CONTRACT TO HELP PLAN OHIO DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAID

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Subj: [mrdd-ohio] Recent articles of interest (4) (9/25 - 9/30)

Date: 10/5/06 12:02:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

From: tboyer@... (Todd Boyer)

CONTROLLING BOARD GIVES SEATTLE FIRM $450,000, 90-DAY CONTRACT TO HELP PLAN OHIO DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAID

Gongwer News Service

Monday, September 25, 2006

A unanimous Controlling Board waived competitive selection Monday for a three month, $449,900 contract with a Seattle, Wash.-based consultant to help plan creation of a cabinet-level Ohio Department of Medicaid.

The Department of Job and Family Services said Milliman Inc. would assist the Medicaid Administrative Study Council that faces a Dec. 31 deadline for delivering recommendations to the General Assembly.

A provision in the state budget (HB 66*) established the 22-member council to suggest the scope and structure of the proposed new department, draft a business plan for transferring current Medicaid administration into it from ODJFS and other agencies, and put a price tag on implementation.

ODJFS said it posted a request for proposals on its Web site when it began searching for a consultant, and contacted ten vendors believed qualified for the work. No proposals were submitted. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, August 3, 2006)

Council staff subsequently negotiated with two vendors "deemed highly proficient who came recommended ... from different sources." Both Milliman, which has an Ohio office, and the Lewin Group in Virginia submitted proposals.

ODJFS said that while the Lewin Group submitted the lower bid, Milliman was chosen due to its focus on health care operations and structure, technology, government regulation, and financing issues.

Sen. Ray (D-Columbus), a member of the study council, said he was familiar with the problems encountered in seeking a consultant.

"I never thought we'd end up in the situation where we were unable to find an Ohio firm," Sen. said. "We have got to do a better job of contracting with Ohio based (companies). It may not happen until the next administration."

Rep. DeWine (R-Fairborn) also voiced concern about absence of an Ohio-based firm and the short time period for Milliman to complete its work.

Rep. DeWine asked Carlson, ODJFS deputy director, about the department's level of confidence that the company would be able to deliver a quality product.

Mr. Carlson said provisions of the contract allow the council to determine work quality. "Milliman comes with an impeccable reputation, but I understand concerns people have about the short time frame," he said.

SMALL SUPPLIERS PINCHED

Lott among area firms hurt by big 3 cuts

Toledo Blade

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Lott Industries employees with developmental disabilities have felt like part of the Ford Motor Co. family since 1981, through the work they have done for the automaker's Maumee Stamping Plant.

That relationship will end in 2008, when Ford shutters its suburban Toledo factory. Not only will 700 Ford jobs be eliminated, leaving employees to accept buyouts or transfer to other plants, but 300 disabled Lott workers who put clips on plastic wheel wells for the Ford F-series pickups and other vehicles will lose work, too.

Recently announced permanent and temporary shutdowns at Ford, General Motors Corp., and DaimlerChrysler AG are sending shock waves throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan as auto suppliers assess how much damage their businesses are likely to sustain.

Toledo's nonprofit Lott, for example, will lose more than 70 percent of its revenues when Maumee Stamping closes, or roughly $4.5 million of the $6 million it expects to have this year.

Either other work will have to be found for a third of its disabled workforce - who have achieved various quality distinctions favored in the auto industry - or staff will have to come up with other activities, said Jeff Holland, business manager and chief executive for the company.

Lott is staffed by employees of the Lucas County Board of Mental Retardation

"The main thing we're concerned with is the labor," he said. "Not only is it the most plentiful work, but it's the most prestigious."

Dana Corp., Toledo's largest company with $10 billion in sales last year, also stands to be hard hit by Big Three cutbacks. Those car makers last year accounted for 43 percent of sales, including 26 percent from Ford alone.

A Dana spokesman said the company's production and sales will be affected, but he declined to elaborate.

Companies such as Dana and American Axle & Manufacturing are suffering because they depend heavily on the shrinking Big Three, one supplier analyst said. But Controls Inc. and suppliers that have more successfully expanded business with growing Asian automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. are doing fine, said Marc Santucci, of ELM International Inc.

"They're still building as many cars in the United States as we have been for a while, it's just that it has shifted," he said. "If you're doing business with Toyota, you're having the greatest time ever."

Lott, Dana, and other local suppliers have been trying to diversify beyond the Big Three. At one time, Ford accounted for about 80 percent of revenues at Lott, where disabled workers are paid by the piece for the parts work and some make significantly more than minimum wage, Mr. Holland said.

Conversion Technologies International in West Unity, Ohio, has been seeking customers outside the auto industry in the last few years. It has 32 employees. Less than 20 percent of its business is with the Big Three, such as applying adhesives to auto parts, and planned cuts shouldn't affect more than 10 percent of that chunk, said Chet Cromwell, president.

Hinkle Manufacturing Inc., of sburg Township, which primarily supplies reusable containers needed for new vehicle launches, has about 70 percent of its business tied to the Big Three, said Tab Hinkle, president and general manager.

Although Ford, GM, and Chrysler all are planning many new vehicles, that could change if sales continue to suffer, in turn hurting the 100 workers at Hinkle, he said.

