• CONNECTING THE DOTS...
  To understand the present it is important to look at the past. Sometimes this means going all the way to the beginning of things. Reassessing events within a historical perspective and the distance of time helps appreciate what others have done and brings new light to events that at one point were misinterpreted It is important therefore, to put things into perspective to appreciate the progress that has been made at this time.
  • LETTER TO DOEA SEC. TERRY, ON HIS UNDERLINGS'
    INTENTS TO COERCE THE PRESS INTO CENSORING ME
• THE MODERN TROJAN HORSE: THE MEDICARE MODERNIZATION ACT
  The symbol of the Trojan Horse is appropriate because all along the administration's plan has never been to show transparency in its actions. On the contrary, the plan has been and will continue to be to distract the public until the men hiding inside this Trojan horse are ready to come out, and when they do, their true intentions will be known, but it will be too late for elders and disabled adults to react.
  THE TIME TO PROTECT MEDICAID IS NOW! Medicaid is the third leg of security that could disappear unless we begin to defend the program by asking candidates running for office what is their position on the program now before they get our vote.
• THE DISCOUNT PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN
  The fact that options to be presented to elders are limited to those approved by the administration exclude valuable alternatives elders can use to buy medication and by default gives elder consumers the impression that the new version of the Medicare program has no negative impact to present and future retirees.
  NURSING HOME DIVERSION PROGRAM — A VICTIM OF SUCCESS
  Once upon a time in 1999 there was a Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs that instituted a program called the Nursing Home Diversion Program. The idea behind the program was very simple; prevent the placement of frail elders in Nursing Homes. The idea was also for the program to survive for years to come, if possible improving with the passage of time and gained experience.
• DISMANTLING NURSING HOMES LIMIT OPTIONS
  It is known that Nursing Homes have powerful lobbyists who year after year donate to political campaigns. The Nursing Home Industry has political muscle, so to avoid a confrontation with donors and financial supporters the administration's plan calls for a diversion strategy that indirectly will force some Nursing Homes out of business without the administration being to blame.
  IN THIS ELECTION, WE NEED TO STAY FOCUSED
  At stake are our democratic traditions for free press, free speech and the freedom to pursue happiness. These are the issues that are being threatened and should be publicly debated. The security of our elders and frail individuals is diminishing because they are no longer protected by the safety net our forefathers built for us, but instead of talking about how in the last four years that safety net has been eradicated, we continue to focus in the wrong topic and this is definitely the wrong time to do it.
  

• BLIND VETERANS
  I want to say that losing one’s eyesight while still maintaining quality of life is for me very difficult to imagine because everything we do in my mind requires visual validation. However, what I witnessed and experienced has taught me another valuable lesson, especially when the tremendous challenge they are facing in navigating life is considered just an inconvenience.
  • WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH
    ...honoring veterans with parades and celebrations is important, but most importantly the committee felt that it was time for the nation to honor veterans with laws that protect their dignity, ease their eligibility process for program and services, fund veterans services properly, and as they age offer them options other than nursing home placements and allow them to be eligible to receive disability pensions at the same time they are allowed to qualify with service connected disabilities

CAREGIVING ISSUES
All the articles in this section on one PDF file.

• ELDER ARE BECOMING INDEPENDENT AGENTS
  For years elders attending senior centers or becoming members of elder groups have traditionally followed the recommendations of the group or the agency. This has given tremendous power to those organizations that could claim when it came time for elections, writing campaigns, sending emails or supporting politicians, that the agency or the group influenced hundreds or millions of elders.
  • CONSUMER DIRECTED CARE IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION
    With more individuals becoming frail and living longer with frail conditions that require around the clock care, more resources are needed to keep them at home, therefore, the original cost savings anticipated by the program designers is not being realized, and this is making government officials think twice about continuing the program
• CASE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
  The idea of capitating the cost of case management services is not new. It has been around since the days of Secretary Bentley Lipscomb. Despite extensive and expensive analysis that lasted one year by a famous accounting firm, the capitation idea has never generated a higher quality of life or more services for elders.
  
  • ELDER ABUSE ON THE RISE
    The safety and the security of our elders, disabled adults and children should be one of the most important priorities of governmet. After all, if there is a role for government to play, it is in making sure all its citizens are safe and protected.
• DEBBIE'S STORY (Outside Link)
  Never in our wildest dreams did we ever suspect how our lives would be changed in just that one minute. We had just had a wonderful Christmas with our family in our new home. But the day after Christmas, I was putting groceries away, when the phone rang...

• WE NEED AN INDEPENDENT VOICE
  What we need is to create an independent mechanism to achieve that goal, and the only way this can be done is to make the position of Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs an elected position. This way the incumbent cannot use the excuse that the Governor told him or her to do it.
  
  • PROTECTING VOLUNTEERS
    For many years I have been involved in volunteerism, both on a personal basis, and in designing programs to recruit and train volunteers. The last program I was involved with was able to increase the number of volunteers from under 30,000 statewide in 1998 to 52,890 statewide when I left in 2001, and from under 2.0 million hours of services to 2.6 million hours of volunteer services.
• TEN REASONS ELDERS SHOULD MOVE TO FLORIDA
  Elders in the North and East of the Mississippi River have begun watching a campaign created by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs to attract more wealthy elders to Florida. Yes, you read it right; the campaign is not paid by the Department of Tourism or by private developers in need to sell their continuous retirement communities. It is paid by the agency responsible for providing services to frail elders. While I have not actually watched the commercial, I know it cost $100,000 this year to produce.
  • SERVING AT THE PLEASURE OF GOVERNOR BUSH
    "It was therefore very discouraging for me to see how Medicare and Medicaid laws were being disregarded. In retrospect I should have seen the writing on the wall much sooner. The pre approved list of people to hire, the appointment of a Deputy Secretary announced the same day I was hired, the directive to leave some providers alone and the constant control over the day to day operation of the office including orders not to testify on 9/11/2001 in front of Carole Green, House Committee on Aging on issues regarding Medicare fraud and violation of Medicaid laws."
    
    

WHEN THE SECRETARY
GAVE THE CHECKS...

Forcing elders to enroll in Managed Care plans designed principally to manage costs and deny care is against the President’s Freedom of Choice initiative, but this contradiction in the administration’s health care policy is not the only contradiction. One of the most obvious flip flops in the administration’s health care policy is exemplified by the Terry Schiavo case in Florida, who by the way is still alive against the wishes of her husband and after the courts have given the husband permission to allow her dying process to come to an end. While the administration’s position is that they want government out of peoples’ lives, they have gone ahead and mingled in the most intimate decision people can make, their right to die in peace.


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