December 26, 2017 • Page 8 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com HHS Highlights Office Of Civil Rights’ Ongoing Response To The Opioid Crisis The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today launched an array of new tools and initiatives in response to the opioid crisis, while implementing the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255). OCR continues its work to ensure that patients and their family members can get the information they need to prevent and address emergency situations, such as an opioid overdose or mental health crisis. At the same time, these tools and initiatives also fulfill requirements of the 21st Century Cures Act to ensure that the healthcare sector, researchers, patients, and their families understand how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects privacy and helps improve health and healthcare nationwide. “President Trump has mobilized the entire Administration to address America’s opioid crisis,” said Roger Severino, Director of OCR. “HHS is using every tool at its disposal to help communities devastated by opioids including educating families and doctors on how they can share information to help save the lives of loved ones.” Highlights of these actions include: • Two new HIPAA webpages focused on information related to mental and behavioral health, one for professionals and another for consumers. These webpages reorganize existing guidance to make it more user-friendly and provide a one-stop resource for our new guidance and materials. This guidance is an important step forward in clarifying the circumstances under which HIPAA permits a covered entity to disclose information to family members and caregivers. • New HIPAA guidance on sharing information related to mental health and substance use disorder treatment with a patient's family, friends and others involved in the patient's care or payment for care. The new information includes: a package of fact sheets; an infographic; decision charts, including materials specifically tailored to the parents of children who have a mental health condition; and scenarios that address sharing information when an individual experiences an opioid overdose. • New collaboration with partner agencies within HHS to identify and develop model programs and materials for training healthcare providers, patients, and their families regarding permitted uses and disclosures of the protected health information of patients seeking or undergoing mental health or substance use disorder treatment, and to develop a plan to finding the right job is easier than you think share the programs and materials with professionals and consumers. • Updated guidance on HIPAA and research, as called for in the Cures Act. • Launch of a working group to study and report on the uses and disclosures under HIPAA of protected health information for research purposes. The working group will include representatives from relevant federal agencies as well as researchers, patients, healthcare providers, and experts in healthcare privacy, security, and technology. The working group will release a report addressing whether uses and disclosures of PHI for research purposes should be modified to facilitate research while protecting individuals’ privacy rights. For additional information on HIPAA, visit: https://www.hhs.gov/ hipaa/ when you’ve got the right direction Stop searching. The Help Wanted section of the Missouri Valley Shopper lists many possible new job opportunities. Find a career that’s right for you. MV Shopper MV Shopper ********************************************* M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y Pathways Shelter for the Homeless Mission: To serve the immediate needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness within the Yankton area, while engaging partners in developing long-term solutions. The shelter was founded on the belief that everyone deserves a home. What we do: Pathways serves those in need of shelter within a 60-mile radius of Yankton. We stay within this geographical boundary because we are the only secular emergency shelter in this area. The closest shelters are in Sioux City, IA, Sioux Falls, SD and Norfolk, NE. If someone is seeking shelter and is from outside of this boundary, we do our best to connect them with resources in their location. In 2017, we served individuals and families from 13 surrounding counties. Pathways provides five major services, the first of which is temporary shelter. Individuals and families can stay with us for a period of two weeks to 30 days, depending on their situation. We can hold up to 50 individuals, depending on family size. For those who are without income and are able to work, we assist them in finding gainful employment. Typically, it takes less than two weeks for someone to find work. Once income is established, their stay is extended to 30 days, during which we assist in the search for housing. If someone comes to us and already has income, they automatically have 30 days to find housing. In 2017, the average stay has been 22.6 days. Everyone receives food, clothing, and all other necessities free of charge. They are also connected with community partners to work on basic skills, such as budgeting and financial management, cooking and nutrition, and job procurement. When individuals find housing, we assist with the moving process, as well as provide furniture and housing essentials at no cost. These items are received through donations from the community. Secondly, we offer Transitional Housing to individuals and families who have stayed with us for at least three weeks and have obtained employment. We have three units that can hold families of various sizes. Participants live in our Transitional Housing units for a period of three to six months while building positive rental habits. Habits we work on include paying rent and bills in a timely manner, properly maintaining a rental property, keeping a positive relationship with a landlord, and staying ahead of bills, rather than catching up. Lastly, we offer financial assistance through two separate grants from the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. The first is called the Emergency Solutions Grant, through which we provide two programs: Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing. Homeless Prevention enables us to pay due rent or utilities to prevent homelessness from occurring. Through Rapid Rehousing we can assist with first month’s rent, rental deposit and utility deposit. This allows the renter to be financially stable, rather than fall behind right away. The second grant provides us the opportunity to run the Security Deposit Assistance Program. These funds are allocated specifically for security deposits. All three of these programs have guidelines that have to be met in order to qualify for assistance. What’s new in 2017? 