FOCUSNews from and about the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

June 2018

Gov. Bevin names Adam Meier CHFS SecretaryGovernor Matt Bevin recently

appointed Adam Meier as CHFS Secretary.

Meier most recently served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Gov. Bevin, focus-ing on the forma-tion of essential administration-wide health, workforce,

and education policy initiatives, with an emphasis on improving technology and analytical capabili-ties to better measure policy out-comes.

“As Deputy Chief of Staff , Adam has shown an unwavering com-mitment to bettering the lives of Kentuckians by putting proactive

and thoughtful public policy into action,” said Gov. Bevin. “For much of the past two years, he has been focused on healthcare policy in Kentucky, and his empathy for people, combined with his legal background and working knowl-edge of human services programs at the state and federal level, make him an ideal choice to lead this important cabinet. He is respected across the nation for his innovation and knowledge of healthcare policy, and he will be a tremendous asset to Kentucky in his new role. ”

In his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff , Meier was responsible for overseeing Kentucky’s innovative 1115 Medicaid waiver applica-tion (Kentucky HEALTH), which

was the fi rst in the nation to gain approval from the federal govern-ment. Since the waiver was ap-proved in January, he has continued to work with the 1115 implementa-tion team on plans for rollout of the Kentucky HEALTH program across the state.

“CHFS has the opportunity to fundamentally transform the lives of so many vulnerable Kentuck-ians in a positive way,” said Meier. “With the innovative changes com-ing with the Kentucky HEALTH waiver and the increased fi nancial resources and legislative support for improving Kentucky’s child welfare, foster care, and adoption systems, I am honored and humbled at the

Putnam added as second CHFS Deputy SecretaryKristi Putnam has been named

to fi ll the second Deputy Secretary vacancy for CHFS.

Putnam joins Judge Timothy Fee-ley as Deputy Sec-retary under newly appointed CHFS Secretary Adam

Meier. Putnam served as an Executive

Advisor to CHFS’ Department for Community Based Services, lead-ing eff orts to improve technology

and staffi ng eff orts for benefi nd and assisting in the development of innovative public benefi ts and child welfare policy.

Most recently, she was tapped to serve as Program Manager for Ken-tucky HEALTH and has led a multi-cabinet project team to develop policy, partnerships, technology, and communications to support imple-mentation of the program across the state.

Putnam is a 26-year veteran of the human services and education

policy sector, having held positions in Florida’s Department of Educa-tion and Department of Children and Families (DCF).

“Th e team at CHFS is laser-focused on innovating and imple-menting changes that make sense, that provide better services to our citizens in need, and that emphasize community strengths and public-private partnerships,” said Putnam.

Putnam resides in Middletown, Kentucky, with her husband and youngest daughter.

See MEIER on Page 3

FOCUS 2

Many management experts say that the best time for employee recognition is any time!

Both managers and staff can help show appreciation for colleagues. Customer service company People Metrics off ers these tips for foster-ing a more supportive and produc-tive workplace through staff recog-nition.

Show and tell. Allow staff to show supervisors the fruits or their labor. Make time during meetings for team members to tell how their

ideas and eff orts are making a dif-ference.

Pass along praise. When you hear someone giving a compliment to a coworker, share that praise right away. Send an email and copy that worker’s supervisor.

Sharing comments like this is a great way to make employees feel appreciated.

Start a “kudos corner.” Post appreciation for peers on an offi ce bulletin board or staff newsletter.

Celebrate milestones and ac-complishments. Take time to recognize work anniversaries, birthdays and personal accomplish-ments like volunteering, exhibiting artwork or completing a race.

Say thank you. Be appreciative when someone completes a task and does a good job, especially if they have put in extra eff ort.

For supervisors: Show interest in achievement. Ask employees about their goals and help them to reach them through work assign-ments and professional develop-ment.

Nominate a coworker for Em-ployee of the Month. Go to chfs.ky.gov/news and click on the link for the Employee of the Month Nomination form to complete. One Frankfort employee and one fi eld staff employee is selected each month. Read profi les of the winners in the Focus.

