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Plan to Join Us!! VOR 2006 Annual Meeting and
Washington Initiative. See -
http://vor.net/AnnualMeeting2006.html for
complete details, including a
registration form.
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VOR is the only national organization advocating
for a full range of
residential and support options for people with
mental retardation,
including Medicaid-certified Intermediate Care
Facilities for the Mentally
Retarded (ICFs/MR) and home and community-based
care. VOR
supports choice.
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VOR Weekly E-Mail Update
March 31, 2006
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HOUSEKEEPING
1. CORRECTION: VOR Washington, D.C. Office Phone
Number
2. CLARIFICATION: Sibling Survey
3. NOTICE: Subject: EP LiveOnline: Practical
Management of Medical Problems
in Cerebral Palsy
DISABILITY AND HEALTH CARE
4. Nutrition in Group Homes: MENU-AIDDs Program
-- University of Montana
Rural Institute and Montana Disability and
Health Program
5. In a New York State of Health
6. Special Olympics Offers New Health Care
Provider Directory
7. Change in Social Security Determination
Process - Is faster better?
8. JOIN VOR IN WASHINGTON, D.C. - see complete
details at
http://vor.net/AnnualMeeting2006.html
Coming Up: Legal Update
=======================================================
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1. CORRECTION: VOR Washington, D.C. Office Phone
Number
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In the February 17, 2006 issue of the VOR Weekly
E-Mail Update, the phone
number for the VOR Washington Office was
incorrect. Here is the full
contact information for the new VOR Washington
Office:
Voice of the Retarded
529 Bay Dale Court
Arnold, Maryland 21012-2312
410-757-1VOR (1867)
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2. CLARIFICATION: Sibling Survey
----------------------------------------------------
Thanks to all who have been participating in the
Adult Sibling Survey,
distributed as part of the March 10, VOR Weekly
E-Mail Update.
To clarify, VOR did not publish the survey. The
survey is sponsored by The
Arc-US in collaboration with The Family Research
Group at Vanderbilt
University. VOR members who are adult siblings
of persons with mental
retardation are encouraged to respond to share
your perspectives. The
address again for the survey is:
https://kc.vanderbilt.edu/FamilyResearch
(the "https" is correct).
For those of you who prefer to submit your
comments in writing, rather than
electronically through the website, you can
print off a PDF version of the
survey at the survey link provided
(https://kc.vanderbilt.edu/FamilyResearch).
At the very end of the PDF
survey, you'll see a postal address to Family
Research Group at Vanderbilt
University.
Thank you again for your participation!
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3. NOTICE: EP LiveOnline: Practical Management
of Medical Problems in
Cerebral Palsy
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Registration is now open for our latest live
online seminar April 26, 2006,
at 7:00 pm EST. Entitled The Practical
Management of Medical Problems in
Cerebral Palsy: Pain, Seizures, Reflux,
Incontinence, Enuresis and Others,
the event is number 3 in a 4 part series on the
effective treatment of
Spasticity using Neurotoxins for conditions such
as Cerebral Palsy.
The program provides two Category 1 CME credits
and CEU credits Free to
each physician and allied health care
professional successfully completing
the post test and survey.
To get your Audio Postcard, turn up your
speakers, and click on this link:
http://audiopostcard-003.com/X.asp?3663415X1413
For more information, visit the new EP
LiveOnline website at:
www.epliveonline.com
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4. Nutrition in Group Homes: MENU-AIDDs Program
-- University of Montana
Rural Institute and Montana Disability and
Health Program
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary: To assess the food served in group
homes, the University of
Montana Rural Institute and Montana Disability
and Health Program
researched the food systems of group homes in
Montana that serve adults
with intellectual or developmental disabilities
(I/DD). Researchers found
that "cuisine fell significantly short of good
nutrition." In response,
researchers developed MENU- AIDDs, a program
that provides nutrition
education and food systems support for group
homes.
The availability and consumption of nutritious
food in group homes is
important to the health of people with
disabilities. To assess the food
served in group homes, the University of Montana
Rural Institute and
Montana Disability and Health Program researched
the food systems of group
homes in Montana that serve adults with
intellectual or developmental
disabilities (I/DD).
MENU-AIDDs Program -- University of Montana
Rural Institute and Montana
Disability and Health Program
Health and Disability News
Winter 2006
Volume 4, No. 1
(A quarterly e-mail newsletter is published by
the American Association on
Health and
Disability (AAHD)).
