STAC Report

The Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee struggles for representation

By Allison Donald

The Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC) met for its first official meeting of 2020.  As a committee we continue to work to assist MATA in identifying issues that negatively impact the customer experience.  This year we are pushing for a dedicated funding to improve public transportation as a whole.  In addition, STAC is continuing to offer suggestions to improve MATAplus service and calling for more accountability on the MATAplus side.

Mr. Amos the ADA Compliance Officer for MATA mentioned that the lack of a dedicated funding source continues to hurt the frequency and quality service MATAplus provides.  Bobbie Fields STAC co-chair and Mr. Amos, suggested that we start a letter writing campaign to keep the conversation of securing dedicated funding going.  As a committee we are pushing toward public transit that is adequate and inclusive of all.

“If Memphis wants to thrive we must invest in public transit,” said Allison Donald STAC secretary, “and Memphians living with disabilities must be included in shaping that vision.”

STAC continues to push for improvements with the current service.  Stephen Tennial, the interim chair, supports the idea of extra vehicles being rolled out at the beginning of the month which would be dedicated to those individuals working or going to school. STAC also would like to do a survey of MATAplus that would take a look at the rider’s experience.  Both suggestions were just a beginning to finding possible solutions for the ongoing issues with the area paratransit service. 

“If we (MATA) were to do as suggested,” said Anthony Amos, “that would be ride prioritization.”

Mr. Amos pointed out that representatives from the FTA recently visited reviewed the policies and procedures and found MATA not in violation of the ADA.  The members of STAC called into question the “30 minute window rule” and whether MATA was stretching the interpretation in order to maintain high on time performance numbers.

The most contentious part of the meeting occurred when STAC asked for the policies and procedures that govern the day-to-day operations of MATAplus. 

Anthony Amos expressed frustration about the course STAC has taken.  He suggested that the committee is stagnant and no longer is representative of the community of riders.  As a result Mr. Amos wants to postpone the March meeting.  He stated he would like to pick the time, place, and community representatives who will be attending the next meeting.

There has not been a date set for the next STAC meeting.  When we are notified we will be sure to get it out to the community.

MATA corrects 30-minute window mistake

MACCD Transportation Summit highlights correct information about MATAplus

At the Memphis Advisory Council for Citizens with Disabilities Transportation Summit, MATA announced that the thirty-minute window follows the scheduled pick-up time. Anthony Amos of MATA referred to the new Rider’s Guide that is online that corrects the previous misinformation that there was a thirty-minute window before and a thirty-minute window after the scheduled time.

The Memphis Center for Independent Living had noted that the misinformation in the previous Rider’s Guide was confusing and preventing people with disabilities from understanding and using the system. This past December, MCIL had a blog article about the misinformation in the Rider’s Guide. Read Stephen Tennial’s piece: https://mciljournal.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-mata-30-minute-window.html

Now the guide reads:

Customers must be ready to depart at any time during the thirty (30) minute window which starts after your scheduled pick up time.

The MACCD event at the Memphis Public Library was lightly attended and began with a presentation from MATA and included Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris pitching for MACCD to support a $10,000,000.00 County investment in public transportation. There were a dozen people at the event that was set up for about 120 people. The sponsors of the event did not seem to attend and there were no vendors.
MATA began a new functional certification method last year. Mr. Amos said that they are also using the functional assessment for recertifications but hope that they will not face a wave of certifications at their paratransit assessment center. He said that at one point, MATA had nine-thousand people certified for MATAplus.

Social Security Launches New Campaign to Fight Scammers

News Release SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Administration launched a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign to continue warning people about the ongoing nationwide telephone impersonation scheme.  The PSAs feature a message from Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul.  Social Security and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continue to receive reports about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees.  The scammers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments for help with purported identity theft, or to avoid arrest for bogus Social Security number problems.
 

“I want every American to know that if a suspicious caller states there is a problem with their Social Security number or account, they should hang up and never give the caller money or personal information.  People should then go online to oig.ssa.gov to report the scam call to Social Security,” said Commissioner Saul.

People should also be on the lookout for a new version of this scam.  Fraudsters are now emailing fake documents in attempts to get people to comply with their demands.  Victims have received emails with attached letters and reports that appear to be from Social Security or the OIG.  The letters may use official letterhead and government jargon to convince victims they are legitimate; they may also contain misspellings and grammar mistakes.

The new PSA addressing the telephone impersonation scheme is available online at: www.youtube.com/socialsecurity
 
Social Security employees do occasionally contact people--generally those who have ongoing business with the agency--by telephone for business purposes.  However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person, or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.  In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should just hang up.

Generally, the agency mainly calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, someone who is already receiving payments and requires an update to their record, or a person who has requested a phone call from the agency.  If a person is not in one of these situations, they normally would not receive a call from the agency.

Social Security will not:

• Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended.
• Contact you to demand an immediate payment.
• Ask you for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a prepaid debit card, a retail gift card, or cash.
• Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.
• Promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.
  

If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail a letter.  If a person needs to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options.  People should never provide information or payment over the phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.

Victory for Caregivers

New law expands the right to information

By Christina Clift
On June 6, 2019 A new state regulation went into effect that aims to help Tennessee's hospitals to integrate family caregivers into their loved ones’ medical records.  This only makes sense, since according to The Tennessee AARP, sixty percent of Tennesseans 45 and older are currently providing unpaid care for a loved one.  That’s nearly one million people that are caregivers for a family member. 

The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable, or CARE, Act requires hospitals to inform family caregivers when their loved ones have been discharged from the hospital.

“The CARE Act is designed to improve communication and coordination between medical facilities and caregivers,” said Kim Daugherty, Executive Director of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South, “and is a step forward for improving healthcare in our state.”

In 2015, a telephone survey found more than 80 percent of registered voters in the state, age 45 and older, supported the CARE Act. In addition to household chores, family caregivers increasingly are performing medical and nursing tasks, such as managing multiple medications, administering injections and using special equipment. 

But despite that, these family caregivers were not kept informed on changes in their loved ones care by hospital staff.  This legislation removes barriers and facilitates communication by mandating that all Tennessee hospitals must comply with a patient's wish to give updates about their healthcare to designated individuals.

The Tennessee AARP, the state Department of Health and the Hospital Association of Tennessee worked to craft the regulation.  Similar CARE Act provisions have either been adopted or are under consideration in 40 states.  The CARE act provides for:

    The name of the family caregiver to be documented in a patient’s medical record upon being admitted to a hospital.

    The family caregiver is notified when a loved one is to be discharged to another facility or returning home.

    The facility must provide an explanation and live instruction of the medical tasks that need to be done for that patient.

With the passage of the CARE Act, caregivers will be more informed on how they can help their loved one and know when and where they are being discharged.  The enactment of this regulation puts even more control in the patients hands and gives them a stronger voice on who is involved with their care.