PEAK PERFORMANCEAnya Armes Weber

Include employee recognition in offi ce routine

Lindsay Jackson and Mary Th ompson are the CHFS employees of the month for June 2018.

Jackson is an assistant director in the Division of Procurement and Grant Oversight within the Offi ce of Administrative and Technology Services. Th ompson is a nurse consultant for the Commission on Children with Special Health Care Needs.

Jackson is being recognized for the sig-nifi cant contribution she has made during a recent offi ce reorganization in addition to lending a hand to take over the respon-sibilities of another co-worker, who was on medical leave earlier this year.

“Ms. Jackson has truly gone above and beyond over the past 10 months and deserves to be recognized for her dedication and hard work,” wrote her nominator

Sarah Smith, also an assistant director in the Division of Procurement and Grant Oversight. “Her knowledge and expertise has been vital in our daily operations.”

Th ompson is also being recognized for her willing-ness to take on additional responsibilities in the offi ce. She also provides consultation to DCBS for cases that are medically com-plex, wrote her nominator, Alice Scheff er.

“Her daily eff orts exemplify the spirit of partnership between the (Commission) and DCBS within CHFS to provide care and support for at-risk children and youth,” Scheff er added.

If you know an employee you would like to nominate for Employee of the Month, please sub-mit the nomination form electronically to www.goo.gl/forms/1ifD0x4FTc.

Jackson, Thompson named Employees of the Month

The Newsletter of CHFS 3

responsibility Gov. Bevin has en-trusted me with to lead the cabinet at this pivotal time.”

Meier is regarded as a national expert on workforce issues and recently testifi ed before the U.S. House of Representatives Sub-committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on strengthening alignment of work-force supports and outcomes in hu-

man service programs. As co-chair of Kentucky’s Work Matters Task Force, he led a 23-member team in developing policy recommenda-tions to address barriers to employ-ment among fi ve key populations in the Commonwealth—individuals with disabilities, veterans, foster youth, individuals with criminal records, and individuals suff ering from substance use disorders.

He also guided the state through the successful transition from the expensive state-run kynect health

insurance exchange system to healthcare.gov, saving the Com-monwealth approximately $15 million annually and reducing red tape. Additionally, Meier helped coordinate the state’s cross-cabinet response to the opioid epidemic.

Meier is an attorney and previ-ously worked as a senior contract-ing offi cer for the federal govern-ment. He lives with his wife and three children in Ft. Th omas, Ken-tucky, where he previously served as a member of the city council.

MEIERFrom Page 1

Th e CHFS Farmers Market will be returning to the CHR Building in Frankfort for the fourth con-secutive year. Th is year the market will be set up on Wednesdays from June 20 to August 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Th ere will be no market the week of July 4.

CHFS Farmers Market returns for fourth year

As part of National Prevention Week, the Department for Public Health (DPH) recently off ered free kits and training at the CHR complex to better prepare Kentuckians to respond to opioid overdos-es. Th e kits were funded by the KORE (Kentucky Opioid Response Eff ort) program in the Department for Behavioral Health, Develop-mental and Intellectual Disabilities.

Training sessions took place in the cafeteria meeting room and were conducted by volunteers from the Kentucky Pharmacists Association.

Following the training, partici-pants collected naloxone kits and additional information on harm reduction strategies from the Cabi-net’s Mobile Harm Reduction Unit, a component of the DPH Prepared-ness Branch.

Naloxone, medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose, is a key component of the cabinet’s opioid response strategy to reduce the number of overdose deaths and further diminish harm created by opioid abuse. To date, DPH has distributed 1,705 naloxone kits (two doses per kit) and trained 1,686 people on the use of naloxone in 36 locations across the state.

For those interested in obtaining naloxone, a new statewide website (https://odcp.ky.gov/stop-overdoses/Pages/default.aspx ) is avail-able that includes a searchable registry allowing consumers to locate pharmacies that carry naloxone by city, county, or zip code.

