Feb. 29, 2008

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director

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"Smooth seas don't make for a skilled sailor."
~proverb

Last Friday the Legislature completed its historic 2008 Supplemental Session and it resulted in some positive outcomes for people who rely on us for health and human services. Particularly given the economic environment we face, I was pleased with the support we received from the Legislature.

New funding was invested in several important programs. The Legislature provided $500,000 for two primary health care demonstration projects, $275,000 to begin implementation of the Governor's wraparound initiative to improve mental health care for children, and $150,000 for an evaluation and assessment of community mental health in Oregon.

We also were given authority to reallocate some funds within our budget as part of our rebalance package. That reallocation will allow us to increase staffing and assist in our efforts improve patient care at the state hospital, to invest in community-based care facilities for seniors thereby increasing their availability, and to increase needed child welfare staffing, allowing us to retain 78 vital social service assistant positions.

As a part of our continued effort to ensure the availability of services for our clients, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1061 to support development of a comprehensive plan for Oregon's long-term care system for seniors and persons with physical disabilities to maintain community-based care options and minimize institutionalization.

Unfortunately, efforts to extend Oregon Health Plan enrollment for children from six to 12 months was not successful. This would have helped increase health care coverage for children, make enrollment easier for their families, and decrease our administrative work.

Lastly, it's important to remember that the majority of the program support I mentioned above was actually a reallocation of existing funds rather than new funding. For that reason it continues to be very important to focus on becoming more efficient and cost-effective at delivering services, which are abilities we will gain as we implement more Lean processes and Transformation Initiative recommendations. Indeed, some of our ability to reallocate funds was made possible by our good stewardship and management of resources.

It is clear however, that we cannot continue indefinitely to do more with the same amount of resources. Compounding that is the stark reality that the need for health and human services in this state is far greater than what is currently funded. Witness the hundreds of thousands of our children and neighbors who cannot afford basic health care.

So, as we continue to focus on improving the services we deliver, we also need to prepare for a better future by examining demographic trends, determining the levels and types of services that will be needed, and working with our partners and state leaders to enable us to deliver those services.

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This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.