Industry News

CPAN is hosting a rally Were trying to get all hands on deck October 3rd!

Join us at the capitol Wednesday, June 14, 2023 AT 11 AM as we talk with legislators about the changes to the no fault insurance system and how it’e affected

Hello, no-fault advocates! It’s time to make some noise letting lawmakers know how important it is to pass House Bill 4486 and Senate Bill 314. As you may have heard, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey has threatened to block these bills and is refusing to give them a fair hearing. We’re asking you to take to social media from now through Friday, April 30.

How To Make Noise!

Please start posting early and often. We want to build momentum for lawmakers when they return to session on April 13. We need posters every day until April 30! Each day, we need advocates around the state to share a photo showcasing yourself or a loved one.

1. Take a big piece of paper (or a small whiteboard) and use a nice, thick marker to write #WeCantWait on it.

2. Hold up the paper (or whiteboard) and ask someone to take your photo with a smartphone. If you have the option to make the image square, please do so. (If not, horizontal or vertical works too!)

3. Post the photo to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter— or all 3! When you post, start your post with #WeCantWait and share your story about the need for a #FeeScheduleFix. You might want to tag Senator Shirkey, as well. For example:

#WeCantWait Sen. Mike Shirkey! Without a #FeeScheduleFix [then share your story about what your life, or your loved one’s life, would be like if HB 4486 and SB 314 do not pass.]

Reminders

On Facebook, please make your Facebook post public so that others can share your post too! Not sure how to do that? When you have your post up, look for the field that says “Friends” right under your name. Click on that and then select Public.

On Instagram, if your account is set to public, others will be able to see, like and share your post as an Instagram Story. While Sen. Shirkey isn’t on Instagram, here are his Facebook and Twitter accounts:

» https://facebook.com/MikeShirkeyforMichigan

» https://twitter.com/SenMikeShirkey

Thank you for letting Sen. Shirkey know that we can’t wait for a fix to the fee schedule!

Legislative Update (from Kevin McKinney)

On Wednesday, Rep. Doug Wozniak (R- Shelby Township) introduced the legislation to address the required fee schedule change for the post-acute rehabilitation providers. Similar to last session’s bill, HB 4486 drew strong bi partisan with 42 cosponsors joining Rep. Wozniak. See the link below. If your House member as signed on to this bill you need to personally thank them. MBIPC will send out its own letter of appreciation to all the cosponsors as well. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/billintroduced/House/pdf/2021-HIB-4486.pdf

The bill was referred to the House Insurance Committee which was disappointing, but not unexpected. Work continues with the House Speaker’s Office as well as now turning to the House Insurance Committee. See the list below. If your House member serves on this committee, you need to reach out to them immediately if you have not already. Most committee members have been briefed on the issue and the corrective action needed by some of your colleagues. Efforts are underway to execute the other advocacy strategies which also include digital and social media and earned media.

House Insurance Committee:

Daire Rendon (C), Ryan Berman (Maj. VC), Bronna Kahle, Beau LaFave, Matt Hall, Luke Meerman, Robert Bezotte, TC Clements, Bryan Posthumus, Mark Tisdel, Brenda Carter (Min. VC), Sarah Anthony, Kyra Bolden, Kevin Coleman, Lori Stone, Kelly Breen, Richard Steenland (those committee members highlighted are also cosponsors of HB 4486)

Senator Hertel will introduce his bill early next week. Ongoing discussions with the Senate Majority Leader and his staff are encouraging. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can do to advance this issue in the legislative process. The current riff between the Governor and the House and Senate Majority Caucuses over the COVID -19 Supplemental funding has sharply deepened the partisan divide in Lansing making it all the more difficult to navigate this urgent legislative matter. We will let you know when the Senate bill is introduced and keep you updated as we continue to move forward.

Call to Action

For the past year we have maintained that the best course of action to be private and personal calls to legislators from leadership of our member organization. This continues to be vital – so if you have not done so, please make the call today! We have strategically kept this issue out of the public sphere because of the political landscape and delicate nature of an auto no-fault reform “fix.” We sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and teamwork to maintain discipline.

We are at a point now, however, where the legislature needs to hear from more constituents on this issue. We are executing public relations campaigns to increase public dialogue on the urgency of this issue, in an effort to reach the legislature further. We will need more voices in the public dialogue – including the voices of those you serve and the families that will be impacted.

Now is the time for members to mobilize the voices of clients and families. We are asking members to encourage clients and families to write their legislatures about the personal impact the fee schedule will have on their access to care and what no fix will mean for them. Following the technical ground work that has been laid and the urgency that has been stressed by providers, it is time that our law makers hear this personal side of the story from those whose care will be impacted. We will be sharing some tools to help equip your clients and families; however, their message will be dependent on what is relevant and true to your circumstances and how you choose to communicate.

In addition to letter writing, if you have any clients and families that would be willing to lend their voice in the public sphere (i.e. media opportunities, testimony in committee hearings), please connect them with us so that we can be aware of the resource and help prepare them for an opportunity that may arise (you may email me their contact information or share my contact information with them).

