 |
MGH Community News |
|
MGH Community News |
| October 2012 | Volume 16 • Issue 10 |
Highlights
Program Highlights Other Sections Social Service staff may direct resource questions to the Community Resource Center, Lindsey Streahle, x6-8182. Questions, comments about the newsletter? Contact Ellen Forman, x6-5807. |
Fuel Assistance and Winter Moratorium Against Heat Shut-Offs It’s heating season again! Each year on November 1 community agencies throughout Massachusetts start taking Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Fuel Assistance applications. Download this year’s brochure at: http://www.mass.gov/hed/docs/dhcd/cd/cold/coldrel.pdf. The income limit is 60% of Area Median Income (in brochure above, see the last column of the grid on page 2). LIHEAP is a federal program available in other states as well, for more information contact Community Resource Center staff. For more detailed eligibility and benefits information Social Service staff can see our Utilities webpage. Other heating assistance programs are also available as the season progresses. More information on these programs is also available on our website. The “Winter Moratorium” on heat-related shut-offs begins November 15. Under Massachusetts law utilities are not allowed to shut-off gas or electricity (if it is needed to run a heating system) between November 15 and March 15 for customers who are experiencing “financial hardship”. This protection unfortunately does not apply to “deliverables” such as oil and propane. To demonstrate financial hardship the customer must submit their utility company’s financial hardship form. Typically one qualifies with income below 60% Area Median Income (see brochure above), but those with slightly higher incomes may also qualify under extenuating circumstances. We’ve created a new patient utilities assistance handout that includes a summary of assistance options, shut-off protections and help for managing past-due bills. It is available to Social Service staff on our Utilities webpage. LIHEAP Budget Battles Each year it seems, LIHEAP funding is a political battle. The federal government releases a budget amount and legislators advocate for funds to be released as soon as possible and for the amount to be increased - with varying levels of success. This year is likely to see more of the same. According to a recent The Boston Globe article, federal officials say they are still calculating how much money individual states will receive, in Massachusetts residents are expected to be eligible for up to $750 in aid, about $350 less than last year. |
EA Further Updates Community Resource Center (CRC) staff recently attended a training that focused in part on recent changes to the state’s Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter program. The overview of these changes have been reported previously (Emergency Assistance [Family Shelter] New Eligibility Categories, MGH Community News, September, 2012). |
Selected Advocacy Tips
CRC staff are happy to provide in-person training to Social Service staff if needed. Contact Ellen Forman via e-mail or at x6-5807.
Hope Lodge- New Application Form and Length of Stay Policy Hope Lodge (Boston) has a new application form, which has been posted on our website (please destroy old copies). They have also instituted a new Length-of-Stay policy that, in brief, institutes a nine-month maximum stay within a 365 day period. This pertains to both continuous and intermittent stays. Patients are eligible to re-apply for up to another nine-month period 365 days after the first day of their previous stay. To help communication and planning, long-stay patients will also now be required to meet with staff periodically to review their status, generally at the three-, six- and eight-month marks. -Thanks to Ashley Gaughan for sharing this information. Traveler’s Aid LIFT Program Closes Traveler’s Aid’s Linking Individuals and Families in Transition (Traveler’s Aid Fund) has closed. This program should not to be confused with the AmeriCorps affiliated LIFT program which provides case management services and application assistance. The Traveler’s Aid LIFT program assisted those in the Boston area who were homeless, stranded, leaving the area, or looking to relocate to more stable housing with information and referral and, when appropriate, the purchase of a bus ticket. Staff may be most familiar with the relocation benefit. HAVEN staff report it was also used to help transport Intimate Partner Violence survivors to shelter. -Thanks to Liz Speakman for passing on this information. Social Security Benefits to Rise Slightly More than 56 million Americans on Social Security retirement and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will get raises averaging $19 a month come January or about $230 a year. This is one of the smallest hikes since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. Much of the 1.7 percent increase in benefits could get wiped out by higher Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments. The cost-of-living adjustment on payments, dubbed COLA, is tied to a government measure of inflation. It confirms that inflation has been relatively low over the past year, despite the recent surge in gasoline prices. Social Security recipients received a 3.6 percent increase in benefits this year after getting none the previous two years. -See the full Boston Globe article … The RIDE In-Person Assessment - Still No Announced Start Date The start-date for the upcoming switch to in-person assessment for The RIDE applications has not yet been announced. We had reported previously that The RIDE staff had given a possible November 1 start date, but we’ve been reassured that it will not start then. The RIDE is promising that there will be a significant public outreach effort before the new process goes into effect.
