CALENDAR
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
FY 2015 Budget Hearing—June 30th Frits E.
Lawaetz Conference
Room, STX
National Disability
Employment Awareness
is recognized in
October
WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Volume 20, Issue 40
Expanding Medicaid
Inside this issue:
A Month for
Seniors
2
Nursing is Caring
2
The Caregiving
Journey
2
Celebrating the
Disabled
3
You’ve Got Mail
3
2014 Employees of
the Year
3
Foster Care Walks
for Children
3
Nutrition and
Good Health
3
Losing Big at DHS
4
Empowering
Parents
4
DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES
1303 Hospital Ground
Suite 1
St. Thomas, VI 008026722
3011 Golden Rock
Christiansted
St. Croix 00820
Monife G. Stout
Public Relations Officer
Writer
Lisa Donastorg
Administrator
Office of Research and
Resource Development
Editor
January—June 2014
The Department is eligible to receive a 2.2 percent funding increase from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
to further expand the Medical
Assistance Program (MAP) per
stipulations in the Affordable Care
Act. The VI government complied
with the federal requirement for
eligibility by successfully demonstrating how the territory provided health benefits coverage since
2010 to all residents including
childless adults on the territorial
poverty level who received services at local health clinics and
hospitals.
The Federal Medical Assistance
Percentage (FMAP) of 2.2 percentage points is a temporary increase
to 57.20 percent federal share
which will be applied through December 31, 2015 to MAP expens-
es. Increased spending allows for
greater savings to the territory. For
example, if $1million were spent
through MAP under the current match
of 55.00 percent, the federal contribution would be $550,000 and the local
match would be $450,000. With the
increase, the federal contribution
would be $572,000 and the local
match would be $428,000. With anticipated annual Medicaid expenses of
$20 million, savings to VI government
would be $440,000.
The VI government is also eligible for
enhanced match to cover Medicaid
benefits to a new population comprising non-pregnant, childless adults –
including the homeless - who were
not covered prior to the Affordable
Care Act. Human Services intends to
cover this group in planned Medicaid
expansion over the next few months.
CMS will initially pay 78 percent of the
cost to expand MAP to this new
population and will increase their
share to 90 percent by the year
2019.
Human Services Commissioner
Christopher Finch was encouraged
by the news. “Although the 2.2 percent is a modest increase, it’s a step
in the right direction. The federal
share of 78 percent for childless
adults is indeed exciting news. I want
to thank the staff at Human Services,
Government House and the consultants at Mercer Health and Benefits
as well as the staff of the Region II
CMS office who all worked on this
project” he said.
Through use of the recently implemented Medicaid Management Information System, claims for this new
population can be accurately identified.
Helping Our Youth
The Office of Residential Services
(ORS) hosted three representatives from the Woodward and
Clarinda Academies for one week
in May to facilitate its first open
forum on best practice for juvenile delinquency intervention in
the territory. Program facilitators
and non-profit organization directors who specifically serve the
youth attended an afternoon
session on each island.
Woodward Academy is a nonprofit organization in Iowa established in 1995 as a residential
treatment facility for male juveniles who exhibit negative and/or
delinquent behaviors. The Clarinda Academy was established in
1992 as a residential, treatment
and foster care facility in Clarinda
Iowa for delinquent male and
female youth.
The ORS is charged with placing
children who exhibit difficult behavior to off-island facilities. Residential Services has worked with
the Woodward and Clarinda
Academies since 2002. Woodward is currently serving five
youth from the Virgin Islands.
Angie VanWinkle, Marketing Director and Guthrie Fritz Admission Director of Woodward
Academy, and Mike Butt, Director
of Admissions of Clarinda Academy fielded a number of questions
during the forums about establishing a similar facility in the territory. Attendees also heard testimony from one 16 year old resident
who recently returned to the
territory after a 15month stay at
Woodward Academy. The representatives toured schools, the
Youth Rehabilitation Center, and
provided small training sessions to
coaches, social workers, and educators to prepare student(s) for
placement at Woodward or transitioning back to the territory after
graduation from the program(s).
They also engaged in promotional
interviews to highlight the relationship between the department and
their facilities.
From Left: Guthrie Fritz, Mike Butt, Dr.
Celia Victor, Administrator Residential
Services, Dr. Iris Kern, Radio Host WVWI
AM 1000, and Angie VanWinkle
Page 2
A Month for Seniors
On St. Thomas participants
marched from Lionel Roberts
Stadium to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Veterans Memorial Park; and
on St. Croix from the Frederiksted
Post Office to Buddhoe Park.
