September 2023 Newsletter
Fall is near!
With Great Respect, we pay tribute to the creation of our nation’s strength, freedom and leadership....the American Workers!!!
Passion is the difference between having a job and having a career!
Back to school time for our kids!
And ....We are getting much closer to Fall! WOOHOOO!
Upcoming September Holiday
DiagnosTEX will be closed on Labor Day, Monday September 5. Please consider this when scheduling your studies. We will operate Tuesday – Friday that week. This Labor Day, we would like to give a shout out to our office staff, SLP’s, Techs, and MDs. Thank you for all you do and the quality in which you do it! The road to success is through commitment. Thank you for your commitment to DiagnosTEX, our customers and our patients by continuing to provide the care needed to those who needed us and doing it with their best interest at heart! The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today! If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of iitself! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed people can make a difference in the world and their community! Thankful for our dedicated teams at DiagnosTEX!
To care is human, to serve is heart!
Sunnye Thompson, David Branch, Kelly Sullivan, Manuel Carrillo, Roy Turner, Ashley Stone Kelli Mikkelson, Augie Falbo, Charlotte Rice, Nicole Kindred, Grady Murphy, Katie Dusold, Mason Jones, Bobby Williams, Bea Wright, Rebecca Morrison, Charles Railsback, Angel Negron, Steve Morrell, Jason East Ronda Polansky, Pam Ragland
Tarrant County leads state in Alzheimer’s case numbers
Texas Department of State Health Services found 23% of the state’s Alzheimer’s care recipients are in Tarrant County — the highest among the 254 counties. Write to your member of Congress about how dementia has impacted your life and how streamlined dementia care would help! Join the fight against Alzheimer's and help to raise awareness and funds for care, support, and research in our local community by participating in the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's®, September 9th in Weatherford, and September 30th in Grapevine!
AMPCARE CE LIVE IN FORT WORTH!!!!! Don’t miss it!
Deciphering Dysphagia with Ampcare’s ESPTM (Effective Swallowing Protocol) The Most Comprehensive FDA-Cleared Treatment for Dysphagia • Learn the Latest Assessment Techniques • Accelerate Recovery by Combining Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation with Resistive Exercise • Do More in 30 Minutes • Earn 0.8 ASHA CEUs
Live, In-Person on Friday, September 15, 2023 from 8am-5pm
Course location: Tech Fort Worth 1120 South Freeway Suite 107 Fort Worth, TX 76104 (682) 561-2444
If attending a Live session does not work for you: check out Deciphering Dysphagia with Ampcare’s ESPTM (Effective Swallowing Protocol) On-Demand + Zoom Webinar on Tuesday & Wednesday, September 12-13, 2023 4-6 pm CT (5-7 pm ET) *8 Hours Advanced ASHA CE. To register online go to: https://swallowtherapy.com/product/webinar-course/
DiagnosTEX will have a booth at the Hurst Convention Center for the 13th annual Empowering Seniors!
It is a FREE EVENT for Caregivers, Boomers and Seniors! This will be on September 28, 2023 between 8:30-1:30pm. Register to attend at www.empoweringseniors.com.
United Health Care, Humana, Wellmed
As you may have heard in the news, United Health is currently being sued by the US labor Department over thousands of claim denials, as they did not reference plan provisions or provide a description and explanation of the failed claim, as the lawsuit claims. We currently no longer take Humana patients on the mobile clinic due to the ongoing claim denials by Humana for the mobile site, but have been seeing Humana patients in the office with successful claim submissions. Since this issue started, we have had over 118 patients and/or facilities pay out of pocket for us to do their studies on the mobile unit since Humana is not. Ironically, this month United HealthCare and Humana, two of the nation's largest for-profit managed care companies, have agreed to a $5.5 billion merger. As with the UHC suit, all Medicare Advantage Plans (MAP) must reference plan provisions or provide a description and explanation of the failed claim, which they have not been doing. Medicare is still paying for this mobile service and paying MAPs for this service AND by law all MAPs must follow all Medicare guidelines. Which they are not. We will be meeting with Representative Stephanie Klick who is a native Texan and grew up in House District 91. We have also reached out to US Congressmember, Kay Granger. She is a member of the House of Representatives and chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for all federal discretionary spending, not excluding Labor, Health and Human Services. Every patient deserves proper healthcare that they pay for and MCP should be living up to the Medicare rules and regulations.
Check out the latest Communicologist article by one of our local SLP’s, Carmen Vitton!
Business Management Corner: What Is Your Appetite for Risk? By: Carmen Vitton, MS, CCC-SLP, TSHA Business Management Committee Member. Do you know how hungry your organization is for identification of or tolerance for risk? Read more at https://www.txsha.org/Education/Communicologist/Communicologist-Issues