“Something Smells Fishy”
Last year, HDR Architects, Inc. along with Plan One Architects, completed a study of the health facilities owned and operated by the State of Wyoming under the auspices of the Department of Health. This study was commissioned by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee. Upon completion of the study, the Department of Health advised against moving the residents of the Wyoming Life Resource Center (WLRC). The Committee wanted the WLRC to operate more efficiently to cut costs.
As a result,
during the 2014 Budget Session of the Wyoming State Legislature, a Joint
Executive and Legislative Task Force on Department of Health Facilities was
established. Appointed to this
Facilities Task Force were Senator James Lee Anderson, Senator Dan Dockstader,
Representative Lloyd Larsen, and Representative Matthias Greene. Governor Matt Mead appointed Joe Gallagher,
CEO of Wyoming Behavioral Institute, Thomas Forslund, Director of Wyoming
Department of Health, Shirley Pratt, CEO of Ark Regional Services, and Bryan
Merrell, Executive Director of Life Care Center of Cheyenne.
After seven
meetings, three of which were held in conjunction with tours of the Wyoming
State Hospital (psychiatric facility), the Pioneer Home (an assisted living
facility for seniors) and the Wyoming Retirement Center (nursing home),and the
Wyoming Life Resource Center. The
Facilities Task Force formed four options for the Joint Labor, Health and
Social Services Committee to consider. These
options are being presented in the order of the Task Force’s preference.
The first
two options are versions of the same concept.
This concept is titled, “One Campus Long Streets.” These options would change the population mix
to focus on core clients: DD/ABI with
exceptionally difficult behaviors, Title 25 and Title 7 commitments, “gero-psych”,
high medical, and “hard to place” and emergency placements. The State Hospital would focus on acute
crisis stabilization. Where the two
options diverge is in the missions of the Wyoming Retirement Center (WRC) and
the Wyoming Life Resource Center. Option
1a would close or privatize the WRC and the WLRC would focus on intermediate
and long-term care. Option 1b would keep
the WRC open and focusing on long-term care. In this option, the WLRC would
focus on intermediate care (i.e. discharge to place in a community program).
The third
option is basically a “status quo”. It would
not change the populations served or the missions of the facilities but would
implement the upgrades recommended in the HDR Facilities Study.
In the
fourth (and least popular) option, a single facility would be constructed. The existing facilities would be closed. The new, single facility would mix the
population and serve the core clients: DD/ABI
with exceptionally difficult behaviors, Title 25 and Title 7 commitments, “gero-psych”,
high medical, and “hard to place” and emergency placements.
Just five
days after the Facilities Task Force’s Interim Report was published, the Wyoming
Department of Health (WDH) announced a new facilities administrator for the
WLRC and Wyoming State Hospital (WSH). The
facilities administrator will work with the superintendents of both facilities,
align their operations, and improve practices.
The public information officer for the WDH denied that the WDH’s move to
create a new administrative position was a direct result of the Task Force’s
findings. “This will provide additional
help to the administrator of the behavioral health division, but the move will
also help to align the two facilities in aligning their processes,” said Kim
Deti. “There are some connections, but what may or may not happen with that
still has some steps to work through,” Deti said. “But it has brought some new awareness to how
aligning the way the facilities do things can be beneficial.”
The
Facilities Task Force was very gracious and allowed generous time for public
comment at each of their meetings.
Members also asked questions of the public in order to clarify
statements made. They also provided for
public comment online. This would lead
one to believe that their findings were not a foregone conclusion. The WDH’s move to create this new
administrative position creates the question, once again; has this been an
exercise in futility and the WLRC’s future pre-determined?
References
posted by Unknown @ 10:45 PM
0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home