Work Group Meetings

Medical Home Meeting: December 13, 2016

sncwma Work Group Meetings

During our meeting on December 13, 2016, we thanked Marianne Beach for her hard work and dedication as she retired from her position at the Department of Public Health.  Everyone is sad to see her go but also grateful for the support she has given to both providers and families.

We started off the meeting with presenter Andrew Wilson who showcased Symmetrisleep from the Helping Hand Company.  Symmetrisleep is a positioning equipment that can be used for children and/or adults.  Andrew educated the group on the importance of sleep position as we sleep for about 2,920 hours a year or 121 days a year. This really put it into perspective!  He shared success stories that others had with the use of this equipment. Andrew was honest in stating that this equipment doesn’t work overnight and sometimes needs to be adjusted given the child’s needs. At this time, the equipment is not covered by health insurance.  Andrew kindly shared this link http://www.position2relax.com/ for additional information.  Any questions, Andrew is available via e-mail at andrew@symmetrikit.com.

The second speaker was Noemi Arguinzoni from the Department of Transitional Assistance.  She reviewed SNAP, TAFDC, and EAEDC. Her PowerPoint presentation offered a great amount of information, including income guidelines, eligibility, and accessibility. Here are some quick tips! You can apply for SNAP online, walk-in, or call over the phone.  For TAFDC, the only way to apply is in person at 95 Liberty Street Springfield, MA from 7:30am-5:00pm.  In order to be eligible for a daycare voucher, one must be collecting TAFDC.  Lastly, Lisa Sheehy shared the Food Source Hotline (1-800-645-8333) which provides information and referrals for families facing hunger.

We hope you find this information helpful and we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on January 10, 2017 at 9:15am.

-Cristina Rivera, LICSW

 

Medical Home Meeting: November 8, 2016

sncwma Work Group Meetings

Thank you for your patience as we get acquainted to blogging for the Medical Home Meeting, as the wonderful Margot Malachowski has handed over the torch.  We want to thank Margot for her great work and assistance with coordinating and keeping up with the social media piece of the Medical Home Meeting.  In addition, we are very sad to announce that this year we will not be holding the Medical Home Group Holiday party.  We wish everyone a great holiday and hope to revisit this tradition in the future.

On November 8, 2016 we had Caitlin Thomas, SSI Advocate, share wonderful information with the group.  She presented a great slideshow and tips when engaging in the process of applying for SSI and SSDI.  She encouraged providers and parents to contact her via e-mail and/or phone if they had any questions/concerns as she would gladly assist. Caitlin shared an abundance of information but some key points were: know the language and abbreviations used by the Claims Representative and bring documents in directly as fax can get backed up to two weeks.  The slideshow and Caitlin’s contact information are in this link- Information regarding SSI.

Our next meeting is Tuesday, December 13, from 9:15am-10:30am at Shriners.

Medical Home Meeting: June 8, 2016

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Our June meeting opened with a reminder that next year’s meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month, NOT the second Wednesday. Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 13, 2016!

Ingrid Flory of Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change (MFOFC) spoke with 35 meeting attendees about MFOFC’s work to help families envisioning better outcomes for themselves.  MFOFC is a statewide, grassroots coalition of individuals with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses and their families.  In the Family Leadership Series, MFOFC teaches families how to advocate for legislative change.   As Ingrid talked about this Series, many attendees at our meeting spoke up to vouch for this program.  MFOFC works toward strengthening statewide supports so that our loved ones can live safely in the community.  They monitor  what is happening with Chapter 171 , an Act providing support to individuals with disabilities and their families that was passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2002. MFOFC knows that many Massachusetts legislators don’t live our lives, so they show up to make sure that the legislators hear about what is important to our families.

The Family Leadership Series is a two-day program.  Food and overnight lodging for each family is paid for by the Department of Developmental Services and other state agencies, organizations and businesses. Respite/child care/nursing for family members is arranged on an as needed basis.  The Full Life Ahead Workshop helps families envision a better future for themselves  Topics include friendships, transition, employment, housing and financial planning.

In the second half of our meeting, Lori Bosak from Center for Health Care Financing spoke to us about making the most of insurance benefits.  Lori visited us in October 2014 and shared with us again how Enhanced Coordination of Benefits (ECOB) works to coordinate private insurance and MassHealth benefits for frequent users of high cost medical care.  ECOB coordinators advocate for families, and will investigate insurance termination.  Lori is down-to-earth and realistic about the pressures that families face.  Coordinators will talk with employers, pharmacists… anyone that families are interacting with over insurance concerns.  A really wonderful service!

Our next meeting is Tue, Sept 13, from 9:15-10:30am at Shriners. Please remember that we have no meetings in July & August.

Here’s a sweet video with a great recommendation for Summer Reading: