AHHC 2003-2004 Accomplishments

Keeping in mind AHHC’s mission of education, advocacy and leadership, highlights of the past membership year include:

EDUCATION
In FY 2003-2004, AHHC provided 15 workshops, two major conferences and 6 teleconferences. AHHC worked with DFS to provide free regional OASIS workshops and advocated for DMA to provide free regional PCS Plus Workshops. AHHC continues to provide weekly email updates to nearly 900 member recipients and maintains a web site that receives on average 80,000 hits a month. AHHC educated the public by exhibiting at two major conferences in NC this year and developed and distributed both the Professional and Consumer Guides to Home Care & Hospice. AHHC provided information for numerous media outlets and spoke at several Commissions and Boards. AHHC fields thousands of technical questions by both email and telephone and publishes a newsletter to keep members abreast of changes. AHHC publishes a member directory which is distributed to nearly 1,500 referral sources.

ADVOCACY
AHHC hosted two Legislative Days at the General Assembly, two Listen, Learn and Legislate Events with both NC Speakers of the House of Representatives in attendance and two additional CAREPAC events. AHHC revamped its CAREPAC membership levels and developed new ways of recognizing contributors. AHHC attended and spoke before numerous legislative commissions and taskforces. AHHC attended numerous legislative events in NC to speak with legislative leaders. AHHC led a contingency of members to meet with members of Congress. AHHC developed legislative priorities for the current session of the General Assembly and talking points for legislators and members of Congress.

AHHC advocated for the NC Private Duty Nursing Program to prevent cuts, initiated and achieved a change in the licensure rules related to verbal orders, worked to establish a PCS Plus program, worked to ensure the policy development for in-home and community based services under Medicaid is done appropriately and in keeping with legislative intent, and worked to prevent inappropriate estate recovery notification to PCS recipients.

LEADERSHIP
AHHC currently participates in 10 very active committees at the Division of Medical Assistance – CAP/DA Standards; PDN Policy rewrite; Home Health Policy rewrite; Home Health Supply Taskforce; Home Health Supply Cost Modeling; Therapy Policy; PCS Policy and Process; PCS Utilization Review; PCS Criteria; PCS Advisory; PCS Plus; and DMA Management Liaison.

AHHC meets quarterly with Palmetto GBA and the Division of Facility Services Licensure and Certification. AHHC is represented on the Institute of Medicine Nursing Workforce Taskforce, the Division of Long Term Care Better Jobs/Better Care, several special committees of the NC Board of Nursing, the NC Board of Pharmacy, Division of Aging taskforces, the Coalition on Aging, and the State Health Coordinating Council. AHHC members are represented on the NC Nurse Scholars Commission, the Medical Care Commission and the Division of Medical Assistance Advisory Committee. AHHC is active with the NC Center for Nursing and maintains important liaisons with other health-related associations.