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This is horrible that a state can send a person on a ventilator
out-of-state away from their home and family just because of their inability to
breathe.
Dana
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--- Begin Message -------- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Ervin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 8:38 PM Subject: Out of State and Out of Mind WV Adapt> Out of State and Out of Mind > On Wednesday, October 12th my friend Mike O'Brien called to say that a young > lady we had been working with for five years had passed away out of state in > Pennsylvania. Her parents had never wanted to send her away. Their dream and > her dream was that she would be allowed to remain in her own home with her > family with the supports around her, which would have enabled her to live a > full rich life. > > > When the family had first approached us asking for assistance, we had > thought that the MRDD Wavier was the obvious option. She had a developmental > disability (a rare neurological disorder) which left her often confused with > irregular sleep patterns. She would often run away. This required almost > constant monitoring. Once again, this seemed a perfect match for the MRDD > Wavier which allows for 24-hour care. We were shocked when the application > was denied both by the hearing officer and a circuit court judge. The judge > even refused to hear the case because the young lady was no longer > considered a citizen of West Virginia. Out of State and Out of Mind. > > > A recent Charleston Gazette Article entitled Nursing Home Exiles chronicled > the stories of two women who have been sent to The Arbors, a nursing home in > Marietta, OH because a 1994 law makes it acceptable for individuals who use > ventilators to be moved out of state automatically based on the cost. > According to the article, Specialty Select Hospital in Charleston has sent > 15 people to Ohio in the last three years. Joan Welldon, one of the women > profiled has told me that all the ventilator patients currently housed at > The Arbors are West Virginia residents who have been forced to surrender > their citizenship simply for the right to breathe. She has said on several > occasions that she feels that her home state has forgotten her and that she > is no longer wanted. The exile imposed on Joan by the State of West Virginia > has forced her to leave her home, her pets, and her elderly mother, who she > helped care for and worries about everyday. Once again, our state has > employed it's out of state/out of mind policy. > > > Currently, there are 389 children from West Virginia in out of state > placement. Adults who are sent out of state are given out of state Medicaid > and then simply forgotten by West Virginia. I guess our Governor and policy > makers aren't concerned because this tactic allows them to defray the cost > of care for these individuals. The burden of the cost is placed on the state > where they are imprisoned; a cost savings for the state of West Virginia. > > > This strategy, however, fails to take into account the families which are > torn apart, the holidays that are missed, or the mother from the Charleston > Gazette article who only gets to see her children once every four months, if > she is lucky. How would Governor Manchin feel if he were faced with this > existence on a daily basis? West Virginia's Policy of pushing citizens out > of state based on their diagnosis is not just immoral, it is illegal. > According to the 1999 Olmstead Decision every individual has the right to > live in the home of their choice. I wonder how many people, like my friend, > will pass away never having the opportunity to return to their home and > those they love. > http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ NATIONAL ADAPT MAILING LIST - Adapt MiCASA List http://www.adapt.org
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