February 2020 Newsletter
Message from the Director
Greetings!
We hope that you are having a wonderful new year! February is full of celebration, with Black History Month, Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day happening throughout the month. 2020 is a leap year, so we also get a bonus day at the end of February. For anyone born on February 29th, we want to wish you an extra Happy Birthday!
Community Pathways wants to ensure that we are providing the best service that we can. This month we plan to take some extra time to get feedback from the people we support. One way we do this is to send out a customer survey. This survey asks some general questions about services and preferences. We are very interested in your feedback and encourage you to fill it out and send it back to us! We will include a self-addressed stamped envelope to make it easy. The surveys are anonymous - though we do mark them with a PA identifier so we can provide feedback directly to the PA. Watch for these surveys in your mail later this month.
You can also provide feedback to us, ask questions, or get information by visiting our website. Specific questions can be sent to us here.
Jennifer Santiago
Executive Director
Provider Updates
eXPRS Mobile-EVV
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a system to verify real-time attendant care services on the eXPRS mobile website. The goal of this electronic verification system is to track Medicaid personal care services and home health services as accurately as possible.
EVV is not specific to Community Pathways. It is a system required by federal law that was passed by Congress in 2016 for all Medicaid personal care and home health services. Statewide roll-out of eXPRS Mobile-EVV was on July 16, 2019. All PSW’s must either be using EVV, or have an approved exception for not using EVV, as of March 31, 2020. After April 1, 2020, ODDS will begin enforcing this rule and taking action against PSWs who repeatedly fail to use EVV to record their time. Action steps may include warnings, attending required trainings and even possible termination of a PSW’s provider number.
If you believe that you qualify as an exception to regularly use EVV, please see the exception process explained here on our website. Our website also lists more detailed information about EVV and helpful external links to learn how to use the system.
Celebrating Black History Month
February is a special month to honor and celebrate achievements of African Americans in U.S. history! Thomas Wiggins, Stephen Wiltshire, Harriet Tubman, Simone Biles and Claudia Gordon are a few men and women experiencing disabilities who have accomplished amazing goals. Read more about their stories here.
Relationships and Reproductive Health
Reproductive health can be thought of as an uncomfortable conversation and, as such, it is often overlooked. However, education on relationships and reproductive health is vital. It is so much more than intimacy and sex; it includes an umbrella of different topics such as information on body rights, respectful and appropriate expressions of love, prevention of abuse, and more. The SHEIDD Project is a great resource for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families members and support providers to open up the discussion about reproductive health and find helpful teaching tools, community resources, general guides regarding holistic sexual education, and information on individuals’ rights.
Upcoming CPI Events
Game Night
Date: Wednesday March 11, 2020
Time: 4-6 PM
Location: 2475 SE Ladd Avenue, 4th Floor, Portland, OR 97214
Relax, have fun, and play board or video games provided by co-host Saturn Support.
UCP LGBTQ+ Valentine's Meetup
Date: Thursday, February 13
Time: 4 - 6 PM
Location: UCP Connections 305, NE 102nd Ave #100 Portland, OR 97220
Who Can Join: Individuals ages 18 years and up. Providers are welcome to join too!
UCP Connections is celebrating Valentine's Day! Come hang out and have fun in a safe space.
Upcoming Community Events
Night to Shine
Join the second annual Night to Shine prom! Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, this event is a huge celebration. Last year, it was held at 655 churches across all 50 states and in 24 countries. Learn more about Night to Shine.
Event Details
This event is for individuals ages 14 years and up and support providers
Date: Friday, February 7th
Time: 6-9 PM
Two Locations:
Resources
Project SEARCH Internship Program
Project SEARCH is a nine month training program that provides a supportive environment to build skills for future job opportunities. To learn more about the requirements of the available internships, visit the website.
If this interests you, there are two separate Project SEARCH Information Nights for the internships at Embassy Suites and Kaiser Westside Medical Center. Be sure to contact your PA if you decide to move forward with this program so it can be documented in your plan!
Information Night #1
Date: Thursday, February 20th
Time: 6:00-7:30 PM
Location: Embassy Suites at Washington Square
RSVP to kayla.hall@albertinakerr.org
Information Night #2
Date: Tuesday, March 10th
Time: 5:00-6:30 PM
Location: Kaiser Westside Medical Center
RSVP to McKennaD@albertinakerr.org
FEBRUARY OFFICE CLOSURES
Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 17
