FLORIDA COORDINATING COUNCIL
FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
Quarterly Meeting
Bonita Springs, Florida
Thursday, November 7, 2019 
9:00 a.m. ET 

Onsite CART Captioning provided by
Lisa B. Johnston, RMR, CRR, CRC
www.providingcart.com 

** This is a rough‑draft text file that was produced by a CART Captioner (Communication Access Realtime Translation) to ensure effective communication for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.  This file is not a certified, verbatim record, and it should not be quoted as such; nor should this file be distributed without appropriate authorization by this CART Captioner.  **

* * * * *

>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning.  One more minute?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  One minute.  
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Okay.  We will begin in one minute.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, all, and welcome to ‑‑ I guess you would call it the fall meeting for the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Welcome to Bonita Springs.  We are going to go ahead and get started; it is 9:00 a.m. 
I would like to welcome everyone and say a particular ‑‑ oh, I think we can just go around and do roll call first.  Let's do roll call first and then I'll announce the other folks.
I'm Karen Goldberg, I'm the Chair of the Council and representing HLAA.
And then we'll start with... I don't know... Tiffany, let's start with you.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Good morning, my name is Tiffany Baylor, I am the coordinator for the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  And I am here.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Tiffany.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Good morning, Cindy Simon representing audiologists.  Welcome, Tiffany!  I'm so happy to meet the face behind the voice!  And I'm so happy to see all of you. 
>> MARY HODGES:  Good morning, I'm Mary Hodges representing the Department of Elder Affairs. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Mary, welcome.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Good morning, this is Debbe Hagner representing HLAA from Port Richey, Florida.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Debbe.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Good morning, this is Gina Halliburton ‑‑ 
>> Push it one more time.  There you go.  Good.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina Halliburton representing the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and vice chair.  Good morning.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Gina.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Good morning, Glenna Ashton representing the Florida Association of the Deaf. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Glenna.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Good morning, this is Chris Littlewood, I represent the Association of Late‑Deafened Adults, I work for St. Petersburg College, I live in Seminole, Florida.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Chris.  Welcome.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Good morning, I'm Debra Knox, I'm representing A.G. Bell Florida and I'm from Oviedo, Florida.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Debra.  Welcome.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Good morning, Shay Chapman, bureau chief for Family Health Services representing the Florida Department of Health. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning, Shay.  Welcome.
Okay.  I would also like to give a good morning and a welcome to our interpreters:  Rebekah Barkowitz, Rebecca Blitch, Roger Horne, and Sharon King.
I would like to give a welcome to our CART Provider, Lisa Johnston.  And our AV tech support, Netza Rodriguez.
I would like to make a couple of announcements ‑‑ is there anyone on the phone who would like to announce that they're here today?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Anyone on the chat line?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  No chat.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Thank you very much.
A couple of first morning things to start with.  I would like to remind everyone to wait to be recognized by either me or Gina when you have something that you would like to share, we'll call on you.  Sometimes some people want to share, multiple people at the same time, so we want to make sure it's orderly.
Restrooms are outside the door and to the right.
Anything else I would like to ‑‑ anyone else has any housekeeping items?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I would like to also just recognize our new coordinator, Tiffany Baylor, who has done an outstanding job of getting this set up for today.
She was here late in the evening, because there was another event, and she stayed late just to make sure that everything was set up for us after that other event moved out.
She also has provided us with some welcome items for the area, went out of her way to do that.  Made lots of announcements that this meeting is here.
And if anyone flew in, you would see it announced at the airport, welcoming members to this meeting here.
So thank you very much, Tiffany.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Extraordinaire.
Okay.  In your binders, I believe there's also some information about restaurants and some basic information about Ft. Myers and this area.
All right.  So let's move on.
Let's do an approval of the minutes from August 7‑8 meeting.  What tab is that?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Tab seven.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Seven?  Yes, it is.  Okay.  Let's take a couple of seconds and read over this.  And then I'll ask for it to be accepted, or if there's any discussion.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  This is typed lovely, by the way!  Very readable.  Thank you.  
[Pause]. 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Darlene.  
>> OPERATOR:  Has left the conference.  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I have no way of contacting her.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, all right.  So apparently Darlene was on the line but may have left.  Yes, ma'am, Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  She did share before the meeting had started that she does not have a computer, her computer with her adaptive equipment was down, so she only had phone access, so I don't know if we have ‑‑ Tiffany may have a phone number for Darlene and we can give her a call. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Let's if there's anything we can do with connectivity.  Okay.  Fantastic.
Can I get a motion for approval of these minutes?  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I make a motion that we accept the minutes as read prepared.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Do I have a second on that?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I'll second.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Debra.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Darlene. 
>> OPERATOR:  Has joined the conference. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene, hi, this is Karen.  We wanted to know if you were able to connect and if you can hear us?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Are you talking to me, Darlene?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, ma'am.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I am on the phone, but I am having a hard time hearing what everybody is saying, so....
I don't have my computer anymore, it's broken right now, and I've been waiting since the beginning of October to get some help.
So, I am here on the phone, but I'm not sure how well I will be able to participate.
But I will be here.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  Well, thank you very much.  And you are representing who and what group?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I'm sorry, what?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What group are you representing?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I am on the phone.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, thank you.  Darlene is representing deaf‑blind. 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Oh, oh.  I need to know what is the mute and unmute sequence.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Darlene, this is Gina, you can try star six, that sometimes works.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, okay.  Yes, Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Very briefly, may I suggest to do this, let's find out what mutes and unmutes, and when we have the agenda, we can add a line to mute your line do this, to unmute, this, and that way it will be there for everybody all the time.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I couldn't understand what you were saying; I'm sorry.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Cindy was saying that let's have a brief discussion on how to mute and unmute and that we should add that to our agenda items.
And most phones have a mute button that you can manually push.  I find that much easier to use myself than what you're talking about ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Usually, usually ‑‑ okay.  I don't know what to say... anyway... um....
I will keep pushing buttons until I find it, okay?  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, thank you very much.
So, we've had a motion to accept the minutes and a second on that.
Would we like to have some discussion about the minutes?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  No discussion, the motion carries; the minutes are accepted.
Now I'd like us to turn to the agenda for today and tomorrow.
Section number... 
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That would be section number one.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Section number one.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm looking right at it!  I'm looking for another section.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Um... okay.  Take a quick look at these agenda items.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Do we have a motion to accept the agenda as written?  Cindy makes the ‑‑ Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I move to accept the agenda.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much.  And Debbe seconds.  Any discussion about the agenda?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  The motion carries and we are accepting the agenda.
Is there anything that anyone would like to add to the agenda that was not included?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  None, all right.  Motion carries.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  So, let's move on to the Department of Health update.  That would be Tiffany.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Good morning, this is Tiffany and I'm going to give you the action items update from the last meeting.
First of all, I believe that it is on the same section, I believe it's Section 7, it's also going to be up on the screen.
Okay.  So, one of the first action items was that there was a request that Sunshine standards refreshers be added to the agenda.  I spoke to Patricia Gleason who is the special counsel for Open Government wasn't able to attend, however she provided me with a PowerPoint that she uses in her presentation and has given me ‑‑ said I am allowed to go ahead and present that to you guys later on this afternoon.
And it is on the agenda; it might be tomorrow.
Okay.  It was add a coordinator to Facebook site as administrator, and this is not allowed, unfortunately, for me to be on the Facebook page as an administrator.  The Facebook is part of the Council and not necessarily part of DOH, and so if you guys want to do more with the website and the Facebook thing, you're more than welcome to do so.  But I cannot join that.
The good thing, however, is that I have gone ahead and moved into the Council's website, the one that's not Facebook, and I have it up on the screen, and it is showing some ‑‑ I have updated it, I've gotten my web master certification through DOH and so now I can go in there and add things that are updated.
For example, this banner here that we are looking at here that says the upcoming quarterly council meeting, that way whenever anyone hits our page, they automatically get this with an option to push that, and the whole information about the council meeting is present for them, with the date, the times, the CART, and everything like that.
So there have ‑‑ unfortunately we couldn't do the other thing with Facebook.  However, to make sure we could make the changes to this when necessary.
So it would be really great if you guys would just add stuff, tell me that you need something, e‑mail, that you want to have added in there, I will clear it with DOH and then we'll get it up there.  Okay?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Tiffany, is it okay to have someone ask a question in the middle?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes, please.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Isn't the agenda supposed to be posted on the website?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes, ma'am. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Isn't that public information?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Let us look at that.  I believe that the area where it says "meetings" which I am seeking right now ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Up at the top. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's at the top, it's at the top.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yeah, you have the flyer, I'm okay with that, but I didn't see the agenda attached. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  It does.  In the ‑‑ I can't get to it right this second because I'm trying to see both things; however, on the tab, on the dropdown tab that says meetings that's supposed to be here, and it was earlier, inside that one, if you go to the dropdown, it will show all the meetings, the upcoming and the past meetings, and then in blue, underneath each meeting, will show the agenda and the CART and everything like that.
So, for ours, because we haven't done the CART yet for this meeting, it does say agenda, and so people could access it. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Okay.  I would like to see it up on that front page where you have the flyers for about the meeting underneath it, and the agenda, and add the agenda.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Ask if you could see if anyone else ‑‑ how we feel about that, because all of the information is under the other tab.  I wish I could show it to you.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Okay.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Where it's located where everyone knows to go to the agenda and all the meeting information is put based on the meeting that's coming, so the agenda is right there. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Okay.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I think it might be a good idea to maybe put it on the front page until the meeting takes place, and then move it with all the other information, once the meeting has completed.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Okay. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Let's hear about other views on that.  We'll start with Debra, and then Chris.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Hi, this is Debra.  Two comments.  I think it would be really great, I like Tiffany's suggestion that when the meeting is pending, to have the agenda right on that home page part and then it could be moved to "meetings" after the meeting takes place.
I think the most important thing is when we post the flyer on the website is that the public comment times are posted on the flyer, so that if somebody was looking and they wanted to come to the public comments, that that was just easily accessible.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Excellent suggestion.  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  I'm fine with that.  I just know that yesterday when I was trying to share with some people about the meeting, I couldn't find the agenda on the website.
So, we need to ‑‑ as I recall, it was in reports and publications before.  So if it's been moved to meetings, I'm not saying a heading for meetings, but, again, I like Debra's idea about having it directly under the flyer or, at the very least, people need to know when they can come for public comment.
