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MGH Community News |
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MGH Community News |
| December 2017 | Volume 21 • Issue 12 |
Highlights (Links)
Sections Social Service staff may direct resource questions to the Community Resource Center, Diana Tran, x6-8182. Questions, comments about the newsletter? Contact Ellen Forman, 617-726-5807. |
FAQs on Basic Benefits and Legal Rights for Puerto Rico Evacuees in Massachusetts Mass Law Reform Institute has created FAQs in English and Spanish for individuals and families from Puerto Rico including:
The state has projected that approximately 5,000 individuals have evacuated from PR to the state to date, and more are expected to come over the next few months as the island continues to struggle with recovery. Find the flyers on Mass Legal Services’ website.
"Know Your Rights" Cards Available in Multiple Languages The City of Cambridge has had “Know Your Rights” cards (also known as “red cards”) translated into 8 different languages: Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Haitian Kreyol, Portuguese, Chinese, Somali, and Spanish. These cards advise immigrants of their legal rights if stopped by immigration authorities and can be given to authorities to indicate that individuals are exercising their rights. |
MBTA to Remove Troubled Contractor for the Ride The MBTA will remove a contractor that manages rides for passengers with disabilities, ending a deal that had promised millions of dollars in savings and an improved paratransit system but was instead marked by persistent complaints about poor service. Less than a year after it began scheduling and dispatching for the Ride, the T’s taxi and van service for passengers with disabilities, North Carolina-based Global Contact Services on Friday agreed to terminate its $38.5 million contract by June, more than two years ahead of schedule. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to hire a new contractor early next year. By consolidating scheduling and dispatching services that had been done for years by three transportation companies, Global Contact was expected to save the T nearly $40 million by 2020 through more efficient routes, a key promise for a service that subsidizes the cost of each ride by an average of more than $45. Instead, the T is now projecting to be $13 million over budget on the Ride this year because of the issues. Now the MBTA will look to hire a replacement contractor by March, to be in place for dispatching work by June. The timing puts the T in the awkward position of allowing a firm it is dismissing for poor service to remain operating that service for several months. MBTA general manager Luis Ramirez said the agency does not believe service will worsen during the transition, because the T has assigned its own staff to stabilize dispatching, and Global’s employees will have the opportunity to work for the next contractor — an incentive to keep working. Global will be held to higher performance standards during the transition and face financial penalties if it does not meet them, according to the MBTA. As a result, Ramirez said, Global will “work together as a partner to make sure we continue to run a good operation.” Riders will still call the same number to book rides in the meantime, he said. -See the full Boston Globe article.
Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP) is now Metro Housing|Boston Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership (MBHP), a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating and preventing homelessness in Boston, has changed its name to better represent the work the organization does. Now to be known as Metro Housing|Boston, the organization’s name will be easier to say and remember for the thousands of people helped every year. Metro Housing|Boston also recently moved their office from 125 Lincoln Street near South Station to a newly constructed building at 1411 Tremont Street on the gateway to Mission Hill at Roxbury Crossing. Built as part of a larger effort to re-establish Roxbury Crossing as a vibrant neighborhood center and a gateway to Mission Hill, the new facility is a part of a mixed-use residential and commercial community developed by Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services. In addition to Metro Housing|Boston, it will include a bank branch, 40 affordable housing units, and other retail space for local vendors. With more than half of the participants being elderly or in households where a member has a disability, the new office space has been designed specifically for people with mobility impairments. -See the full press release.
Barnstable County Sheriffs get OK to Enforce Immigration Laws The Barnstable County Sheriff’s office have been approved as enforcement agents for the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Barnstable is the third Massachusetts county to have its sheriff’s department deputized by ICE. Upon completion of the training program, correctional officers will be able to search ICE databases to determine if prisoners being held at the county correctional facility – with or without bail – are in the country illegally and should be detained. If the prisoners are found to be undocumented, the office could start the process for an immigration hearing, which could ultimately lead to deportation. -See the full Cape Cod Times article. Addendum: Agreements have also been signed by the Bristol County and Plymouth County Sheriffs and the state Department of Corrections. Under these agreements,officers of those agencies are deputized to question people about their immigration status, arrest them for immigration violations, and start deportation proceedings as noted above. (Source: www.miracoalition.org)
MassHealth Registration Requirement: What ALL LICSWs in MA Must Do All Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSWs) in Massachusetts are required to register with MassHealth as either billing or non-billing providers. This requirement was put in place to ensure that MassHealth is complying with the Affordable Care Act. The MA Board of Registration of Social Work REQUIRES ALL LICSWs to meet this requirement by September 30, 2018! Failure to do so could result in the suspension or loss of your license. If you are a LICSW in Massachusetts, you may complete the MassHealth registration requirement by registering as either a billing provider or a non-billing provider. A billing provider is a LICSW who is registered with MassHealth and is authorized to bill MassHealth directly for client services. A non-billing provider is a LICSW who does not bill MassHealth directly for any client services but is nonetheless must become registered with MassHealth as a non-billing provider in order to satisfy this new requirement. To register as a non-billing provider, complete the application and contract and mail them to the address printed on the application. You can download these two documents here. To register as a billing provider: Contact MassHealth Customer Service Center at 1-800-841-2900 in order to request an application. Note: If you are currently a MassHealth provider or a QMB-only provider (in order to receive secondary payments from MassHealth for some Medicare enrollees),then you don’t have to do anything—you are already enrolled in MassHealth. More details and step by step instructions are available on the NASWMA website.
