Monthly Archives: June 2017

New DHS Program Cuts Hours for Disabled Citizens

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by Kimberely Blackburn
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO – A new program implemented by Arkansas Department of Human Services resulted in cuts of home health care hours for many in the disabled community of the state.

Legal Aid of Arkansas won a temporary restraining order on behalf of many who suffered a cut in hours in February. DHS appealed and won a postponement of the original court date of July 2017. The suit is expected to go to court in 2018.

The suit states Arkansas DHS did not notify those enrolled in the ARChoices waiver program of upcoming changes. This lawsuit came after winning a suit filed in federal court against DHS.

James Dukes speaks about a video he directed that highlights the impact of the 4,000 cuts. Legal Aid of Arkansas is traveling the state meeting citizens to help explain the cut in hours imposed by Arkansas DHS. (Photo by Kimberely Blackburn)

Kevin De Liban, attorney with Legal Aid of Arkansas, said the lawsuit came after several clients contacted him after DHS drastically cut their hours. These cuts resulted from a new program called ARPath. The program uses an algorithm developed at the University of Michigan to determine a category each patient would fall into. DHS assigned each category a pre-determined number of hours assigned that cannot be changed by a health care professional.

Brandi Hinkle, deputy director of communication for Arkansas DHS, said, “ARPath was implemented to provide a more objective review of client needs to ensure that all beneficiaries receive a consistent, medically appropriate level of care.”

She said DHS developed the categories after studying a large number of individuals with similar diagnoses. DHS used this study to best determine home health care hours. Hinkle said DHS commits itself with helping individuals maintain a high quality of life.

De Liban said the lawsuit was filed due to the violation of the Administration Procedures Act, which governs state agencies. According to the Act, state agencies must publish any proposed changes and allow for public comment. After the period for public comment closes, they must consider comments and re-evaluate the proposed change.

Hinkle said DHS follows an extensive procedure for changes to all programs and clients have the right to appeal after their assessment. De Liban said DHS did not adequately inform the public of the change. He said DHS published a notice of rulemaking online and in newspapers of record, but included no mention of the algorithm. The notice did include a link to the entire 242-page document, but De Liban said the notice mentioned the algorithm only six times and did not include it on the page that listed the major changes.

The Effects

Dan Watson acts as the primary caregiver of his 32-year-old son Andrew. He said they learned of the new program with they asked for a re-assessment. Watson said his son’s condition worsened, but the new program resulted in a reduction of hours. He said the nurse ran the program with all the worst answers and it still resulted in the same number of hours. He said his concern lies in what will happen to Andrew in the future.

Dorothy Vaughn suffered a spinal stroke, which involved a blood vessel bleeding out into her spinal cord. She said paralyzation occurred within a matter of hours. DHS cut Vaughn’s hours by 21 hours per week. She said her family works and her son cannot turn her due to his back surgery. She said she suffered a stage-four pressure sore due to her lying on her back each night, a result of the reduction of hours.

Vaughan said she remained in a nursing home for three weeks after having part of her tailbone removed in treatment for the pressure sore. She said she needs the additional home health care hours to help her get on top of the pressure sore and become productive again. As it stands, Vaughan said her end result will be a nursing home.

Shannon Brumley suffered a spinal-cord injury 16 years ago as a result of a motorcycle accident. His mother remains his primary caregiver.

Brumley said emotional health plays a big part in one’s physical health. He said being in a nursing home would affect his emotional state greatly directly. He said he wishes DHS could live his life for a week. If possible, he said it would change its mind.


Tammy Dobbs of Cherokee Village explain how the cuts in her home health care affects her life in a video directed by James Dukes. Legal Aid of Arkansas produced this video to show the impact of the cuts caused by the new program implemented by Arkansas DHS. (Video courtesy of Legal Aid of Arkansas)

The Future

Arkansas DHS appealed the state lawsuit and De Liban said it could take until 2018 for the case to go to court. In the meantime, those enrolled in this program can protect themselves. Hinkle said all enrollees have 30 days to appeal their assessment. She added anyone who appeals within 10 days has the right to keep all their hours until the hearing.

De Liban said anyone who loses at the hearing will be required to pay the state for the cost of the extra hours. However, he said DHS cannot garnish any Social Security or Medicaid benefits. He said he also suggests each one logs all hours in which care received, what they do, and what they cannot do for themself.

De Liban said his main concern involves the lack of thought DHS made on how its actions would affect many enrolled in their program. He said anytime you make a decision that will greatly affect those vulnerable, great thought must be made.

“You definitely should get the opinions of the people who are going to be affected by the program,” he said.

Vaughn said although her concern remains her future, others’ futures concern her more. Before her recent health decline, she volunteered at schools with special-needs children.

“My heart breaks for the possibility of this affecting children,” Vaughan said.

Pocahontas Relief Efforts Continue

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POCAHONTAS, Arkansas — Clean-up efforts continue after flooding caused severe damage.

