Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

AHRC calls for States and the Federal Government to address jails and correctional facilities before it is too late

March 28, 2020 - AHRC News & Views

 

The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins the nation's human rights community in calling upon state governments as well as the federal authorities to address the overcrowded jail and prison populations. All prisoners as well as correctional staffers are entitled for equal protection from COVID 19 amidst the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus across the nation.

It is a fact that the overcrowded jail and prison population has been an ongoing challenge given the need for criminal justice system reform. The coronavirus crisis is a painful reminder that the prisons may become hot spots for the virus. 

AHRC urges states as well as federal authorities to act fast and take the exceptional procedures in order to avoid a huge crisis. Time is of the essence.  We call upon all authorities at all levels local, state & federal to immediately release all low risk prisoners. Such steps are deemed necessarily under these circumstances and will help reduce the crowding and help protect all the correctional facilities staffers. There is no social distancing in crowded prisons and jails.

There is also the administrative detainees held on immigration violations and pending an immigration hearing. Some of these detainees have been held for a long time pending the agency's ability to enforce deportations. Many others are asylum applicants in proceedings. Many of them have families and loved ones who are American citizens or permanent residents.

Many of these detainees are experiencing extreme state of emotional distress. They are seriously concerned about their well-being behind bars as well as very worried about their loved ones outside who are in desperate need for their assistance during these exceptional times. Many of these detainees have no place to be deported to or it is impossible to deport them amidst the coronavirus travel bans around the world. Many are nationals of countries that are torn by wars and conflict and have no safe return to their perspective countries such as Yemen, Palestine, Syria and Iraq.

Given this pandemic, releasing these detainees helps lower the public health risk. Granting such temporary and limited relief to these administrative detainees is consistent with American values and fairness. Such release, if rendered, will reduce the risk to the jails' administrative staff, guards and other correctional officers. AHRC reiterates its call urging ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to release all the low- risk non-violent immigration detainees

"We urge serious review and assessment of detention in jails and prisons, given this unprecedented health crisis," said Imad Hamad, AHRC Executive Director. "Time is of the essence," concluded Hamad.

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AHRC Needs your Support: Despite Pandemic, the Work of AHRC Continues:

Humanity is fighting one of the biggest challenges, the COVID 19 novel corona virus pandemic. Help AHRC and  donate via www.ahrcusa.org (Safe & Secured).

 

American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA)
13530 Michigan Ave # 332
Dearborn, Michigan 48126/USA
Tel: 313-914-3251 
Fax: 313-914-3284

 

 

 

AHRC Deeply Mourns the Death of Rep. Isaac Robinson:

 

 

The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) expresses its profound grievance and sadness for the tragic loss of State Rep. Isaac Robinson. Mr. Robinson died on Sunday, March 29, 2020 at age 44. His death is believed to be caused by health complications caused by COVID 19.Isaac was an honorable man, a true believer in human rights.

Rep. Isaac Robinson was a founding member of the AHRC. He was a devoted public servant who served his district and the people of Michigan with honor and selfless dedication. He was a tireless fighter and a strong advocate for social justice and equality. Even though he was a man with a sense of humor and an easy smile, he had steely determination. He was a big brother to all who knew him. He never hesitated to give a helping hand to anyone who asked him assistance. He was a straight shooter, and blunt but with utmost respect and professionalism

AHRC is truly saddened by the passing of Rep Robinson. For years, he helped advance the mission and the cause of human rights by being one of our prime activists and members. He never spared an occasion to provide any needed support. His contribution to the civil rights, human rights and social justice are immense. His passing is a sad day for all of his friends and all who worked with him over the years.

AHRC will miss Isaac dearly, as he was part of every AHRC event, especially the annual AHRC Spirit of Humanity Awards & Gala Dinner. He was very social and loved people. He connected with people of all kinds of backgrounds. The AHRC and  its Gala will never be the same after his passing.

Rep. Robinson died during these exceptional times that we live in- the age of the pandemic. It's a painful reminder that the novel coronavirus is a deadly serious threat.

