Long-Term Care System LEAN Process starts up

The work stemming from LD 1078 started up on Tuesday, Sept. 15th, with the Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS has been instructed to revamp the current home and community based care part of the long-term care system. The current system in place, the current eligibility and intake, and then the way the decision is made as to what care someone needs, and then the way the care is delivered is all under consideration. The eligibility, based on medical and financial information, is currently undergoing a lean process. One thing that has come out of it is the reduction of paperwork used in the process. RN's now have 3 to 6 pages of paperwork to deal with, instead of the 30 or so they had before. The LEAN core team has been selected. This group is mapping the current system, then mapping a future system, then developing an improvement action plan. This core team is made up of consumers, workers, advocates, providers, and members from DHHS. There is also a consumer group meeting. This group is made up of the folks that rely upon the system for the services and care they receive. This group is meeting before the core team starts its work. The people relying on care and services will get to tell DHHS what it is like being in the system, what works for them and what does not. I'm so glad that the people receiving care and services are part of this process. This is so important, they are the ones with the experience, good and bad, in the system. DHHS also put together a worker focus group made up of workers. This group will discuss worker issues raised in the legislation that was worked on this past legislative session. This is also another victory for workers. Workers get the chance to address issues and problems with DHHS. Ted Rippy, Dee Dee Strout from 771 are members of the worker group. Julie Moulton, and Cathy Bouchard from Maine PASA are in the worker group. I am too, representing Maine PASA, KVO, Local 771 and the Direct Care Alliance. This group is diverse in the work they do, thereby providing a wide range of worker insight. A comment was made in this first Lean meeting that more funding needs to be available to providers. DHHS and Jay Hardy from Alpha One both responded that this lean process is working with the current system, with the current funding that is in place. The purpose of the process is to make the system work for the People of Maine. The intent is to look at a complex process and find ways to save time, make the system more efficient. By making it more efficient, we stand to save money. That money can be turned over to workers in the forms of better wages and benefits. This work is very important. I am very pleased and honored to be a part of it. The documents pertaining to the Long-Term Care System Lean Process can be found by clicking the link. Thanks to Cheryl Ring and David Perkins of DHHS for making this information available online.