Boston Youth Sanctuary- Therapeutic After-School Program for Trauma Survivors Boston Youth Sanctuary, Inc. is a therapeutic after-school program for children ages 6-13 living in certain Boston neighborhoods who have experienced a trauma in their lives and are struggling at home, school, or in the community. They provide individualized trauma-sensitive therapeutic services and activities to enrolled children as well as comprehensive case management services to their families/caregivers. The program is offered at no cost to families. Children enrolled in the program must be able to attend daily during the week from 3:15pm to 6:15pm and must live and go to school in Roxbury, Dorchester, or Mattapan. BYS youth present with a variety of mental health diagnoses including but not limited to: PTSD, ADHD, ODD and a variety of anxiety and depressive disorders. BYS youth need not have formal diagnoses of PTSD; however they must have mental health diagnosis that is impacted by the trauma they have experienced. Services include trauma evaluations, therapeutic/activity groups, individual therapy, medication evaluation, educational advocacy, case management, nutrition and health education, yoga and art expressive therapy (dance, visual art, music and drama). Learn more at: www.bostonyouthsanctuary.org The program is actively seeking referrals. For more information or to refer, contact Katie Fraser, MSW, Boston Youth Sanctuary, Inc, Clinical Services Liaison, 617-322-3380 ext. 103 or kfraser@BostonYouthSanctuary.org. Or complete the referral form. -Thanks to Liz Speakman for forwarding this information. Since 1999, the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund (the EMA Fund) has helped over 4,000 women and families who couldn’t afford the cost of abortion care. As a volunteer organization with a modest budget they aren’t able to pay for the entire cost of abortions, but they’ll also help women to seek alternative sources. The fund helps those who live in eastern Massachusetts or will be traveling here for their appointment. For more information see their website: http://emafund.org/. In other geographic areas see The National Network of Abortion Funds at: http://www.fundabortionnow.org/get-help -Thanks to Fredda Zuckerman for sharing this resource. The Working Partners Program: Vocational Rehab and Job Placement for People with Physical or Mental Disabilities Spaulding Rehabilitation Network (SRN) has teamed up with the MassAbility (at the time of this article, known as Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission or MRC) to establish the ‘Working Partners’ program, a first of its kind public/private partnership that gives qualified persons with physical or mental disabilities the skills and support they need to help them join the work force and improve their overall quality of life. The Working Partners program welcomes both local community members and patients from Spaulding. A MassAbilty employment specialist works side by side with qualified candidates and potential managers in navigating state and local resources, with the ultimate goal of placement into vacant positions within Spaulding as well as other businesses. Launched in 2011, Working Partners has already led to successful employment at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge. As members of the health care team, graduates provide valuable assistance by managing customer service tasks or tending to the service needs of patients. Addendum Or to become part of the Working Partners Program, call 617-573-2395.
Seniors May See Benefits Tied to Means Testing Mitt Romney wants to save Social Security and Medicare partly by cutting benefits for higher-income recipients. President Obama also sees wealthy Americans as part of the solution but suggests instead raising their premiums or payroll taxes. The fact that both presidential candidates back some form of so-called “means testing” suggests that millions of future seniors will probably end up paying more, or getting fewer benefits — no matter who wins the White House. -See the full Boston Globe article… California Outlaws 'Treatment' of Homosexuality in Minors As of January 1, 2013, it will be illegal for healthcare professionals in California to offer treatment to any minor with the aim of converting them from homosexuality, according to a new state law. The law, the first of its kind in the United States, states that no mental health provider shall provide minors with therapy intended to change their sexual orientation. This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions toward individuals of the same sex. If a pastoral counselor wants to discuss these issues within a religious context, then the law does not apply to them. The APA does not have a formal position on the California law. However, since 1973, the APA's position has been that homosexuality per se is not a diagnosable mental disorder and that efforts to pathologize homosexuality by claiming that it can be cured are not guided by rigorous scientific or psychiatric research but by religious and political forces opposed to full civil rights for gay men and lesbians. -See the full Medscape article…
DACA Grantees Will Not Be Eligible for Subsidized Healthcare Under ACA The Obama administration recently ruled that undocumented young people granted deferred action (renewable, two-year reprieves from deportation), will not be eligible for taxpayer-subsidized healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. This means that such young people, many of whom are Latinos brought into the country as small children, will not receive access to Medicaid or CHIP, which insures poor children. Immigrants granted deportation relief would generally be categorized as "lawfully present," which could allow them to apply for government subsidies to buy private insurance as part of the new healthcare law, but they have been specifically left out of that category by the administration. Such immigrants will still be able to receive health insurance through employers, but obtaining coverage will be difficult if they do not have a job that provides it, notes the New York Times. The federal government spends about $20 billion each year to reimburse these hospitals, reports the Times, for treating more than their fair share of the uninsured, including undocumented immigrants. But the new healthcare law cuts that funding in half, based on the idea that fewer people will lack health insurance under the new law. -See the full ABC News/Univision article… - Cited in/linked from: HEALTH CARE WEEKLY UPDATE, Health Care for Massachusetts, Barbara Roop & John Goodson, September 28, 2012. Opinion- Americans Do Die Because They Are UninsuredThis month, speaking to The Columbus Dispatch, Mitt Romney declared that nobody in America dies because he or she is uninsured: “We don’t have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don’t have insurance.” This followed on an earlier remark by Mr. Romney in which he insisted that emergency rooms provide essential health care to the uninsured. The idea that everyone gets urgent care when needed from emergency rooms is false. Yes, hospitals are required by law to treat people in dire need, whether or not they can pay. But that care isn’t free — on the contrary, if you go to an emergency room you will be billed, and the size of that bill can be shockingly high. Some people can’t or won’t pay, but fear of huge bills can deter the uninsured from visiting the emergency room even when they should. And sometimes they die as a result. More important, going to the emergency room when you’re very sick is no substitute for regular care, especially if you have chronic health problems. When such problems are left untreated — as they often are among uninsured Americans — a trip to the emergency room can all too easily come too late to save a life. How many deaths are we talking about? That’s not an easy question to answer, and conservatives love to cite the handful of studies that fail to find clear evidence that insurance saves lives. The overwhelming evidence, however, is that insurance is indeed a lifesaver, and lack of insurance a killer. For example, states that expand their Medicaid coverage, and hence provide health insurance to more people, consistently show a significant drop in mortality compared with neighboring states that don’t expand coverage. And surely the fact that the United States is the only major advanced nation without some form of universal health care is at least part of the reason life expectancy is much lower in America than in Canada or Western Europe. -See the full New York Times opinion piece…
Opinion- Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age Would Increase Total Health Care Costs In a recent blog post, Paul Van de Water of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) discusses why raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 would save the federal government money only by shifting expenses to older adults and employers. In fact, Van de Water explains, this change would cause total health care costs to increase, as costs to consumers would be twice as large as any net federal savings. Citing a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Van de Water pinpoints the reasons for these increased costs:
- See the full Medicare Watch article… - Read the CBPP blog post Raising Medicare Age: Supreme Court Makes the Proposal More Problematic. IOM Report: Baby Boomers Likely to Face Inadequate Care for Mental Health Millions of baby boomers will likely face difficulties getting diagnoses and treatment for mental health conditions and substance abuse problems unless there is a major effort to significantly boost the number of health professionals and other service providers able to supply this care as the population ages, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The magnitude of the problem is so great that no single approach or isolated changes in a few federal agencies or programs will address it, said the committee that wrote the report. Inattention to older adults' mental health conditions and substance misuse is associated with higher costs and poorer health outcomes, the report notes. For example, older individuals with untreated depression are less likely to properly take medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, and they are more likely to require repeated costly hospital stays. Training in geriatric care for these problems is necessary, the committee emphasized. Age alters the way people's bodies metabolize alcohol and medications, increasing the general risk for overdoses; these changes also can worsen or cause alcoholism and addiction. Older adults are also more likely to have physical conditions and impairments in thinking and ability to function that can complicate the detection and treatment of mental health problems and substance misuse or abuse. For example, cognitive impairments can affect an older person's ability to comply with medication directions. Resources for HHS programs that have supported or could support geriatric care for mental health and substance abuse have been dwindling and in some cases are being eliminated, the committee noted. The report urges HHS leaders to ensure each agency provides sufficient attention and funds to grants and other programs to build an adequate work force able to provide this care. - See the full Press Release
High-Carb Diet May Raise Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment A diet high in carbohydrates and sugar may raise the risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly, whereas a diet high in fat and protein may reduce this risk, new research shows. "A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad, because they affect how glucose and insulin function in [the] brain. If there is dysfunction in glucose and insulin metabolism, it affects [the] brain," said first author Rosebud O. Roberts, MD, ChB, an epidemiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in a Mayo Clinic podcast. "Some people have described mild cognitive impairment as having diabetes in the brain" Dr. Roberts said. The study is published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - See the full Medscape article: High-Carb Diet May Raise Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment. Medscape. Oct 19, 2012.
