MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday
–
Aegis
Corporate Office
Recorded By: Udi and Thai
|
PARTICIPATING MEMBERS: Stephen
Day.................... Bill
Lidikay........................ Adrian
F. Zavala............... Ruben
Ornales................ Gale
Wessel.................... Alysia
Smith..................... Russel
A. Iadanza............ Michael
Marks.................. Peggy
Marks.................... Georgia
Raines................ |
INVITEES: Udi
Barkai......................... President
and C.E.O. Michael
Seifert................. Director
of Operations Bill Shilley......................... Aegis
Ombudsman Becky
Heinicke................ Clinical
& Medical Services Michael
Ante..................... Supervising
Counselor |
The
following matters were presented, discussed and concluded:
I.
Introductions: All participating members
and invitees introduced themselves.
II.
PAAG Presentation: Steve and Udi conducted a presentation on the
PAAG, its Mission Statement and its policies to the new members. The introduction focused on the following:
a.
Board Members' Conduct:
·
Authority: Members should not abuse their
positions as PAAG members and not feel entitled to special treatment at the
clinics.
·
No Personal Agendas: As representatives of the PAAG, members are
to look out for the best interest of the addict population and not simply their
own goals.
·
Professionalism: PAAG members should be
sincere, professional, and direct; they should not hold back their comments and
opinions.
b.
c.
Advocacy: The group will advocate for the
greater patient population and not only patients within Aegis. This is done with the ultimate goal of
improving the lives of addicts and the standards of the field as well as
reduction of “stigma” among addicts, the establishment and the general
public. The
advocacy includes outreach and community relation activities and supporting new
legislation intended to raise clinical and ethical standards and protect
patients’ rights as incorporated under the
d.
Advisory: Providing Aegis with an honest "independent,
objective opinion" on practices that the patients would like to see
improved. Additionally, the PAAG will
give feedback on the “fairness” and/or effectiveness of treatment protocols or
the lack of others. For example the issue of single parents was
introduced during the first PAAG meeting, which resulted in the creation of a
kids play area in most of Aegis’ clinics.
e.
Policies and Procedures that
govern the activity of the PAAG, particular attention was addressed to the PAAG
Code of Ethics, and the strict prohibition of any members in raising any
conflict of interest in general, and/or pursuing of their own personal agendas
–in particular, through the PAAG.
f.
PAAG Representation:
g.
Previous Resolutions and Opinion Letters: Steve and
Bill explained the previous resolutions and opinion letters that have been
issued by the PAAG. Udi discussed the
manner that Aegis has handled these recommendations, and complimented the board
on their professional and responsible statements. Udi also described the great
value and influence that this information has on Aegis policies, protocols and
procedures.
h.
Presentation of Materials: Steve
distributed to the other new members a copy of the policies and brochures, and
gave a presentation on the PAAG website.
i.
Financial Support: Udi repeated Aegis
Institute’s commitment to support the PAAG and its activities. The support will include reimbursement for the
members’ travel and provision of space and administrative services. Aegis Institute has also agreed to donate
used computers to PAAG members.
III.
Keys to Recovery (K2R): The members discussed the enormous value of
support systems –in general, and support groups –in particular, to their
recovery. Ruben, Adrian and Steve shared
their frustration due to the fact that methadone patients are not welcomed into
any of the traditional “12 Step” meetings.
Steve mentioned that he has been hiding his treatment in methadone
clinics at the M.A. meetings he has attended over the years.
The members have discussed their involvement with K2R
and the need to develop such chapters adjacent to all Aegis clinics.
a.
Incentives for Attendance: Bill
Lidikay opened discussions on how to best encourage participation in K2R group
meetings. Some of the suggestions
fielded include:
·
Making meetings mandatory
·
Counselor & physician referrals to K2R
·
Schedule meetings to coincide with physician days
·
Integration of K2R into the requirements for Take
Home Privileges (“Steps”)
·
Follow-up phone call before each meeting (adding an
optional area for phone numbers to the K2R sign-up sheet) by the counselors or
front office personnel
b.
The PAAG
Board have agreed to write up a new policy for mandatory referrals to K2R for
submittal to Aegis’ approval and implementation
·
Udi explained that with the PAAG’s input, Aegis would
be willing to modify Aegis’ Take Home Privileges (Steps) policies to include participation
in K2R meetings.
·
Becky explained that the members should keep in mind
that the participation in K2R is not the only criteria for the Take Home
Privileges (Steps), thus any new policies should be carefully worded. Bill Lidikay suggested that the participation
in K2R be a requirement for Take Home Privileges (Steps), but not the only
criteria.
·
Becky suggested that once a patient is in Step 3,4, or 5 they should no longer be required to attend K2R
meetings, but instead follow an honor system.
Bill Lidikay agreed, stating that at step 5 the patient has established
a history of responsibility and their attendance in K2R should be made
voluntary
·
It was suggested that patients will be required to
participate in K2R Support meetings at least four out of six weeks at the start
of their treatment program. This allows
for the patient more flexibility and the PAAG less of a policing responsibility
c.
