[nfbmi-talk] interesting cic meeting notes

[joe harcz Comcast]

Consumer Involvement Council

May 12, 2011

DRAFT MEETING NOTES

 

 

In attendance:  Crystal Gorton, Carrie Martin, Lydia Schuck, Fred Wurtzel, Susan Turney, Cheryl Heibeck.   On the phone: Geer Wilcox, Mae Kent, Phyllis Magbanua, Wayne LaPoirs, Sarah Norwood, Luke Patterson.

 

Crystal asked for questions about the agenda.  Fred asked about the Small Business Policy.  Crystal confirmed that it would be an update about how the Small Business Policy meeting went.  Phyllis made a motion to approve the agenda. Wayne seconded the motion. Motion was unanimously passed.  Notes from the September meeting were approved.  Motion to approve was made by Mae Kent and seconded by Wayne.  Motion was unanimously passed.  Notes from the November special meeting were approved.  Motion to approve was made by Fred Wurtzel.  Phyllis seconded the motion. Motion was unanimously passed. Notes from the January meeting were discussed.  Phyllis mentioned that her name wasn’t included in the notes as being in attendance.  With the correction, the notes were approved.  Wayne moved for approval and Wayne seconded the motion.  

 

Crystal updated members that she had presented the Small Business Policy committee the CIC recommendations.  The recommendations were adopted.  The Commissioners all voted on it and it passed.  Lydia, a new MCB Commissioner, clarified the issue by explaining that the recommendations would be incorporated into policy for a year and that would give staff a chance to see how it works.  Lydia said she could double check the minutes from their meeting to make sure the information was correct.  

 

Susan Turney informed members that she had sent members the most recent MCB Report.  She also shared that she is in the process of putting together the information on the summer youth programs.  The first draft of the material has been received.  The news release will go out on the MCB listserv and to the media on Monday or Tuesday of next week (May 16, 2011 or May 17, 2011).  That information will also be shared on our website. Susan mentioned that all of the upcoming meetings are also listed on our website.  For this particular meeting she created a link on the front page that goes into the calendar and also lists all of the materials as Word files, so everything is available to download.  The only thing not on there is the roster, because it contains personal information.  

 

Luke Patterson, Chief of Blind Rehabilitation Service at the Battle Creek Veterans Administration Medical Center, spoke about the services they provide and explained that some clients receive services in multiple states due to traveling in the winter.  The first VA Blind Rehab center originated at Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital in Chicago and was affiliated with Western Michigan University years ago.  Since then, it has branched out extensively.  The VA is set up in what is called “networks” or sometimes they call them VSNs, so they’re considered service networks. There are 26 of them throughout the US.  In each network you have a handful of hospital and community based outpatient clinics.  For example, in Michigan we are in VSN 11 and the UP is VSN 12.  VSN 11 handles all of lower Michigan, all of lower Indiana and a small part of Illinois.  That’s the area that Luke covers.  Within that, there are a number of full blown VA hospitals.  There are VA hospitals in Detroit, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Fort Wayne IN, Marion IN, Indianapolis, and Danville IL.  All of those hospitals have CBOCs (Community Based Outpatient Clinics) that are attached to them.  In Battle Creek there’s the main hospital and we have a CBOC in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Muskegon and Benton Harbor.  All of the other main hospitals have at least 3 or 4 CBOCs associated with them.  Every main hospital has one rehab counselor assigned to it.  They are called VISC Coordinators.  They maintain a roster of veterans on their case load.  Luke has about 340 people on his roster.  Ann Arbor has about the same number of people on their caseload.  Detroit has about the same number as well, but Luke feels the number should be about triple what it is.  Saginaw has about 200 people.  He clarifies that those are only vets that have been identified, and feels there’s probably double the number of them in Michigan alone.  A VISC coordinator handles referrals for every single medical need.  The other difference between the VA and state rehab is that what they do has nothing to do with employment.  There is not an end result of employment as a goal.  There are also additional rehabilitation workers who are called BROS (Blind Rehabilitation Outpatient Specialists).  We only have one in Michigan, and his name is Paul LaRose.  He works out of Ann Arbor and is kind of like a rehab teacher.  There are also a number of low vision clinics.  The smallest one is in Detroit.  They have a half-time optometrist, half time clerical support and one certified low vision therapist.  In Saginaw, there is a half time optometrist, a O&M instructor, and a low vision specialist and maybe half-time program support.  In Battle Creek, we have a director, which is Luke Patterson, a full time optometrist, O&M instructor, Rehab teaching, low vision and computer access training. They also provide inpatient as well as outpatient services.  In-patient is when you’re staying for a full residential program.  Outpatient can include a night’s stay if necessary, but it’s not in-patient.  They also have their own transportation system where they can send a driver to pick up a vet and offer door to door service.  If extensive travel is involved, lodging is provided.  Fred asked why a person would travel from Lansing to Battle Creek to receive services.  Luke responded by saying that there aren’t any VA blind rehab folks in Lansing.  Fred clarified his question by asking about other medical issues such as diabetes or heart conditions or other non-blindness related issues.  Luke explained that there is a CBOC here in Lansing that could address those medical issues.  He also explained that the CBOC are kind of like urgent care centers.  They have a primary care doctor and some other services like a pharmacy or general nursing care.  They handle whatever they can there, and whatever they can’t handle they send to the next level of VA services.  So they would shuttle them here or wherever they could receive the service they need.  For example, if someone needed neurosurgery, they would be shuttled to Ann Arbor where they provide that kind of medical procedure at the U of M. The services are not provided on a walk in basis.  Things are handled through a primary care provider and a person will be scheduled to receive services.  The VA also has 10 residential blind rehabilitation centers across the country and Puerto Rico.  There’s a new one being built in Cleveland, Ohio, which will be a 15-bed facility.  The next closest one is probably West Haven, CT.  There are five or six 35 bed facilities and about six 15-bed facilities with three new ones opening in Biloxi, MS, Cleveland, and Long Beach, CA.  

