To Whom It May Concern:

I am so grateful to have been a services facilitator for the EDCD now currently known as the CCC Plus waiver for almost 15 years. It has been my unique pleasure to have met so many wonderful families, as well as representatives of PPL, KEPRO, and DMAS at the many trainings that were once provided face to face. I count it an honor to have met so many whose goal was to assist families in keeping their loved one at home. The process was and is not perfect because humans are flawed, make mistakes, errors are made, and complications are bound to happen from time to time. I have loved each of my members as family and have treated them all with dignity and respect. I have gone above and beyond this position as a job by visiting my members in hospitals while in ICU/CCU as well as in skilled nursing facilities after their services with us has been discharged. I have gone to birthday parties, graduations, funerals, celebrations of life, and memorial services. Being invited into these private moments are memories I will forever cherish. I have advocated for approval of authorizations for much needed hours of care for each of my members and have given my all to keep the integrity of this waiver by calling APS, the police, and a local DSS for some members who were too undereducated to complete paperwork for continuation of Medicaid eligibility. I have called family to intervene when my members were not well during my visit and refused to let me call 911. I have put on my gloves and provided care for many whose aides were either running late or couldn’t make it to the home that day.  My husband and I have bought food for some, have built ramps, bought incontinence supplies, gloves, and wipes, as well as, DME as we were able never asking for recognition or reward. I did hours of research to understand the daily needs and challenges for members whose diagnosis and conditions I had never even heard of so I could properly be equipped to advocate and serve them. I genuinely care about all of my members, their families, and their aides. The hardest part of this change for me will be the absence of faces, smiles, and hugs as well as the hands of those members who are blind, and deaf but recognize me as their “friend”
 by a loving touch. I am personally grieving the loss of this privilege as much as I would death.

Still, I have concerns I would like to share; just my opinion, yet I think it is valid and should be considered for this proposal. No disrespect intended.

Since a support broker system is going to happen, I think it must go through the F/EA and not the MCO. Going through the MCO is a direct conflict of interest. I have witnessed members’ services hours be denied and appealed; and while some had the decision overturned, still some were upheld. I have also witnessed members or parents of growing children be denied for much needed DME or repairs of equipment; struggling with months long fights with physicians and therapists advocating for the member while families were struggling with daily challenges until their need was deemed medically necessary and approved. A support broker should not be a part of the MCO because the support broker should be allowed to advocate for the best interest of the member and not just support the bottom line of a financial statement. I hope a support broker will be allowed to advocate for the members’ needs and rights so the member can be free to remain in their homes and be assisted by their choice of loved ones or outside aides who care so that the member can be successful in whatever different abilities or daily challenges they experience. Thank you for the opportunity to share my experiences and my opinions. I will forever support and advocate for the in-home community-based waivers to ensure the quality of life and care for individuals in the State of Virginia.

Much Thanks, Cindy Lou Poore / SF   Lou’s Solutions, LLC