by Scott M. Mendel
With a new administration in Washington, D.C., a number of legislative proposals are before Congress that could adversely affect Misericordia. There is also a new regulatory initiative in Springfield that can be detrimental to Misericordia’s future plans. Below is a brief summary of these federal and state initiatives. I am always happy to provide additional information or answer any questions. The best way to reach me is at scott.mendel@klgatescom.
by Ernie Stark
One of the areas of administrative responsibility of Associate Executive Director Father Jack Clair is campus security. Recently, I asked Father Jack about how Misericordia keeps staff and residents safe.
Over the past few years, many things have changed. Some are best kept confidential. Others are quite visible: Locked doors are now the rule throughout the campus not only on all residences, but the Ridge entrance, to areas beyond the Greenhouse Inn, business office and laundry. Elevator access requires ID activation. To enable staff to lock down areas if needed, many doors required new locks to be installed. Bullet proof glass has been installed at public entrances.
Dear TFC Members:
Senators Hassan, Casey, and Brown, and Representative Dingell, have circulated a draft bill called the Home and Community-Based Services Access Act (the “HAA”). They have asked members of the public to provide comments on the HAA. It is critically important that each of you send in your own comments on this proposed legislation.
The HAA is being portrayed as legislation that will help individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, the way it is drafted, it will have a devastating effect on the men and women with the most significant intellectual disabilities. The bill would end any requirement that states provide the services of intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (“ICF/IIDs”). It would also create a strong financial incentive for all states to close all ICF/IIDs, both state operated and private. 70,000 men and women across the country have chosen to live in ICF/IIDs because they have found that these settings best meet their needs and preferences. All of these men and women would be forced to leave their chosen homes.
Written by Ernie Stark
Consider the task: ensuring that 600+ residents have nutritious food that meet their individual needs. That’s the mission of the Food Services Department, led by Director Bob Noga, his assistants Jim Ahlfeld and Kyle Rhone, as well as Head Chef Sammy Johnson and Head Baker Freddy Fernandez. Food Services reports to Father Jack, who said “They do all the work.”
The task of feeding Misericordia residents is a complex job, which requires a great deal of organization. Think about the different types of residences on campus and the variety of residents’ needs. For example, some residents can eat typical food while others need their food pureed. Some have dietary restrictions. Some can eat independently, some cannot. Other residents receive tube feeding. There are almost as many specific needs as there are residents.
Two staff dieticians create recipes and plan the meals, meals that can be adapted in a variety of ways that meet the residents’ needs. Purchasing food and other supplies is also part of Food Services. In addition to three chefs and seven cooks, the kitchen staff includes those who prepare the food, scullery personnel and the drivers who deliver meals to the residences.
by Ernie Stark
Many of us have attended Mass with Father Jack or seen him at various campus events. Did you know that Father is responsible for several departments that keep Misericordia running? These include Food Services, Maintenance and Security. Look for subsequent articles about these important departments.
Most of us do not know Father Jack’s personal story or what brought him to Misericordia. Let’s hear that in Father’s own words.
“I was adopted by an Irish Catholic family on the Northwest side of Chicago. My father was a Chicago policeman who grew up on the South side. One of his police duties was to be a crossing guard at a public school where my mother taught kindergarten. That’s where they met. In their 30s, they found out that they were unable to have children. They went to Catholic Charities where they adopted my sister, Sheila, and several years later they adopted me.
Dear Misericordia Families:
We are asking you to take action by submitting a comment to the Illinois Department of Human Services regarding proposed rule changes that will prevent campus settings and other types of congregate settings in Illinois from receiving Medicaid waiver funding. These rule changes will not directly affect any of Misericordia’s current homes because its campus homes receive Medicaid funding that is reserved for intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled (ICFs) and its off-campus CILA homes meet the requirements of the proposed rule. Nonetheless, the rule changes described below can limit housing options that Misericordia may wish to pursue in the future. In addition, we feel strongly that men and women who wish to live in a campus setting, on a farmstead, or in other types of intentional communities should have that opportunity. Under the proposed rule changes, only small isolated group homes in neighborhoods will be eligible to receive Medicaid waiver funding. We know that for some men and women, these small group homes can be very isolating. Some men and women have behavioral issues that preclude them from living in a small group home in an urban neighborhood; they do much better in the calm of a campus setting or a farm community. If men and women find that they prefer to live in a campus setting, on a farmstead, or in another intentional community with their peers, and if that type of setting best meets their needs, they should have that option. The proposed rule changes take that option away in Illinois. In addition, the proposed rule seeks to impose restrictions on where individuals with disabilities may live that are not imposed on any other group. This is wrong and likely unlawful.
Here are some key provisions of the Social Security Act that support choice, particularly the choice of an ICF. Please click the "Medicaid Provisions" below.
by Julie Carpenter
For nearly two decades, Bob and Madge Erlenbaugh have shared their gifts, enriching the lives of Misericordia residents through music and their tireless leadership as volunteer choir directors for Misericordia’s Heartzingers Choir. The Heartzingers are a choir of 50 residents, led by Bob on guitar and Madge guiding residents who participate through sign language. It is a group that has found a common bond through music, forming a tight-knit family within the broader Misericordia family, for whom the choir’s music brings comfort, spiritual inspiration, joy and profound happiness.
Date: March 5, 2021
To: Misericordia Family Association
From: Michael Diaz and Tina Stendardo; Community Day Services Administrators
Dear Misericordia Families,
We hope you all are well and staying safe. We wanted to provide you with an update on the re-opening of our Community Day Services (CDS).
Dear SIBs,
Thank you for tuning in to our video presentation for our Annual Sibling Meeting yesterday. In case you missed it, below are the important links for this year:
Page 31 of 33