Susan and Jay's Rescue Fund

IN SUMMARY

Susan, and her severely-disabled, adult son, Jay, moved from Westchester County to Dutchess County in January 2021, and due to a breakdown in the Health Care Systems, emergency funding is needed immediately!

They are now in desperate need of our help to pay for their medical and living expenses.  Susan is experiencing immense stress, as she is the mother to Jay, and his sole caregiver.  But Susan is staying hopeful and trusting in the Lord.

This emergency funding is to pay for their rent, fuel, propane, gas, and other basic necessities, such as pull ups, wipes, and out-of-pocket medical expenses until Jay's mom, Susan, can be reinstated to her job as Jay's health aide, and give them a little nest egg for emergencies.  Susan has no health insurance now because of the breakdown in coverage.

 

Please watch their video or read their story below.

At this time, it is unknown when this all will be rectified, since it involves the court to determine why Jay's Medicaid funding was never transferred properly since the move.

 

They are in urgent need of our help. Thank you all for your kindness, generosity and prayers.  God bless you!

Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

 

 

 

THEIR STORY

Jay was born healthy in 1985, and at 2-1/2 years old, he was reading and spelling at a 3rd grade level. He was injured at 2-1/2 years old, from an immunization, a DPT shot, resulting in 20 seizures a day, and it was uncontrolled by medications, causing him to lose his ability to read, walk, toilet himself and speak. His father was unable to cope, and we divorced in 1994.

In 1995, I went to chiropractic school, and his father agreed to take care of Jay in the house, until I graduated. However, while away at school, he moved in with his girlfriend and put Jay in an institution and foreclosed on our house. I petitioned the court for my son, however, they made me wait until graduation before giving custody back.

 

I was able to get my son out of the institution. In the spring of 2000, I was awarded custody of my son, and we lived with my parents until we could find a place to live, and employment. Jay hadn’t seen or heard from his father since September 2001. We lived in West Harrison from February 2006 until January of 2021. I had a small, home office and I took care of my son. He went to a day program from 9am – 3pm every day, His services were provided through the Medicaid Waiver Program. 56 hours per week were awarded for personal home health care hours.

 

For 12 years I had a wonderful personal care assistant who took care of Jay, while I worked as a chiropractor in my home office. She took care of his personal needs, which included bathing, cooking cleaning and laundry, dental care, and going with me to most of his medical appointments. Accent care of Westchester was the agency that provided his personal care hours. Jay had a lady who was with us for almost 12 years until she retired. After she retired, I tried to get people to replace her, but after four attempts to train someone, we couldn’t find anyone to help with my son who was actually willing to accept the job for $13. per hour because it was a lot of work.

 

I juggled everything by myself, trying to take care of Jay and continue to work from home as a chiropractor.

however, after two years, and it became too for me to handle both my job as a chiropractor, and taking care of Jay, my own health started to decline. At that time, he was attending a day program from 9-3 pm daily,

They started to complain & send him home on many occasions stating that Jay wasn’t strong enough to participate in the program since he was often out due to seizure activity, and he was medically fragile. When he did attend the program, he needed to take frequent naps throughout the day. They could not bill the state for a full day at program if he was sleeping. So, in Dec. 2018, I decided to take the job as Jay’s home health care assistant and retire from my chiropractic career to care for him.

 

January 1st, 2021, I moved from Westchester County to Dutchess County to be close to my family and my mother. I called all the appropriate agencies, social security, social services, and Medicare, to transfer Jay’s services from Westchester to Dutchess County,

February 2021, I was told by my son’s Pharmacist, that his medical coverage was suddenly dropped by Westchester County Medicaid, and this would affect his seizure medications that month.

 

Dutchess County had failed to pick up the case due to Covid, many people were working from Home.

I called supervisors of Westchester; two supervisors from Westchester social services intervened.

Westchester social services agreed to continue his Medicaid coverage until Dutchess County could pick up his case. However, again in April 2021, the same thing occurred I was notified Westchester had dropped his medical coverage, and Dutchess had not picked up his case.

 

Westchester agreed to continue paying for all his Medicaid coverage and Home Health care hours.

Since Dutchess still had not picked up his case. I spent many hours on the phone trying to get through to people, and agencies, however, no one was returning my calls or my emails on behalf of my son, I left many messages & emails for supervisors for SSI, Medicaid, Social Services, and Social Security.

 

June 1st, the same situation occurred, his meds & medical coverage were dropped suddenly, no medical coverage for Jay. Finally, after pleading with a receptionist to find a supervisor that I could speak with,

A Medicaid supervisor from Dutchess was able to finally transfer his case & make it retroactive as of June 1st. I had mentioned to her at the end of our call that my son had home health care hours & I needed a state mandated form for his services to continued.

I told her I had called many different divisions of Medicaid, including an SSI specialist, social services & no one knew about this form.

The supervisor stated she would investigate the form needed and get back to me.

 

I received a letter dated 6-25-21 stating his case had transferred, I thought the transfer was, completed & yet His HOME care hours were not part of the transfer.

Although the process was done, it was incomplete. Apparently, there are many divisions of Medicaid, and they all must be notified.

 

I received a call from a supervisor of Accent Care she handles both Westchester & Dutchess county offices.) on Dec. 17th, she was stating they failed to transfer his home health care hours from Westchester to Dutchess, and that I owed them my entire salary since June 1st, 2021.

Dec. 17th, Accent Care of Westchester called, and I was notified that I lost my job, my salary, and my insurance coverage had ended due to the improper transfer.

 

They had all ended suddenly and now they are insisting that I owe them retrograde my entire salary as of June 1st, 2021. My salary was approx. $550 per week, my rent is $2000 per month.

I contacted an SSI lawyer who said this is a common occurrence, yet it left me with the inability to keep a roof over my son’s head. Two days after losing my job, I ran out of fuel oil and I had no heat for two days, and it was $900 to refill the tank, which I am told will not even last 2 months during the winter.

 

I have contacted Dutchess County, office of the aging, spoke to a supervisor and they are in the progress of trying to send a nurse here. However, I had to get a recent physical within 30 days which was completed on December 30th, and the paperwork was not yet completed.

Dutchess County sent it back, to the doctors to complete the paperwork.

 

At this point, I am waiting for a nurse to come to our home to reinstate Jay’s home health care hours. However, now I am told that I must find an agency so that I can apply for the job again, to get his heath care hours. Accent care has an agency in both Westchester and Dutchess County, so I originally thought the transition would be simple (if we kept the same agency) and transfer the case, between counties.

 

In fact, prior to the move, I called December of 2020, informing Accent Care of my soon approaching move to Dutchess.

Accent Care of Westchester has been paying my salary because when they called for eligibility each month, it showed that Jay was still eligible for these services.

So now, I am not sure what agency I can get to take this case and pay for Jays 56 hours per week of personal care. I am not sure how long it will take.

 

I have rent & bills to pay to keep a roof over my son’s head.

 

It is now January 20th, 2022, no one has made

any progress on my son’s behalf to find out about the money owed and who is responsible for payment from Dutchess to Westchester for his personal care hours since June 1st.

 

I really need help to reinstate Jay's hours, and my salary, to take care of the bills & rent.

Thank you for your help. God bless you!

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Susan Seven-Sky

255 Old Pawling Road

Pawling, NY 12564