Sen. Ray Fonseca, chair of the Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services, said Thursday that the Human Services Department, which oversees the spending of around a half billion dollars each year, was “moving in the right direction.”
Averil George, the commissioner nominee of the Department, presented a 21-page report on 84 programs the department oversees to assist vulnerable children, elderly citizens, homeless people, and impoverished families. She listed several areas where the department strives to do a better job.
George, who has been on the job for a month, said, “As I take on this challenge, I ask for your continued support and patience as the DHS team works collectively for the needed improvements benefiting the clients we serve in this community.”
Fonseca pointed out that in overseeing Medicare alone, the department services 42 percent of the population.
The department also has many programs serving the 16,844 people over age 65. Fonseca had questions about something that has puzzled many elderly, asking, “Why is it necessary to renew a senior citizen card every five years? Fonseca said, “You don’t get younger. Once you are elderly, you are elderly for the rest of your life.” A key advantage of having a senior citizen ID is that it makes getting discounts, such as for ferry tickets, easy.
Fonseca also commented that he was grateful the department was addressing the problem of “boarders.” (In this case, “boarders” refers to mostly elderly who have taken permanent residence in hospitals because there is nowhere else for them to go.)
“The department is plagued with limited physical and human resource capacity within our homes and limited funding to increase our off-island capacity, but we are exploring every avenue to address this chronic issue,“ George testified.
Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory said “boarders” were causing “a significant impact on the bottom lines” of the territory’s hospitals.
Sen. Samuel Carrión asked how much it would cost to expand the Meals on Wheels program. Department officials had testified that 240 residents were on a waiting list for the program. Carrión was told it would take $1.2 million.
Sen. Milton Potter had questions about what was happening at the Knud Hansen Complex, Human Services’ main office on St. Thomas. He said the working condition for the 216 employees there was terrible.
He was told the department was expecting to hear in January concerning funds from FEMA for the demolishing and replacement of that facility. He was also told that the department was looking for a temporary office site.
Fonseca said the Human Services Department was the government’s most important department.
Attending the meeting were Sens. Marvin Blyden, Diane Capehart, Carrión, Dwayne DeGraff, Fonseca, Novelle Francis Jr., Frett-Gregory, Kenneth Gittens, Marise James, and Milton Potter.