2017 has been an exciting year for Pathways. In January, we officially changed our name from “Yankton Homeless Shelter” to “Pathways Shelter for the Homeless”. As one can see from the description of our services, we provide much more than shelter. We wanted a name that reflected our mission to not only provide shelter, but to engage our partners in developing long-term solutions and break the cycle of homelessness in those we serve. We made some major changes to our facility at 412 E 4th Street. Through a grant received from Truxedo and the United Way we installed a fence along 4th Street and Pearl Street, installed exhaust fans in every bathroom, and established a playground for children who are staying with us. Through some Interested in this spot? certified public accountants Harry Lane, Electrical Contractor • Commercial • Residential • Farm Wiring • Prompt Service • Quality Work • Competitive Prices New Construction or Remodeling • Home 665-6612 very generous donors, we were able to make repairs to several of our shelter rooms. These repairs included new carpet and refinishing existing hardwood floors, painting the walls, and replacing the floor in the bathrooms. Through the generosity of Bob and Michelle Luken, we were able to begin offering a Transitional Housing program to Pathways’ clients in August. We are currently renting the property from the Lukens. We plan to purchase the property in the beginning months of 2018. We made several staffing changes in 2017. Our Case Manager position changed from part time to full time, enabling our staff to dedicate more resources to assist our clients in meeting their goals and serving as a hand-up, rather than a hand-out. We hired our first Events Coordinator to assist with donation drives, fundraising events and awareness campaigns. We also hired an additional Advocate to help fill the weekend shifts. Currently, Pathways has 8 paid employees, which is double the amount we employed just over one year ago. Community Support We often receive questions of what type of support we need from the community. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Pathways operates solely on grants and donations. Grants and donations are not guaranteed, and we having increasing budgetary needs each year. We appreciate the following types of donations. - Goods: Toiletries, food, towels, bedding, pillows, paper products, and laundry detergent are all items that we use on a daily basis. These are the most frequent items we receive as donations. Even with a generous community, there were several times in 2017 where we had to spend our operating dollars on these items. - Furniture and Household Items: We accept any gently used furniture and household items. These include (but are not limited to) couches, beds, chairs, INTERESTED IN THIS SPOT? Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. For Flooring with a Professional Touch Yankton Office 207 Douglas Avenue • PO to Call Yankton, SD 57078Box 1018 665-5884 605-665-4401 • Fax: 605-665-0592 place your ad here. 208 Walnut Street, Historic Downtown Yankton 605-665-2067 1000 Cattle Drive • Yankton, SD We l c o m e t o Ya n k t o n ! 1-800-759-5275 1000 Cattle Dr., Yankton, SD Fax: 605-665-8908 665-1665 Interested in this spot? Salute Our Guardians with the...665-5884 to Call place your ad here. Year-to-date statistics through November 2017 Shelter: 253 clients | 5,472 nights Transitional Housing: 9 clients|752 nights Homeless Prevention: 14 clients in 6 households | $4,466 spent Rapid Rehousing: 60 clients in 27 households | $19,404 spent Security Deposit Assistance Program: 75 clients in 31 households | $14,183 spent 605-665-3762 800-952-2424 2200 E. HWY. 50 YANKTON, SD 57078 www.missourivalleyshopper.com Yankton, SD • 605-665-3762 Freeman, SD • 605-925-4241 Wagner, SD • 605-384-4580 DAKOTA ArcHErY & OuTDOOr SpOrTS T rusTed F or G eneraTions 2901 Douglas Yankton, SD 57078-4841 DIRECTORS: 605-665-3644 Jim Wintz • Jerry Wintz Fax 605-665-3646 • Paul Wintz • Steve Wintz www.wintzrayfuneralhome.com 1-800-765-6213 kitchen tables, coffee tables, end tables, small kitchen appliances (toasters, microwaves, coffee pots), kitchen supplies (cutlery, dishes, drinking glasses). - Monetary: We accept any cash donations or monthly direct deposits from individuals, businesses and organizations. People often inquire about what it costs to operate our facility. The following list will provide a glimpse into our monthly operating expenses: o Utilities: $1,330 o Phone, Internet, Fax: $300 o Food: $550 o Payroll and Unemployment Taxes: $12,500 o Client Support: $3,048 o Shelter Supplies: $1,000 o Insurance: $916 o Maintenance/Repair: $1,120 On average, it costs approximately $21,000 per month to provide these programs to those in need. Gifts towards our operating expenses are accepted at any time, and we can accommodate any payment method. Electronic donations are completed through our website at www.yanktonpathways.org. Cash or checks can be sent to 412 E 4th St, Yankton, SD 57078. Yankton and surrounding communities were very generous with donations of goods and services in 2017. We hope that support continues in 2018. 605-665-8340 www.missourivalleyshopper.com 2305 E. Hwy. 50 • Yankton 2507 Fox Run Parkway Yankton, SD 57078 • (605) 665-8073 www.firstchiropracticcenter.com Open every night ‘till 9:00 p.m. www.missourivalleyshopper.com M.T. & R.C. Smith Insurance, Inc. 204 West 4th • PO Box 1077 Yankton, SD • 605-665-3611 Toll Free: 1-888-665-3611 www.missourivalleyshopper.com Fax: 605-665-2560 Visit our Web site at www.missourivalleyshopper.com 2100 BROADWAY • YANKTON, SD 605-665-3412 PHARMACY: 665-8261 • FLORAL: 665-0662 Visit our Web site at www.missourivalleyshopper.com