MTDH researchers discovered that the cuisine
fell significantly short of
good nutrition. To help group homes serve
healthier meals, researchers
created Materials supporting Education and
Nutrition of Adults with
Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
(MENU-AIDDs), a program that
provides nutrition education and food systems
support for group homes.
MENU-AIDDs is a system of environment-focused
nutrition supports that
includes menu planning tools, a practical recipe
book, and nutrition
education and reference materials. The
components of MENU-AIDDs are offered
to staff in an "a-la-carte" manner. That is,
components that may be helpful
can be used alone, allowing the systems and
processes that are already
working well for a group home to remain in
place.
This nutritional program caters to the needs of
the direct service staff
and the group home residents. It is easy to use
inexperienced staff could
walk in, create a well-balanced, acceptable meal
from an approved menu, and
serve it, all within an hour. Due to typically
high staff turnover rates in
I/DD group homes, MENU-AIDDs was designed to be
simple to use and require
little training at the direct care staffing
level. MTDH Nutrition Programs
Director, Kathy Humphries, PhD, said this about
the MENU-AIDDs program:
"We tried to make a system that addressed the
many disparate needs
identified by staff, consumers, and providers,
and at the same time
provided the flexibility to tailor the program
to the different home
cultures. MENU-AIDDs does not turn direct care
staff into nutritionists. It
provides a set of procedures and support tools
that allow staff to achieve
competence in these important tasks quickly,
while maintaining stability
for residents."
A 2004 pilot study evaluated the program by
measuring its effects on menu
quality, food costs, food systems changes, and
on the secondary conditions
of the group home residents. These secondary
conditions included over- and
under-weight and gastrointestinal health, both
of which improved
significantly. Not only did MENU-AIDDs help
group home residents manage
their weight, the residents were satisfied with
their meals.
Group home managers and providers' health care
directors are being trained
in rural Montana through teleconferences and
in-person regional training
events in partnership with the Montana
Department of Public Health and
Human Services' Developmental Disabilities
Program. After managers and
health care practitioners have completed their
training, the direct service
staff then learns the MENU-AIDDs program as part
of group home operations.
Implementation of MENU-AIDDs training and
evaluation is in progress, and it
will be introduced to other states shortly. To
ensure that the
dissemination and adoption of the program is
successful, a support
mechanism has been added: Nutritionists,
dietitians, and other health care
professionals will serve as consultants to the
group homes. Future studies
intend to develop a similar nutrition program to
serve the needs of people
with disabilities living in independent or
semi-independent settings.
For information about MENU-AIDDs or if you would
like to implement it in
your group home, please contact Kathy Humphries
at
khumphries@ruralinstitute.umt.edu.
-----------------------------------------------
5. In a New York State of Health
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Summary: For more information, visit
http://www.aahd.us.newsletterfinal/CurrentIssue/stateGrantee2.htm
Health and Disability News
Winter 2006
Volume 4, No. 1
(A quarterly e-mail newsletter is published by
the American Association on
Health and
Disability (AAHD)).
Under the direction of program manager Theresa
Paeglow, New York's
Disability and Health Program (DHP) takes a
broad approach to health
promotion, working to improve wellness,
community participation, access to
health care, and nutrition and physical
activity. The DHP also focuses on
surveillance and epidemiology.
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6. Special Olympics Offers New Health Care
Provider Directory
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Health and Disability News
Winter 2006
Volume 4, No. 1
(A quarterly e-mail newsletter is published by
the American Association on
Health and
Disability (AAHD)).
Recent research commissioned by Special Olympics
reinforces previous
studies that found that people with intellectual
disabilities have poorer
health, more specialized health care needs, and
greater difficulty
accessing health care services and doctors
compared to the general public.
The Provider Directory includes health care
providers willing to provide
services to people with mental retardation. The
Directory is expected to be
the largest list of health care providers for
people with disabilities in
North America. For more information, visit
http://www.aahd.us/newsletterfinal/CurrentIssue/inTheNews3.htm
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7. Change in Social Security Determination
Process - Is faster better?
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Summary: On March 28, Commissioner Jo Anne B.
Barnhart announced that the
final rule establishing a new disability
determination process is on public
display at the Office of the Federal Register.
To learn more, visit
www.socialsecurity.gov/disability-new-approach.
The final rule provides for:
* A quick disability determination process for
those who are obviously
disabled. Favorable decisions would be made in
such cases within 20 days
after the claim is received by the state
disability determination agency.
