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State tries to save Oakwood funding
Federal agency told of changes
New management at Communities at
Oakwood should persuade federal officials not to cut off $43 million
that is needed to keep open Kentucky's largest facility for adults
with mental retardation, a state official said yesterday.
"We are assuring them that we are
taking additional steps to protect the health and safety of
residents,'' Mark D. Birdwhistell, secretary of the Cabinet for
Health and Family Services, said in an interview.
Federal funds supplied up to 70
percent of the money -- or about $43 million -- needed for Oakwood
to operate in fiscal 2006.
The state was notified last fall it
could lose the money because of repeated abuse and neglect of
residents at the Somerset facility, home to about 250 people.
Federal officials agreed to
continue funding Oakwood while Kentucky appealed.
Birdwhistell detailed a recent
contract with Bluegrass Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, a
regional, nonprofit mental-health agency, and other changes in a
26-page letter he sent Friday to Medicaid officials.
Yesterday, Lee Millman, a
spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in
Atlanta, confirmed her agency has received Kentucky's letter
outlining its plan to correct problems at Oakwood.
"CMS will read this plan and
evaluate it,'' she said.
Birdwhistell said CMS has 30 days
to reply and he is "optimistic'' the agency will agree to continue
Medicaid funding for Oakwood.
In addition to hiring a new
manager, the cabinet has taken other steps to try to better protect
residents, he said in the letter, which was released yesterday.
The state has increased training of
staff on how to better manage and care for residents, Birdwhistell
said.
And since Aug. 11, there has been a
Kentucky state trooper on duty 24 hours a day in case of any
problems or if anyone wants to report suspected abuse or neglect
directly to police.
He said the cabinet also has worked
harder to involve family members, guardians and advocates of Oakwood
residents and is continuing efforts to relocate all residents who
wish to move to smaller community settings, such as group homes.
Since Sept. 1, 43 residents have
moved into homes in the community and one has moved to a nursing
facility, Birdwhistell said.
Oakwood is helping plan moves for
another 62 residents, he said.
But in his letter, Birdwhistell
cited a recent contract with Bluegrass to run Oakwood as a major
step toward improvement.
"They were looking for a
substantial change in how we manage Oakwood and the cornerstone is
the contract,'' he said in an interview.
Bluegrass, based in Lexington, will
take over the facility Nov. 1, under its agreement this month with
the cabinet.
Gary Latham of Hopkinsville, a
member of the parents' association of Oakwood residents, said he
thinks Bluegrass might succeed where other managers have failed.
"I think this Bluegrass thing has a
real chance of working,'' said Latham, who has a son at Oakwood. "We
can just hope and pray that this will work.''
Bluegrass will replace Liberty
Healthcare of Pennsylvania, a private, for-profit company the
cabinet hired last year to manage Oakwood. In August, Medicaid
officials notified Kentucky it might cut off funds before the appeal
because of continuing problems.
The facility has been cited 24
times in the past 21 months for serious violations that endangered
residents, and 15 employees have been charged with neglect or abuse.
Bluegrass already manages Eastern
State Hospital, the state's regional psychiatric facility in
Lexington, under contract to the cabinet.
In his letter, Birdwhistell cited
that experience.
"Bluegrass' operation of Eastern
State Hospital has a proven track record of success over the past 11
years,'' the letter said.
He also said Bluegrass would be
able to act more quickly to fire or discipline incompetent or
abusive employees because it is not bound by the state merit system,
designed to protect workers from unfair personnel decisions.
Under Bluegrass' contract, about
650 state workers at Oakwood who want to keep their jobs must become
employees of Bluegrass and give up their state merit jobs.
In his letter, Birdwhistell said
Bluegrass' personnel policy allows it to immediately terminate
workers or suspend them for 10 days while an allegation is
investigated.
Reporter Deborah Yetter can be
reached at (502) 582-4228.
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