Perhaps this is why Palin is leaving..or one of the reasons.

[dixiegrrrrl]

Frpm the Mudflats:

Today, Lisa Demer of the Anchorage Daily News has broken a story that adds another scandal to the growing list of scandals that have plagued this administration, and shines the light on Alaska’s very own health care crisis. Demer’s story centers on the horrendous condition of the Alaska’s state programs that are designed to help its most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and disabled.

The situation is so bad the federal government has forbidden the state to sign up new people until the state makes necessary improvements.

The moratorium is expected to last four or five months. State officials estimate about 1,000 Alaskans will be affected.
A particularly alarming finding concerns deaths of adults in the programs. In one 2 1/2 year stretch, 227 adults already getting services died while waiting for a nurse to reassess their needs. Another 27 died waiting for their initial assessment, to see if they qualified for help.
No other state in the nation is under such a moratorium, according to a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
There are currently eight lawsuits pending against the state which also rang alarm bells on the federal level.

Doctors and other health care providers wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid with concerns that the state wasn’t responsive. Some alleged that the lack of state controls “has resulted in the death(s) of the active clients,” the federal review said.

While the people served are frail and suffer from chronic health issues, the state never investigated to determine if any failure in service contributed to the deaths, the federal review found.

“Thus, if someone passed away because a (personal care assistant) did not show up, for example, there was no indication this would have been reported or investigated,” the report said.

The state plans to start doing fatality reviews.

The state plans to start doing fatality reviews?

So, it would appear, since we are the only state where the situation is bad enough to require federal intervention that the administration has had its mind on other things.

http://www.themudflats.net/

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Tina was kind,Palin should be sentenced to public duty ,at a carnival.

[MineralMan]

2. The dunking booth...or...wait...she could be a geek in the

side show, biting the heads off chickens. Yes...perfect!

[Tansy_Gold]

4. Or turkeys. . . . . n/t

[jhain]

8. snort! n/t

[madamesilverspurs]

22. Yup,

cleaning up the whirly rides. Give her a sense of what the citizens of her state feel like after her stunted tenure.

[The Wizard]

39. How about a public carnival in Juarez

where she entertains a donkey? :puke:

[me b zola]

3. I don't understand why people are unrec'ing this thread

It had 3 recs, when I rec'd it stayed at 3. Now it is down to 2.

The mud flats has been a great blog covering Palin and all of her failures & antics.

[elocs]

6. Is the important thing the story, or counting the Recs and UnRecs?

I think it is the story. Just let the Rec/UnRec thing take care of itself.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. There appears to be some Palinbots lurking on DU who consistently unrecommend Palin articles and

critiques. I've seen this happen time and again since the new unrecommend feature came into use.

[xultar]

16. Seriously, u think doing unrec will stop us from reading the thread? Lack of kicks

will impact more than rec or unrec.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. It appears from what I've been reading, many go to the Greatest to determine what they are going to

read. I don't and in fact have GD bookmarked on my toolbar and go there directly. Your comment by the way didn't address my statement as to why I thought these Palin threads were being un-recommended. I was not commenting on the value of the new un-recommended feature.

[xultar]

30. I was saying in a round about way that it doesn't have to be important to be

on the greatest.

And it will still get read regardless of the 'palinbots' you think are unrec it.

Un rec doesn't make it vanish...it'll still be read.

[elleng]

5. OMG! That would do it!

and WILL prevent ANY future political successes.

[TheEuclideanOne]

44. I doubt it.

A story about the government intervening because her citizens are not getting good care? Yawn. Just add it to her list of failures. Not enough to raise an eyebrow, IMHO. The reality is that we don't really expect much more from her anyway so no room for disappointment, IMHO.

[central scrutinizer]

7. I doubt if she was aware

Very little seemed to break through her self-centered bubble

[Catshrink]

9. Now that's progressing the state!

:sarcasm:

[eomer]

10. Everyone is going to die eventually!

Alaska is progressing them toward it more quickly and effectively.

[get the red out]

11. It's not Alaska's fault, or Palin's

It was the witches that caused this. :crazy:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. ....

