Happy New Year! It’s time for another update from Bethesda and the North Central Region in our second edition of the BestLife! newsletter.

We had a lot of fun celebrating the holidays at the end of last year. The Community Life program rang bells for the Salvation Army, and another program made a trip to watch the Bucks play basketball in their new arena. Derald and Gerald, two brothers Bethesda supports, marked 65 years with Bethesda, and we celebrated with an open house where they were visited by staff who have worked with them over the years. Our Community Life program also made a trip to the Fireside Theater to see a play called “Elf.”

Community Programming started a pilot in August 2018, and seven individuals are involved in the program. The program’s goal is for individuals to explore and experience the local community so they can be more a part of it. This includes several locations where we have individuals volunteering including the Horicon Marsh, Dodge County Humane Society, the Gathering Source, Watertown Humane Society, Good Shepherd Lutheran school, a Dodge County ADRC program called “The Closet,” and Twice as Nice Thrift store. Besides volunteering, individuals in the program have the opportunity to try new hobbies like bowling, shopping, etc.

In Supported Employment, Bethesda continues to increase the number of individuals who would like to secure a competitive job in the workforce. We filled the Job Coach positions that had been open and welcomed a new Job Developer.

We’ve had a few other management changes including welcoming a new Fond du Lac and Fox Lake manager, Megan Frederick-Usoh. We’re excited for Megan to join the team. Stephanie Schuler, Program Manager for Wakoka 1&2, left Bethesda in December. While we’ve missed her, we wish her all the best and are excited to introduce Kayla Johnson as her replacement.

I’m excited to see how the new management team can move things forward in 2019! Thank you for the opportunity to support your loved one.

All my best,

PamPam DucklowRegional Director, North Central Region

In This Issue

A Message from Pam . . . . . . . . . 1

Regional Advocacy News . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Quality Corner . . . .2

Development Team Update . . . . . . . . . . 3

Public Policy Update . . . . . . . . . . 3

Living Out Our Mission . . . . . . 3

1

A Message from Pam

Winter 2019

Subscribe to our digital version of BestLife!

Here’s how:Visit BethesdaLC.org/Subscribe.

Your Regional DirectorPam DucklowNorth Central Region

email: Pam.Ducklow@BethesdaLC.org

phone: 920.245.9165

BethesdaLC.org800.369.4636

© Copyright 2019, Bethesda Lutheran Communities 18-210-10 OPS

North Central EditionConnecting parents, families, guardians and advocates with the latest from Bethesda

BestLife!

2

Welcome Faythe!Quality Corner

Development Team Update

Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has included a request for $30.75 million in state and federal Medicaid matching funds in the Medicaid Family Care portion in each year of the 2019-21 biennium budget for continuation of funding for the “Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative.” This initiative was established to further assist providers in Family Care to recruit and retain direct support professionals (DSPs).

This request is similar to the current state budget appropriation through which the administration included $12.5 million in 2017-18 and $12.5 million in 2018-19 to increase the direct care and services portion of the capitation rates in Family Care, Wisconsin’s Medicaid managed care system that is used to provide long-term services and supports for people with disabilities. These funds cannot be used for Managed Care Organizations’ administrative or care management costs. It is hoped and expected that this prohibition will also be included in the proposed 2019-21 state budget.

Information will be posted on the Bethesda VoterVoice Action Center www.BethesdaLC.org/ Get-Involved/Advocate/Action-center/ for ways you can help advocate for positive change in Wisconsin and move your elected officials to take long overdue action on increasing ID/DD provider rates to reflect the quality of supports your loved ones deserve.

Regional Advocacy NewsNorth Central Region

Special thanks from the Quality Team to all those who participated in the family member survey rolled out in the last edition of BestLife!. We look forward to sharing survey result highlights in the next edition.

Welcome Faythe! While all teams at Bethesda are focused on providing the best quality of support in our field, the Quality Team helps to put

the systems and processes in place to help make it happen.