Randolph County Judge David Jansen said three major and several minor breaches occurred in the levee designed by the Arkansas Corps of Engineers. Flood waters flowed over the levee at a span of 3-4 miles for 4-5 hours, he said. It caused the levee to “churn” and eventually resulted in the breaches.

Although the property damage proved to be extensive, Jansen said the county’s first priority remained resident’s lives.

“Our No. 1 goal when this event started was no loss of life, and we’ve achieved that,” Jansen said.

Jeff Harris looks at flood damage in his Pocahontas home. Pocahontas suffered extensive flood damage after breaches in levee breech. (Photo by Kimberely Blackburn)

The Aftermath

Pocahontas resident Jeff Harris lost almost everything in the flood. After the call to evacuate came, his family prepared as best they could. He and his 10-year-old son Colton put the kitchen appliances on cinder blocks to help shield them from the water. This task proved difficult as Harris experiences health problems that cause difficulty with his daily movements.

Harris is no stranger to struggle. He said he’s lived through a brain tumor, being electrocuted and watching his father suffer the effects of being hit by a drunk driver. Most recently, his 7-year-old daughter Lorraine underwent open-heart surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital to correct a heart murmur.

Harris, wife Stephanie and their family currently live with his grandmother in a small home outside the flood zone. He said they will rebuild.

Neighbor Laura Williford said her house took 7 inches of water; her enclosed patio held 18 inches. She said her family put their possessions high enough by stacking them on the deep freeze. But the water flipped the freezer, which was on the patio. She said she will rebuild.

“Where else can you go? We don’t have any houses around here,” she said.

While staying at the American Red Cross shelter until she can move back into her house, someone gave her a small travel trailer.

A Community Unites

In his 13th year as judge, Jansen said he has served through many natural disasters, but this one hit him hard. Yet the influx of help from within and outside the community encourages him. As of May 22, Jansen said 33 residents resided at the Red Cross shelter.

Red Cross volunteer Stan Rosenzweig said those displaced receive everything from shelter and food to just a warm hug and blanket. Volunteers arrived from all over the country to help with the relief efforts; he came from Salt Lake City, Utah. Other volunteers in the relief effort hail from Minnesota, Massachusetts, and California.

Rosenzweig said volunteers do 91 percent of work done by the Red Cross. He said currently over 70,000 volunteers nationwide assist with disaster relief.

A member of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention Disaster Relief team helps remove water from flood-damaged homes. Other team members brought supplies to assist with the flood relief. (Photo by Darryl J. Kelley, courtesy of ABSC Disaster Relief)

Arkansas Baptist State Convention Disaster Relief unit commander Jack Chandler said the team works closely with the Red Cross to feed residents, and provide hot showers and laundry services at the shelter. Several ABSC Disaster Relief teams helped remove damaged housing materials after the flood. Chandler said after the homes dry, the teams return to spray mold killer to help protect the homeowner.

ABSC Disaster Relief team member Steve Thomas said all team leaders train in specialized areas to help assist with the efforts. Other volunteers train in various areas, e.g. food safety, to best help the community hit by a natural disaster.

Harris said he received help from a variety of places. Cody Walker arrived with Reach out Worldwide, an organization started by his deceased brother, actor Paul Walker. Harris said the organization provided $18,000 in removal assistance. He said many others came to help him remove damaged furniture and housing materials.

“Everyone who has come to my house and helped me have been angels,” Harris said.

Jansen said Pocahontas officials, concerned with possible scammers taking advantage of residents, required all contractors to register with the city. The city compliance officer and Pocahontas police patrolled the area to ensure compliance.

Jansen said the city and county opted to not handle monetary donations. Instead, the Pocahontas Ministerial Alliance works with the Salvation Army to take donations. He said they placed a series of checks and balances to ensure residents receive all donations.

“I want to thank everyone who has helped from the bottom of my heart,” Jansen said.

Future Planning

The Corps of Engineers hired an engineer to study possible solutions to the Black River water problem. Jansen said all the water goes under the Black River Bridge, but the bridge cannot adequately handle the influx of water from floods of this type.

The engineer will present the findings of the study to the levee board, which will then determine the best course of action. No date has been set for the study completion.

Jansen said possible solutions include flood relief gates and restructuring the Black River Bridge. For flood relief gates to work properly, a dam would need to be constructed, continue through Lawrence County and cross three state highways. Jansen said such a project would require the acquisition of land and several overpasses to work properly, which is a large undertaking for a small county.

Jansen said his concern lies in funding such a project. He estimates the cost to be a minimum of $6 million and Randolph County does not possess the funds to cover such a project. He said he has contacted the county’s Congressional leadership for help.

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(Editor’s Note: The featured image at the top of the page shows soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard’s 87th Troop Command assisting Randolph County authorities with evacuation assistance in Pocahontas Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The soldiers were activated in response to flooding in the area from multiple rivers. (Courtesy of the Arkansas National Guard) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)