“To improve the living and working conditions and opportunities for persons with severe disabilities.”
EEO/AA/M/F/D/V

DIRECTOR’S CORNER
 By Phil L. Taylor, Executive Director

In the last few weeks we have been involved in a very discouraging process with the Arkansas Legislature.  There is plenty of blame to go around why the session did not result in a budget for Arkansas.  This is something that from what I heard has never happened before.  And all of the rhetoric why a “bloc of thirty-four” felt they should cause the session to end without a budget is nothing but political shenanigans and political rhetoric as far as I am concerned.  This was so important to the population we serve.  I dare say if any of these people had family members in real jeopardy of losing some of their medicaid services, because they, also, effectively blocked medicaid being fixed, they would have done something productive.

There will be a special session starting May 5 and from all indications will in some form or fashion complete the budget process and fix Medicaid.  Even during the regular session most everyone said they will fix Medicaid, there was just a large amount of disagreement on how to fix it.  I hope you will be ready should you be needed to call our Senators or Representatives in our area.  Matter of fact, if you know one of them personally remind them of what we do, whom we serve and that Medicaid is one of the primary funding mechanisms for us to do that.  Also, remember to mention that we work with one of the most vulnerable populations.

Another important thing has been formulating the last few months that have far reaching implications for everyone involved in our organization.  As many of you are aware just about anyone who is involved in the medical field and access Medicaid funding come under the new HIPAA federal regulations this month.  Actually this process to comply with these regulations was begun several months ago.  Cheryl has primarily been working on this project and has attended a couple of special training and information sessions on the topic.  Cheryl has been able to complete our organization’s compliance plan and related documents and is filling the role of HIPAA Privacy Officer.  There are numerous policies and procedures we will have to put into place.  She will be providing various forms of information in regard to this subject.  Please be advised that we will all have to take this very serious and you will be held accountable for its implementation at the various sites and jobs which you may be involved.  We plan to post this to our web-site in the near future so that some of the training may be accessible in that manner.

Lastly, I read a little piece in the newspaper that talked about some management related issues that I want to briefly interpret for our organization.  It is certain that our organization needs all kinds of good ethical stewards.  Staff who, for the good of the people we serve and the organization, make right moral choices, instill good and ethical values, promote ethical codes of conduct, and take our responsibility to our consumers seriously.  This can be at every level of our organization, no matter what your job entails.  All of us need to examine everything we do in real terms of our ethical responsibilities and obligations to our stakeholders and the organization.  I believe we have very strong points in this area, but it never hurts to re-evaluate ourselves.

I want to thank everyone for their efforts to work with our consumers.  Please remember our mission and to help get it out to the general public. Thank you and keep up the good work.
 

Need More Hours??
The production department is experiencing an overload of work at this time and needs your help. They are currently working from 6a.m. to 4p.m. Anyone interested in picking up extra hours can contact Darren or Kathrine at 932-1551 ext. 20 or ext. 34.
 

Proof of Residency
The following list of names are individuals who have not yet turned in their proof of residency. This is mandatory for your position so it is in your best interest to confront this matter ASAP!! If you have questions, please call Carrie at 932-1551 ext.32.
Joanne Dean              Judith Taylor
Stephen Posey           Kimberly Cavaness
Micah Ballard            David Brown
Michael Clanton         Erica Smith
Bobby Willis              Harriet Beaugard
Crystal Lackey           Sue Nelson
Jason Heath

Welcome to Abilities Unlimited
Michael Clanton  Flex
Keith Cook   Flex
Micah Ballard  ACS Implementor
Crystal Dominguez  Flex
Crystal Haggenmacher Flex
Deborah Cook  ACS Implementor
Stephen Posey  ACS Implementor
Joanne Dean  ACS Implementor
Will Howard  Flex
 
 
 
 
 

Change of Address and
Phone Number
When your personal information changes such as a phone number or address, please submit that information to the business office. You can contact Sherry at ext. 10 or Carrie at ext. 32.

