I have been following the Crain's COVID-19 coverage and want to share the story of invisible but essential workers who are caring for our neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities during this crisis.
Direct support professionals, or DSPs, work 24/7, often in people's homes where they cannot practice social distancing. They support people who need help with basic hygiene, health and nutrition, connecting with loved ones, taking medications and more — all despite having as hard a time as hospitals (or harder) securing PPE.
Yet Medicaid-funded disability service providers are at risk of closing permanently because they lack funding to cover overtime and hazard pay for DSPs, which are essential during this pandemic. The federal government has overlooked these services entirely, along with the vulnerable people they support, in distributing congressionally appropriated CARES Act funding. Without DSPs, people with disabilities — especially the medically vulnerable — risk being institutionalized or forced into already-overwhelmed hospitals unnecessarily.
The good news is that U.S. Sen. Rob Portman can make a difference by holding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accountable in distributing federal resources to Medicaid programs. People with disabilities in Ohio and the DSPs on which they rely desperately need your support.
Karen Knavel
Chief Executive Officer, New Avenues to Independence Inc.
"direct" - Google News
May 17, 2020 at 03:00PM
https://ift.tt/2LwDnl4
Letter to the editor: The work of direct support professionals is overlooked - Crain's Cleveland Business
"direct" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zVRL3T
https://ift.tt/2VUOqKG
Direct
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Letter to the editor: The work of direct support professionals is overlooked - Crain's Cleveland Business"
Post a Comment