Rep. Isaac Robinson is the son of former State Rep. Rose Mary Robinson. He was elected in 2018 and his district (District 4) includes Hamtramck and part of central Detroit. AHRC expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to his family, friends, supporters and his fellow legislators at the Michigan House of Representatives.

"Isaac was like family to me, this is a personal loss of great magnitude," said Imad Hamad AHRC Executive Director. "He was unique man and he is not replaceable. We will greatly miss him," continued Hamad. "Even though he died at a young age, he made a big difference during his short life on this earth," concluded Hamad.

"Rep. Robinson was a courageous man who spoke truth to power. His passing is a tragic and true loss to the civil and human rights community," said Dr. Saleh Muslah, AHRC Board's President. "He served the people of Michigan with great integrity, humility and respect." continued Dr. Saleh Muslah.

 

 

American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA)

13530 Michigan Ave # 332

Dearborn, Michigan 48126/USA

Tel: 313-914-3251  Fax: 313-914-3284

WWW.ahrcusa.org

 

 

Tell Congress to Include the Disability Community in COVID-19 Relief Bills

 

 

#WeAreEssential: Tell Congress to Include the Disability Community in COVID-19 Relief Bills (Email!)

People with disabilities and those who support them are being left behind!

Congress has passed three bills to respond to the coronavirus pandemic – but they have not addressed the critical needs of people with disabilities, their families, and the direct support professional (DSP) workforce. Read The Arc’s statement on the latest bill here.

The entire country is facing the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, but people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. People with disabilities are more likely to have underlying health conditions and live in poverty – this means that they will be disproportionately impacted and need ongoing support.  

We must ask Members of Congress to pass a bill that addresses the specific and critical needs of people with disabilities NOW, including:

• Funding for a Medicaid grant program to support access to home and community-based services (to combat institutionalization) and to support the DSP workforce. Congress should pass the Coronavirus Relief for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) for direct support professionals. This is urgently needed to protect the health and safety of this critical workforce. Direct support professionals must be designated as essential workforce so that they have access to the PPE and medical supplies they need.
• Paid leave for caregivers. As more people with disabilities lose their usual sources of care, family caregivers are scrambling and need access to paid leave and sick days to help their loved ones. Congress should include all family caregivers in the emergency paid leave provisions.
• Help for people on SSI to access Recovery Rebates. People with disabilities on SSI are being asked to file needless paperwork in order to access economic stimulus payments. Congress should tell Federal agencies to use their existing authority to share data and file for people on SSI.

Use the form below to send an email to urge your Members of Congress to include the rights and needs of people with disabilities in coronavirus relief legislation! You will be able to edit the sample email before you send it.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEND EMAIL

 

 

 

 

On 30th Anniversary of disability civil rights protest, advocates push for more

• ABC NEWS - March 12, 2020

 

It was an unusually hot Monday in March and the cherry blossoms had already bloomed in Washington, D.C. A group of protesters, advocates and a few politicians had gathered at the bottom of the steps of the Capitol building, as a man was finishing a speech about disability civil rights, asking Congress to pass a law -- the Americans with Disability Act.

The moment the speech finished, March 12, 1990, protesters -- some sitting in wheelchairs and others leaning on crutches -- abandoned their assistive devices and began climbing the 78 marble steps up the Capitol's West Front.

Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins got on all fours to begin the ascent. Just 8 years old at the time with cerebral palsy, the climb up the stairs took almost an hour. But she was determined.

"As a matter of fact, I said, 'I'll take all night if I have to,'" Keelan-Chaffins told ABC News about that day.

Over 61 million Americans – or 26% of adults in the United States -- live with some type of disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Through the efforts of activists like those who ascended the Capitol's steps decades ago, the Americans with Disability Act prohibits discrimination based on a disability, legally ensuring people with a disability "have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else."

MORE: Disabled veterans say they face intense struggles when flying and airlines often won't help

"The ADA has really changed the face of America in so many ways," said Marilyn Golden, the Senior Policy Analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. "It covers employment, it covers public accommodations -- which are privately operated facilities open to the public, like hotels and restaurants and doctors' offices, and you know, gas stations."

