Alaska State Legislature
Committee Meeting Notice

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary, (907) 258-8184
Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary, (907) 258-8164
716 West 4th Avenue, Suite 510
Anchorage, AK 99501
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality Line: 1-800-478-6540

Long-Term Care Task Force to Meet August 18th & 19th

Committee to Develop Long-Term Care Plan for Alaska Seniors

For Immediate Release: August 14, 1998 Contact: Sheila Peterson, Aide to Senator Gary Wilken, at 465-3709.

Anchorage – Senator Gary Wilken (R-Fairbanks) and Representative Con Bunde (R-Anchorage), acting co-chairmen of the Alaska Legislature’s Long-Term Care Task Force, will hold the first meeting in the Anchorage Legislative Information Office (LIO), August 18th and 19th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The LIO is located at 716 W. 4th Avenue.

The Long-Term Care Task Force is charged with developing an equitable plan for providing sound and affordable long-term care for Alaska’s senior citizens. The Task Force will review findings of a working group established by the Legislature in 1996 to analyze the availability and projected costs of long-term care services available in the state.

After reviewing the working group’s recommendations, the task force plans to: prepare a plan identifying needed legislation; draft legislation to implement the plan; propose funding options; hold public hearings on the plan; finalize the plan and present it to the Legislature and the governor at the start of the Twenty-First Legislature’s first session.

"Long-term care is in a state of flux both in Alaska and in the rest of the nation," Bunde said. "We in the Legislative Majority want to do our best to understand and meet the long-term care needs of Alaskans now and in the future, and I see this first meeting of the task force as an important step in that process."

"This first meeting represents the beginning of the process to define Alaska's long-term care needs," said Wilken. "I would like to encourage Alaskans to participate so we can develop and present a plan to the next Legislature that will truly meet the needs of Alaska’s aging community and the younger Alaskans who provide care for their parents," said Wilken.

On August 18th the task force will meet in the sixth floor conference room. Members will receive an overview or Alaska’s long-term care programs, review legislation, and hear testimony from long-term care professionals. On August 19th the meeting will move to the second floor conference room. Committee members will continue to hear testimony from senior care professionals in the morning and will hear public testimony starting at 1 p.m. Attached is a complete meeting agenda.

In addition to Senator Wilken and Representative Bunde, legislative task force members include Senators Bert Sharp and Lyman Hoffman, and Representatives Joe Ryan, and Albert Kookesh. The three public members include insurance agent John Hanchet, care provider Dennis Murray and Joyanna Giesler, representing Independent Living Centers.

The meeting will be teleconferenced. Please call Sheila Peterson at 907/465-3709 for information.

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Agenda

Long-Term Care Task Force Meeting
Anchorage Legislative Information Office
716 W. 4th Avenue, Anchorage

Tuesday, August 18, 1998
6th Floor Conference Room

9:00 - Welcome

Introduction of Task Force Members

9:15 - Overview of Alaska’s Long-Term Care Programs

Kay Burrows, Senior Services Division, Administration

Jane Demmert, Alaska Commission on Aging, Administration

10:15 - History/Review of SCR 11

Senator Bert Sharp, Prime Sponsor

10:30 - Review of the Legislative Working Group on LTC Report

Jane Demmert and Jackie Ortelli, Working Group participants

11:30 - Alaska’s Nursing Homes Overview

Jackie Ortelli, Administrator, Denali Center

12:00 - Break for Lunch

1:30 - Pioneers’ Home Overview

Jim Kohn, Alaska Longevity Programs Division

2:30 - Home and Community Based Care Overview

  1. Kay Burrows and Jane Demmert, Division of Senior Services
  2. Karl Brimner, Division of Mental Health & DD, H&SS

3:30 - Medicaid Financing of Long-Term Care Overview

John Sherwood, Medical Assistance Division, H&SS

4:30 - General Discussion and Prepare for Wednesday’s Meeting

5:00 - Adjourn

Wednesday, August 19, 1998
2nd Floor Conference Room
(please note location change)

9:00 - Presentations on Long-Term Care Services in Alaska

  1. Alzheimer Association - Dulce Nobre, Executive Director
  2. Tanana Chiefs Conference - Anna Fath
  3. Mental Health Trust Authority - Jeff Jessee, Exec. Director
  4. Independent Living Council - Patrick Reinhart, Exec. Director
  5. Governor’s Council on Disabilities & Special Education - David Maltman, Executive Director
  6. Bristol Bay Native Association - Kay Branch
  7. AARP Alaska - Marguerite Stetson, President
  8. Assisted Living Homes’ legislation - Sharon Clark, staff to Senator Miller

11:30 - Break for Lunch

1:00 - Public Testimony via Teleconference (or in person)

2:30 - Roundtable Discussion

  1. Identification of Issues
  2. "What to do Next?"

4:30 - Organization of the Task Force

5:00 - Establish Date for Next Meeting

Adjourn