Because one of the people that I spoke to yesterday, they said, do I need to come for the whole meeting?  And I said no.  I said, but it's important to know that there are certain periods that we have public comment, so they might need the times from somebody outside the council might want to attend.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Excellent suggestion.
I think that I really like that you can click on ‑‑ I'm not sure what you could click on that takes you to the flyer ‑‑ oh, it's that big yellow button.
So maybe at that yellow button, not only does it take you to the flyer, but the flyer includes the agenda for the upcoming meeting.
I'm also a little perplexed that I can't find meetings either.  I'm not sure what happened to that tab.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah.  Yes, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Actually there was a tab. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And I'm about as perplexed as you are.  However, we did have some computer issues the day I left from DOH and a lot of the things went down.
So, just once they come back up, when I get back, I will make sure that they're up and set for ours.
So it must have been lost in that.
However, just so that y'all know, there actually is that meeting section and then when you get to it, it gives you that full page where there is all of ‑‑ each meeting has in blue for clicking access, the agenda, the CART, the minutes, and sometimes the... the meeting, CART, agenda ‑‑ yeah, those three are on there for each meeting.
So, they will be on there; that is the plan.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be here today.  But that is what we're going for.
And I do think that that would be a wonderful idea to attach the agenda to that flyer on that click section at the very beginning.
So I think that's ‑‑ I can make sure that happens.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Excellent, excellent.  Web master extraordinaire.
Okay.  Other items on the Department of Health update?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay... 
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  So, let's see... the DOH to collaborate and develop a program to train patient advocates ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Darlene.  
>> OPERATOR:  Has left the conference. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  ‑‑ to be discussed at the GoToMeeting on October 11.
The next was a change of minutes to a more detailed format.  The minutes as you see have been updated to include more detail and format, and it's in your binder, and of course you see that.
Another action item was to place bylaws discussion on the next agenda.
Because we did the bylaws, we're supposed to have that meeting on the 11th.  It's on a very small portion of this agenda right now; we were supposed to gather and compile all the information that we decided during that other GoToMeeting.
They talked about having a meeting, it was going to discuss the Rally to Tally.  In order to meet that need, we've gotten APD will be one of the speakers at this event, because that was one of the people that you all wanted to collaborate with since they did the 25 year celebration, so they know that you're interested in discussing that.
So when they come, you'll have that option.
Another one was to have the web master update meeting hotel dates and addresses in a timely manner, and you'll see that we updated/gave the FAR, which is the Florida... where we ‑‑ where we announce that there's a meeting coming.
We did it in a very timely manner; I believe it happened in early September.
And so we can make sure that more people know about the events coming up.
The update photos on website action item, the Department of Health website that I handle does not have pictures on it, and so that's not how ‑‑ I can't do that for the DOH website.
However, you all are more than welcome to put as much in photos‑type thing on Facebook website, because that's not connected to DOH necessarily.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I have given, I believe Tiffany, some of the pictures I took from the last meeting.  If not, I can look for them.  But usually every meeting, I try to take one or two pictures and then send it.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes.  As a matter of fact ‑‑ this is Tiffany ‑‑ we used that for the flyer.  So that flyer includes one of those photos in there.  And it looked very, very good there.
The next action item was a Rally to Tally preparations for 30 year anniversary.  I told you we've got APD coming to speak.  I've spoken to her and she hasn't necessarily started the planning yet, but she's looking into that.
I have provided you in section probably seven ‑‑ let me look ‑‑ that looks like the last section, where APD ‑‑ I mean, not APD but the information about renting the facilities at the Capitol for that, just in case, because that subject matter came up, and it's towards the very back of that, where it talks about the requirements for renting the facilities, and which facilities are available and when you have to turn in everything by that time, and that would be that protocol for reserving the rotunda at the Capitol section.
Another action item was to check on having a speaker for APD, from APD and we'll have that person today.
We wanted to ‑‑ another action item was checking on getting a speaker from 911, texting to 911, and we, after painstaking conversations with several, several people, you will see inside your folder where I ‑‑ it's going to look like this, but red [indicates] I'm holding up a form, and I sent out an e‑mail to each 911 county head regarding their ‑‑ I had them ‑‑ I gave them ten questions and had them answer them and that's what's on that sheet.
But luckily I got someone from the ‑‑ in charge of that who will be sending us a speaker at this meeting, and I believe that happens sometime later this afternoon.
Advertising through Google Business was another one.  And I looked into it and found out it's free to set one up, and did the homework for it, but then it came to light that FCCDHH is not a business and, therefore, would not be applicable. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  A non‑profit organization has ‑‑ I even put my genealogy society business under my business, so I believe you still can get around it and do it.  This is an organization.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  I'm going to hand that one maybe over to my boss to see.  I think it's related to DOH and their ability to do that.
But what do you know about the Google My Business?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I'm not familiar, but I think we can follow‑up and see if something as a non‑profit.
[Static in room]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  As the Council can do, we can do a little more research.
You will notice on there.
[Static sound]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  From Tiffany's information, the cost is on how many people click there, so we would have to see what the budget would be available for that if we anticipated it.  Huge increase in clicking of the link.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I never noticed about that, about the number of clicks myself, but I know that the genealogy is on there and some other things with the Hearing Loss Organization is on there.  
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  This is Tiffany again.  Next was to move one of the public comments opportunities to the learning portion of the agenda and that has been done and you will see that on the agenda.