But just 30 years ago, these civil rights didn't exist for people living with a disability.

 

CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING

 

 

 

 

 

NEW GUIDANCE ON NURSING HOME HEALTH INSPECTIONS SEVERELY LIMITS OVERSIGHT AND ENFORCEMENT FOR A THREE-WEEK PERIOD

 

 

New Guidance On Nursing Home Health Inspections Severely Limits Oversight And Enforcement For A Three-Week Period

 

On March 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance directing state survey agencies to conduct health inspections only if they relate to complaints and facility-reported incidents (FRIs) triaged at the immediate jeopardy level. These facilities will simultaneously have a streamlined infection control review. Additionally, the guidance indicates that federal and state surveyors will now be performing targeted infection control inspections of facilities identified as needing additional oversight. CMS specifies that the directive will be in place for three weeks, starting on March 20^th. This guidance supersedes the March 4th directive, which authorized a broader range of surveys to be conducted.

Following are key points from the CMS guidance:

• Immediate Jeopardy Inspections. Standard inspections and revisits not associated with immediate jeopardy violations are no longer authorized. If a revisit demonstrates noncompliance at a level lower than immediate jeopardy, surveyors are not to conduct follow-up onsite inspections. CMS notes that these cases will be “held.” Facilities may also delay submitting Plans of Corrections during this period.
• Non-Immediate Jeopardy Inspections. Complaints and facility-reported incidents not triaged as immediate jeopardy should be recorded but onsite investigations are not authorized during this period. CMS will issue guidance relating to these non-IJ complaints and FRIs “in the next few weeks.” Surveyors should end any inspections that started prior to this directive and that do not fall under this guidance.
• Exceptions for Onsite Inspections. Federal and state surveyors who are unable to meet the CDC’s personal protective equipment (PPE) expectations are being instructed to perform offsite inspections until they can safely enter nursing homes.
• Penalties. CMS is suspending impositions of denial of payments for new admissions (DPNAs), per day civil money penalties (CMPs), and terminations for noncompliance at six months until revisits are once again authorized. Financial penalties that began before the start of this three-week period will stop accruing and denial of payments will end. CMS will not impose any “any new remedies to address noncompliance” that occurred before the start of this period. However, enforcement actions will continue for unremoved immediate jeopardy deficiencies.
• Self-Assessments. Nursing homes should use the infection control-focused survey (included with the guidance) developed by CMS and the CDC to perform voluntary self-assessments. Surveyors may request the survey during onsite inspections.

Our organizations are deeply troubled by the latest CMS guidance. Only a small percentage of health violations are ever triaged and identified as immediate jeopardy. Thus, under this guidance, the majority of potential and existing violations of nearly all the nursing home standards of care will essentially be overlooked for the next three weeks. How many residents will experience pain and suffering in silence during this period?   

 

Additional Resources:

• LTCCC's Coronavirus Resources webpage
• The Center's COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Medicare webpage

 

 

Long Term Care Community Coalition
www.nursinghome411.org
One Penn Plaza, Suite 6252
New York, NY 10119
United States

Long-Term Care Nursing Homes Telehealth and Telemedicine Tool Kit - CMS

 

Today, CMS is issuing an electronic toolkit regarding telehealth and telemedicine for Long Term Care Nursing Home Facilities. Under President Trump’s leadership to respond to the need to limit the spread of community COVID-19, CMS has broadened access to Medicare telehealth services so that beneficiaries can receive a wider range of services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. This document contains electronic links to reliable sources of information regarding telehealth and telemedicine, including the significant changes made by CMS over the last week in response to the National Health Emergency.  Most of the information is directed towards providers who may want to establish a permanent telemedicine program, but there is information here that will help in the temporary deployment of a telemedicine program as well. There are specific documents identified that will be useful in choosing telemedicine vendors, equipment, and software, initiating a telemedicine program, monitoring patients remotely, and developing documentation tools. There is also information that will be useful for providers who intend to care for patients through electronic virtual services that may be temporarily used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toolkit 

