as improvement partners, and then how to recruit and work with Family Health Partners and how to evaluate, sustain and improve the Family Health Partners role and relationship. Visit http://medicalhome.nichq.org/ to learn more.