You requested we send an e‑mail to the Tampa hospital patient advocate department regarding accommodations for people who are deaf and hard of hearing when they come in for emergency information.  I contacted that hospital and sent a letter to Stacy Eubanks who is in charge of that section, she is the assistant director of the case management team, she and one other colleague will be here speaking at the conference today.
[Tapping of microphone and static sound]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Another action item was to update the meeting status for submitted applications for renewal to the Governor's Office.  I spoke to a representative and Karen wrote a letter, but we're not ‑‑ we haven't quite sent it in yet, it's in our pile here, and she informed me that the applications that were submitted prior to November ‑‑ January of 2019, those will need to be ‑‑
[Static sound]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  ‑‑ resent again, because anybody that was sent before the new governor took office is no longer there.
So if you are in need of your expiration date is coming, please feel free to fill that out again.
And I know it's extensive, but I think Cindy explained to me that it maintained her information; she just had to update, so it's not as tedious as it would be.
Another action item was to ‑‑ about updating the business cards.  We went and ‑‑ 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Excuse me, Cindy had a comment.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I was just asking if you wanted me to explain.  So if you're going to do it and you're going to do it multiple, apparently the last time I did it, I downloaded it and typed it on the computer, and when I downloaded this one and find the document, it found the other one, all I had to do was change the dates and all the prior information was still there, so it was not as large and as daunting a process.
So, if you're going to do it, download it, just keep it after you fill it out, so if you have to do it again, it's there.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I am ‑‑ the next one, action item, was to update the business cards per the recommendations that you all gave me from the last meeting.
I have those here.  And we're going to take one and pass it down.
I want to point out that one of your requests was to move around the information that was on the front that had to do with the phone number and contact information around to where we could put the Facebook at the bottom so that it's on the front of the card.
One of the added things that we gave a try to was that on the back of the card, it has a [indicates] this [chuckles], like a barcode‑type thing.  A scanner ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  QR code. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you.  QR code, so they only need to turn on their photo on their phone and face it towards that, you don't need to push any buttons, and you just ‑‑ it will catch it and it will bring you to our page without any heavy tip tap tapping thing. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  You do it from photo?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Photo.  I had no idea.  Just in case nobody knew that, I wrote it there, hold it in front of your camera to access the website. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's really cool. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So it made it a lot easier.
Okay.  We discussed creating a newsletter and including these different items ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Darlene. 
>> OPERATOR:  Has joined the conference.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  The responsible party again was the council members on that one, and so you guys discussed different various articles that you would like to put in the newsletter.  And that's still a work in progress right there.
And so that concludes all of the action items.  In this particular format, I'm hoping you guys like the format that goes to that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  I don't know if I missed it, but did you mention that you came to It's A Deaf Thing?  It was great to see you and I really appreciate you coming and participating in that.
So, as busy as you've been, it's also obvious that you're getting out into the state and meeting everybody, and I just wanted to mention that we appreciate all your hard work.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you so much.
I'm going to also add that the goal is to get a lot of people to see us out there and realize that we have ‑‑ that we're an entity out there to help the general community, and so by going to the It's A Deaf Thing, it was really, really wonderful.  A lot of people came to the table.  I was there with ‑‑ 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Debbe. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  ‑‑ Debbe, and I think about 40 people came and asked questions and took flyers.  And we also ‑‑ I also got an opportunity to attend an event at the city hall for Tallahassee where it was for employers who have hired people with disabilities, and so it's through ‑‑ it was just ‑‑ what was good about it is that there were other community stakeholders who work with people with different disabilities, including deafness, and we're out there in the community and they see us, with our new tablecloth as you might see there in the back of the room back there, it gives a lot of information and shows that we are actually out there and trying to make improvements for the lives of our Floridians with deaf ‑‑ who are deaf and hard of hearing, and so any time you guys hear of any kind of event that you think would be really good for us to attend, I am more than happy to attend and make sure that we are visible.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Verklempt, overwhelmed with emotion.  Verklempt. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  You want fell. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  V‑e‑r‑k‑l‑e‑m‑p‑t. 
>> LISA (CART CAPTIONER):  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I just also wanted to mention that I resubmitted my application for reappointment to the Council.  I'm sure this is going to come up in the agenda to talk about later, but we may want to remind all of our organizations to contact the Governor's Office, because that may have more of an effect on getting reappointments than us calling the office as the Council and saying, "Hey, when are you going to reappoint some people?"  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  To follow‑up on that, the two people that I had encouraged to apply and their applications was old, so I told them to do it again, one did and one called, and the other one said he will.
There is a new FAD Board, they want to know if you want to appoint two new people, my time is up in 2020, so I don't know what will happen after that.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  I was wondering if Shay could just kind of speak to that as well about reaching out to the Governor's Office?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Right.  We have one person at the Department of Health who's our contact, Victoria Parsons, and she is the contact to the Governor's Office for all councils that are DOH managed, and so that's how we do our communication to the Governor's Office.
Tiffany and I both collectively have been trying to follow‑up on at least a monthly basis just to say hey, we're still needing these people....
But, you know, maybe as Chris said, it may be more impactful if the individual people who have applied call and say hey, I have submitted my application for appointment.  Because we haven't seen to get any traction since January.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  There has been a lot going on with the new Administration, so I think now is a good time, it's been several months, for us to make sure all applications are updated and that the individual organizations, I would encourage them to call, if they have an applicant, I would encourage council members to call.
