| Testimonial - James Buscemi |
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Re: 7-21-2010 Letter from Monroe County Dept of Human Services, Home Care Services, Consumer Directed PASS Program Dear Ms. Brooks, Today I received a letter from Iris Turner, Supervisor of Home Care Service Unit. The letter states that I HAVE to choose a different Service Provider Agency within the next 10 days. My Current Provider, Center for Disability Rights, will no longer be contracted by the county for these services. First of all, I have developed, as I am sure all their clients have a very comfortable, workable relationship with the agency and its employees. I have not one complaint or anything close to a complaint in regards to CDR or any of the employees I have ever had contact with. This relationship is of utmost importance and is to be considered an integral part of one's continued care. Since there has been no knowledge of any issue with this Provider, I can only view this action as totally arbitrary and capricious and counterproductive to my daily health care. IT is NOT my wish to change providers, especially within 10 days, especially since I am GIVEN but a handful of YOUR choices of providers, which I know nothing about. The letter sent, is very vague and maybe assumes myself and the other clients of CDR to be intellectually inferior, thus the only simple, incomplete and arbitrary decision by the county for the users of this CDPASS program. This holds the smell of rationing and the taking away of my choice, as well as the other client's choice, to Health Care providers. May I take a moment to remind you that this program is a CONSUMER DIRECTED Program. This brings me to the MOST important point for myself and the other clients. CONTINUITY OF CARE. CDR has most certainly provided this to us. I will defer to the following definition resulting from a study defining CONTINUITY OF CARE: Continuity of care is concerned with the quality of care over time. There are two important perspectives on this. Traditionally, continuity of care is idealized in the patient's experience of a 'continuous caring relationship' with an identified health care professional. For providers in vertically integrated systems of care, the contrasting ideal is the delivery of a 'seamless service' through integration, coordination and the sharing of information between different providers. As patients' health care needs can now only rarely be met by a single professional, multidimensional models of continuity have had to be developed to accommodate the possibility of achieving both ideals simultaneously. Continuity of care may, therefore, be viewed from the perspective of either patient or provider. Continuity in the experience of care relates conceptually to patients' satisfaction with both the interpersonal aspects of care and the coordination of that care. Experienced continuity may be valued in its own right. In contrast, continuity in the delivery of care cannot be evaluated solely through patients' experiences, and is related to important aspects of services such as 'case-management' and 'multidisciplinary team working'. From a provider perspective, the focus is on new models of service delivery and improved patient outcomes. A full consideration of continuity of care should therefore cover both of these distinct perspectives, exploring how these come together to enhance the patient-centeredness of care. In both perspectives of this definition, CDRand their employees are well defined. Thus, So is our CONTINUITY OF CARE. The healing and home Health Care of any individual has to have CONTINUITY OF CARE as the most integral part of the Plan, not only for its physical characteristics, but also more importantly for their mental, emotional and spiritual characteristics. IF you take the action, forcing us to what amounts to starting all over again, you will create and be solely responsible for taking away from us the most need part of our Plan, CONTINUITY OF CARE. A considerable negative IMPACT on our health Care. As I said initially in this letter, I am not aware of any issues with CDR, nor have I been questioned as to anything regarding CDR, thus your decision being arbitrary and capricious. I am requesting that you issue an executive order to the Monroe County Dept of Human Services, Specifically the Home Care Service Unit, ordering them to stand down on this decision until such time as an investigation be conducted, including both CDR and its Clients and the results of that investigation show that this intended action, necessary in order to provide for CONTINUITY OF CARE to all its clients, MYSELF INCLUDED. I have to say, that if my request isn't granted immediately (due to the lack of timely notice given me by the County) I will ask CDR to initiate legal action on my behalf to obtain First an injunction to stay this action, and secondly follow with a suit in order that the county would have to prove substantially that its disregard for my CONTINUITY OF CARE is necessary in my best interest. Yours Truly, James M. Buscemi |