Lanier Cansler

Tough cases used to save program

bniolet — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:56:07 -0500

In another fight against Medicaid belt-tightening, the Association for Home & Hospice Care of N.C. is trying to rally the public against cutting private duty nursing services.

An association lobbyist, Carter Wrenn, posted a video on his blog, Talking about Politics, highlighting the stories of patients with chronic conditions who rely on private duty nursing to live at home, Lynn Bonner reports.

The 6 1/2-minute video, tugs, clubs and pulverizes your heart strings.

At the end (We confess, we had to fast forward. Couldn't take the sorrow.), Tim Rogers, the association's executive vice president, asks viewers to write Gov. Bev Perdue, Lanier Cansler, Department of Health and Human Services secretary and Dr. Craigan Gray, the state Medicaid director, to ask them to restore money for patients who depend on private duty nursing.

Perdue shot in name of prevention

markjohnson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:13:46 -0400

Shirts stripped off, drugs, sharp implements and blood spilled -- and that was just among Gov. Beverly Perdue and her cabinet. All of this was in the name of flu prevention.

Perdue, seven of her cabinet secretaries and state schools Superintendent June Atkinson received their seasonal flu vaccinations in front of a news conference this afternoon to promote the annual shots.

Perdue emphasized flu prevention steps: frequent hand washing, coughing into sleeves and staying home when sick. She also explained that North Carolina's allotment of about 1 million vaccinations for the H1N1 flu virus are expected to be available around mid-October.

Before getting her seasonal flu shot, Perdue suggested the capital press corps be vaccinated with her administering the shots. As she and her cabinet began to get stuck, the press conference turned into something of a political celebrity burlesque show, with Transportation Secretary Gene Conti and Revenue Secretary Ken Lay taking off their shirts for their turn at the needle.

"Gene's over there undressing!" Perdue laughed. No washboard abs, though. Conti and Lay both had on undershirts.

Dix to stay open, sign of failed reform

bniolet — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:16:58 -0400

After working for nearly a decade to close Dorothea Dix Hospital, state mental health administrators now intend to keep a sizable number of staff and patients at the aging Raleigh facility for years.

Lanier Cansler, secretary for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said this week that he plans to move about half of Dix's more than 200 patients to Central Regional Hospital in Butner when it opens fully in October.

But he said Dix will remain open as a stand-alone psychiatric hospital, with its own director and administrative staff. It will no longer serve as a satellite campus for the new Butner facility.

State legislators affirmed that decision earlier this month when they approved a state budget that restored $6 million in funding for operations at Dix for the next year. That move came as legislators made $155 million in spending cuts for other mental health programs in the 2010 budget.

The move to continue operating Dix as a state mental hospital will hamper efforts to turn the more than 300 acres between downtown Raleigh and N.C. State University into a major park operated by the City of Raleigh or a nonprofit foundation.

It also offers evidence that the sweeping 2001 mental health reform plan has failed. A centerpiece of that effort, which was passed by the legislature and carried out by the administration of former Gov. Mike Easley, was a plan to reduce the need for beds at mental hospitals. Instead, there would be more private, community-based treatment. (N&O)

Cansler visits Cherry

bkrueger — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:43:44 -0400

Lanier Cansler, head of the state Department of Health and Human Services, paid a visit to Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro this week to help boost the morale of the staff there.

The Goldsboro News-Argus reports that Cansler visited the troubled state psychiatric hospital on Wednesday, and told the staff that he wanted to raise morale and "recognize the positive efforts" going on there.

From gilded frame to golden parachute

mbieseck — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:24:31 -0400

Patsy Christian has a new job.

Christian was forced to step down as director of a state mental hospital in June 2008 after reports that she spent government money intended to help patients to commission an oil painting of herself.

But she landed softly. Dempsey Benton, then secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services created a new job especially for Christian, where she was tasked with improving "overall quality management in the area of nurse training across the system and compliance with regulatory requirements," according to a department spokesman.

The job paid $114,056, a cut of just 5 percent from the $119,759 she was paid as hospital director.