DPH distributes free Naloxone, off ers

training for National Prevention Week

FOCUS 4

Located along Turkeyfoot Road on the campus of Th omas More College in Crestview Hills, the Monte Ca-sino Chapel of Kenton County may be small in size but the rich history behind it more than makes up for its small stature.

Th e tiny chapel, constructed of dressed fi eldstone, has an inte-rior that measures only eight feet high and four feet wide. Th e chapel achieved worldwide fame in 1922 when Robert Ripley of Ripley’s Be-lieve It or Not proclaimed it the “smallest church in the world.”

Th e chapel was originally built in 1878 by Benedictine Father Otto Kopf and Brother Albert Soltis, a German-born mason, for the Monte Casino Monastery in the Peaselburg neighborhood hills of South Cov-ington as a quiet place to retreat for refl ection and prayer.

It was dedicated to Mary the Mother of Jesus under the title of the “Sorrowful Mother.” Th e centerpiece of the chapel was a statue of the Vir-gin Mary holding the body of her deceased son (Pieta). Over the door was inscribed in the German lan-guage, “Th ere is no sorrow like my sorrow.”

Th e 78-acre monastery was started in 1877 by the Catholic Benedictine Brothers of the St. Vincent’s Mon-astery in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and was named aft er Montecassino Abbey,its sister monastery located in the Lazio region of Italy.

Th e Benedictines were invited

to Covington by Bishop George A. Carrell in 1858 to care for the grow-ing German Parish of St. Joseph at the northwest corner of 12th and Greenup Streets.

To support themselves, the monks operated vineyards for both sacra-mental and commercial wine pro-

duction. During its early history, Monte Casino produced about 5,000 gallons of wine each year. Th e fi rst pressing of the grapes was used to produce altar wine for use in Catho-lic Churches in the U.S. Th e second and third pressings were used to produce red rose table wine.

DID YOUKNOW?Barbara Fox

Stone Monte Casino Chapel at Th omas More College was once transported across town on a fl atbed truck

‘World’s Smallest Church’ has a moving story

The Newsletter of CHFS 5

In 1920, prohibition banned the distribution of table wine to other states and limited production of 1,000 gallons of altar wine each year. Th is left the monks with no means to support themselves.

As a result, Monte Casino was closed in 1918 and the monks re-turned to Pennsylvania. Th e proper-ty was then leased to the Frank Bur-khart family who produced grape juice on the hill. Th ey remained on the site until 1953.

At that time, the Benedictines buried in the little graveyard on the property were disinterred and their remains removed to the monastery in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Th e Monte Casino property was sold to a housing developer who built a subdivision on the proper-ty. Two of the subdivision’s streets, Monte and Casino, pay tribute to the old monastery.

For the next 45 years, the chapel remained abandoned and was pil-laged of its stained glass windows, door and steeple.

Th e chapel was moved to Villa Madonna College (later named

Th omas More College) on April 7, 1965. Transporting the 50-ton struc-ture six miles across town by fl atbed truck was a challenging task and six took fi ve hours to complete. Th e chapel was placed on a new founda-tion facing a lake near the entrance to the college.

Aft er a complete interior and ex-terior restoration, the Monte Casino Chapel was dedicated on September 21, 1971.

Snacks are a great way to give us an energy boost until we can get a good meal.

At work, it can be hard to make good snack choices when we’re in a hurry to get to meetings, fi nish assignments or rush back and forth for family activities.

Th e Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics off ers these tips for smart-er snacking.

• Skip it if you can. Snack only when you are hungry and don’t have time for a real meal. If you are bored, stressed or frustrated, take a

walk or chat with a coworker for a few minutes.

• Plan ahead. Keep raw almonds and whole-grain crackers in your desk or yogurt, low-fat cheese and fruit in your break room fridge.

• Watch your portions. Don’t eat directly from a bag or box of snacks. Ration your servings!