Mandatory Meetings: Michael Marks expressed
his concern with the term “mandatory”, as patients who are considering entering
treatment at Aegis have their lives in a mess, and a mandatory group meeting
may result in negative reactions. Udi
agreed that the word “mandatory” is troublesome, and suggested K2R be integrated
into the treatment, for example the policy would read as "as part of your
treatment, is the participation in K2R.”
The PAAG agreed to make the participation with K2R
mandatory, but to word the policy to reflect K2R as part of the prescribed
treatment.
d.
Exceptions: Udi expressed his concern that
there will be cases where the patient cannot make K2R meetings. It was agreed that those patients will be
evaluated on a case by case basis
e.
Meeting Times and Locations: Ruben
Ornelas explained that he had difficulty arranging for night meetings for K2R. Udi replied that If
the PAAG have problems with the clinical staff concerning scheduling, they
should call the corporate office and Udi and the office will help find
solutions. However, the clinic manager
must be consulted before contacting the corporate office.
f.
The Artwork for the Keys to Recovery: The
board was presented with samples of the K2R stationary and other promotional
materials.
IV.
Emergency Line:
Initially called the “Crisis Hotline”, the Emergency Line
will serve as an after-hours (
a.
Udi explained that Aegis intends to contract with
local hospitals and emergency rooms to assist addicts who need immediate
treatment
b.
Udi further explained that Aegis is legally
prohibited from soliciting or referring patients to its clinics only. Referral to Aegis clinics is allowed only
when the caller is given a variety of other treatment resources.
c.
Udi’s two questions to the board were:
·
Who would be willing to assist with the crisis
hotline?
·
Would payment be recommended?
d.
Peggy Marks expressed her opinion that to an addict
the act of calling and admitting their need for treatment is quite a large step
and should be taken very seriously as addicts may be easily discouraged. She feels that the hotline would be a very
effective tool in encouraging the addict to continue on the road to recovery.
e.
What kind of crisis is the hotline intended for? The
hotline is designed for those seeking treatment. Other emergency cases should be referred to
other agencies and numbers through Aegis' already established network in the
community.
V.
Group Counseling Topics: Udi surveyed the board members for their recommendations on possible
topics for group counseling. The board
members discussed the required topics for group counseling and recommended the
following topics:
a.
Depression, Anxiety
b.
Anger Management
c.
Self Empowerment / Self Worth
d.
Parenting / Single Parenting
e.
HEP-C and other illnesses
f.
Vocational Rehab
g.
Life Skills
VI.
The Ombudsman: Bill
Shilley introduced the Office of the Ombudsman to the attendees. He emphasized that the Ombudsman deals with
patient complaints and incident concerning Aegis Clinics and the community as a
whole. Udi repeated his position that
each patient has the right to pursue a complaint or concern based on their own
discretion. The alternative
communication channels to the Ombudsman are designed to improve customer
service and satisfaction.
a.
Ruben and
Georgia mentioned that they never have seen the grievance form at the Bakersfield
b.
Udi has taken
it upon himself to review this issue and possibly establish a review system
that will ensure full implementation of grievance forms and personnel support
to the Ombudsman.
VII. Aegis’s General Counsel & Political Work: Karl Kop Esq., Aegis General Counsel, was unable to attend the meeting. Udi, in place of Karl, introduced the Office of the General Counsel to board members, and covered the following:
a.
Karl’s
involvement with protection of patients’ rights against institutional
discrimination (e.g. judges, parole and probation officers) as well as any
other breach in patients’ rights, under the provisions of the Americans with
Disability Act (ADA).
b.
Karl’s support
to the legislative work promoted by the lobbyists Jim Gonzalez and Robert
Harris.
VIII.
Legislative Office: Udi explained the services, which are provided by JG & Associates
through its principles, Jim Gonzalez and Robert Harris. He further updated the members on the most
recent legislative work, including:
a.
ADA
b.
Assembly Bill 1308 which is prohibiting non-physicians from making
decisions about treatment, and leaves this authority to physicians only.
IX.
PAAG Resolution #5: The members
have discussed the proposed Resolution #5 and have reached a consensus (no
objections) to the following language:
“February 25, 2004
To All
Aegis Staff Members,
We the Board Members of the PAAG
would like to express our concerns regarding a growing trend of incidents in
which patients’ constitutional rights were violated by the government agencies
and officials.
We urge Aegis Institute and Aegis
Medical Systems to assist us in the protection of our rights through community
relations, legislative work as well as filing lawsuits, in the most extreme
cases.
The infringement of patients’
rights is a major concern to patients as well as addicts on the “streets”, these are some of the reasons why so many addicts are
afraid to be treated in NTPs.
Entered
this 25th day of February 2004 by the undersigned, Board Members of the PAAG.”
X. Meeting Adjourned
Recorded
by: _________________________________
Udi Barkai, President
& CEO
Aegis
Medical Systems