Justin's Blog

 Posts Tagged ‘ANCOR’

I am in Colorado for three conferences rolled into one.

Today and tomorrow is the Six State Summit, my favorite conference of the year. State and provider folks from CMS Region 8 (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming) get together to share ideas. These are great states for us so there are lots of old friends to talk to.

On Thursday it will be the Coleman Institute National Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology in Challenging Economic Environments.

And then finally on Friday it is the:3rd Annual ANCOR Technology Leadership Summit: Technology Solutions for Tough Times

Makes for a busy week!

:: Justin ::

TO:                  All ANCOR Members and Friends

FROM:             ANCOR Foundation CARES Fund

DATE:               May 26, 2011

SUBJECT:        Urgent Request CARES Fund

As you know there have been numerous natural disasters this spring:   fires on the west coast and southwest; tornadoes in Alabama, the Midwest, and last week in Joplin, MO; and flooding along the Mississippi.   ANCOR recognizes the need for cash and services following a disaster and provides organizations the ability to meet some of those needs. 

We were approached for financial support from an organization affected from the Joplin and Oklahoma City tornadoes (houmes destroyed, death of individuals, individuals displaced) which prompts me to make this urgent request for contributions to the ANCOR Foundation CARES Fund.

The ANCOR Foundation CARES Fund provides financial support to organizations assisting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities affected by terrorism, natural disasters or exacerbating conditions.   The Foundation recognizes natural disasters may cause a disruption of services or supports and stability must be quickly established.

Organizations may apply for funds to assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities obtain food and food supplies, medication and medical supplies, housing assistance, utility payments, and cash assistance.  The organizations may also use the funds to provide stabilization of organizational infrastructure to meet the immediate needs of the individuals supported.    

If you know of an agency supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities requiring assistance to meet the needs resulting from a natural disaster please have them contact Debra Langseth at   dlangseth@ancor.org

Please help meet the needs of people affected by the numerous disasters!   Make a contribution (tax deductible) to the CARES Fund to ensure that people with disabilities receive adequate resources to meet their urgent needs.  Please make your check payable to the ANCOR Foundation.    Please note: CARES Fund.   Send your contribution to:   ANCOR Foundation,   1101 King St., Ste 380,  Alexandria, VA   22314-2944

We anticipate significant requests for funds, so if at all possible, send your contribution by June 1.   Questions?   Contact Bill Tapp at Bill@collegeofdirectsupport.com  (877-353-2767) or Debra Langseth     dlangseth@ancor.org  (410-917-9272)  

All contributions raised in excess of current needs will be utilized for future disaster relief efforts.

Bill Tapp                                                                         

ANCOR Foundation President

I am very excited to announce that the keynote address on Day Two of our conference will be given by Oracle.  We have come across many situations where agencies have tried, with the best intentions, to develop their own system running local databases.  Therap’s top of the line hardware and infrastructure is one of the many things that separates us from any competition that might be out there.  You will now have an opportunity to hear from Oracle about why their software and hardware help to keep your data safe and accessible.  Enjoy…

There are also a number of other outside speakers to make sure you catch up with.  Remember that these folks will be happy to talk to you between sessions as well as at their presentations.  Small group and 1:1 discussions are what our conference is all about.  Be sure to look for folks from:

ANCOR talking about their Performance Excellence program and services for agencies.

Talintel with a remarkable system to make sure that you hire the right staff.

CLO talking about their Homelink monitoring service

CARF talking about quality, measurement, data, and certification

and of course our friends from The College of Direct Support

We have a tremendous group of people coming from all over the country, it really is going to be an event you don’t want to miss.

If you haven’t signed up yet, be sure to hurry over to our website and do so.

:: Justin ::

PS Please note that we are working to finalize the conference schedule this week with a final version being available at the weekend.  Be sure to check that you have the latest copy before you head to Fishkill

Richard and I spent most of Wednesday in Louisville, Kentucky talking with the folks from Deyta about ANCOR’s Performance Excellence Toolkit as well as the other satisfaction survey and benchmarking products that they have.

With Performance Excellent, agencies can become part of a national system to measure quality and progress.  Obviously when looking at topics such as Preventive Healthcare (which will be coming out in 2010), harnessing the data held within Therap could made participation a lot easier and more accurate.

We are in the process of starting a trial of just that (if you’d like to join in, please let me know). 

We are also looking at the concept of a bridge similar to the one we built to the College of Direct Support to help agencies remind their staff to complete satisfaction and other surveys with Deyta.

Given that this would be a second bridge, we’re starting to think of them a bit like “apps” (why should Apple, Blackberrry, Palm, and Android get all the fun?).  Do you have any ideas of services out there that would be ripe for integration with Therap?

Make sure that you are at the Provider Admin Conference in Fishkill, NY in February where Deyta will be presenting on the pilot and their other services.

:: Justin ::

Those of you who were at the recent Side-by-Side Conference in Indianapolis probably met with the folks from Deyta who were presenting on ANCOR’s Performance Excellence Benchmarking Project.

On December 16th from 2pm to 3pm we will be participating in an ANCOR webinar along with Solana, Social Solutions, and Precision Care to show how your data can be used in this project.

To join the Webinar you can use the following information:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/join/548132072
Dial in number: 218-844-4928

Access Code: 548-132-072

To learn more about Performance Excellence, click here or you can come to the following webinar:
Registration link for December 8th webinar with Dr. Matt Holder is: www1.gotomeeting.com/register/551002321

Today was my ANCOR webinar on Incident Reporting and Organizational Transparency.

If you missed it, you can watch it by clicking here

:: Justin ::

Don’t forget that the next ANCOR webinar is tomorrow (11/4) at 1pm Eastern.

Is your agency as transparent as you claim it is or as you would like it to be? How do you cope with the competing interests of transparency and HIPAA? Can you get a complete circle of support including the individual and family involved in your incident reporting process while still meeting all your state regulations? Justin Brockie, COO of Therap Services will demonstrate how this can all be achieved while at the same time saving money

You can sign up here

:: Justin ::

ANCOR’s National Advocacy Campaign is conducting a nationwide survey about the proficiency and use of certain technologies by Direct Support Professionals, at work or at home.

The survey is intended for DSPs only to respond to it.

You may click here to access the survey.

Also, the survey has been extended until Sept. 11 from the original close date of Sept. 2.

Please pass this along to your DSPs for their input.

As part of the ANCOR Professional Development programs for June and July,
Therap is offering a three-part series of webinars. They are listed
below, click on them to register. (Must register separately for each)

• Part 1 – Why DSPs must be at the center of any electronic documentation system: 07/22/2009 at 1:00 PM EDT
• Part 2 – Electronic Communication with Families: 10/07/2009 at 1:00 PM EDT
• Part 3 – Incident Management and Organizational Transparency: 11/04/2009 at 1:00 PM EDT

July 22nd (1:00-2:00pm edt)
Why DSPs
Must Be At the Center of Any Electronic Documentation System
Tune into this free
webinar for ANCOR members hosted by Therap Services.

To register, click here. 

The vast majority of what goes on at any provider is based on the
interaction between a Direct Support Professional and a person with
disabilities.  Justin Brockie, COO of Therap Services will
discuss the efficiencies available when documentation starts at that
point of contact.  This webinar will also provide examples of
the positive impact on agencies around the country of recognizing and
promoting the professionalism of DSPs by giving them the tools and
access to information that they need.

Therap will be offering additional free webinars for ANCOR members in
the fall.