The Power of Using Cable Access Television

In 2005, my colleage and I released a 30 minute video entitled, "Promoting Olmstead:The Need for Community Based Services for Persons with Disabilities." This video showed individuals who were either in danger of being in a nursing home or have been rescued due to having services in the community to keep them at home. I sold 50 videos at $ 30.00 a piece and won a national award from the Alliance for Community Media for producing this video with my esteemed colleague. Community leaders purchased this film and advocated to their state legislators to push the need for community based services.The video took 60 hours to edit due to multiple clips being filmed. It was well worth the effort.I want to offer you the opportunty to learn how to produce your own show on cable TV in your town.

Please view my upcoming teleconference at www.robbinmiller.vpweb.com for more information.
A five minute clip of this video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/millerchat.

Robbin Miller, LMHC

Grassroots Advocacy in Action

REDD, Rights, Equality for the Dignity of the Disabled, in which I am a member of this group, is running a grassroots advocacy effort to recruit paratransit riders with disabilities to talk about their transporation issues to a local legal aid entity.

Here are the questions that are being posted in local flyers:

Did a van or cab pass you by then charge you for a no show?

Did a driver fail to call out your stop or bus route when approaching or stopped at a bus stop?

Did you file a complaint; get no response or satisfaction from the *WRTA?

Were you left stranded when the wheelchair lift failed?

Did the WRTA or *PBSI ban you from using the service due to the weight of you and/or your wheelchair?

Do you need help getting out of your front door to reach the curb and does this lack of service prevent you from using paratransit?

(*Worcester Regional Transit Authority and *Para Brokerage Service Inc).

REDD will be doing presentations at Public Housing Complexes; Neighborhood Community Centers; Religious Groups; and with Individuals to educate them on the above issues and to have their voices heard.

It is very concerning that the above issues are happening to persons with disabilities and the bus company has not been proactive in resolving these issues. These issues have been going on since 2002 and one of their typical responses have been "We will correct it and make sure it does not happen again." The administrators and drivers lack empathy when it comes to riders with a mobility impairments being told that "they can't come on the bus due to the lift (on a fixed route) being broken." How humilitating it is for these riders to be denied equal access and steered to use paratransit service instead.

Please note that paratransit service has specific eligibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act to access this service for riders with disabilities who are not able to use the fixed bus route service. Paratransit service requires a one day notice with a 20 minute window of time to pick up a rider to an appointment. The fares are higher and the time slots given for pick-up and drop-off can be up to a hour before a rider's appointment.

Last month, the Chair of REDD appeared on my TV show, Miller Chat to talk about these issues and to recruit people to have their voices heard. Cable Access Television is one avenue to get the word of on important issues affecting people in your community.

I welcome your comments.

Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator
http://www.robbinmiller.vpweb.com/.

P.S. A one hour teleconference will be given on January 15th from 1-2 PM on learning how to produce your own TV show. More information is posted on the above website.

Are Mental Health Professionals Providing Quality Customer Service?

As the new year approaches upon us, I am wondering if the mental health profession for both social workers,mental health counselors,and psychologists can evaluate how we deliver quality customer service to our clients. The medical profession has taken a positive stand in teaching medical students how to provide quality customer service to their patients through one to one interactions in patient-doctor experiential training programs during their third and fourth year of medical school. I don't recall getting similar training when I went to counseling school for masters and post-masters degrees in the 1990's. In fact, I received no training whatsoever on how to provide quality customer service to my clients. I was just told to be "polite and politically correct" when counseling my clients at my internship and clinical training sites by my supervisors.

Furthermore, doctors who belong to certain organizations in their professions can receive continuing education credits for taking webinars and/or attend presentations on how to improve their skills in customer service with their clients.

I call on the National Association of Social Workers; American Counseling Association; American Mental Health Counselor Associations; and Americal Psychologist Association to evaluate whether offering customer service webinar/courses (for credit) would be an investment in training mental health professionals to provide quality customer service to their clients.

