|
Thursday, January 7, 2016| Vol. 2, No. 10
DHHS' Highlights is published by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for those interested in the latest information on health and human services issues. Please subscribe to or share the newsletter by clicking on the "Share" button.
ACCESSNebraska Improves
ACCESSNebraska, which provides public benefits to needy Nebraskans, has seen marked improvements this calendar year:
- Call wait times were reduced from an average of more than 21
minutes in January to the five-minute range in September through November, with
October seeing under 3 minutes.
- DHHS’ national rank in processing applications for the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, improved to 32nd
in the nation, was 48th at the end of 2014 and 52nd in 2013. Also, in November 2014, the average time to
process applications was 40.9 days and a year later the average is 11.5 days.
- In a U.S.D.A. report covering January-June, 89.08 percent of
applications received timely processing, while the national average was 90.10
percent. The report includes a margin of error of plus or minus 4.63 percent
for Nebraska, making the high end of the state’s scale over 93 percent. Ongoing
monitoring of performance indicates the ranking will continue to rise.
The improvement in services was attributed to:
•The hard work of staff and their focus on clients.
•Changes made as a result of daily Economic Development staff and weekly cross-divisional meetings facilitated by the Governor’s office;
•Assistance from a consultant provided by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS); and
•A positive working relationship with the regional FNS office.
Monthly
updates on the performance of ACCESSNebraska are available on the DHHS website.
|
Lincoln Regional Center Named Top
Performer
The
Lincoln Regional Center was named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by
the Joint Commission in December. It is the third year in a row that the LRC has earned the
award.
“This acknowledgement by The Joint Commission recognizes the experience, teamwork and commitment of the entire staff at the Lincoln Regional Center,” DHHS CEO Courtney Phillips said. “It is a tribute to their dedication to their patients, as well as their ongoing efforts to continually improve their patients’ experiences and outcomes.”
The Lincoln Regional Center was the
only hospital in Lincoln and the only psychiatric hospital recognized in
Nebraska. Just eight of the 25 hospitals in Nebraska that submitted data were
recognized as part of The Joint Commission’s 2015 annual report for attaining
and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance. Nationally,
1,043 of the more than 3,300 eligible hospitals achieved Top Performer
distinction.
The Lincoln Regional Center is one
of three regional centers in DHHS with others in Norfolk and Hastings.
Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers Accredited
The Youth Rehabilitation and
Treatment Center in Geneva (YRTC-G) received its most successful audit ever
from the American Correctional Association (ACA) and was once again granted a
three-year accreditation.
The Youth
Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney was accredited and received high
compliance ratings following an audit by the American Correctional Association
in 2014. ACA found the facility 100 percent compliant on all measurements.
|
New
Approach to Child Welfare is Well-Received
Alternative
Response, an additional approach in child welfare within the Division of
Children and Family Services (CFS) is being positively received by
families and child advocates. In Alternative
Response, child welfare workers collaborate with families to find ways for
children to safely remain in their homes.
Alternative Response is being piloted
in Sarpy, Lancaster, Dodge, Hall and Scotts Bluff counties.
Child Welfare Services Exceed All Federal
Measures
In 2015, CFS exceeded the scores on
six federal measures of the safety and permanency of state wards for the first
time. Three years ago CFS surpassed the federal measures in only two measures.
The federal measures
were designed to evaluate how well states address safety and permanency for
state wards. The accomplishment is due to the hard work of employees as well as
statewide efforts of local communities, service providers, and foster and
adoptive families.
|
Federal Court Oversight of BSDC Ends
In August, the United States
District Court for the District of Nebraska ended federal court oversight of
the Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC). This announcement marked
continued progress for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
under new leadership.
“We’re pleased the U.S. Department of Justice recognizes the state’s commitment
to improving services for people with developmental disabilities in Nebraska
and the progress that has been made,” said Courtney Phillips, Chief Executive
Officer of DHHS. “We’ll continue to work hard to ensure individuals are being
served in supportive and safe environments.”
Court documents
jointly filed by DHHS and the U.S. Department of Justice said, “This memorandum
outlines a success story."
|
Medicaid Managed Care RFP Includes
Physical & Behavioral Health, Pharmacy Services
In October, DHHS’ Division of
Medicaid and Long-Term Care (MLTC) released a Request for Proposals (RFP)
for the state’s new integrated Medicaid managed care program called Heritage
Health. MLTC expects to award three contracts in March 2016 with the program to
begin operation January 1, 2017.
Heritage Health is a new health
care delivery system that combines Nebraska’s current physical health,
behavioral health, and pharmacy programs into a single comprehensive and
coordinated system for Nebraska’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) enrollees.
It has been designed to simplify
the delivery model for recipients by providing them with the opportunity to
choose a health plan that will be responsible for an integrated package of
health services and benefits.
Under Heritage
Health, Medicaid and CHIP enrollees will choose one health plan that will be
responsible for a full array of services and will coordinate all care for
physical, behavioral, and pharmacy services.
|
New Equipment Saving Lives Thanks to $6 Million Grant
In May, Nebraska received
a roughly $6 Million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable
Trust to purchase lifesaving equipment for ambulances and hospitals.
Thanks to the grant,
about 360 ambulance services and 80 hospitals in Nebraska will receive the
Physio-Control LUCAS® 2, an external, mechanical device that provides automated
chest compressions to adults in cardiac arrest. Already, lives have been saved
by the device.
As part of this three-year grant, DHHS’ Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) program will help coordinate the purchase and
distribution of the devices as well as provide the appropriate training.
Veterans’
Homes Certified
2015 has been a big year for DHHS’
Division of Veterans’ Homes following their annual Health Care System Surveys
from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Grand Island Veterans’ Home is deficiency
free for the third year in a row. For the sixth year in a row, the Eastern
Nebraska Veterans’ Home (ENVH) in Bellevue received full certification. And for
the fourth time in as many years, the Norfolk Veterans’ Home was found
deficiency-free. The Scottsbluff Veterans Home also was certified with only one
deficiency, low by national standards.
The survey ensures that as a
licensed skilled nursing facility all requirements are being met in caring for
its members.
Construction Bids Solicited for
Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home
Construction bid solicitation for
the new Central Nebraska Veterans’ Home in Kearney was issued in November and
the announcement of the selected vendor is expected in January. Groundbreaking
is tentatively scheduled for April.
The new Veterans’ Home will be
built with federal funding. Nebraska will receive partial funding this year
with additional funds allotted in future years.
|
| 