And the more calls that we get, that we can put out there, will help us.
And Shay, who is the contact person there that we should really make sure we're reaching out to?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  At the Governor's Office?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  At the Governor's Office.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I'll pull that up and share it this afternoon, or if Tiffany has it.  It's the person you called at the meeting last time.  I don't remember the name. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's in the letter.  Yes, Glenna, then Chris.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I remember reading somewhere once a long time ago, I don't know if it's true or not, but it seems like the State has tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of boards and councils and I think they're trying to cut it down?  Is that true or not?  And they're not making appointments as a way of doing... I don't know.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't know if that is the case.  This is Florida Statute, so per Florida Statute, this Council exists and has certain number of members and has bylaws, which is why we've been looking at the bylaws again.
So, I don't think that they can do that.
Yes, Shay?  And then Chris.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I would like to add to that, the Council is under statute, so in order to stay on the council, the statute would have to be opened and removed, and I don't see that being a problem, so I think that we're pretty safe as a Council.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much.  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I was just going to say, Tiffany, maybe you could add it as an action item to send us an e‑mail with the person to contact in the Governor's Appointments Office so we can share that with our organizations and members.
And like I said before, and Shay mentioned, that it might be more impactful if more people contact the Governor's Appointments Office. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Chris.
Other discussion points on this?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  Let's move on ‑‑ 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Tiffany has a question.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes.  Up on the screen and in your ‑‑ in your binder, you'll find the contact log, and I wanted to add that to the action item discussion a little bit, because I just wanted to provide that to you.  Usually we just keep it in the front part of the folder, but it is in one of the tabs.  And it's on the board.
But I guess I was trying to show that the kind of calls we're getting and what they're related to, a lot of it is IEP information, service dog access, needing an interpreter, sometimes volunteering for interpreter, questions about when they're attending college, can they access... okay.  What section is that?  The very back?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  It's the very back and it's the very last thing in the back.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Section eight.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes.  And so I put all of that up there and also showed what provision I provided and of course the dates.
But the thing that's really kind of... is that right there [indicates] so you can see what kind of questions and what kind of calls we're receiving.
Some of them are independent living, that would be the most, along with the IEPs.  There's a lot of questions about IEPs.
It was helpful that I was a teacher for so long. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Or else that would be a problem!  But there are a lot of IEP questions.  Surprisingly, a lot of service dog questions.  And interpreter questions.
And identification of hearing aid/hearing loss questions, how do they go, where do they go, that they can go and get evaluated for hearing loss where it's not going to cost them because they're on a fixed income.  That's a big one.
Sign language classes was semi‑big.  And then purchasing of a hearing aid is also a big set of questions.
So, just so you know what kind of questions you're receiving there.
And if any of your organizations which you are affiliated have any information that they can give me that I can then share with the telephone calls that come in and placed on our website that is updated, so I can have this available for people who call in.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Tiffany.  Debbe has a comment and then ‑‑ 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I love your checklist.  I hope you save that so we can use it on a biennial report?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That's a good idea.  I think that's a good idea.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  I was going to say, the visuals are great, the visual representation of information is always one of the better ways to present it.  So that's a great job.  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Gina and Debbe for those comments.
And Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I'm sorry to make so many comments.  I just wanted to help Tiffany along as much as possible.
But with regards to the questions you're getting related to hearing aids, I know a few years ago, I created a letter for ALDA a list of different organizations that help people get hearing aids and financial support for that, and I just wanted to make sure that you had that letter somewhere.
I will have to dig it up.  I'm sure it needs updating, but it would have, you know, some different organizations, like the Lions Club, Sertoma and some other agencies that will pay for hearing aids.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I would greatly appreciate that if you could provide me with that, that would really help. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That would be great.  Thank you, Chris.  Mary, and then Debbe.  
>> MARY HODGES:  Thank you.  I agree with everyone that the visual is excellent.  I have a question regarding the request.  And Tiffany, if you felt that you had adequate information on each instance to address the request for, are you identifying any areas where you need additional resources?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I spend a lot of time researching.  I think I mentioned that at the last meeting, I do like research.  Therefore, I did ‑‑ any down time, I spend seeking out this information.
I was blessed that part of the questions regarding the ESE directors or the advocacy and support for children and students, I already had that in my repertoire.
But to be honest with you, definitely the financial aid assistance for hearing aids, for example, this one right here, I found a site that had 40 places to get financial assistance for hearing aids and it's a list of things.
But I think that part of it is outdated.
So what I'm really needing is I'm lacking in updated information, updated information.
And for the longest time, I was in a quandary with locating people who are looking for an interpreter for a client or a person coming to the doctor's office or a dental office, that they could hire.
I was able to keep up with the law and what exactly are they required to provide these visitors to their offices.
But I did not have the where did they get it besides FRID and RID, and in those situations, you leave your information and they call you back, or you can research it and start calling people.
But a lot of times the people who do call on our line are calling when there's already a flood in the basement. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And where they need the interpreter at 4:00 o'clock, you know.
And so that, my things that I am able to offer them aren't very helpful, because it's a ‑‑ it's the patient's need for that, they had to wait for it, so if I could find something where I could get some resources that would allow me to share with them about finding an interpreter or a pool of interpreters that they can get, I don't want to say lickety‑split, but they need it in a quick time. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much, Tiffany.  I think that's a very good point.