:rofl:

[cbdo2007]

14. Just another 227 people who would have lived...

if they hadn't been part of a government health care program.

ha ha, just had to say it.

Whether it's insurance companies or the government running healthcare there are always going to be people slipping through the cracks.

[unapatriciated]

17. they are slipping through the cracks because republicans don't give a shit.

They can't make a profit so they underfund the program.
I suggest you look into the privatization of government medical programs.
Such as Walter Reed Hospital or the prescription care for seniors.
You will find far more abuse and "people slipping through the cracks" when there is a profit to be made.

[peacetalksforall]

15. 1. Arrogance. 2. She wants less government - this might be what she meant. n/t

[Myrina]

18. A commentator said to Rachel Maddow last night:

(as a possible reason for the resignation)
"... even though Palin said the media was getting in the way of her being a governor, it seems more likely that her duties as governor were getting in the way of her being in the media" ...

THIS, I believe.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

19. I'll buy that.

she's such a freakshow!

[glinda]

20. I am waiting to see her on "Ice Road Truckers"

[BlancheSplanchnik]

26. what's that?

Ice Road Truckers?

[Bette Noir]

34. It's a reality show about folks who drive on frozen roads in Alaska.

[glinda]

36. Don't forget it is for the Oil Companies too! That Program is right up her alley

because it shows a lot of destruction and pollution.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

48. oyyy vey....

reality shows :eyes:


say no more, say no more....

(thanks for the 'splainin)

[Mira]

21. Maybe Alaska has become the new "God's waiting room"

for those who think it's too hot in Florida

:sarcasm:

I am too fatigued about Palin antics and omissions and commissions to be surprised by anything that comes out.
K&R

[Javaman]

23. Just add it to the pile. nt

[Jester Messiah]

24. Palin is a walking disaster

In my preferred world, however, she would fade into obscurity. If ever she were mentioned, others would ask "Sarah who?"

[JayMusgrove]

25. I am sure there a lot of messes we will discover in Alaska

that Sarah had a hand in creating.

This is probably the worst one of the messes.

[BrklynLiberal]

27. K&R. No doubt there will be worms under every stone that is turned over.

[bluevoter4life]

28. I can see how the right is going to spin this

They are going to throw Palin under the bus, saying she was a horrible governor, and this is what happened when she tried to bring universal health care to Alaska.

[proReality]

31. K&R n/t

[Richard Steele]

32. K&R

[jwirr]

33. Early in her run for vp it was said that she appointed her friends from

Wasila to government positions. I wonder if the people who were supposed to be administering this program where even qualified? Like *ss these pugs tend to sabotage government programs that are working.

[Blue_In_AK]

40. Interesting you should mention that.

This morning Gryphen at The Immoral Minority posted about that very issue:

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2009/07/it-looks-like-sarah-helped-break.html

So I talked to my relative again this morning and asked when he thought things had gotten so difficult for the elderly in state care. He said that it was hard to put a date on it but that it seemed to him that things had really changed in the last year or year and a half.

Now that seems particularly interesting to me because of this little tidbit right here http://aprn.org/2008/05/09/karleen-jackson-alaska-commissioner-of-health-and-social-services-resigns/:

(Karleen) Jackson has been with the department since 2003, when she became deputy HSS commissioner in the Murkowski administration. She took over as commissioner in 2005 and was not replaced when Governor Palin took office last year. But Jackson says she recently compared notes with Palin and it was clear they had a difference of opinion. She says she offered her resignation and the governor accepted. Jackson declined to be more specific.

Now this took place on March 9, 2008. And after Jackson had cleaned out her desk, Palin replaced her with this guy:

July 24, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of Bill Hogan (see above picture) as Commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services.

“I am pleased to have Bill Hogan join the cabinet,” Governor Palin said. “With his experience and five years working for the department, he can continue promoting and protecting the health and well-being of Alaskans. Bill has already started implementing priorities for the department including battling substance abuse, promoting health and wellness, continuing with health care reform, developing a plan for caring for seniors in Alaska and meeting the needs of vulnerable Alaskans.”

