Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Division of Medical Assistance
600 Washington Street
Boston, MA  02111
www.state.ma.us/dma	
	MassHealth
	Day Habilitation Provider Bulletin 4B
	October 2001

	TO:	Day Habilitation Providers Participating in MassHealth

	FROM:	Wendy E. Warring, Commissioner

	RE:	Coordination of Specialized Services

Background	Some MassHealth members served by day habilitation programs are nursing facility residents receiving specialized services.  Specialized services are designed to promote as much self-determination and independence as possible. To that end, there must be coordination between the specialized services‑provider (for example, a day habilitation provider) and the nursing facility.  

Specialized Services	To enhance the provision of specialized services and to increase 
Provider Obligations	communication with the nursing facility, the provider of specialized 
	services must:

		provide copies of the day habilitation support plan and relevant 
	updates to the nursing facility;

	meet with the nursing facility at least once a year to coordinate the 
	development of the nursing facility plan of care and the day 
	habilitation support plan;

	make every effort to attend the annual plan‑of‑care meeting at the 
nursing facility to coordinate the development of the two plans.  (This annual meeting is similar to the current practice for those members residing in residential settings); and 

	communicate with the Department of Mental Retardation service 
coordinator or the University of Massachusetts Medical School case manager all issues related to the services these members are receiving.

	

Nursing Facility	To assist in the coordination of specialized services, nursing facilities
Obligations			must:

	invite DMR service coordinators, University of Massachusetts Medical 
	School case managers, and specialized‑services providers to the 
	annual minimum data set (MDS)/care planning meeting for each 
	resident receiving specialized services; and 

		ensure that care‑plan interventions complement and reinforce the 
		specialized‑services plan.

Coordination and 		As nursing facilities increase their efforts to incorporate elements of the 
Cooperation			specialized‑services plan into the services they provide, they will need
assistance from specialized‑services providers.  Specialized‑services providers may be asked to instruct nursing facility staff on the strategies employed in the provision of specialized services to a specific individual.  Specialized‑services providers must make every effort to accommodate these requests. 

Special Training 		Special training programs for nursing facilities and specialized‑services 
Programs			providers are being developed.  Information about these programs will be 
provided as it becomes available.

Questions	If you have any questions about the material in this bulletin, please call Kelly Lawless at 617‑210-5134.