For most of Michele’s life she did not feel blessed. She grew up in a strict, abusive household and turned to alcohol and drugs at an early age to cope. But today Michele feels very blessed thanks to people who believe in her and her own strong will to stay sober and continue to work on her health. The photo of her as a young girl on a seesaw and the “Blessed” wall art remind her that she has people in her life who care about her. The photo was given to her by her stepmother, who is still in her life when so many others are not. A nurse at the nursing home gave Michele the “Blessed” wall art as a housewarming gift. It helps calm her constantly racing negative thoughts. Her daily routine also includes scripture study and a cognitive behavioral therapy exercise asking 4 questions: 1) What are some positive thoughts? 2) What can I do? 3) What’s going right? and 4) What am I grateful for?
Other supports Michele uses to maintain her stability are having a nurse oversee her medications seven days a week, using an alarmed
medication box to remind her when to take her pills; going to the gym five days a week with her Recovery Assistant (RA) from the Mental Health Waiver; and staying connected to support groups for her alcohol and drug addiction. This is the picture of where Michele is today, but life held her low on that seesaw for a very long time.
Michele lost her ability to walk due to diabetes and alcohol affecting her nervous system as well as her mind. She was diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia and bipolar disorder. She then ended up in a nursing home for five years. Her father was her conservator at the time and told her she would never get out of the nursing home. Michele suffered many losses in her life stemming from her addictions including divorce, two estranged daughters, her home, and her nursing license. She had worked so hard to become the salutatorian of her class when earning her Licensed Practical Nursing degree, only to lose her job and license when she stole narcotics to feed her addiction. She tried Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), but finally hit rock bottom when she couldn’t walk. She doesn’t even remember her first year in the nursing home. People told her, “You’re lucky to be alive!”
Life began to change for the better when a nursing home social worker referred her to Money Follows the Person (MFP). Michele made a conscious choice to live a more independent, healthier life. These changes lead to her transitioning out of the nursing home into a comfortable apartment with support from the Mental Health Waiver. She knew she needed to be stronger to live in the community and worked with the physical therapists at the nursing home who “didn’t give up on me.” Then she asked to be conserved by the State instead of her father. Her new conservator knew of an apartment, and Michele was ultimately able to move with the help of her MFP Housing Coordinator. The MFP Transition Coordinator helped Michele furnish her apartment and shop for food initially. Now she shops with her RAs or online. She credits her wonderful RAs, her AA sponsor, and her church family as part of her strong support system. She has been sober for six years now. Although it is still a daily struggle, she feels the challenges and losses she faced have made her a stronger person.
Read the CT Money Follows the Person Quarterly Report
MFP Demonstration Background
The Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration, created by Section 6071 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, supports States’ efforts to “rebalance” their long-term support systems, so that individuals can choose where to live and receive services. One of the major objectives of Money Follows the Person (MFP) is “to increase the use of home and community based, rather than institutional, long-term care services.” MFP supports this by offering grantee States an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage on qualified services. MFP also offers states the flexibility to provide supplemental services, such as assistive technology and enhanced transition services, to assist in successful transitions. States are then expected to reinvest the savings over the cost of institutional services to rebalance their long-term services and supports for older adults and people with disabilities to a community based orientation.