There will be a total of 13.  

 

Everything begins with the VISC Coordinator, then you have a case manager that deals with the rehab client and they begin referring you to the services you need.  A veteran does not have to be considered legally blind to receive VA services.  If they have any eye condition that they need services for the VA provides services.  They can issue just about anything.  They do not have many restrictions on what devices they can order.  Veteran vocational rehabilitation is something that is totally separate from the VA.  Blind rehab has nothing to do with vocational rehab.  Working is not a requirement to receive VA Blind Rehab services.  They can work with a 95-year-old as well as a younger guy who is going to school.  If a person receives services through the veterans vocational rehabilitation they have to be disabled because of blindness caused during active duty.  Most blind veterans go through regular vocational rehabilitation.  If the veteran needs job-related services that regular blind rehab cannot handle, then they bring in VA voc rehab to assist.   The only time they can’t serve a veteran is if they have not been in recent conflict, been injured in war at all, makes a ton of money and is not legally blind.  

 

Crystal asked if they work in tandem with MCB.  Luke said he has made a couple attempts but it hasn’t been very successful.  He also mentioned that he has worked a great deal with Roberta McCall and they’ve been able to work together and get services to clients who are veterans.  Luke informed the group that he is moving to Tucson, Arizona, to work at the blind center there.  His last day with the VA will be June 3rd.  Dr. Matthew Thomas, the low vision optometrist, will be handling Luke’s position after his departure.  The main objective of their program is to get the client to a blind rehabilitation center to go through a full program.  They try to establish contact with the client early on in the beginning stages of losing their vision.  Sometimes it’s a difficult task to convince people to apply for services.  

 

Chairperson Crystal Gorton explained that the CIC was set up to provide input to MCB from different consumer groups.  In addition to being Chair of the CIC, Crystal also is a vocational rehabilitation consumer representative.  Georgia Kitchen is an NFB of MI representative and Clara Powell is an Independent Living consumer representative. She asked Luke if he felt VA representation would be helpful to the committee.  He stated that he thought it was a good idea.  He said it would be helpful to be knowledgeable about what services the commission provides verses what the VA provides. Luke provided the phone number 269-223-5195 as the contact number for referrals.  Steve Beres 269-223-6745 who is a technology instructor but is also the president of the Michigan Blind Veterans Association as well as the National Treasurer.  He’s probably as well connected as any blind veteran in the country.  The VA historically does not have a good reputation for providing services to veterans.  A lot of times people don’t know that there are services available, vision related or not.  Luke said he would send out an email with a brochure outlining services.  Members thanked Luke for his time.