Faythe Aiken is Bethesda’s Mission Implementation Specialist. The team added this new position to focus on quality enhancement initiatives directly related to defining, measuring and improving quality of life for people supported by Bethesda. Faythe has extensive experience in research and data analysis in the intellectual and developmental disability space and previously held roles at the Human Services Research Institute and the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL). Faythe also serves on the Board for L’Arche (Portland, Ore.), a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Welcome, Faythe!

At Bethesda, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, governmental funding only pays a portion of the cost. Making up the difference is the role of the Bethesda Development Team.

Across the country, our team works with people, congregations, foundations, and families who believe in our mission and wish to support it financially. Oftentimes, these are families with a personal connection to Bethesda, where a loved one has received support. Or, they were moved by a story they heard at their church and decided to make an impact. The Development Team works with them one-on-one to choose a program that’s right for them.

Bethesda Development Team

Stuart Merritt Director of Planned Giving

Dennis Vanden Heuvel Director of Development for parts of the Midwest

John Nickels Director of Leadership Relations for parts of the South, Midwest and New England

Katey Higgins Director of Development for parts of the Southeast and Midwest

Hope Manzanares Director of Development for parts of the West

For more info, or to contact one of our Development Team members, email DevelopmentDepartment@bethesdaLC.org.

3

Public Policy Update

Living Out Our Mission

COMING SOON! Bethesda’s NEW My Faith in Action Advocacy Workbook is being designed for those outside Bethesda who want to advocate for their own faith desires and needs!

Talk to your local Ministry Consultant, email ReligiousLife@BethesdaLC.org.or visit BethesdaLC.org to learn how you can reach out to your community with this excellent resource.

We are excited to launch our new web-based advocacy tool, the VoterVoice Bethesda Action Center. This site is an online community seeking to improve public policy affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). Its purpose is to educate, engage and mobilize support for system reforms and improvements, and to seek improved and sustainable funding for ID/DD services and supports.

The Action Center is open to anyone with an interest in disability advocacy including self-advocates, parents, families, friends and supporters of people with disabilities, professional staff and others with an interest in improving public policy.

The site has a useful tool that enables advocates to:

• Quickly identify who represents them in Washington and their state capitol with contact information to easily reach their elected officials

• Sign up for alerts on new advocacy campaigns supported by Bethesda

• Visit Bethesda’s state and federal advocacy campaigns

• Quickly and easily send pre-written email to your representatives regarding legislation that positively impacts the lives of your loved ones and furthers Bethesda’s mission

You can visit and use the Bethesda VoterVoice Action Center at: www.BethesdaLC.org/ Get-Involved/Advocate/Action-Center/

Missy attends Grace Lutheran Church in Visalia, Calif., and wants to give back to her church and community. She is seen here waiting for the offering plate.

Ricky was baptized and confirmed by Rev. Mike Schempf in Wisconsin.

Bethesda Ministry Consultants visit annually with each person supported by Bethesda to assess their faith

needs and desires. They work through an advocacy workbook called My Faith in Action. The advocacy workbook helps guide the discussion between the Ministry Consultant and the person supported, focusing on needs and desires pertaining to worship services, Bible classes, servanthood, leadership opportunities and fellowship. Once this process is completed, the Ministry Consultant communicates those needs and desires to the appropriate operations staff. That information is then shared by staff with the person’s Individualized Support Plan Team as they discuss annual goals and overall person-centered support. The advocacy workbook helps people supported by Bethesda express how they would like to grow in their faith over the coming year. Bethesda is blessed to have a mission that emphasizes our Christian faith and the desires of baptism, communion, Bible classes and more.

Thank you to Bethesda Ministry Consultants for supporting advocacy and helping people grow in their faith! Here are a few moments from across the country.

Winter 2019

Connecting parents, families, guardians and advocates with the latest from Bethesda

BestLife!

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North Central Edition