"Who knows where it's going to go at this point?" Mr. Hinkle said of the auto industry. "It's not very positive."

Inner strength on display at Lott Industries dinner tonight

Toledo Blade

Friday, September 29, 2006

When bodily strength is in short supply, it's fortitude of the will that must overcome physical limitations.

Variations of that, along with guidance on how inner strength can be honed through mental diet, exercise, and discipline will be topics of the keynote speech at tonight's 50th anniversary celebration for Lott Industries featuring guest speaker Greg , an author, radio host, and African-American who has muscular dystrophy.

The dinner event is at 6 p.m. at Gladieux Meadows, 4480 downs Blvd., and is open to the public with a $30 reservation. The evening is also a celebration of the success of all people with disabilities in the work force.

Lott Industries is a nonprofit corporation that is a component of the Lucas County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. It provides employment opportunities for more than 1,200 people with mental or developmental disabilities at its three plants in Toledo and Maumee. The corporation also has mobile work crews sent to businesses.

Mr. , 42, is a divorced father of three children who weighs just 65 pounds.

He gets around with a motorized wheelchair and, as a black man, says he has experienced racial as well as disability discrimination in his lifetime. He is host of the nationally syndicated radio program, "The Strength Coach Radio Show," and author of On A Roll: Reflections from America's Wheelchair Dude with the Winning Attitude.

"He brings a good strong message, and he is a person with a tremendous disability who has managed to be successful," said Lon , spokesman for the board.

In an phone interview yesterday from his home in Ocean Springs, Miss., Mr. said the trip will be his first to Toledo, and one of about 35 speaking engagements he does a year.

"I've been doing radio for so long, it's great to get in front of a live audience," said Mr. , who started his radio show in 1992. He said the message in tonight's presentation will explain how "what we need to do is build our inner strength," and to avoid all varieties of negativity.

Seesan says gentle farewell to MRDD

Massillon IndependentTossing a casual glance at the bare walls of his office, Tom Seesan sighed and shrugged.“Empty,†he said in his familiar, gentle tone.Thirteen years of memories were all that hung on the pale, blue walls Friday afternoon. The personal things – the plaques, the pictures, the Massillon Tiger paraphernalia – had all be packed away. Seesan, a Massillon resident who served 13 years as superintendent of the Stark County MRDD, was saying his final good-byes as he prepared to explore new avenues in retirement.Before Seesan enlisted the help of his wife, Chiquita, he had been slowly taking home little things from his office desk and walls. It was a painful task, clearing out the office space all alone.“I felt like I was dying,†Seesan said of the packing. “I felt like I was dying a slow death.â€After 33 years working in the MRDD system, Seesan had found a very comfortable home in the work that he did, especially during the final 13-years of his career when he worked at Superintendent of the local MRDD.“People used to tell me that I was a special person, that it takes a special person in (the line of) work I’ve been in,†Seesan said. “Looking back, it does take a special person … to serve people with disabilities.â€Pat Fehlman, public information, community education and volunteer resource director for the Stark County MRDD said Seesan is, one of those rare, special people.“He is, without a doubt, a man of integrity,†Fehlman said. “In my role … I have to be able to trust everything the Superintendent says and I could, because of his integrity.â€Seesan claims that, in the world of MRDD services, he was surrounded by people of the same character, people with big hearts, helping hands and giving spirits. It was his colleagues, he said, that made his work worthwhile.“The people I worked with,†Seesan said, “were professional, caring and compassionate.â€People exactly like that brought him to work in the field – one he never before imagined himself working in. It wasn’t until he was working on his Master’s degree in urban development at Akron University, that he spent eight weeks working at Willow Woods, a special needs camp in Langhorne, Penn.“That was when I knew,†Seesan said, “this is what I wanted to do.â€What he has done, according to Fehlman, is help to change the direction of the organization.When Seesan stepped into the superintendent role in 1993, public schools had begun to embrace and integrate programming for those with developmental disabilities. As a result, the local MRDD was preparing to relinquish some of the schools that had been established to serve that part of the population. Seesan, Fehlman said, worked hard to keep the Southgate School open.“Integration,†Seesan said, “is not for everyone. Schools (operated by) the MRDD have a very important function.â€That function, he said, is to provide the best possible learning environment for children with disabilities and prepare them to be contributing members of society.Seesan is not alone in his thinking.“Right now,†Seesan said, “we have a waiting list for kids who want to come into the (Southgate) program.â€During his career, Seesan said he saw the community – his community – change for the better. Socially, professionally and recreationally the community has embraced special needs individuals.“The greatest change I have seen,†Seesan said, “is that the community, in general, has really begun to accepted individuals with mental disabilities. And that is (in regard to) social activities, employment and entertainment.â€In his absence, Seesan believes that there will be more strides made in services provided by the local MRDD to the individuals it serves. Although there are some challenges ahead for incoming Superintendent H. , Seesan believes that good things will continue to happen.“I will just be reading about them in the newspaper,†Seesan said.Truth is, Seesan said, there are other great things for him be involved with in the days, months and years ahead. In Massillon, the community he calls home, there are many opportunities for impact.“I just plan to get my bearings and get used to being not having a job to go to every day,†Seesan said, smiling. “There are many, many, many projects for me around the house.â€