Submitted by Lee Dobson, Area Director, NC Government Affairs (GAO)

As a new Hearts for Home Care ambassador, MON Clinical Service Manager Rachel Cauble was a bit nervous about organizing a home visit until she realized who she was inviting.  “As my Sunday school teacher, it was easy to get him to agree,” said Rachel.  “And it goes to show that lawmakers are regular people.”  Representative Dean Arp visited with MON and MP staff on February 17 and toured the skills labs before heading to the home visit.  Prior to his stroke, our client, Mr. Jones was a HVAC mechanic.  Rep. Arp, as an engineer, connected quickly with our client as they shared stories of challenging service calls that Mr. Jones was able to fix.  This was a great opportunity for Rep. Arp to learn of home health care and the challenges we face due to the low reimbursement aide rate.  He indicated that the House of Representatives is looking at ways to stretch the Medicaid dollar and to find a way to help.  Click here to read the press release and view more pictures.