May is Licensure Month
By Cheryl Heskett, Director of Consumer Services

I wanted to review with everyone what DDS Licensure is and the areas they focus on annually. Licensure visits us annually to review the following areas in compliance; and this year they come in May: ACS Waiver Certification; Board of Directors; Personnel Procedures; Staff Training; Individual/Parent/Guardian Rights and Procedures; Case Management; Program Plan Development; Transportation; Physical Plan; and Safety.
All of the listed areas above have a long list of sections that identify the different standards that will be reviewed by Licensure. Generally three DDS Licensure staff members come for a two day period to review and talk to consumers. Unfortunately paperwork is a huge part of our Program Manager’s responsibility and often it is an unmanageable nightmare. Your supervisor will request a variety of items weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually and your full cooperation is essential in order to process everything in a timely manner. Thank you for being dedicated and providing the core services that assist our consumers in achieving their identified outcomes.
 

?INSURANCE APPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH AND DENTAL WERE DUE APRIL 30TH. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET TURNED YOURS IN, PLEASE DO SO NOW.
 
 

Congratulations to Rita Puryear on the birth of her lovely daughter, Madison.  She was born on February 24th.  Mom, Dad and daughter are doing well!
 
Consumer Services
Yearly training is important ... it ensures that you will be eligible for a raise and DDS requires that you maintain a high standard of training.  If you are unsure of how you stand on training, contact Kim Young.  Please attend to this matter quickly.  Thank You!

Just wanted to let all of you know that DDS  will be coming in May to check our facility to see if it meets standards.  That means that the professional staff will be a little preoccupied with the preparations.  Please be patient with us as we prepare ourselves for this.
                               Thanks
  The Coordinators, Case Managers              and Support Staff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

April Training

Date: April 30th
Time:  9:30am and 1:30pm
Topic: “Wavier Socialization and Community Integration Services”
 
 

 
Paul Gunter will introduce a new service that will allow more consumers to attend special monthly community events and socialize with their peers.  The first of these trips will be to Memphis to watch a baseball game.  Come to this training to get more information concerning these great trips.

You must be the change that you want to see in the world.
   Mahatma Gandhi
If you want to pick up some extra hours for the summer and are willing to do some fill-in hours, please contact Jennifer at ext. 27.
 

WAC / AD
April Mayor was Dottie and Lyn was the Deputy Mayor.
Birthday wishes go out to Cathy, Liz, John

May Training
will be presented by Stephanie Gotay.
The topic will be announced at a later date.
 
 

?Just a Reminder ?Check your files weekly.  There are numerous important announcements that are being overlooked due to the fact that files are not being checked.  It is your duty to check your file for memos from both your supervisor and the company.

 
 
 
 
 

Crystal Haggenmacher 2nd
Robert Swink  3rd
Tonya Ferguson  5th
Beth Clem   7th
Billy Ivy   11th
Sylvia Rogers  11th
Candace Weaver  16th
Harriet Beaugard  21st
Paul Gunter   25th
Deborah Cook  26th
Jennifer Williams  26th
Marcus Nealy  30th
Tanika Truitt  30th
Dwight Bowman  31st

April Service Awards
Several employees celebrated their one year anniversary with A.U. this month and received a certificate and pin. Those employees are Bobby Willis, Ramona Martin, Paul Hedge, Jessica Pfitzner and Peggy Hudson.

Looking for a Mother’s Day gift?
Check out these bargains at The Unlimited

? May 3rd-9th      30% off blue tickets
? May 10th-16th      10% off blue tickets
? May17th-23rd      10% off lavender tickets
? May 24th-30th     20% off lavender tickets
? May 31st      30% off lavender tickets
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
By Cheryl Heskett, Director of Consumer Services

The passage of HIPAA in August 1996 gave the federal government the ability to mandate how healthcare plans, providers, and clearinghouse store and transmit individuals’ personal healthcare information. We have to be aware of and implement the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. The Privacy essentially controls the use and disclosure of what is known as protected health information (PHI). The Security Rule specifically addresses the transmission, storage and receipt of data.
We as an agency, have to develop privacy policies and procedures, and a Notice of Privacy Practices policy has been posted on our website, and at all our facilities. As an employee, you need to review the privacy policies and procedures and sign a Confidentiality Agreement for Workforce Members. If you have not signed the Confidentiality form ask your supervisor for one so it can be included in your personal record. Also, read the posted Notice of Privacy Practices (which our consumers or their guardians sign) to become familiar with the need for confidentiality issues to be addressed.
I am the designated Privacy officer and if you have any questions you can call me at 870-932-1552 ext. 14 or email me at cheskett@aui.org .
As always, thank you for working with us.

What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
-Albert Pine