The Bridge Clinic is Now Open Seven Days a Week The Bridge Clinic is now open seven days a week! The Bridge Clinic is a transitional addiction treatment clinic to help stabilize patients with substance use disorders as they await more long term treatment. Please note walk-in clinic hours are 9AM - 4PM daily Location:
Contact info: Pager # 29683; 617‐643‐8281 (phone); 617‐643‐8280 (fax) Bridge Clinic Services:
-Thanks to Andra Sobran for forwarding.
West End Clinic – Walk-In Hours The West End Clinic is providing walk-in hours Monday through Friday from 12- 2 pm. Services include medication treatment, counseling, case management and peer support. Patients must have an MGH primary care physician.
West End Clinic See the flyer. -Thanks to Lourdes Barros for forwarding
New Cambridge Monthly Free Immigration Clinic The City of Cambridge, through its Commission on Immigrant Rights & Citizenship (CIRC), and in collaboration with Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC), opened a free, once-a-month Immigrant Legal Screening Clinic in December. The Screening Clinic will take place at CLSACC’s new offices, located at 47 Thorndike Street, lower level on the third Wednesdays of the month. See the flyer for more information.
Miracle Messages Seeks to Connect Homeless People with Lost Family, Friends The San Francisco-based non-profit Miracle Messages promises to search for homeless person’s long-lost family and friends using volunteers who scour the Internet for loved ones and sometimes share the messages on social media to generate leads. About 380 homeless people have recorded messages for a lost friend or relative since Miracle Messages was established nearly three years ago. The organization, which recently received $50,000 from the startup accelerator MassChallenge, uses volunteers to help homeless people record video or audio messages and locate their loved ones. The messages have resulted in about 85 reunions so far, said Kevin Adler, 32, the nonprofit’s founder and chief executive. Last month, the group introduced its service at the Pine Street Inn, where about a half dozen people have recorded messages, he said. Pine Street Inn has two kiosks where guests can record messages, one in the women’s shelter and the other in the men’s shelter. Using an iPad mounted onto a stand, people conduct a video call with a Miracle Messages volunteer. The volunteer collects information about the people who want to record a message and the loved one they seek. They ask for details such as age, last known address, and the names of other relatives and friends of the person being sought. They also get the person’s consent to record the message and share it online as needed. When it’s time to record the message, people are encouraged to speak to the iPad as if they are talking to the person they want to find. They say things like, “I love you,” “I miss you,” and “I’m sorry,” Adler said. The message is then assigned to a volunteer who searches for the relative or friend. The message is also shared to a Facebook group for volunteer “detectives,” who help locate people for Miracle Messages using Google, Facebook, Whitepages, and LexisNexis, Adler said. If they find the loved one being sought, volunteers ask whether he or she wants to get reacquainted and provides contact information. -See the full Boston Globe article.
Mass Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired Services Differ from Those Offered by the Commission for the Blind Mass Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI) provides assistance to people coping with sight loss whether they are declared legally blind or not. Services include:
Greater Boston Office
Central Massachusetts Office Learn more on their website: www.mabcommunity.org/mabvi/how-we-can-help.html -Thanks to Carlin Maiorana for sharing this resource.