Glenna has a comment, then Debbe, Gina, and Cindy.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  FAD on their website has a page with a list of all the interpreting agencies in the state of Florida, with contact information, so you can ‑‑ 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  What did she say?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  FAD, Florida Association of the Deaf, on their website, they have a page with a list of all the interpreting agencies with contact information, address, e‑mail, phone numbers, everything.
I'm not sure how updated ‑‑ I just looked at it and it looked like it was pretty good, it was pretty complete.
So, you can pull that right away and you can have that available.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Does that website include lickety‑split?  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And I mean no joke to that, I mean, really, the emergence, somebody, they need an interpreter by this afternoon, how do... how do consumers who need an interpreter like this afternoon?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  They have to contact the interpreting agency and see if they have somebody available to go right away.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Gotcha.  Okay.  Thank you very much.
Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yes, this is Debbe.  One comment about the financial support for hearing aids.  HLAA has a website how you can go about getting financial aid, and Tiffany, if you feel that you're not getting any answers, please feel free to contact us council members, because we may know the information that you're not going to find on the internet.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  So please, if it's related to ‑‑ just send us all a note about the question and then see who first answers the question, answers the question for you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Debbe.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very helpful information.  Gina, Cindy, and then Chris.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yeah, Tiffany, this is Gina.  I can give ‑‑ the biggest issue with the last‑minute interpreting request is it's almost ‑‑ like you say, Florida is in the basement, and a lot of people don't want to pay for the services, and this is an interpreter's livelihood, so they have to respect the business of an interpreter just like you do a doctor or a CART Provider or anybody else.
But FAD does have a list of agencies on there ‑‑ I think I found it under community interpreting services, but there's others that you can try to contact for last minute, but it would cost.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much, Gina.  Cindy, then Chris.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  All I want to do is repeat what Debbe said.  Don't be afraid of bothering us.  If there is a question and it makes your life easier to call us for guidance, even if you have to go back to research, it would make it easier.
I think I can speak for everyone, we would be more than happy to work with you and try to give you any information you need.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very robust discussion.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I appreciate everyone's input.  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  What they said.  Contact me any time, Tiffany.  E‑mail is best.  Feel free if you have any question, I'm happy to help you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Chris.  What I really like hearing is people representing their agencies and telling you what's on their websites and what the agencies can do.  That's ‑‑ really, this is the whole purpose of this Council.  We come together, we work together to help the people of Florida.
Any other comments about this?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  All right.  Tiffany, do you want to go on with the action items?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I believe that was the last action item; we're finished with the action items.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I was so mesmerized by your sharing of the action items, I'm not ready for you to be done!  [Chuckles].
Chris or Glenna, good?  Do you want to add anything?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Tiffany, I just want to comment, I'm happy to see you sign, I saw you signing and you said yay!  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I was going to say, Tiffany, maybe you could share with everyone your academic endeavors of late.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Wonderful!  Well, presently I am taking a class at Ability First in Tallahassee.  I sought out so many places to get sign language classes in Tallahassee and I kept running against a wall, so I was really grateful, not only did they say that yes, they had a class, secondly, yes, they had an opening, but third, yes, you can attend because you have hearing loss, it is free.  All those are wonderful things when they all come together!  
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So I am taking a class on Tuesday nights, every Tuesday, and I am learning quite a bit.
Of course, it's a little difficult because of the vision loss along with the hearing loss, so I actually sit next to the teacher, the rest of the class sits in the classroom, but my seat is directly next to the teacher so that I can see what she's doing.
I practice a lot!  A lot!  In my spare time.  You guys probably say "What spare time?"  But yes, that little section of spare time, I do practice a lot.  And I really enjoy the training.  And I'm really able ‑‑ I like that I'm being taught by a person who is Deaf, so I get a bit of the culture, along with the sign language, which makes it just wonderful, so... 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  What's the teacher's name, the Deaf teacher's name?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Denise. 
[Pause]. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Last name?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I honestly don't know. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Sounds like... like charades.  Can you act it out?  
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I'm not really sure of the last name.  I can look it up.  I just always call her first name when we speak.  Actually I know her sign, I could barely remember it was Denise, I know her name sign more than anything else.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Tiffany, this is Gina.  I can give you a peripheral of free websites that can support what you're learning in class.  They have all kinds of practice website that you can do receptive as well as the expressive online on your own time.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Excellent, excellent.  Please do. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  When you send that, please send it to everybody, would that be okay?  Send it to Tiffany and she can send it to everybody and we can disseminate it to our agencies.
Okay.  Glenna, did you have another comment?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I was going to say names ‑‑ I'll send her the list.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Perfect.  All right.  Yes, Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I just want to commend Tiffany, she has been a wonderful asset to the Department and I hope you'll find to the Council.  She's jumped in with just enthusiasm and such a positive attitude, and I think that you all are just going to be so happy going forward.
We're just so happy to have her.  I tell her everyday what a great find she was for us!  And I feel like she's the perfect person for the Council.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Here here. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you, guys, you're making me blush. 
