In A Pandemic, Remember Special Needs Caregivers

To the Editor:

Governor Andrew Cuomo has shown remarkable leadership during this COVID-19 crisis. His call for unity in the face of adversity resonates strongly in the field of human services. He has been a true supporter of our healthcare workers throughout the entire State. However, it is our hope that the Governor augments his leadership and support to include New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.

As he has stated publicly, New York State needs to act as a single unified healthcare system, and we at Jawonio could not agree more.

Although our hospitals are the most acute-care facilities, Jawonio maintains 13 residential facilities that house some of New York’s most vulnerable and frail individuals with special needs.

We continue to adhere to the guidance of the CDC and Department of Health’s universal precautions and social distancing. These important measures are necessary to stop the spread of this terrible virus.

Our direct care staff has been on the front lines taking incredible amounts of additional risk and responsibility to provide care to our most vulnerable people. About one third of these workers have contracted the virus, putting an additional strain on the healthy workers who are now pulling double and triple shifts so these facilities are not left unstaffed.

Additionally, some of our consumers have also contracted the virus, making their personal care needs more intense. The state-funded salary for these direct care workers is about $13 an hour. Yes, $13 an hour. We believe that these workers need a state-funded mechanism for enhanced rates and hazard pay. This need has become even more critical for the tens of thousands of Direct Support Professionals who are the backbone of the I/DD care model. As the Governor has said, medical workers are stressed, tired, and require our support to get us through the crisis. Direct Support Professionals are essential healthcare workers worthy of the same consideration as other essential healthcare workers, including hospitals and nursing homes.

My brother-in- law Michael, lives in one of Jawonio’s 13 group homes. Therefore, I know all too well, the worry, the fear and the anxiety facing families here in Rockland, New York State and around the world. I also know the incredible risk that the 24-hour a day, seven-day-a-week staff are taking. They are among the true heroes of this crisis.

While the federal government recognizes our sector as a vital access health care provider, we are deeply concerned about the New York State interpretation of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services federal designation. Now more than ever, New York State non-profit providers that deliver critical services for people with disabilities, must be recognized by state government in the same way. Therefore, it is imperative that a funding stream be established to help defray the millions of dollars needed to combat the Coronavirus and provide essential services during this pandemic.

There is a quote that comes to mind in thinking about this unprecedented public health crisis, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

Let us be the kind of society that values and recognizes the gifts of individuals with special needs and their caregivers, nurses and clinicians who are the superheroes without the capes.

Sincerely,

Michael Algranati

Chairman of the Board

Jawonio Inc.