Summer 2018

7 Summer 2018 MEMBER NEWS HCAOAArizona Earlier this year, HCAOA Arizona along with the Arizona In-Home Care Association (AZNHA) joined together to co-sponsor a lobby day at the state capitol in Phoenix. This led to an invitation to make a pre- sentation at an Arizona Legislature Senior Caucus meeting on May 7. HCAOA Arizona chapter leaders met at the state capitol and participated in the Arizona Legislature Senior Caucus meeting. Gale Bohling, HCAOA Board Member and Legislative Committee Chair, represented HCAOA Arizona in a panel discussion along with leaders from other senior care organiza- tions to discuss long-term care in Arizona. The chapter recently met on June 12 and hosted Rep. Heather Carter. Sen. Nancy Barto was also invited. The chapter is making great strides forward in increasing awareness about the importance of home care for Arizona seniors to legislators. HCAOA Georgia On May 7, Governor Deal signed SB 406 into law. This law requires comprehensive criminal background checks for elder care providers in personal care homes or other assisted living facilities. The bill, which has been referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee, also requires elder care provid- ers and their employees to participate in the FBI database. HCAOA Georgia met on June 14 and discussed the implications of this bill. HCAOA California HCAOA California remains concerned about AB 2455, legislation that would require the disclosure of Home Care Aides’ personal contact information to a requesting labor union. On May 21, the HCAOA California lobbying team held a special briefing to discuss the latest on AB 2455. Following this briefing, a grassroots message was sent to home care providers, urging them to contact their legislators. Many of you responded and used the HCAOA Advocacy Center special grassroots alert system to send messages and make phone calls. HCAOA Illinois On May 15 HCAOA Illinois held a special monthly meeting with two representatives from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Attendees met Jack Fleeharty, new IDPH Director, Home Nursing & Home Services Agency Licensing Program and Kendra Fabish, RN, Central Office Supervisor, IDPH. Attendees also received information about the U.S. Department of Labor opinion letter on live-in care, Alzheimer's training bill in Illinois, and standardized live-in timesheet created by HCAOA Illinois for chapter members. HCAOAWashington The 11th Annual HCAOAWashington Blooming with Bloomers Conference took place May 1–2 in Seattle, Washington. The conference opened with a welcome from Conference Chair and HCAOA Board Member, Jeff Wiberg. Wiberg welcomed close to 100 attendees and thanked the many exhibitors and sponsors. The keynote speaker was Adam White who spoke to attendees about how to “lead by permis- sion, not position.” HCAOA Florida Save the Date! HCAOA Florida is planning their annual meeting to be held on August 16 in Orlando. Watch your inbox for more information. Chapter News Website Updates: “FrequentlyAsked Questions” NowAvailable! To save you time, we have created a section of our website for fre- quently asked questions. This sec- tion includes step-by-step guides on how to join, how to renew, and how to update your profile. The best part is that you can access this sec- tion at any time! This new addition to our website is a result of your feedback. As always, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with us. We want to make this website as user-friendly as possible for you! Please click here to view our FAQ webpage. For any questions or suggestions for what you’d like to see on the Frequently Asked Ques- tions webpage, please contact info@hcaoa.org .