It appears obvious that Bill Hogan failed miserably to accomplish that last part. So much so that the Federal government had to ride in to rescue elderly Alaskans who were being left to die alone and uncared for.

So who is this Bill Hogan guy?

Hogan holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from State University of New York and a master of science degree in social work from West Virginia University. Hogan has served as chair of the Alaska Mental Health Board, board member of the Alaska Community Mental Health Services Association and executive director of the New York State chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Well it sounds like the guy was very qualified. So how could he have dropped the ball so badly that the Feds had to be called in?

Before joining the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services in 2003, Hogan was Chief Executive Officer of Life Quest, a private, nonprofit community mental health center located in Wasilla, Alaska.

I hate to make the accusation that every single person that comes from Wasilla is somehow unqualified, or a Sarah Palin lapdog, but I will say that if it is a person from Wasilla that she picks for a cabinet position or to head an important agency then it is a solid bet that they will jump through whatever hoop Palin holds up.

And you can find evidence of that here where Mr. Hogan explains the reason that Beverly Wooley had to leave her job as the state public health director: Hogan described Wooley as having difficulty articulating the governor's position on the abortion measure, as well as teen pregnancy prevention.

And WHAT was Wooley's terrible act of insubordination?

She intended to refer to studies from states that already had passed similar legislation, she said. Some of the research shows that, with parental involvement requirements, girls tend to get abortions later in their their pregnancy, which is riskier and more expensive, she said. Other research shows fewer girls get abortions, which abortion foes like Palin likely would applaud. Wooley cautioned that the studies are small and not definitive because such laws are still fairly new.

"You let those facts speak for themselves. And truly, people will interpret those facts differently based on their own personal history and experience," said Wooley.

You see THIS is the problem with people that Sarah Palin does not hand pick from Wasilla. They rely on scientific studies to help them to make the appropriate decisions pertaining to the health and well being of the citizens of Alaska.

It is clear that Bill Hogan did not have such constraints and was free to simply do whatever Queen Ester demanded that he do. And because of that blind obedience we see how many of our elderly have suffered from lack of compassionate care.

(By the way I have not confirmed it yet, but I will bet dollars to doughnuts that Hogan was a member in good standing at Sarah's church. This whole thing smacks of the kind of broken Christianity practiced out there in the Valley.)

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. Most interesting information, Blue. Thanks !

And one must wonder how many other states had the same experience in staffing, during BushWa era and beyond.

[democrank]

35. Health care crisis? What health care crisis?

For her family`s sake, i surely hope she can see a hospital from her living room!

[RedEarth]

37. Republican values

[Joe the Liberal]

38. Can't Republicans run anything right?

I mean are they just born to fuck things up?

[sutz12]

43. Well, since they profess to hate gov't so much...

it shouldn't be surprising that when they are in charge things go to hell. It's not much of a stretch in logic to point out such things.

:shrug:

[RedCloud]

41. Why not just charge the deceased's family a death assessment kit?

You know like they charge rape victims for their kits in Alaska?

[Vinca]

42. Republicans, it seems, would be just as happy if all the elderly

and disabled died in one fell swoop. They don't want social security and they don't want to provide health care. If you're not rich, white and healthy, they really don't want to hear about it.

[indimuse]

46. Quitter and

LOSER! I find this to be criminal and immoral!! Shame on her! :mad: knr!

[tabatha]

47. from the mudflats....

Quotes from Sarah Palin's twitter page ......

AKGovSarahPalin& mama bear doesn’t look 2 anyone else 2 hand her anything; biologists say she works harder than males, is provider/protector for the futureabout 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry

AKGovSarahPalinprotect & provide for her young;She sees danger?She brazenly rises up on strong hind legs, growls Don’t Touch My Cubs & the species survivesabout 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry

AKGovSarahPalinGreat day w/bear management wildlife biologists; much to see in wild territory incl amazing creatures w/mama bears’ gutteral raw instinct toabout 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry

Has anyone looked up gutteral?

http://twitter.com/AKGovSarahPalin