ÿþLong Term Care News and Views Sharing Information about Home and Community-Based Long Term Care Services Planning for Elders in the Central City* Volume 15 Issue 8* August 2010 Page # \Inside this Issue: News and Events Pg 2 Welcome to new board members Pg 3 Calendar Pg 3 Planning for Elders Board of Directors: NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID SAN FRANCISCO CA PERMIT NO. 2024 If you would like to receive Long Term Care News and Views, CLIP form and return to: PECC 965 Mission St, Suite 550, San Francisco, CA 94103 Name___________________________________________________ Organization_____________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________ City___________________________________ Zip _____________ Phone:_____________ Fax: ____________email: ______________ I would prefer to get my newsletter by Mail email Enclosed is a donation (appreciated but not required) $12 $25 Other $_____ Contribute on line at www.planningforelders.org or www.networkforgood.org Planning for Elders in the Central City 965 Mission Street, Suite 550 San Francisco, CA 94103 Phone: 415-703-0188 Fax: 415-703-0186 www.planningforelders.org Return Service Requested Long Term Care News and Views Sharing information about home and community-based long term care services Long Term Care News and Views is published by Planning for Elders (PECC). Production by PECC Staff and Volunteers: Alice Dueker Executive Director, Sarah Jarmon, Senior Survival School®; Donna Willmott, Consumer Rights for Community Living, James Chionsini, HealthCare Action Team, PECC Volunteers Constance Smith, Lenny Reiter, Fran Chan, Bruce Allison, Alex Macdonald, Cordell Thompson, Dagny Takemura, Tricia Webb. We would like to hear from you! Send information and commentary to sarah@planningforelders.org or fax to (415) 703-0186. Thanks to all our Funders for your generous support for our work! DATE  ACTIVITY  TIME & PLACE  MORE INFO? Mon Fri Computer Open Lab Call Ahead, 965 Mission Street Suite 550 (415) 703-0188 Mon. Aug 9 Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly (CASE) 3 PM-5PM SF Senior Center, 481 O Farrell Street Patty Clement 452-3500 Wed. Aug 11 HealthCare Action Team (HAT) 11:00-12:30 1010 Mission (at 6th) Bayanihan Center James Chionsini 703-0188 ext 304 Thurs. Aug 12 PECC Board of Directors Mtg. 5pm 6:30pm 965 Mission St, Suite 700 Alice Dueker 703-0188 ext 306 Tues. Aug 17 DAAS Commission 9:30 am, City Hall, room 416 LaShaun Williams 355-3509 Thurs. Aug 19 PECC Newsletter mailing 10:30-1 pm 965 Mission St., Suite 550 Sarah Jarmon 703-0188 ext. 302 Fri. Aug 20 HSN General Meeting 9:30 - 11:30 am Light House for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 214 Van Ness Avenue. Debbi Lerman 415-668-0444 Fri. Aug. 20 Mayor s Disability Council 1-4 City Hall Room 400 Mayors Office on Disability 415-554-6789 Community Calendar: August 10 Consumer-Oriented Long Term Care Activities Harrison Parker, DDS (President) Alan Coleman, MD (Vice President) Pat Hess (Secretary) Walter DeVaughn Marie Jobling Michael Kwok Nancy Brundy Nader Shabahangi, PhD News and events San Francisco City Budget Battle Update The Board of Supervisors made their amendments to the 2010/11 budget (adding back money that was cut by the Mayor) and submitted it back to the mayor after lengthy negotiations and compromise. Initially the Mayor refused to approve the Supervisor s restorations unless they agreed to take certain non revenue (but political) charter amendment changes off the November ballot. The Budget and Finance Committee refused to trade votes and negotiate in this way. Working closely with community representatives, the committee identified $33 million in alternate cuts that would save services for public health, senior and children s services. The committee also approved a $7 million supplemental amendment to the budget to pass along simultaneously with the ordinary budget. This resulted in all but one of the cuts to DAAS (Department of Aging and Adult Services) being spared. The one cut that was not restored as of the time of this writing is $100,000 to the Mental Health Association s Hoarding and Cluttering service program that helps people suffering from this disorder to remain in their housing. The supervisors are still working on funding this program. Now the battle continues, with the Mayor claiming that he may not spend the money that the supervisors have restored unless they remove the charter amendments. This unprecedented, last minute move has angered and alarmed many people and at the time of this writing the impasse remains. Stay tuned to Planning for Elders for the latest updates. Did you know you can contribute to Planning for Elders on-line? Visit our website: www.planningforelders.org and click on  DONATE. Thank you! Next IHSS- Health Task Force Thursday August 5 10:30 A.M.