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CareStar, Inc. (CareStar) is a private, Ohio-based healthcare corporation which provides home and community-based case management services in government, agency and residential operations.[1] CareStar is the contracted case management administrator of the Ohio Home Care Program and HOME Choice through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).[2] CareStar spends about $2 million a year on health benefits for more than 300 employees and their families.[3] Based on Better Business Bureau (BBB) files comparing multiple criteria in several categories, CareStar has a BBB Rating of A+ on a scale from A+ to F.[4]

History

CareStar has provided case management services since 1988 in various mid-western states, predominantly in Ohio and Indiana. In 2004, CareStar signed a five-year, $140 million contract with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to provide case management services for its medicaid waiver homecare program. The contract had been renewed multiple times, most recently on June 4, 2009 when it was extended through June, 2011.[5] In a news release, CareStar said it will become the sole statewide provider of home health case management services, overseeing about 11,000 consumers. Starting in 2016, it will just be 1 of 2 choices for the oversight of the Ohio Waiver program under the auspices of Jobs & Family Services. It also will manage a network of more than 6,500 care providers.[6] This number will change with the choice of oversight companies in 2016. Carestar also found the need to subcontract the monitoring & investigating of both personnel and client/patient incidences. This investigative branch, for the most part, finds it unnecessary to contact all involved in an incident, the excluded party frequently being the client/patient. The Indiana Home and Hospice Care Foundation is partnered with CareStar Learning (CareStar business venture which offers continuing education for providers) to provide the online testing for its Caregiver Train-the-Trainer program.[7]

Ohio Carestar also has a home modifications division, where a client's home is made more accessible and safer, or so their governing material reads. They only permit limited companies to bid on jobs. What should be called into question is what qualifications are the definitive of whom may bid or not. The qualification of holding a Journeyman's card in the needed profession is NOT one of their guidelines, nor is it required to have a Journeyman in said industry being used to check work done, a mandatory qualification. (This flies in the face- is in complete opposition to Carestar's written & stated goals of client/patient safety published on their internet site & in paperwork that Carestar requires their employees to furnish, yearly, to their client/patient). When sub-quality work is brought to their attention, nothing is done about rectifying the situations such as: for a woman who was 5' 2" tall, requiring a walker for balance issues, installing the top rod of a closet that was for her use alone at 7 ft. tall; putting a cap on a plumbing area, that if not been caught by a Journeyman plumber (brought in by client/patient), it would have resulted in sewage backing into the client/patient's home; or covering with drywall 2 (two) of the major air intake ducts, causing the heat/air pump to freeze, having 2" of ice on both sides of a more expensive filter, used due to client/patient's asthma, & 2" of ice surrounding pipes leading to unit (during a heat wave, where air conditioning was necessary for health reasons.

Additionally, permits for work were never gotten by 2 contractors (of which I know, I'm sure it is much more widespread than that.) In order to even get a supervisor in that department, the client/patient finally called the Senator in charge of the Jobs & Family Services budget (under who's jurisdiction these mistakes would fall) & the client/patient's Senator, after trying multiple times to go through company endorsed channels. It was ONLY after the Senators called the supervisor's office that the client/patient received a call, though the Supervisor still did nothing to correct any of the problems, instead, addressed the client/patient with some pretty salty language. Additionally, the papers on decisions, required for everything else, which allows a client/patient to appeal, were never used; the client/patient received "investigation & matter closed" paperwork instead, even though no legal craftsman looked at the problems. The supervisor expected the client/patient (the person who is receiving, or should be receiving if Carestar would fill the hours available to that client/patient) to gather the proof that no permit was taken out for the work-the very job (or part of the job) for which this Supervisor was being paid. The lack of paperwork made it impossible for client/patient to file an appeal. Could it be because when client/patient was forced into appeal before (Carestar cut the hours of her home health aide just as client/patient was returning home after major emergency surgery) and Carestar lost the appeal made, for more than a single reason!

Currently, the ramp installed by a Company chosen by Carestar, has broken, the legs not set on concrete plugs, as industry standards dictate, it is felt by company manufacturing this product that their design precludes the necessity of cement stands for ramp legs to be anchored, in spite of being told how the area in which the ramp encompasses is NOT uniformly damp, in fact, quite the opposite. So, less than a year later, 1side of stand has sunk from height of about 13 inches off of the ground to about 2 inches above the ground, which in turn caused the center railing to break. If unable to stop when using a wheelchair, at worst could decapitate her, or at least do her great bodily harm-the bodily harm happening not only with use of wheelchair, but by any means of conveyance. This also leaves the client/patient opened to lawsuits, anyone traversing the broken ramp could be injured. The Carestar sanctioned ramp installer/seller did NOT include the 2 (two) gates agreed upon, to be installed at both sidewalk & porch levels. Currently, EVERYONE wanting entry to the home must use the ramp (huge inconvenience for those doing the groceries carry-in) and the porch has NO ENTRANCE, making it unusable, not to mention the inability to wash the outside living room windows. All parties were notified of subpar work; the response to THAT notification was included in the "case closed" letter. (Which leaves this writer questioning who does the fact checking & verifications for the BBB, if Carestar is able to get away with these things?

CareStar is an ongoing sponsor of the Ms. Wheel Chair USA Competition, an event which supports greater independence for those challenged with disabilities.[8] On June 6, 2011 CareStar was recognized for its contributing role in the national award presented by the U.S. Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Medicaid Fraud Policy and Oversight Division, within the Department of Health and Human Services. The award, given annually, honors various contributions in the prevention of Medicaid fraud and this year's winner of the State Medicaid Fraud Control Award for federal fiscal year 2010 was awarded to Ohio’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). This award was created to highlight significant successes in the investigation and recovery of fraudulently obtained Medicaid dollars which totalled $103.8 according to Ohio's Attorney General Mike DeWine.[9] Attorney General DeWine and select members of his staff attended the OIG Awards Ceremony on June 6, 2011 in Washington, D.C. in order to accept the award on behalf of all Ohio MCFU partners.[10]

CareStar case managers and the Ohio HOME Choice program's providers aim to identify individuals who need person-centered assistance moving into settings that are more suitable to their preferences and needs. Their service provision is designed to help individuals move from qualified institutional setting into their communities by understanding individuals' needs, preferences and barriers to Ohio's long-term care (LTC) system.[11] The following HOME Choice News Bulletins feature success stories written by CareStar employees:

- Summer 2012[12]
- Winter 2013[13]
- Spring 2013[14]

In the Fall 2011 Issue of the Ohio HOME Choice Newsletter, CareStar received special recognition as a contributor to the Ohio HOME Choice program and continuing its mission to better serve those in need of housing in the State of Ohio.[15]

In August 2011, CareStar was officially nominated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Cincinnati, Ohio as a finalist in the annual presentation of the Torch Award. The Torch Award is a yearly award given to its member companies who act and work in an ethical manner throughout their entire operation. CareStar is one of 11 companies to be nominated in 2011 and the winners will be announced in October 2011.[16]

References

  1. ^ My Ohiohcp
  2. ^ Connect Me Ohio
  3. ^ Cincinnati Enquirer, “Insurance: Some companies trimming options,” 2010
  4. ^ Better Business Bureau
  5. ^ Cincinnati Business Courier
  6. ^ Ohio Home Care Program
  7. ^ IAHHC Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Ms. Wheel Chair USA
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-06-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ [2]
  12. ^ [3]
  13. ^ [4]
  14. ^ [5]
  15. ^ [6]
  16. ^ [7]
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