Kick off Parade STT
May is Older Americans Month
locally referenced as Senior Citizens Month. The Division of Senior
Citizen Affairs (SCA) calendar of
events was chock-full of activities
to commemorate the month, and
recognize the 2014 theme ‘Safe
Today, Healthy Tomorrow’.
Seniors on each island kicked off
the celebration with a parade.
Commerce to host its first Business and the
closure of the
After Hours networking social. senior centers for three
SCSEP used the opportunity to intro- days per week.
duce potential host agencies to the
program.
The series of events
The Queen Louise and Herbert ended with a fun/beach
Grigg Homes for the Aged and Lu- day on each island.
In addition to facilitating activities cinda Millin Home honored their
for seniors in SCA programs, staff residents with a luncheon and enterproactively engaged the senior tainment.
population throughout the comKick off Parade STX
munity through health and infor- Senators of the 30th Legismation fairs territory-wide. They lature heard first-hand the
also took to the airwaves through concerns of the senior
radio talk-show and television population during Citizeninterviews to discuss issues per- ship Day where seniors
taining to the burgeoning senior took to the Senate floor as
population. The Senior Communi- senators. The mock bill
ty Service Employment Program addressed the issue of
(SCSEP) partnered with the St. retirement pay from GERS
Thomas/St. John Chamber of
Nursing is Caring
The Queen Louise Home for the Aged
kicked off its commemoration of Nurses Week in May with a luncheon and
ceremony acknowledging Florence
Nightingale—the heralded founder of
nursing. The 2014 theme is ‘Nurses
Leading the Way.’
From Left: Certified Nursing Assistant
Belrice Hodge and Sophia Pierre-Louis
participate in the candle lighting
Clarice Comissiong, a retired Professional
Registered Nurse, gave a motivational speech
about the value of nurses.
The week was filled with various activities to
foster relationship among the nurses. Nurses
week is celebrated from May 6th –12th.
All Certified Nursing Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Professional Registered Nurses who are employed at the home donned the classic
white uniform and folded cap, were
showered with gifts, and participated in
a ‘blessing of the hands’ ceremony officiated by Pastor Connie Lewis.
From Left:
Clarice
Comissiong, RN
Participates in
the Blessing of the
Hands
The Caregiving Journey
Participants in the Family
Caregiver Support Program
enjoyed an afternoon of theatre in March. Professional
storytellers Ron Zoglin and
Deborah Shouse from Kansas
City, MO are not new to St.
Thomas or the caregivers in
the program. They have often
been welcomed to perform
their stories involving the life
journey of persons who care
for those with Alzheimer’s or
dementia. Together they illustrate the caregiving experience
through dramatic interpretation
that was both educational and
entertaining.
Alzheimer’s which she also
signed.
Both have performed their
stories in the United States,
New Zealand, Nova Scotia,
Italy, Ireland, England, South
Deborah Shouse sold her new America and Puerto Rico.
book Love in the Land of Dementia Finding the Gifts in the
Caregiver’s Journey through
Deborah Shouse and Ron Zoglin
perform at Pistarckle Theater
Volume 20, Issue 40
Page 3
Celebrating the Disabled
March is Disability Awareness
Month. Division of Rehabilitation Services partnered with the
State Rehabilitation Council and
the VI Association for Independent Living in designating
Wednesday, March 12th Disability Awareness Day.
A day-long expo and exhibit
recognizing the accomplishments of individuals with a disability was held at Nisky Center
in front of the Social Security
Office and Radio Shack. The
same event took place at the
Sunny Isle Amphitheatre on St.
Croix on Friday, March 28th.
To coincide with the 2014
theme ‘Dream to Dare’, some
clients of DRS, and staff of
Work-Able, Inc. displayed
handcrafted artwork and paintings, and demonstrated using
assistive devices and distributed information on resources.
Representatives from the
Board of Elections showcased
their voting machine specifically designed for persons with a
disability.
attitudes and behaviors toward them.
During the month of March,
12 Vocational Rehabilitation
students territory-wide completed the Supported Employment program and were introduced to agriculture as a
potential career. In partnership with the Department of
Agriculture, the students
engaged in hands-on experiences pertaining to all aspects
The collaboration was an ef- of the profession. The ten
fort to generate community week program started in
support on behalf of individuals February and ended with a
with disabilities and change recognition ceremony.