Lastly, if you have any media contacts that you feel would be interested in telling this story, please share them with us so that we can tap into all resources available. We will be reaching out directly to providers in targeted districts when media opportunities arise.

I know many of you have waited for quite some time to help advocate for - and with - those you serve. Your patience has allowed us to maintain traction in the legislature and keep this issue alive. As we move forward, the balance and discipline must remain. We must share the urgency of this issue without public attacks on legislators, political party affiliation, or overall critiques of the auto no-fault reform. Our advocacy must remain respectful, factual, personal, and laser-focused on the fee schedule issue.

Tom Judd, LMSW, CBIS

President, MBIPC

Vaccine Update!

We are happy to announce that we have held several vaccine clinics for our clients and staff this month. Most of them are on their second dose of the vaccine.   We are grateful for this opportunity to be able to provide this to our Dignitas family.    Our clients and staff’s safety and wellbeing has been our main focus throughout this pandemic. We are looking forward to the day when this pandemic is a thing of the past.  Until then, we will continue to do our due diligence to maintain our safety protocols.  

Here’s to happier and healthier months ahead!

A Letter From Our President

Dear Families, Guardians, Case Managers, and our Friends in the rehabilitation community,

I hope today finds you healthy. These are very uncertain times and I wanted to reach out to inform you of the precautions Dignitas has taken to protect our clients.

On the day the outbreak began at the Seattle nursing home, I began researching the existing coronavirus outbreaks. At the end of February, we reviewed and enhanced our universal precautions protocols. We tightened up our emergency preparedness plan, such as increasing our food pantry from 14 to 21 days. This may not include all the comforts our clients are used to, but it will increase the likelihood of maintaining their health.

On March 4th, we began taking the temperatures of clients and staff twice daily, as well as restricting visitors to the residential homes.

On March 5th, we officially implemented social distancing for the next week, with minimal activities that continued through the weekend. In addition, we asked all staff to monitor their health and not report to work if they had ANY signs of illness. The decision to implement social distancing was not made easily. I recognize that so many great people’s livelihood involves providing therapies and vocational services to our clients. Our hope is to return to these services, as soon as possible.

The week of March 8th, we were actively addressing any kinks related to the social distancing protocols we had established.

On March 12th, we went to a 40-hours work shift in the residential homes, where a staff member will only enter the residence every 40 hours. It will give the staff 5 days in between shift to monitor for any symptoms. This was not easy for our staff, and I cannot say enough how proud I am of them. They put client care before their own families. Rearranging their lives to work 40-hour shifts was very difficult and required sacrifice

On March 13th, I met with every staff person in small group settings, practicing social distancing, to educate and ensure they understood the facts about the coronavirus, as well as to review Dignitas detailed plan. Again, I cannot stress how fortunate we are to have this team of employees caring for our clients! Dignitas offered a $300 bonus to employees who switched to this system. This is also to give employees extra money to purchase supplies for their families. Let me stress that administration, managers, office staffs all are pitching in to make this plan work.

In our semi-independent program, clients live in their own apartments, but were included in the same universal precautions implemented in the residential program. As of March 16th, semi-independent staff started a 40-hours shift schedule, working from Dignitas’ office to the client apartments. They will not stop for any errands, such as to get gas, grocery shop, etc. We have identified “runners” who will not be with clients, but who will complete with these errands. Again, we are attempting, as best as we can, to minimize exposure to the clients as we pass medications, prepare food or order food through delivery services. At the same time, we need to reinforce a calm environment, as well as provide human contact, even if it is from 6 feet away.

We are now preparing for the reality of many employees possibly becoming ill at the same time and having to provide care activities utilizing a bare bones staff selection. I am partnering with other companies that may not have work for their employees to fill shifts. Again, stressing that NO ONE CAN COME TO WORK SICK, we will continue to monitor the health of our employees. I have assured all employees they will receive a pay check if they stay home sick.

Last week, we began providing in–house day treatment/recreational activities to keep our clients mentally and cognitively stimulated. We will be having remote Wii tournaments, card games, movie viewings, etc. Since it is permissible to be within 6 feet of people, we are trying to take advantage of our milder weather and take clients for walks or sit on the deck/porch. Of course, we are ensuring that clients are dressed in accordance to the temperatures. In addition, we will be accommodating outside visits with family members. We ask that these visits be pre-arranged. The same is true for sending care packages. Please work with us to ensure a safe transaction.

Things are changing very quickly and not every plan is going to present perfectly. This is a short term plan. It is designed to proactively participate in social distancing and help slow the spread of the virus through our community. In turn, this will assist to not overwhelm our hospital system, as well as, most importantly, keep the virus from entering the group living situations. I ask that we all work together to keep Dignitas’ clients and crew safe.

Thank you and please remember to reach out to friends, family, and people that may be isolated. We all need to remain connected during this time.

With warm regards,

Erin Gust, MS
Administrator and President