Now Christian has been assigned as a "special executive" at the Division of Health Service Regulation, the state agency that oversees health care facilities and investigates complaints of patient abuse and neglect.

Renee McCoy, spokeswoman for DHHS, said Christian's new responsibilities include developing disaster readiness plans for state mental hospitals.

She is paid $117,193 a year, according to state records.

State owes feds $300m for overbilling

bniolet — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:22:34 -0400

The state must repay about $300 million to the federal government for overbilling Medicaid.

Starting last November, public hospital Medicaid payments were improperly billed to the federal government rather than to a state account, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services, Lynn Bonner reports.

The state has agreed to repay $200 million by the end of the month, and the rest by the end of the year.

"This mistake should not have been made," DHHS secretary Lanier Cansler said in a statement. "Originating almost eight months ago, it should have been identified and reported earlier. I have discussed the matter with the Governor, and I am aggressively working to strengthen the internal controls and will take whatever other remedial actions may be necessary."

State approved buying $40,000 crab pots

bniolet — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:05:00 -0400

A little-known state government service bought 1,100 crab pots to help a hearing-impaired Belhaven man pursue his dream of starting a business.

The state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services approved using federal money to buy the $38,018 worth of traps as part of its rehabilitation program. The division is better known for preparing disabled people for work. Helping people start businesses is a smaller part of its job.

Some lawmakers say the state is wasting money on a losing proposition. Lanier Cansler, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary who personally approved the purchase, said he is satisfied that the department handled the case right. Nonetheless, he has asked the department's internal auditor for a review to make certain its procedures make sense.

Rep. Robert Grady, a Jacksonville Republican, happened across the crab pot buy as a member of a state board that approves some contracts. The notice last month about an "emergency" crab-pot purchase startled him.

Even though the pots are bought with federal money, Grady said taxpayers shouldn't be underwriting a shaky business venture while he's taking questions from constituents about teachers losing their jobs and elderly people losing home care.

"I think this is crazy," he said.

Dewayne Blackburn, 39, confirmed it was he who plans to start the business. Blackburn, who is hearing-impaired, said in a brief interview he wants to return to the work he used to do with his father.

"Me and my daddy used to do it a long time ago," he said.

With 1,100 pots, Blackburn will be going full throttle into an enterprise in which it is difficult to succeed, Grady said. He said Blackburn's job counselors should have steered him toward another opportunity. (N&O)

New mental health post on hold

bniolet — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:06:16 -0400

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Lanier Cansler talked back in February about hiring an assistant secretary who would concentrate on expanding community mental health services.

The person would work with private providers, local mental health offices, advocacy groups and others on getting services where they're needed, Lynn Bonner reports.

Cansler hasn't filled that job yet. It's not the hiring freeze that's put the move on hold, Cansler said, but a time crunch that has him focused on big, immediate issues like the budget.

Cansler said he has been talking to potential hires about the position.

"I hope in the coming weeks we will name someone," he said.

Cansler: Budget cuts unprecedented

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:56:50 -0400

Lanier Cansler, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, told employees in an e-mail Monday that the budget cuts considered in the state House are "historic in nature and unprecedented in amount."

Cansler wrote of his hope that the legislature would consider increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco to bring in more money, but told workers to prepare for budget reductions, Lynn Bonner reports.

All offices and divisions will have to reevaluate their priorities and figure out how to do things differently, Cansler wrote. He asked those with ideas on how to do things better to talk to their supervisors.

"Working together, we can meet this challenge and emerge from these difficult financial times a stronger and better focused Department for serving our State’s citizens. I look forward to working with you as we strive to meet the needs and expectation of those we serve."

Document(s):
cansler-06.08.09.pdf

Perdue to sign smoking ban Tuesday

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:30:27 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue will sign the smoking ban Tuesday morning.

The governor will be joined by secretary of Health and Human Services Lanier Cansler, House Democratic Leader Hugh Holliman, Sen. Bill Purcell and other state legislators and officials for the signing.

The 11:30 a.m. ceremony will take place at the Old House Chamber in the state capitol.