As a mental health professional who has been practicing since 1996, some of the biggest complaints I have heard from clients are that some counselors don't call back their clients; don't show up for their appointments with them; and only see their clients for thirty minute sessions and bill their insurance provider for an hour session to get a higher rate of payment.

I look forward to receiving your comments.

Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator

Effect of 9c Cuts on Massachusetts Residents

Governor Deval Patrick announced the latest cuts for Mass Health that affect persons with disabilities and elders as reported by http://www.dpcma.org/: My comments are inserted in bold for some of the cuts:

1) Reducing day habilitation services by 5 hours per week, per recipient
2)Rolling back day habilitation rates to pre-February 2008 rates

3)Reducing Adult Dental Care, eliminating restorative care; allowing only emergency, preventative and x-rays

Comment:

This cut is ridiculous. If people can't get dentures paid for Mass Health, how will they eat solid foods? Elders and persons with severe disabilities are in danger of starving to death. Why should they have to resort to having their foods pureed if they can't afford dentures to eat solid foods? Not a sound healthcare policy by the Governor. There will be an increase in emergency room visits due to people getting infections in their teeth for poor dental care. A big cost to taxpayers.

4)Eliminating podiatry for all but diabetics

As mentioned above, not a sound healthcare policy. There will be an increase in ER visits due to Mass Health not paying for preventive foot care.

5)Eliminating PCA supports for severely disabled people needing less than 14 hours of service per week

Unfortunately, individuals who had less than 14 hours a month for PCA care are in danger of going to a nursing home due to cuts in homecare. Families will now have to do more to help their loved ones stay out of nursing homes and/or going to the ER for lack of personal care. More stress on the family and caregivers will result in potential neglect and physical abuse on these clients.

6)Reducing Adult Foster Care rates

I have mixed feelings due to one for profit entity making a 20% profit after operational costs are covered. Why can't these entities be non-profit and put the profit back into needed services for those clients to remain living at home?

7)In addition, there will be co-pays for some office visits and on presecription medications.

Hooray! Finally, these residents will have to pay something for their services. I am aware that some of them will not pay due to poor money management strategies. These individuals needs better skills in money management to pay for their co-pays for services. I have no sympathy for some individuals who blow their money on lottery tickets and on other foolish ways on the public dole.

In summary,these changes will be implemented over the course of the five months through April 2010. Some will require regulatory changes that include public hearing. Others may require legislative changes but let's be real - the legislature is not about to dirty it's hands in any way other than passing quickly on whatever the Governor proposes

Final Comment:I am aware that Mass Health will reduce their rates to providers who have to ask for co-pays from their clients. Potential layoffs can occur if providers are not able to provide the bare bone services they are currently providing for this population

What do you think?

Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator

Promoting Disabilities as a Cultural Competence Part II.

Below I copied and pasted a Mass Health Provider (I did not put the actual name down) for Mental Health Services in Massachusetts on their policy for Cultural Competence:

What is Cultural Competence?

Cultural competence is the ability to work effectively with people from different ethnic,
cultural, political, economic, and religious backgrounds. This Mass Health Provider for mental health is committed to cultural competency and aims to improve the
access and quality of care received by our diverse group of Members.

This Mass Health Provider trains staff and providers so they are able to provide services with sensitivity, understanding, and respect for the Member's culture.

This Mass Health Provider is committed to a culturally competent program and aims to
establish services that reflect:
• Staff knowledgeable in the primary languages and cultural backgrounds represented
by Members;
• Sensitivity of staff members toward the cultural differences of Members;
• Programs that respect and reflect community values and are created by the
participation of community groups; and
• Involvement of Members in decision-making of policies and procedures.

Comments:

The above does not address Disability Sensitivity as a cultural competence. Why not? How would the proposal to use "unique physical characteristics" as suggested as a possible use for all individuals with these characteristics fit in as a cultural competence?

Please comment.

Thank you,

Robbin Miller, LMHC
Facilitator