[Applause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And last night she was booking!  She was coming down the hallway to get this room set up because there was another event, and I don't think I've ever seen anybody move that fast.  I had to jump out of her way!  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  Any other comments about the list or any new action items that you're thinking about that came up as you were hearing this?  Debra?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  This is Debra.  Not a comment about action items, but the data that you showed in the chart that we were talking about using in the future on the annual report, biennial report, I think it might be a nice addition, since you have such detail about what the questions are, that when you have that graphic about the different topics that kind of break out in terms of the questions, to also ‑‑ I'm saying this now so we don't forget, because I won't remember tomorrow ‑‑ is that what are some examples of the questions that might be in those different categories.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's a great idea.  Thank you, Debra.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That is a good idea.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  We have done really, really well on timing!
So we've got five minutes before our speaker arrives.  Do we want to take a five‑minute break and stretch?  Good idea.
All right.  We're on a five‑minute break ‑‑ or we'll reconvene at 10:00 a.m.  Thank you.  
[Break].  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right, let's welcome back everyone.  It is 10:00 a.m.  It's 10:02 a.m.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  A.m.?  Oh, yeah, it is a.m.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good morning to our speakers today our visiting us all the way from Tampa, Florida!  Tampa General Hospital, very near and dear to my heart, having served as medical director of pediatrics psychiatry consult service for many years.
We have... I've already forgotten the names ‑‑ Maureen?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Maureen Decker and Teri Wilson.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Great.  Welcome to being here and we're thrilled that you're here.
And they're going to speak with us about overdue of service provision for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing or deaf‑blind even.  
>> TERI WILSON:  I'm Teri Wilson, I'm the director of case management department at Tampa General Hospital, thank you for having us, and I'll let Maureen introduce herself.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Hello, my name is Maureen Donovan Decker and I've been a social worker for about 19 years, the last five or so have been at Tampa General Hospital and that's a little about me.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Okay.  We were asked to come and talk to you a little bit about the services we provide at Tampa General to our patients who are deaf or hard of hearing and we do have a variety of services that we offer at no charge, I want to add, to the patients.
We take care of that.  It's very important that the patients are getting what they need when they come to us and that we're able to communicate with them clearly and decisively in a way that they understand the process and the treatments that are taking place.
We do offer the services to family members as well.  It's not just to the patient.  Because we treat not only the patients, but the family as well.
And we have ‑‑ excuse me, I've got a little frog in my throat today, I think I'm coming down with something, maybe ‑‑ but anyway, our services, we have a variety of services that we offer, and we do allow the patient to choose, because it's up to them ‑‑ thank you ‑‑ as to what they're most comfortable with and what works best for them.
And I can ‑‑ do you want to talk a little bit about the services?  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Sure. 
>> TERI WILSON:  And I will talk about how we get those going for you.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Sure.  So as Teri alluded to, we use different modalities, anywhere from live interpreters to video relay to TTY.
We also do encourage patients if they choose to use texting as a form of communication, really from the moment of registration we ask their preferred preference.
Obviously it's a little bit more difficult when you have someone come in in an emergency situation, so with that, we automatically do the video relay, at least initially, and then go from there.  
>> TERI WILSON:  And if we have patients that prefer not to use the video relay, which I will tell you most do not that are deaf or hard of hearing, they prefer a live interpreter, as we will use in an emergency situation, we will use that, but we have just contracted with two firms that do sign for the deaf and hard of hearing that are in ‑‑ we did contract, we did want to make sure that we had folks that were nationally certified and go through all the processes and have just the medical things we need; flu shots, they have their TB, that they've been vetted through all of those things, they've had background checks we put together, they are speaking to our patients and helping care for our patients, so we want to make sure we have done our due diligence for our national population. 
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  And national certification. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Yes, they have the national certification and they have their flu shots and they have had their TB and all of those things.
We have contracted again with two services.  So they have agreed ‑‑ and again, we contracted with them because we wanted to make sure that we could get services as quickly as possible, as well as making sure we have reliable services to be on hand.
So, in an emergency situation, in the ED, we will use the video first, and then get the live interpreter in, and our contract is with these folks that they will be there in less than an hour, and we wanted to make sure we could lock somebody in, and they are available 24/7 and we have actually had interpreters for patients in our critical care areas that have been around the clock and they usually are there for about six hours at a time and then they trade out.
But we do, like I said, it's whatever the patient needs and the family needs to make sure they're understanding the care and what's going on, which is really, really important.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  The other thing that you need is communication boards or we have adaptive equipment, particularly for patients in our rehab, we have a rehab facility there too, so that hopefully it makes it easier in terms of calling in and out.
We have our facilities department assists with that.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Anybody have any questions so far?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, this is Karen.  So how many VRI machines do you have?  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  We have four.  And I will say I don't think at any point in time in the last five years that we have used all four at the same time. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You've had four this whole time or you got ‑‑ you had four the whole five years or you just got it?  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Since I've been there. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, well, that's actually great.  I mean good for an emergency.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Right. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think everyone can agree that it's good if you have no other choice.  And I think there was a time when I was still at Tampa General that I got a phone call from a friend of mine who's deaf and they were upset that the only thing being offered was the VRI.
But I spoke with the Department of Nursing or director of nursing in the ER and said we have made phone calls to 18 agencies and waiting for someone to get here.
And I thought well, that's more than reasonable.  It's chest pain and I even told my friend, use the VRI, it's chest pain, you know!
And then when the interpreter gets there, then you've got something else, but right now it's the biggest concern to make sure you understand what's happening and you're communicating and that you're having chest pain.
