It started out with one woman, one child and a farmhouse in 1961.
With the mission of serving those with developmental disabilities, an organization sprung from those meager beginnings to serve 1,500 people in 20 Ohio counties with group homes, a children’s center, small community-based homes, a foster home, private-duty home care, respite and vocational programs with an operating budget of $40 million.
“We’ve become very diverse in our service offerings, really listening a lot to what the individuals themselves say and what the family members need,” says Dennis Allen, CEO of Hattie Larlham.
Among the many ways Hattie Larlham provides for those with developmental disabilities is a 130-bed, long-term care facility in Mantua that serves children and young adults who have profound cognitive disabilities and complex medical conditions. In some cases, Allen says, these are children and adults who only know the long-term, 24/7 care that involves a lot of medical and therapy services.
Today, new community based regulations implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services require Hattie Larlham to reorganize that portion of its housing efforts, which will be no small challenge.
The new regulations set restrictions on large group homes in favor of more community-based settings. The rule change will require Hattie Larlham to significantly downsize facilities that meet the newly crafted definition of an institutional facility.
“That’s going to be a significant challenge for us over the next several years to downsize and look at how people currently in a large facility adjust to small home living and community-based living,” Allen says.
Shift in philosophy
The change represents a shift in philosophy on the part of state and federal governments saying that a person can live a very happy and successful life in a smaller setting, which could be a six- or eight-person group home in a community. That, Allen says, is something that is significantly smaller than what they experience today.
“I think, particularly on the community-based side of things, there are a lot of people with developmental disabilities who can benefit from that,” Allen says of the shift. “I personally and professionally feel that we need some more discussion about folks with profound disabilities that we serve and how they can perhaps benefit in the community.”
The timelines to begin implementing the changes are short. That has necessitated Hattie Larlham to begin its annual planning process six months earlier this year to determine how the organization can make the adjustments effectively and in a good cost fashion.
“We’re really going to have to look at how we modify a lot of our services to be in compliance with the new regulations,” Allen says. “That’s going to be a change in service. That’s going to be a change in reimbursement. It’s going to be a change in a variety of things, and really looking at how we provide our services and how we provide them now that we have to be in compliance with new regulations. That’s a concern. We have some very good executives, very good administrators, good managers who are going to be focusing in on that.”
Not just growth
By 1963, Hattie Larlham had gained a reputation for caring for children with disabilities and had 100 children on a waiting list who sought care from her in her three-bedroom farmhouse. To better accommodate them, she established the Hattie Larlham Foundation, which funded the construction of a facility capable of housing 50 people. Embodying its founding principles, the organization today has taken steps to expand its reach.
Late this past year, a merger was announced between Hattie Larlham and the Association for the Developmentally Disabled.
Strategically, Allen says, the merger gives Hattie Larlham a presence in Central Ohio that it didn’t have before. It puts a part of the organization in Columbus that allows it to open up a new market area. It also gives the organization a greater opportunity to work with some of the county boards of developmental disabilities, particularly Franklin County. The organization will examine the services of ADD and its own services to see how each complement the other.
“I think there’s an opportunity to expand our services, to grow our services and to reach out with our quality measurements and evaluate what ADD is providing to see how we can improve the services down there as well,” Allen says.
“It’s not just growth, it’s not just a budget item, but there are ways we can expand our services and reach more people and improve their lives as we have really strived to do through our mission.” ●
How to reach: Hattie Larlham, (800) 233-8611 or www.hattielarlham.org
