May 2012

Two Public Bill Signing Ceremonies for Expanded Health Care Coverage

Bill:       S.223, Expanding Health Care Coverage for Early Childhood Developmental Disorder, including Autism Spectrum Disorders

When:       Wednesday May 16th at 1:30 pm

Where:      Vermont State House, Main Street, Montpelier

Governor's Ceremonial Office

Bill:       H.559 Health Care Reform Implementation

When:       Wednesday, May 16th at 2:00 pm

Where:      Vermont State House, Main Street, Montpelier

Governor's Ceremonial Office

INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS: The Prior Authorization Process for Augmentative Communication Devices, Including IPad/IPod Technology

Discussion Topics:

-Medicaid Rule related to Augmentative Communication Devices

-Successful navigation documents & required enrollment

-Implementation date for coverage of the Ipad/Ipod technology is 6/1/12.

Thursday, May 10, 6:00-7:00 pm

Wednesday, May 23, 6:00-7:00 pm

Attend in person at the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA)

312 Hurricane Lane, Williston, VT 05495 (entrance in the back)

Or call into the session with the following telephone number and access code: 1-866-502-8312, pin #747642

Presenter: Susan Mason PT MEd ATP       

Department of Vermont Health Access (Medicaid)

Also available to assist will be:

Betty Parent and Spring Shover, Provider Services, HP and

Jocelyne Ferdinand, Enrollment, HP.

More Information: Sue Mason 802-879-6396 or susan.mason@state.vt.us

Prior to the Informational Session, participants are encouraged to read the Banner Page and links that will be available on the DVHA website after April 30^th at www.vtmedicaid.com

Directions to DVHA: From Interstate 89, take exit 12 Williston. Turn on to Route 2A heading AWAY from the Taft’s Corners shopping area. You will be heading up a hill, going south. Take the first left on to Hurricane Lane. 312 is the third driveway on the right. See the “Department of VT Health Access” sign at the foot of the driveway. Come to the building on the left as you come up winding driveway. Park at the rear of the building and enter through the back door.

November 2012

SAVE THE DATES: Thursday November 1^st and Friday November 2^nd, 2012

Vermont Speech-Language Hearing Association (VSHA) Fall 2012 Conference

Killington Grand Resort Hotel (Killington, VT)

This year, VSHA will be holding a 2-day conference in the fall (instead of having a 1-day conference in both the spring and the fall)

Program Preview:

One of the planned topics is “Mobile Devices and Apps in Clinical Practice,” which will include speaker Sean Sweeney, SLP and instructional technology specialist from Massachusetts.

Our fall 2012 conference speaker, Sean Sweeney, was recently quoted in the 4/5/12 ASHA Leader article on the use of technology in treatment:

http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/110405/The-Future-at-Hand--Mobile-Devices-and-Apps-in-Clinical-Practice.htm

(If the link to the ASHA Leader does not work, try copying & pasting the URL into your web browser; alternately, you can go to www.asha.org and search for 4/5/12 ASHA Leader).

Another planned topic is “Evidence Based Practice in Autism Spectrum Disorders.”  The VSHA Programs Committee is in the process of developing the Fall 2012 Conference agenda and arranging for speakers.

Many VSHA members have expressed interest in an opportunity to discuss professional issues that are pertinent to their practices. For those of you who haven’t heard about this, there are many ways to make this work. You might decide to gather once every month or two at a local restaurant for dinner, news exchange, and a discussion of a journal article. You might even take it a step further and plan to read a journal article that earns CEUs for your credentialing requirements. Whatever you end up doing, you will create a stronger professional network. In the spirit of getting to know each other better and sharing our talents, we hope you will consider a regional get-together and let us know so that we can post it on the VSHA website.  email: academicprograms@vsha.us.  

Read more . . .

President’s Message

I am no stranger to VSHA and its Board. During the 1980’s I served on the Board and then as an ex-officio member from the Department of Education. I returned to the Board in 2006 as the Chair of School Affairs until one year ago when I became President-Elect.
As a speech-language pathologist for nearly 30 years, I have predominantly worked in school related venues, though not exclusively. In addition to school jobs in my early years, I also worked in Home Health and then with the Vermont Department of Education. Taking a hiatus from speech-language pathology and education, I managed the state’s foster care and residential care system for what is now known as the Department of Children and Families. Over the last ten years I re-entered the profession and set up a school for students with severe disabilities. I have continued to balance direct services, diagnostic evaluations, management of the school, and consultation to public and private agencies regarding efficient and effective service delivery in our field, as well as in special education, administration, and Title 1 services.
There are so many areas of importance to our profession. My approach is to focus on a few priorities and lay the groundwork for future Boards to work on other priorities.
My priorities are:
• Updating the licensing law with current language, inclusion of telemedicine, and a possible change in the administering agency. We must ensure input from our state’s audiologists to ensure that their perspective is properly represented.
• Clarification on the role and training of assistants and aides to speech-language pathologists,
• Establishing a standards and ethics committee,
• Fair and clear Medicaid rates for speech-language pathology regardless of setting or billing agency.
• Engaging students and associate members in the association
This is in addition to overseeing the basic operations of the association including
• Modernizing our website and other uses of social networking,
• Offering high quality programs and other professional development opportunities for both disciplines of our profession
• Expanding our membership through active recruitment of potential members
• Recognizing past and present exemplary members,
I am fortunate to be working with an extraordinary Board of Directors. I hope that you will take advantage of opportunities over the next two years to participate in important professional decisions. I expect VSHA will entice more and more of you to work with us and to come to the upcoming programs.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Kimmerly
President
president@vsha.us