VI Association for Independent Living
employee demonstrates using assistive
devices
Supported Employment students at
work
2014 Employees of the Year
NOTE!!! The department’s Management Information
System reminds staff that streaming non-work related
video and audio is strictly prohibited.
Foster Care Walks for Children
May is National Foster Care Month. The Children
and Family staff hosted their 3rd annual Walk Me
Home 5K. On Monday, May 26th approximately
20 participants congregated at K-Mart West at
5am and walked to Fort Frederick in support of
the 136 children in foster care Territory Wide.
Nutrition and Good Health
National Nutrition Awareness
Month was proclaimed in March.
Alice Henry, Human Services Assistant Nutritionist, is a registered
dietitian and spent the month engaged in public outreach and education about diet and wellness.
Presentations were made at Starfish
Market on St. John, TuTu Park Mall
on St. Thomas and UVI Great Hall
on St. Croix. Ms. Henry disseminated information about all aspects of
healthy eating and food preparation
including how to make bread in a
bag. She also extended her outreach
via the media.
ATTENTION!
Government Employee’s
Service Commission (GESC)
Health Insurance Board (as
the sponsor of the insurance
plan’s wellness program) has
established a new rule which
requires those members to
fully complete their annual
Health Risk Assessment
(HRA) on CIGNA’s website,
www.mycigna.com. The
HRA must be fully completed to include actual biometric numbers for glucose,
blood pressure, and cholesterol. The deadline to complete the HRA for the fiscal
year 2014 cycle is 11:59 pm
on Sunday, September 14,
2014.
Those employees and retirees who fail to complete the
HRA by the established
deadline will be subjected to
a biweekly insurance charge
of $ 20.83 in fiscal year 2015
in addition to their regular
health insurance premium.
(Please note this requirement is only for the active
employees and retirees under 65 who are currently
covered by CIGNA and not
their dependents.) The
GESC Health Insurance
Board is urging all members
to take full advantage of
wellness benefits offered
under the Cigna plan as to
avoid the additionally charges in fiscal year 2015.
If questions arise or clarification is needed please Ms.
Vinette Willock at (340) 774
-0930 extension 4284.
Page 4
Working Together to Make a Difference
Losing Big at DHS
Human Services was well represented at the 2014 Biggest
Loser competition kick off on
June 1st.
Spearheaded by the Division of
Personnel, the weight loss race
is designed to implement and
encourage good health practices
across the VI government agencies.
Each agency was invited to de-
velop as many teams of five as
possible. On St. Thomas, the
teams are The Awesome
Squad, Team Victory and Faithfully Fit. On St. Croix the
teams are Mission Slimpossible,
Nubian Divas, and Team Too
Tight.
Over the next 12 weeks, each
team is to collectively show
significant improvement in
weight loss, endurance, and
strength. The winning team on
each island will win $5,000.
(STT) Faithfully Fit
From Left: Masikia Lewis, Florecita Brunn,
Reubina Huggins (Magen’s Bay Authority),
Dawn Spencer (Department of Education),
Monife Stout
(STT) Team Victory
Top Left: Nanyamka Frett, Jonelle Homer,
Vinette Willock,
Bottom left: Kevin Henry, Oren James
Photos of the St. Croix teams were not received by print time
Empowering Parents
Pre School Services (PSS) hosted
their annual Parent Empowerment
and Recognition Ceremony on
June 6th.
In keeping with the 2014 theme
‘Engaging, Educating and Empowering Families: A Transformation to
Excellence, parents and guardians
in attendance were applauded for
their role in ensuring their children succeeded in building a sound
academic foundation through early
education. Commissioner Christopher Finch, Assistant Commissioner Carla Benjamin, and PSS Administrator Diane Jeffers extended
appreciation to all in attendance
for taking advantage of the benefits
of Head Start on behalf of their
children.
Keynote speaker Sharon Richardson, Director of Parent & Community Involvement at the Department of Education spoke passionately about the importance of
parental involvement in the overall
development of children, and empowered parents to work cohesively to improve the scope of
education in the territory.
Honored Fathers with Commissioner Finch
Center: Parent of the Year Pamela Smith
The morning ceremony ended
with acknowledgements of Father
of the Year, Parent of the Year,
senior citizen volunteers, parent
volunteers, involved fathers, parents who earned an undergraduate
degree, and those who completed
CPR classes.
From Left: PSS Assistant Administrator Masikia
Lewis, Assistant Commissioner Carla Benjamin,
Father of the Year
Dana Joseph, Commissioner Christopher Finch,
PSS Administrator Diane Jeffers