South Boston ‘Snow Angels’ to Help Shovel Out Neighbors’ Homes in New Program The Catholic Charities of Boston’s Labouré Center has announced the launching of the South Boston Snow Angels service. Jacob Bombard, director of the Labouré Center, said he hopes to recruit at least 70 volunteer “snow angels” by the end of the season. “We will provide volunteers with a snow shovel and with snow melt, and we will pair them with a local elder or disabled resident,” said Bombard. “When the forecast says, 3 inches of snow or more, it’ll be their job to go shovel that residence.” Seniors also will be provided with free rock salt to melt black ice, Bombard said. Volunteers must live in South Boston. The goal is to have one volunteer for every block in the neighborhood. Volunteer captains will oversee 10-block zones and work with Labouré Center staff to make sure the volunteers reach all their designated homes. To qualify for a visit from a snow angel, a person must be 65 years or older or have a physical disability. -See the full Boston Globe article.
MassHealth Ending Provisional Income Eligibility CMS (the Federal Medicaid Agency) has approved MassHealth's request to stop offering Provisional Income Eligibility for adults. This request was in MassHealth's first 1115 amendment request submitted in June which also asked to end Non-emergency transportation in CarePlus for all but trips to Substance Use Disorder services. CMS has not yet made a decision on the transportation request or on the more sweeping changes proposed in a second MassHealth 1115 amendment request submitted in September. What to expect from the change in Provisional Income Eligibility –Mass Law Reform Institute offered the following Analysis. We haven't yet seen final regulations or operational memos but this is our best guess of what to expect based on the proposed rules and the waiver request itself. When will changes occur? MassHealth already published proposed regulations to make this change and now only needs to file the final version of the regulations to complete the rule-making process. The operational and computer system changes are also near final. We expect this change will be made soon --possibly as soon as January. Who will be affected?
What will be different? Today, when people under 65 apply for health benefits (MassHealth, ConnectorCare, or Health Safety Net), they are asked to declare their income & the computer system (HIX) attempts to verify their income electronically. If income cannot be verified electronically (because there is no data, or the data shows income more than 10% above MassHealth income limits), the system makes an eligibility decision based on the self-declared income and sends the applicant a 90-day deadline to submit documentary proof of income. If no proof is submitted, the system will make a new decision based on the data (if available) or terminate coverage if no data is available. Without provisional income eligibility, most adult applicants who would be eligible for MassHealth or HSN based on self-declared income but whose income cannot be verified electronically, will NOT get an eligibility determination based on self-declared income. They will still be sent a notice to supply proof of income by a deadline, BUT, they will now NOT be determined eligible for MassHealth or HSN until the proof is received. If the deadline passes with no proof, the system will make a decision based on the data or if there is no data, the application will be denied. Once income is verified, the coverage will still be retroactive for 10 days prior to the application date. How will this change the application process? People who apply on-line will know right away if proof of income is needed. People who apply on paper will not know if proof is needed until their paper application is processed. It may be weeks before the application is processed and the notice asking for proof of income arrives in the mail. After proof is submitted, those documents must be processed before an eligibility decision is made. If eligible, coverage will still go back 10 days prior to the date of application. Paper applicants should probably submit documentary proof of income along with their application. But, if proof is not available, it's important not to delay an application if past expenses were incurred. Filing the application protects the coverage date if the applicant is later found eligible. -From MassHealth Provisional Income Eligibility Change Approved, Health Announce listserv, on behalf of Vicky Pulos, MLRI, December 20, 2017.
Hospitals Ill-Prepared to Care for Patients with Dementia People with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia frequently need hospital care, yet few hospitals are prepared for them. Nearly every aspect of that environment — beeping machines, frenetic activity, rigid schedules — runs contrary to the needs of patients who arrive confused and fearful. “Hospitals were never designed to accommodate people with dementia,” said Susan Antkowiak, vice president of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. With an estimated 120,000 Massachusetts residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and 150,000 expected by 2025, an effort is underway to improve patients’ experiences in a place one advocate calls the last frontier of dementia care: hospitals. A committee established in 2016 by the Legislature recently called on hospitals to develop, within three years, a comprehensive plan for addressing the needs of patients with dementia, about 60 to 80 percent of whom have Alzheimer’s. Composed of elder-care specialists, government officials, and patients’ caregivers, the committee recommended establishing protocols for identifying people with dementia, training staff, and changing the surroundings, such as creating quiet areas. The recommendations are voluntary, and hospitals face big challenges adapting their fast-paced, high-tech environment to the needs of fragile minds. But the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, which had a representative on the committee, said hospitals are committed to addressing the problem. State law requires police officers and staff at nursing homes to receive training in dementia. But hospitals remain one of the last frontiers of dementia care, said Daniel Zotos, director of public policy and advocacy for the Alzheimer’s Association’s local chapter. Although every state has an Alzheimer’s disease plan, Massachusetts is alone in establishing a committee focused solely on hospitals, according to the national Alzheimer’s Association. -See the full Boston Globe article. |