LEADINGAGE KANSAS UPDATES

Important for Advocacy – Do Any of Your Board Members Have Good Connections with SPARK Task Force Members?
We need your help to identify individuals to connect with members of the Governor’s “SPARK” task force.  We’re talking people that know a SPARK member well – individual board members, individual family members or residents, leadership staff or other staff members.  

SPARK will provide the recommendations to the Governor and State Finance Council on how to spend the $1B coming to the state from the federal government for COVID-19 relief. We need multiple avenues to get our LTC priorities considered. The Task Force is moving quickly, so we need the names of contacts right away. Once we get contact names, we will follow up with them so they have talking points to convey.

  1. Tom Bell, President and CEO, Kansas Hospital Association, Topeka, Kansas
  2. Lyle Butler, President and CEO, Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (retired), Manhattan, Kansas   
  3. Senator Jim Denning, Vice President, Discover Vision Centers, Overland Park, Kansas
  4. Jill Docking, Senior Vice President, The Docking Group – Baird Financial, Wichita, Kansas  
  5. Alise Martiny, Business Manager, Greater KC Building and Trades Council, Shawnee, Kansas 
  6. Natalie Haag, Attorney, Capitol Federal Savings, Topeka, Kansas
  7. David Harwood, Senior Vice President, Terracon Consultants & Chair, KANSAS Works State Board, Olathe, Kansas
  8. Senator Tom Hawk, Ranking Minority Member, Senate Ways and Means Committee, Manhattan, Kansas
  9. Representative Dan Hawkins, House Majority Leader, Wichita, Kansas  
  10. Edward Honesty, Jr., President & Chief Operating Officer, Best Harvest Bakeries, Kansas City, Kansas      
  11. Chuck Mageral, Proprietor, Free State Brewing Company, Lawrence, Kansas
  12. David McCarty, Owner, McCarty Family Farms, Colby, Kansas
  13. Senator Carolyn McGinn, Chair, Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sedgwick, Kansas
  14. Shelia Nelson-Stout, President and CEO, OCCK, Inc., Salina, Kansas  
  15. Neelima Parasker, President & CEO, SnapIT Solutions, Overland Park, Kansas
  16. Jim Robinson, Partner, Hite Fanning & Honeyman, Wichita, Kansas
  17. Secretary David Toland, Department of Commerce, Topeka, Kansas
  18. Representative Troy Waymaster, Chair, House Appropriations Committee, Bunker Hill, Kansas
  19. Representative Kathy Wolfe-Moore, Ranking Minority Member, House Appropriations Committee, Kansas City, Kansas

We Need to Brainstorm Together on SPARK Asks – Please Provide Your Thoughts by Wednesday
What ideas do you have for what the SPARK Task Force could provide grants for aging services COVID-related needs?   Here are some of the ideas we’ve heard from members:  regional LTC-designated mobile testing units, funding for staff and resident testing, funding for providers to establish permanent isolation units, state-funded regional alternate care sites, grants for regional alternate care multi-stakeholder planning, provide every NH  and AL with rapid-response test equipment when it becomes available, staff retention bonuses, grants to providers to offset the extra COVID-related expenses they have incurred. Please send your ideas to debra@leadingagekansas.org. The LeadingAge Kansas Board will be taking up this issue and your input will help them determine what are priority asks are the for SPARK Task Force.

Reopening Plan Finally Released from KDADS for Nursing Facilities Only
KDADS Released Reopening Plan for nursing facilities last Friday morning. Guidance for state-licensed facilities (assisted living, home plus, etc) has not yet been released.

LeadingAge Kansas, KHCA, and KACE will host live webinars on Monday and Tuesday at 3:30 with KDAD’s Deputy Secretary Scott Brunner and Deputy Secretary Janis DeBoer to review this plan and answer your questions.  Registration is required. Attendance is limited to 250 lines, and both sessions will be recorded and posted by all three Associations.  This information will apply to Nursing Facilities.  Assisted Living, Home Plus and Residential Health Care will be addressed at a later time once KDADs has guidance finalized for them.

KSBN Weekly Update
Here is the latest information and updates from the Kansas State Board of Nursing.

LEADINGAGE KANSAS UPDATES

Join us for Weekly COVID-19 Calls to Discuss the Latest Affecting Our Field
The next call is Friday, June 19th | 10 AM.  Register today.  Please note, space is limited to 101 lines, so it will be first come, first served. There will be a recording in case you have to miss it.

Other COVID-19 Topics Brought to You by LeadingAge Kansas:

View all of our other upcoming webinars about COVID-19.

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Nicole Schings is the Director of Member Services and Business Development. Nicole joined the association in 2018, and oversees our Member Services program, our Partnership and Associate Member relationships, and our online education system. A graduate of Washburn University, Nicole uses her 22 years of experience in the association world to enhance the support of our members, problem solve their issues and bring new partners into the LeadingAge Kansas family. Outside of work, Nicole is passionate about geocaching and moments spent with her dog, Blu. You can reach Nicole directly at 785.670.8048.