 

 

 

 

Lankford, Gillibrand Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Call to Protect Civil Rights for People with Disabilities Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

 

WASHINGTON, DC –Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led a bipartisan, bicameral call on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to protect against disability discrimination in state and health provider responses to COVID-19. In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General William Barr, the bipartisan coalition called for HHS to notify states of their obligations to adhere to anti-discrimination laws—including the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—as they review and develop their “crisis standards of care.” As the public health crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak grows and strains America’s health care system, life-sustaining treatments must not be denied to people with disabilities.

“We are at unique time in our nation’s history as we work together to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lankford. “We can work quickly to address the growing crisis, but we cannot forget our most basic laws and protections that safeguard some of the most vulnerable members of our society like older Americans and Americans with disabilities. Especially during times of crisis, we cannot abandon our moral duty to protect vulnerable communities and stand for the value of life. I’m grateful to work with my colleagues to ensure this commitment to every life is upheld as we work to respond rapidly and effectively to this pandemic.”

“In times of crisis our communities must band together to help and protect each other,” said Gillibrand. “The United States has a responsibility to uphold our landmark civil rights laws, and we must honor our commitment to anti-discrimination laws for people with disabilities, even as we combat the coronavirus outbreak. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan coalition fighting to protect against disability discrimination during this pandemic.”

Recent reports from the National Council on Disability—an independent federal agency specializing in policy matters affecting the lives of people with disabilities—demonstrate prolific examples of disability bias and discrimination within medical decision-making, even in the absence of a crisis. As Italy experiences the effects of widespread coronavirus infection ahead of the United States, people with disabilities have already shouldered a large portion of the health care rationing response. Media reports have suggested that states around the United States are considering similar decision-making formulas.

 

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING

 

 

 

Michigan Couple Reunited: Together 33 Years, Separated Because Of Disabilities

 

MICHIGAN (CBS DETROIT) – A Michigan couple is proving sometimes love really is the strongest, no matter your age or distance.  

Dallas and Amelia have shared their love for 33 years. 

They both have different conditions, requiring them to stay at different assisted living centers. 

Dallas lives in Standish and Amelia in Holly. 

Once nurses found out about their separation, they knew it was time to reunite them. 

The couple got to spend the day together during Amelia’s visit. 

Nurses say it was worth the time and price. 

 

Click Here to Read the Article

 

 

 

Long-Term Care Nursing Homes Telehealth and Telemedicine Tool Kit - CMS

 

Today, CMS is issuing an electronic toolkit regarding telehealth and telemedicine for Long Term Care Nursing Home Facilities. Under President Trump’s leadership to respond to the need to limit the spread of community COVID-19, CMS has broadened access to Medicare telehealth services so that beneficiaries can receive a wider range of services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. This document contains electronic links to reliable sources of information regarding telehealth and telemedicine, including the significant changes made by CMS over the last week in response to the National Health Emergency. Most of the information is directed towards providers who may want to establish a permanent telemedicine program, but there is information here that will help in the temporary deployment of a telemedicine program as well. There are specific documents identified that will be useful in choosing telemedicine vendors, equipment, and software, initiating a telemedicine program, monitoring patients remotely, and developing documentation tools. There is also information that will be useful for providers who intend to care for patients through electronic virtual services that may be temporarily used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The toolkit can be accessed here: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-19-nursing-home-telehealth-toolkit.pdf

 

 

 

 

Statement from Secretary Benson on the extension of the REAL ID enforcement deadline

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Month. 26, 2020 Contact: Tracy Wimmer (517) 281-1876 Statement from Secretary Benson on the extension of the REAL ID enforcement deadline LANSING — “I am grateful that DHS heard the call and responded to the need to extend this deadline given the limitations and stress of this unprecedented moment. This extension reduces the immediate pressure on Michiganders to get a REAL ID compliant credential and should help prevent crowds rushing to get them when our offices reopen.”