States Slashing Social Programs for Vulnerable
from The New York Times
 Battered by the recession and the deepest and most widespread budget deficits in several decades, a large majority of states are slicing into their social safety nets — often crippling preventive efforts that officials say would save money over time. President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package is helping to alleviate some of the pain, providing large amounts of money to pay for education and unemployment insurance, bolster food stamp programs and expand tax credits for low earners. But the money will offset only 40 percent of the losses in state revenues. More
How A Social Worker Saved $1.4 million, Then Gave it All Away
from St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Jane M. Buri, a public school social worker, spent nearly four decades fighting to keep kids in class. She tracked students to their homes, found them shoes, meals, jackets, and returned the truants to their teachers. She never married, never had children, never missed a day of work. All the while, she was quietly building a small fortune. More
Hallmark Debuts Movie About a Brave Social Worker During the Holocaust
from NASW
Hallmark will debut "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler" on Sunday. Based on the true story of a social worker who saved 2,500 Jewish children during the German occupation of Poland, the movie examines how she risked her own life to save thousands of others. As a Catholic social worker, Sendler gained access to the Warsaw ghetto and was angry at the conditions and treatment she was witnessing. Hallmark documents that "at great personal risk she devised extraordinary schemes to sneak children by Nazi guards, bringing them out in ambulances, suitcases, and even wheelbarrows." More
Are Hospitals Passing Off Their Low-profit Patients?
from The Chicago Tribune
Indigent and under-uninsured patients are turning to Cook County's Stroger Hospital after not getting fully treated at nonprofit hospitals, swamping the cash-strapped public facility while fueling the county's sky-high sales tax, a Tribune investigation found. Some of these patients arrive at Stroger's emergency room bearing discharge slips, prescriptions, even Yahoo and Google maps from nonprofits hospitals, according to documents obtained by the Tribune. "Go to Cook County Hospitals immediately," says a discharge slip for a man with a broken jaw. More
A Hoop Dream Come True
from The Chicago Sun-Times
Thresholds School on the North Side of Chicago, a therapeutic school for young adults with mental illness, isn't exactly a common hunting ground for college basketball recruiters. But thanks to an assist from Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander, Thresholds star Mario Miller took the first step toward fulfilling his dream when he signed a letter of intent to play for Malcolm X College on a basketball scholarship. More
Illinois Food Banks Poised for Windfall
from Chicago Daily Herald
Food banks in Illinois will start receiving truckloads of supplies next month under funding provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, Sen. Dick Durbin said this week during a visit to a Catholic Charities food bank in Des Plaines. The act includes an additional $935 million in food stamp benefits for Illinois families. An average household of four people receiving food stamps will see an increase of $80 per month in benefits starting this month. More
Understanding Male Post-Partum Depression
from Newsweek
We've all heard that women can become depressed after the birth of a child. But they may not be the only members of the family who have postpartum emotional difficulties. Every day in the United States, more than 1,000 men become depressed after the arrival of a new baby. More
Teaching Teenagers with Autism How to Make Friends
from U.S. News & World Report
Teenage social life can be frustrating in the best of circumstances, and it's even harder for teenagers with autism, who report feeling lonelier and having poorer-quality friendships than their typically developing classmates. But social skills can be learned, according to researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles. They have created a new class that lets autistic teenagers practice key social skills, from asking someone to get together to brushing off teasing with a "That's so lame." More
Foolproofing Suicide with Euthanasia Test Kits
from Time magazine
When someone with a terminal illness decides to end their life by overdosing on barbiturates, they hope the drugs will lull them into a peaceful and permanent sleep. But if the drugs have passed their expiration date or lack a sufficiently lethal concentration, the would-be suicide victim may actually survive — risking an array of complications including coma, reduced physical functioning and the opprobrium of disapproving friends and family. More
Agony, Hope & Resolve
from Newsweek
Epilepsy entered our lives more than 25 years ago… When we learned that we had subjected her to this horrific procedure only to come up empty-handed once again, it was the lowest moment of my life. Any remaining hope that we could ever stop the torrents of seizures and the brain damage they were causing dissolved. After 24 hours, my tears gave way to a new resolve. It was no longer OK to sit back and accept that answers could not be found. More
Government Relations Action Alert
April 8, 2009
Urge Your Member of Congress to Sign the Van Hollen/Brown-Waite
Dear Colleague Letter and Rescind the Hospice Rate Cut Regulation
Urge Your Member of Congress to Rescind the Hospice Rate Cut Regulation
ACTION NEEDED
Please contact your Representative today and urge him or her to sign the Van Hollen/Brown-Waite Dear Colleague letter, asking President Obama to rescind the hospice rate cut regulation. Without action, the moratorium on hospice rate cuts will expire later this year.
To send an e-mail: Click here to add your name to a draft letter, which you can edit and e-mail to your Member of Congress.
Background
A CMS regulation to reduce Medicare reimbursement to hospices by phasing out the hospice Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) over a three-year period took effect on October 1, 2008. Fortunately, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a provision to temporarily delay implementation of the rule until September 30, 2009, thereby allowing hospice programs to continue providing high-quality and compassionate end-of-life care to more than 1.4 million individuals and families each year.
When the moratorium expires this autumn, however, the hospice rate cuts will be phased back in at an even greater magnitude for the next fiscal year. These cuts will cause many small, rural hospice programs to close their doors permanently, severely hindering patient access to essential services. Representatives Chris Van Hollen and Ginny Brown-Waite are circulating a letter to President Obama, asking him to rescind the hospice rate cut regulation immediately and enable hospices nationwide to continue fulfilling their crucial mission.
Thank you for your advocacy.
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