Community Connections Announces Case Management Agency Contract and Leadership Changes
Durango, CO – Community Connections today announced that it has been awarded the Case Management Agency contract for long term services and supports (LTSS) in Southwest Colorado.
LTSS provides a range of supportive services for people with physical, cognitive, or mental disabilities or conditions that limit their ability to care for themselves. Services range from personal and homemaker services to skilled nursing care.
As of November 1, 2023, Community Connections became the single LTSS case management agency for older adults and people with disabilities of all ages in the five-county region which includes Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan Counties. Previously Community Connections had provided these services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in this same region, and for older adults and people with physical and sensory disabilities in Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan Counties.
Several staffing changes are taking place with this transition, to support the increased caseload and changes to organizational structure.
Lana Burns has accepted the newly created position of Vice President of Operations. Burns had served as Community Connections’ Single Entry Point Director since 2020. In her new role, she will support process improvement, data analysis, quality assurance, and key performance indicators across departments, and ensure all compliance requirements are met.
Also new is the Training Supervisor role, which has been filled by Laura Ripple. This position is intended to meet the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s increased concentration on quality and consistency within case management across the state. Ripple will develop effective and high-quality training programs for case managers and ensure that case managers receive the initial and ongoing training support they need.
Jody McCall and Ondine Wilson have been promoted to the role of Case Management Program Manager. They will support the day-to-day supervision of case managers in their communities and help ensure adequate management support with a team that is almost doubling in size with the new contract.
This is the first of two transitions that Community Connections will undergo within the next year. “State and Federal Rules require that as of July 2024, the same organization cannot provide both case management and direct services,” explains Tara Kiene, Community Connections’ President and CEO. “Because we are the only direct service provider for people with intellectual and development disabilities for most counties in our region, we are spinning off a new non-profit that will continue providing all direct services.”
The new organization, called Our Own Lives, will operate as a program of Community Connections until all the steps for creating a new non-profit organization are completed. Our Own Lives has already received its 501(c)(3) designation, and a CEO and board members are currently being recruited to lead the organization. “Our goal is to have a seamless transition for direct services clients and staff to the new, improved organization starting July 1, 2024,” says Kiene.
Community Connections has been serving children and adults with disabilities and their families in Southwest Colorado since 1985. For further information and answers to frequently asked questions about the future of Community Connections and Our Own Lives, please visit www.communityconnectionsco.org.
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About Community Connections
Since 1985, Community Connections has helped people with disabilities, developmental delays, and complex needs connect with the resources they choose to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Serving Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties, Community Connections provides long-term care Medicaid case management, Early Intervention evaluation and service coordination, Family Support Services, and benefits navigation. Community Connections is also home to Southwest Colorado Cares (SWCC), a regional Community Care Hub working to make it easier for people to find and connect with health and social services while strengthening coordination among providers across Southwest Colorado. Learn more at www.CommunityConnectionsCO.org.
Media Contact
Tara Kiene, President & CEO