Substance Abuse Diagnoses Increasing in U.S. Possibly driven by a surge in painkiller abuse, the number of drug and alcohol problems diagnosed by U.S. doctors increased by 70% between 2001 and 2009, according to new research. "We know that increases in prescription drug use are a big part of what's going on nationally. I also think - in our study - the availability of effective treatment is a big part of it as well and likely drawing people into care," said the study's lead author Dr. Joseph W. Frank, from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The new study, which used information from two national surveys of doctors' visits, estimated that the number of those visits involving drug or alcohol abuse or addiction increased between 2001-2003 and 2007-2009 from 10.6 million to 18 million. Over the same span, the number of visits including a diagnosis of opioid painkiller abuse, in particular, increased almost six-fold, from 772,000 to 4.4 million. Despite the large increase in opioid abuse diagnoses, the researchers said their study does provide a "reason for optimism." Specifically, the number of medicines prescribed to treat drug or alcohol problems during doctors' visits increased by about as much as the number of visits related to opioid abuse. The most popular treatment, however, was talk therapy, which was used in about 25 million total patients during the study period. Its use did not change much over time. -See the full Medscape.com summary: Substance Abuse Diagnoses Increasing in U.S.. Medscape. Oct 22, 2012.
New DSM-5 Diagnosis “Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS)” May Be Faulty Attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS), a new and controversial diagnosis for potential inclusion in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), is questionable, new research suggests. A large study conducted by investigators at Brown University showed that among a large sample of psychiatric outpatients, not a single patient met criteria for the APS diagnosis who did not already meet criteria for another DSM disorder — a finding that calls into question the true need for the new diagnosis, investigators note. "APS has been a controversial topic because the introduction of this diagnosis would basically lower the threshold for diagnosing someone with a psychotic-type disorder. Making such a diagnosis has serious implications because it could lead to inappropriate treatments, such as antipsychotic medications that could pose more risks than benefits for these patients or increase stigma," lead researcher Brandon Gaudiano, PhD, said in a statement. It appears that this argument may have prevailed because, according to the investigators, the APS diagnosis will likely be included in the appendix of the DSM-5 and not as part of the main text. - See the full Medscape article summary: Controversial New Diagnosis in DSM-5 May Be Faulty. Oct 17, 2012. New DSM-5 Autism Criteria Will Not Exclude Affected Kids A redefinition of the diagnosis of autism will not exclude children with the disorder and render them ineligible for services, a new study shows. However, despite these findings, some in the autism community still have concerns. Marisela Huerta, PhD, and colleagues from the Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, are reporting that the new diagnostic criteria for what will now be called autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) identified 91% of children previously diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) on the basis of DSM-IV criteria. Many of the remaining 9% would likely have the diagnosis reinstated with clinician input. "I know that parents worry, but I don't believe there is any substantial reason to fear that children who need to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and provided with vital services will not be included in the new criteria in this updated [DSM-5] manual," senior investigator Catherine Lord, PhD, director of the Center for Autism and Developing Brain, New York–Presbyterian Hospital's Westchester campus, in New York City, said in a press release on the study. -See the full Medscape.com summary article: New Autism Criteria Will Not Exclude Affected Kids, October 5, 2012.
ADHD Medication May Improve Driving Performance Effective pharmacotherapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may help improve driving performance in young people with the disorder — a population that is commonly known to have high rates of automotive crashes and speeding citations — new research suggests. A study of 61 young adults with ADHD showed that those treated with lisdexamfetamine dimesylate for 5 weeks reacted 9% faster to startle events and were 67% less likely to have a collision during a driving simulation than those who received placebo. Previous research has shown that not only do people with ADHD have a high rate of traffic accidents, but these collisions are often more severe than for the general population, reported lead author Joseph Biederman, MD, from the Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital - See the full Medscape.com article: ADHD Medication May Improve Driving Performance, Oct 16, 2012. New Autism Toolkit for Pediatricians and Information for FamiliesThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released Autism: Caring for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians, the second edition the toolkit includes the latest AAP guidelines on autism screening, surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and referral and resources for families. The toolkit includes handouts for families in English and Spanish. There is also a companion website for families: American Academy of Pediatricians, HealthyChildren.org- Autism Spectrum Disorders. -See the New 'Autism Toolkit' for Clinicians Launched. Medscape. Oct 26, 2012.
|