* A new Medical-Vocational Expert System (MVES)
to enhance the expertise
needed to make accurate and timely decisions.
The MVES will be composed of
a Medical-Vocational Expert Unit and a national
network of medical,
psychological and vocational experts who meet
qualification standards
established by the Commissioner.
* A new position -- the Federal Reviewing
Official -- that will review
state agency determinations upon the request of
the claimant. This will
eliminate the reconsideration step of the
current appeals process.
* Retention of the right to request a de novo
hearing and decision from an
Administrative Law Judge if the claimant
disagrees with the decision of the
Federal Reviewing Official.
* Closing the record after the Administrative
Law Judge issues a decision,
with provision for certain good cause exceptions
to this rule.
* A new body -- the Decision Review Board -- to
review and correct
decisional errors and ensure consistent
adjudication at all levels of the
disability determination process. The current
Appeals Council will be
phased
out gradually.
Social Security: Updating rules for disability
would save money, but
changes hurt eligible recipients (excerpts)
The Philadelphia Inquirer
January 2006
"While justice delayed can be justice denied,
justice expedited can also
result in justice denied," Marty Ford, co-chair
of the Social Security Task
Force of the Consortium of Citizens With
Disabilities said in congressional
testimony.
In announcing the proposed new rules last year,
Social Security
Administrator Jo Anne B. Barnhart said she was
guided by questions
President Bush had put to her, including why it
took so long to get a final
disability
decision and why obviously disabled people could
not get a near-immediate
decision.
Under current rules, the process has five steps.
The initial determination
is made in a state office by officials who never
actually see the
applicant. Then comes reconsideration, a hearing
before an administrative
law judge, review by an Appeals Council, and
finally, access to the federal
courts.
What is striking about the process, beyond its
complexity, is how many
applicants ultimately get benefits after being
initially turned down more
than 25%. In extreme cases, the whole process
has been known to take more
than three years.
To speed things up, Barnhart has proposed a
quick determination process for
the obviously disabled; the elimination of the
Appeals Council, to be
replaced by a board that would pick its own
cases to review; and the
imposition of hard deadlines for submission of
evidence and rules against
reopening cases.
The new deadlines have generated the most
criticism, with advocates noting
that it can be difficult for the disabled to
obtain medical records and
that the severity of impairment often worsens as
time goes on.
The final version of the rules would be
published in coming weeks. The new
regulations initially would be imposed only on
one region of the country,
as a pilot.
Overall, the President has pared back his
aspirations for Social Security
reform and is now only seeking another
bi-partisan commission to look at
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This
would be the second such
commission of the Bush presidency, following the
President's Commission to
Strengthen Social Security of 2001 .
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MEMBERSHIP, CONTRIBUTION AND REGISTRATION FORM
(see also:
http://vor.net/RegForm2006.html)
___I want to personally tell Congress how
important Medicaid is for people
with mental retardation. I'll be there!
___ I'm sorry, but I am unable to join you in
Washington, D.C., but I would
like to support VOR's efforts. I'll use this
form to JOIN or make a
CONTRIBUTION.
Send form to Voice of the Retarded 5005 Newport
Dr. #108, Rolling Meadows,
IL 60008
Fax: 847-253-6054
vor@compuserve.com * Phone:
847-253-6020 * A
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization
Name(s)
__________________________________________
Address
__________________________________________
City, State, Zip
____________________________________
Home Phone
______________________________________
Work
Phone_______________________________________
Email
____________________________________________
Family/professional org/company (if applicable)
__________________________________________________
Charge card: __ MC __ Visa Expiration Date
_______
Credit card number
__________________________________
Signature
__________________________________________
Mark all that apply:
___$50 per person for member registration at the
Annual Meeting on
Saturday, June 11 if paid by May 31, 2006
<2006 WASH-REG>
___$60 per person for member registration after
5/31 <2006 WASH-REG>
___$75 per person for non-member registration at
the Annual Meeting on
Saturday, June 11 includes one-year membership
if paid by May 31, 2006.
<2006 WASH-REG>
___$85 per person for non-member registration
after 5/31. Membership
included.
<2006 WASH-REG>
___Dues ($25) and/or donation of $_________is enclosed. <2006
WASH-DONA>
___ I/We will attend the Washington Initiative
only
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THANK YOU!
Contact Tamie Hopp at
vor@compuserve.com or 605-399-1624 with any
questions.
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