-12:00 Noon Arnette Watson Apartments 650 Eddy Street @ Larkin Page # Optometry Services Reinstated as Medi-Cal Covered Benefit (from the Medi-Cal website and CDCAN) Last year the Department of Health Care Services cut optometry services for adults under Medi-Cal.The federal government ordered California to reinstate optometry services; as of July 26th, these services will once again be available for people covered by Medi-Cal. The Schwarzenegger Administration indicated that while it is reinstating the optometry benefit for adults as required by federal law, it will continue to explore ways to see if the elimination of that benefit could be allowed.  The fight is not over. Tell your Senior Survival Story Do you live alone? Are you over 75? Do you have experience with trying to access services in San Francisco? Planning for Elders and UCSF Doctoral Student Elena Portacolone would love to talk with you. We are starting an article for the newsletter with people s stories, and the interviews will also help Elena in her research on what it s like to live alone for Seniors in San Francisco. Our first story will be published in the September newsletter. Please call Sarah at (415) 703-0188 ext. 302 if you would like to participate! Elena will come to your home, or wherever is most convenient for you. Check up out on facebook: Planning for Elders in the Central City And our blog: hospitaldischargerights.blogspot.com We are very pleased to have Marie Jobling as one of our new board members. This month we highlight her accomplishments. Look for our other new member, Nancy Brundy, next month. Marie Jobling is Executive Director of the San Francisco Community Living Campaign and Project Coordinator for the Tyze, an international effort to develop on-line and in-person communities of support for seniors and persons with disabilities.  Until recently, Marie served as co-chair of San Francisco s Long Term Care Coordinating Council, and has many years of experience in long-term care public policy and planning.  Much of this she learned on the job from leaders and volunteers when she was Executive Director of Planning for Elders in the Central City (PECC).   In her early days, Marie served as Director of Parish and Community Services for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, and was a founding board member for the California Public Interest Center on Long Term Care.  She also served as Community Organizer for Senior Action Network, Human Services Planner for the City of Stockton, and Staff Analyst for the Governor s Office of Planning and Research.   For more information about Marie s current work, go to www.sfcommunityliving.org.   Happy Summer! This is our shorter, summer edition of the newsletter. The full edition will be back next month. People with disabilities protest California budget cuts by Disability Rights California People with disabilities and their caregivers have camped out on a grassy traffic island in Berkeley during May and June to protest Governor Schwarzenegger's plan to slash funding for human services, including IHSS. They called their little cluster of tents "Arnieville," after the Hooverville shantytowns built by homeless people during the Great Depression. "We're here because we're tired of a budget process that treats us as expendable," spokesperson Jean Stewart told a June 24 press conference. "Every year our governor and legislators look for items they can cut from the budget, and every year they single out IHSS and Medi-Cal along with other programs that elderly, disabled and poor people depend on, like CalWORKS, Adult Day Health Care and mental health rehab." IHSS now serves over 450,000 Californians. The livelihoods of some 350,000 caregivers are also at stake. Organizers warned of the economic consequences of forcing people into nursing homes which may not have capacity for them, while further boosting the state's already soaring 12.4 percent unemployment.  Our homes not nursing homes Activists at Arnieville. IHSS Provider Enrollment Update July 1 was the deadline for IHSS homecare workers to begin the new enrollment requirements in order to continue getting paid. If they completed at least one of the four steps required then they have until December 1 to complete the entire process. Thanks to DAAS and the outreach they have done, only 700 or so people (out of 20,000) did not complete the required steps. If a homecare worker is denied because they don't pass the background check, or because of administrative errors, DAAS will help them clear up these discrepancies. If the county can t rectify or clarify the problem, the worker may appeal the decision and file for a fair hearing. They will continue to be paid until a decision is made by an administrative law judge. If anyone has questions they can call Megan Elliott at 557-5253 or Aragawie Josef 557-5422.