Personal Care Attendant Quality
Home Care Workforce Council
600 Washington Street, 5th Floor – Rm. 5189
Boston, MA  02111 

DEVAL L. PATRICK
Governor

TIMOTHY P. MURRAY
Lieutenant Governor

JUDYANN BIGBY, M.D.
Secretary

Tel.:  617-210-5715
www.mass.gov/
masshealth/pcacouncil

Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council
 
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

Council Meeting

Minutes	November 13, 2008	2:00 P.M.	21st floor, Conference Room 3	
 	
coUNCIL
 members in attendance	Joe Bellil, Liz Casey, Paul Spooner, Jean McGuire, Eileen Brewster, George Noel and joined by Joe Tringali and Larry Braman telephonically	
 Staff attending	Jack Boesen, Michelle Byrd, Karen Langley	
 chair	Jean McGuire	
Note taker	Michelle Byrd	
agenda setting	No issues were added to previously-issued agenda	

The Chair called the meeting to order at 2:15 pm.

Approval of Meeting Minutes
Joe Bellil made a motion to approve the October minutes.  Liz Casey seconded, and those minutes were unanimously approved.   

PCA Scholarship Program Update
Michelle Byrd reported to the Council that a total of 30 PCAs had successfully completed the training courses and received CPR certificates.  Joe Bellil asked if any information was available on how PCAs have evaluated the trainings. Responses have been positive and suggestions have been incorporated into further trainings planned for 2009 including trainings in Spanish and emergency preparedness.

Collective Bargaining
Paul Spooner reported to the Council that the first collective bargaining agreement between the Council and 1199 SEIU has been reached and we are awaiting ratification of the agreement by members of the Union.  Members of the Council’s collective bargaining team expressed their belief that the agreement is a good one benefiting both PCAs and the consumers they serve.  Paul Spooner made a motion for the Council to adopt the agreement. George Noel seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Referral Directory
Jack Boesen provided Council members with copies of the contract with Rewarding Work Resources, Inc. for review and approval.  Members reviewed both the statement of work and schedule of deliverables outlined in the contract.  Karen Langley informed the council that the first goal-setting meeting with Rewarding Work would take place on November 14th.  Joe Tringali expressed concern regarding web-site accessibility.  MassHealth membership cards with new identification numbers are currently being issued to consumers.  Joe asked if this would cause a problem for consumers trying to access the new web-site. Karen Langley reported to the council that access to the web page would be configured to accept the new identification codes and consumers would be informed on how to access the system using their new Masshealth I.D. numbers.  Paul Spooner made a motion to approve the contract.  Liz Casey seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Review of Council Report to the Governor and Legislature
Jack Boesen provided Council members with a draft report for review and approval.  Further items to be included in the final report will be overall costs of the program as well as support data from PCM’s and FI’s.  Jack expressed his thanks to Lois Aldrich, Rachael Richards and the staff of JSI for the data they provided to the report.  George Noel pointed out a necessary change in his title for the report. Jean McGuire opened discussion of the report to the entire Council.  Paul Spooner pointed out that some of the survey data is contrary to assumptions many hold, primarily, the difficulty many consumers face in identifying, hiring, and retaining PCAs.  James Maxwell of JSI agreed that the survey data does not fit with some of the expectations people had regarding this issue.  Jean asked the Council to consider how to address the more complex data of the survey.  She then made a motion to approve the report in concept and in its current form, with the understanding that items to be added will be reviewed by two members of the council.  Jean McGuire and Joe Bellil agreed to be reviewers.  The motion was seconded by Joe Bellil and passed unanimously.

Council Budget Report
Joe Bellil reviewed the latest budget report dated 10/18/08 noting its new format.  He expressed his satisfaction with the report.  Jean McGuire informed the Council that FY010 budget forecasting is currently taking place and that a new council budget for FY010 will be required in several weeks.   Paul Spooner asked if any recommendations for the FY010 budget is needed from the Council and suggested that the Council provide the legislature with a budget figure representing the “true cost” of the Council’s work plan for 2010. 

PAS Coalition Report
Joe Bellil reported on the most recent coalition meeting.  Rebecca Malberg reported on issues related to SEIU and Jack Boesen provided an update on the work of the Council.  Additional information on the work being done by the PCA work improvement group was also discussed.

With no other agenda items to be discussed, Jean McGuire asked if there were any additional issues Council members wished to discuss.  

MassHealth Audit
Joe Tringali requested a follow-up discussion regarding the Masshealth audit report from the last meeting; specifically that of PCA billing for services during consumer hospital stays.  Liz Casey stated that the council should approach findings from the report in a proactive manner.  Paul Spooner felt that a core issue is that acute care facilities cannot always attend to the personal care needs of disabled persons.  He expressed concern that consumers could lose the services of PCAs during extended hospitalizations and not be able to return to their homes without PCA services.  PCAs also are not able to go for periods of time without payment when their consumers are hospitalized.  Paul agreed with Liz Casey that the problem requires a proactive approach.   
 
Additional discussion:
Jack Boesen reported that the Council will appoint four persons to the Labor Management Committee. He also reported that Denise Harvey has been proposed as a Council member. Her name has been submitted to the Attorney General’s office for appointment.  Paul Spooner asked for further updates on the appointment terms for additional Council members.  

George Noel made a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Paul Spooner.  The motion was unanimously approved. 

The council meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Michelle Byrd