• Snack calories count, too. Th ink of snacks as the “mini meals” you are fi tting in to your eating plan.

Try these snack ideas with 200 calories or less:

• Sliced medium apple with table-spoon of peanut butter

• Cinnamon raison mini bagel with tablespoon of peanut butter

• One cup tomato soup with fi ve whole-grain crackers

• Th ree cups air-popped popcorn with three tablespoons grated par-mesan cheese

• Fruit smoothie blended with 1 cup fat-free milk, ½ cup frozen strawberries and ½ banana

• Whole-grain dinner roll with 1 slice deli turkey, 1 slice low-fat cheese and mustard

Worksite Wellness: Healthier snacking takes preparation

FOCUS 6

Department for Medicaid Ser-vices Commissioner Steve Miller’s retirement is one of several per-sonnel announcements within the Cabinet in recent weeks.

Miller’s retirement is eff ective June 15. Miller has served as Med-icaid commissioner during the past two and one half years of the Bevin ministration.

As Commissioner, he oversaw an $11 billion annual budget in a program that provides healthcare coverage to 1.4 million Kentuck-ians. Commissioner Miller was also pivotal in the Kentucky HEALTH 1115 Medicaid waiver’s develop-ment and approval by the federal government.

Jill Hunter has been appointed acting Commissioner for DMS. Hunter has more than 16 years of state government service, most recently serving as a Deputy Com-missioner within the department concentrating on the redesign of home and community based servic-es waiver programs. She previously served as Medicaid’s director of healthcare facilities reimbursement and provider and enrollee services.

Additionally, Hunter worked in the Personnel Cabinet as Deputy Executive Director for the Offi ce of Public Employee Health Insurance.

Anne-Tyler Morgan who was a Deputy Commissioner in Medicaid is now a Senior Adviser to the Sec-retary for administrative hearings.

Th e division handles all hearing and appeals of programs and ben-efi ts administered by the Cabinet.

In this new role, Morgan will provide executive leadership to the division of administrative hearings

and advise the Secretary’s Offi ce on legal matters pertaining to the division. Morgan is an attorney with healthcare and health policy expertise.

Dr. Jeff rey Howard, M.D. is now Commissioner for the Department for Public Health (DPH). Dr. How-ard has been acting Health Com-missioner since November 2017. Dr. Howard attended Union Col-lege, University of Louisville School of Medicine and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Howard is dedicated to combat-ing the opioid epidemic as well as improving access to medical and surgical care, healthcare policy and surgical approaches.

Howard is a native of eastern Kentucky and now resides in Louis-ville with his wife and two children.

LaToya Payne is the Direc-tor of the Administrative Hear-ings Branch. Payne has served in various leadership roles within the Cabinet since 2007.

She has a strong background in the social service and family sup-port programs that are within CHFS.

Shannon Gadd is the new com-missioner for the Department for

Aging and Independent Living (DAIL). Gadd most recently served as the Senior Director of Programs at ElderServe in Louisville.

A Fulbright scholar, Gadd has an understanding of guardianship, conservatorship and senior home services issues as well as an un-derstanding of Area Development Districts operations.

“CHFS, and the Commonwealth, are fortunate to have so many qualifi ed individuals stepping into key leadership roles at this impor-tant time,” concluded CHFS Secre-tary Adam Meier. “I also want to thank Steve Miller for his dedicated service as Medicaid Director. His steady leadership will certainly be missed but we wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Appointments were eff ective June 1.

Additionally, in the Department for Medicaid Services: Stephanie Bates is now Deputy Commission-er; Steve Bechtel is an Executive Advisor for fi nancials; and John Inman is Chief of Staff .

In the Department for Commu-nity Based Services (DCBS), Chris-ta Bell is now an Executive Advisor in the Commissioner’s Offi ce.

Miller retires; Hunter, Howard, Gadd named Commissioners

Department for Medicaid Services Commissioner Steve Miller, center, has fun with his staff during

the KECC Halloween Costume fundraising event in 2016. Miller is retiring, eff ective June 15.