Hi, All!
Those of you who already know me are aware that I am more
comfortable in small group settings where information is being actively
discussed verbally… so this form of communication is a stretch for me…
blogging. I have had to learn to stretch much in my life as has many of
you, too… and each stretch has its time of pain and relief. Pain in
the act of learning how to do it and relief that perhaps I will not only live
through it but actually find something of value to take away to help my family
and others and hopefully personally grow into that person I always wanted to be
when I grow up…;)! Therefore, with that said, I will be sharing in this
venue as though I am visiting with you all in a small group to encourage
dialogue so we can all learn together! One of the HUGE advantages I find
in this venue is that whatever your schedule, you can access and be part of the
conversation...
Now, talking about VERY serious topics that affect lives so
directly is vital to finding real world solutions; however, I have also learned
from my middle daughter, Cassie, just how VITAL humor is to life, too… so
I am taking a life stretch lesson from her and hoping you all will allow me
this license to suggest we create our own version of a traditional arcade-style
game to help us work through our frustrations while we learn together as well…
and just maybe a better real world solution will emerge… (Okay, I admit it
freely, I have often been accused of being a dreamer… but we all know,
too, what is needed is also possible…if we work together throughout the
system!)
So…
Have you ever played Whack-a-Mole? You know, the
arcade-style game where a mole suddenly appears and you have a soft mallet that
you hit it to score points… the game increases in speed as you progress through
the levels until the moles appear so frequently and randomly you cannot predict
where they will appear or react fast enough when they pop up…and then soon
after, the GAME OVER sign appears… and your tickets earned spit out of the
meter for you to go redeem at the prize counter and it usually takes a LOT of
tickets to get the item you actually want when you get to the counter?
Yeah, that is the one I am talking about…;)!!
Traditional Whack-a-Mole Arcade Game
picture source is http://www.arcadeamusements.com/products.cfm?n=products&id=154
I mention this game because at first glance we feel we are
caught in this type of arcade-style life where the holes in the ground are the various
funding streams, service definitions, operational functions, etc and the moles
are the various items that seemingly pop up all of a sudden and are all
“urgent” in some way or another requiring our immediate attention, input,
advocacy. It is so hard to keep up with what is happening in the URGENT
file (the moles appearing quickly on the screen) much less to delve into
understanding where it is coming from or what is causing them to pop-up in the
first place (ongoing systemic issues that require deeper investigation along
with committed effort and resources to address).
Crystal with help of others has provided this site with
extensive information that shows the moles on the screen in the “Urgent” file
and additional in-depth sourcing information that gives a view into the tunnel
to understand why. I applaud this approach to allow ANYONE interested to
participate at whatever level desired.
So, let’s play a round of Whack-a-Mole together… shall we?!
For today, I select the Medicaid funding channel and the current “Urgent”
mole is the imminent change at the end of this month from CAP-MRDD plan to the
CAP-IDD Plan. This does not affect those who are currently being served
through NC Innovations Waiver. See the CAP-IDD Decision Flowchart below:
Please share your thoughts, and also let us know which
“mole” should we take a whack at understanding better at our next blog time
together? (Be aware that just like the game, we often have a “mole”
appear in the same place many times usually for different aspect of that topic
that needs dealing with at that moment)…
To all those who know that “Game Over” can truly be a life
and death matter for those we love and does reflect the overall health of a
community, too! ~ Anna
