1. What do you mean when you say "long-term services and supports"?
This refers to a wide range of assistance, medical and health services, needed to support an individual who is living with a disability or chronic illness. These services and supports may be provided to a person of any age for an extended period of time or may be needed intermittently over time. They are designed to meet personal, social, and medical and health needs in the setting or location that enables the person to live as independently as possible. Services and supports may be provided in many settings including:
In the individual's home or a family member's home,
In a group residential setting,
In a long-term care facility, or
At other places within the community
The services and supports may assist a person in areas such as eating, dressing and personal hygiene, or with managing the home, preparing food or management of medications.
2. What is NC-ACE?
NC-ACE (North Carolina Access and Choice Made Easy) is the acronym selected to be "descriptive" of the System's Transformation Grant. This grant was awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services in 2006 by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
3. What is the Long-Term Services and Supports Cabinet and who is on it?
The Long-Term Services and Supports Cabinet, within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), was established to "enhance communication and coordination among the various divisions" about long-term services and supports. The cabinet includes directors of all DHHS divisions that affect long-term care policy. They are representatives from the Divisions of Aging and Adult Services; Health Service Regulation; Information Resource Management; Medical Assistance; Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services; Public Health; Social Services; Services for the Blind; Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Vocational Rehabilitation; and the Offices of Citizen Services, Budget and Analysis, and Policy and Planning. The cabinet meets quarterly and the deputy secretary for long-term care and family services chairs the meetings.
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