 

Sherri provided updates on what’s happening with MCBTC.  She said that they now have both males and females in the counseling areas because some students weren’t comfortable discussing certain issues with counselors of the opposite sex.  All programs are up and running. The industrial arts class had to be modified a little because of space limitations.  They’re working on smaller projects currently.  Future activities include training on Apple equipment.  They are going to try to split Shig’s time between the training center and the regional office.  They have been able to purchase some additional equipment with ARRA funds.  A lot of it is going to be in the area of audio visual equipment.  They are hoping to have the ability to do audio streaming at the training center. Staffers are working to resolve some of the issues that we’ve had in the past with audio streaming, especially at the commission meetings.  The ability to do audio streaming will also give the students an opportunity to learn the audio visual equipment as well.  Fred asked about off-campus housing, and Sherri replied that with renovations going on, they are not able to address that issue currently. However, it is planned for the near future.  One of the other topics that were being discussed was the topic of hiring mobility instructors.  Some one had asked about whether or not they were going to be hiring any blind mobility instructors.  Sherri said that Shig was teaching mobility. Another person had asked if they were considering in hiring Mobility Instructors, and Sherri said that they were.  It was asked if we had any blind applicants. Sherri said not at this time.  The next issue that was brought up was the issue of additional staff.  Sherri said that they would be hiring additional staff and currently have a diverse staff who are able to do training in specific areas such as: Braille, Home Economics, and Technology, and that if any one of those teachers were to get sick or go on vacation, the staff must have the capability to fill in in other positions.  If a teacher loves a certain subject to teach in, that’s where the Commission will try to put them.  The Bylaws are going to be discussed at the next meeting in September.  An agenda will be prepared ahead of time.  Seating on the CIC was discussed.  There have been some positions that have been vacant for quite awhile.  Lydia had also said that the decisions that the CIC makes can get lost when they have their meetings three or four times a year.  Someone had really liked options A through F on the bylaws decisions list. Now that Lydia is a Commissioner and functions in that capacity, there was discussion about obtaining a new blind children’s representative.  

 

 

Fred stated his concerns about the “drastic under-spending of the MCB budget.”  He feels that there is a disconnect between the field staff and the administration about the amount of money available to spend on services.  He stated that there was 1.2 million dollars unspent in the 2009-2010 budget. He got the numbers from a budget report that came directly from MCB. He also believes that MCB is illegally temporarily employing sighted people in BEP stands since blind people have asked to run the stands and have been turned down. Fred also asserted that MCB counselors do not respond to consumers within a 48-hour time period.  There is a staff person in Lansing that just took a leave of absence and did not inform people on her caseload that she is going to be gone for three months.  Crystal agreed that she was disappointed that she was not told who would be handling her case.  Fred stated that her supervisor should have made sure that the staff member had notified her caseload of her leave of absence.  Fred and Crystal both stated that this has been a constant, nagging issue and that absolutely nothing has been done to address this problem.  They stated that this issue has been raised multiple times with no resolution.  Lydia stated that she would like to see the consumer groups keep a log of response times.  Lydia would like to see a system implemented that would digitally record all consumer phone calls and what kind of response they received. Sarah brought up the ongoing issue of transportation problems in the Detroit area.  Fred commented that transportation issues should be advocated by MCB since it’s an issue that affects the ability to get to work.  Geer suggested that consumer groups and MCB need to work together to advocate for better transportation.  Fred suggested invited the heads of SMART AND MDOT to talk about the services they provide.  Lydia suggested that Crystal take this issue to Commissioner Pilarski to make sure the Board is aware that this is an ongoing issue. 

 

Questions were raised regarding the ability of MCB to fill empty positions and to add counseling positions in the Flint area.  Susan suggested inviting Bob Robertson and Elsie Duell to answer some of these questions. It was decided that the meeting needs to be more than three hours and members would like a face to face meeting.

 

Motion to adjourn by Fred at 12:10pm.  The next meeting will be September 8th.