So, yeah, I'm very impressed that you guys are committed.  
>> TERI WILSON:  And like I said, that was one of the reasons too why we started looking into getting contracts and so that we would have services that we knew would be available instead of making those calls to 18 different services, trying to find someone to provide the communication need for our patients, yeah.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  First of all, I really appreciate you all using so many different avenues to get communications clearly.
What is your process in place if your patient is not satisfied with the services received?  Like, for example, you bring a live interpreter and they don't understand exactly what the patient is talking about?  What is the recourse there?  
>> TERI WILSON:  What we will do, if they are not satisfied with that interpreter or they're just not meshing, which that does happen, we can change that out, we'll make a call to either the same service, because each service that we contracted with have designated a certain number of interpreters just for Tampa General, so they are on hand and ready, so it's not just one person, so we can have them send somebody else.
A lot of times we have folks, especially if they are pre‑scheduled surgery or procedure, either the insurance company has provided them with an interpreter, which is fine, they can come on in and interpret for them, or they have a specific agency that they're used to going through and using.  And if it's not one of the two that we're contracted with, we will definitely use who they want.
Again, we honor the patient choice and preference.  And we'll go ahead and call and get those folks to come in.
The ones that are the pre‑scheduled surgeries and procedures, we know in advance, so it's a little easier to get those things scheduled, especially if it's not with one of the two folks that we contract with.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  I think ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have two ‑‑ yeah, go ahead, Glenna, then Chris.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Two questions.  Do you also use CDI?  With a Deaf interpreter?  
>> TERI WILSON:  Yes, that's part of the contracting, and I wish I could tell you I remember all of the deaf involved, and I know they're nationally certified and they have to have that top certification and the CDI is one in there. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  The Deaf interpreting for the Deaf, the Deaf themself.
Second question, do you have any ideas of the numbers of people using or serving deaf and hard of hearing?  
>> TERI WILSON:  It's growing, it's definitely growing. 
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  So I can tell you just ironically, since we actually got asked to come and speak with you all, I've been asking, particularly my emergency room staff, and they said that absolutely every week they have at least one deaf or hard‑of‑hearing patient.
The other thing just to kind of circle back to one of your questions in terms of what if it's not a good fit for a live interpreter, because of the nature of our hospital, a level‑one trauma hospital, a lot of times when people are coming in the state of emergency, it could be due to a major life trauma.  And we oftentimes have gender requests in terms of what sex the interpreter is, so first thing's first, we always want some line of communication to be opened up emergently and then we break and switch out, if the male is the only one available and they want a female, and then I think the most important thing is communicating too to the patient to say we're working on it, you know, to try to get the ideal or most appropriate preference.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Chris?  
>> TERI WILSON:  And we ‑‑ 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Okay.  This is Chris.  I have a couple of kudo stories for Tampa General Hospital and I'll save that to the end of your presentation, but you guys are awesome, I will say that.
My question is related to the contracts that you have.  Do you have a response time for, like you mentioned the emergency room situation, when you need a live interpreter, does the contract say that somebody has to respond within two hours or less or something like that, do you know?  
>> TERI WILSON:  Yes, the contract actually states they have to have a live person on our campus within 60 minutes, and so far we've been able to do that.
Again, when we went through the process of vetting out the different companies and agencies, we made sure that the availability was going to be 24/7 and also that they were going to be readily available when we needed them.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is it okay if I ask a question?  Glenna earlier had asked about the numbers.  Is there any attempt to do metrics and looking at the numbers of patients that you are serving?  
>> TERI WILSON:  Do we track that right now?  No.  Is it something that we could very easily track?  Yes.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, and the reason why I think that, is that it's always good to have data, I love data, and the Deaf community and I think the State, you know, what we represent are 17 different agencies to serve deaf, hard of hearing, deaf‑blind in the state of Florida, and that it would be very useful so that we could share that information to the Legislature as to the hospitals that are really making an attempt to meet the needs of the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community.  
>> TERI WILSON:  I can absolutely get that data for you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I think that would be great.  
>> TERI WILSON:  I would absolutely be happy to do that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  The other thing ‑‑ actually I have two questions.  If the child is hearing and the parent is deaf, what attempt is made to ensure that access to communication for the parent?  
>> TERI WILSON:  Especially if the child is a minor, it's the parent that we have to convey consent information to treat, so we would get the interpreter for the parent, and we do and that has happened multiple times. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Fantastic.  The final question is, what can we as a Council do to support Tampa General and their endeavor?  Is it helpful for us to give talks to the medical staff or anybody there about deaf, hard of hearing issues in the state of Florida that would help them?  
>> TERI WILSON:  Absolutely.  I mean, I think any time that we can educate the staff, whether it be the physicians or even the case management staff who are the ones that get the... I'm blanking ‑‑ 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  I'll be there next Thursday. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Awesome!  Come on and see me, great, I would love it!  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think Glenna had a question and then Gina.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Yeah, how do you learn to do all the appropriate things?  I mean, do you just pick it up and research or does somebody come over and preach at you or what?  How do you end up doing ‑‑ what seems to be the right thing, because a lot of times we work with other hospitals and they just pfff, stubborn, and how does it all get started on the right path?  
>> TERI WILSON:  A lot of it is just the training that we received.  I know I've been speaking for myself, it's just experience on the job and training we've received from other places.
Tampa General has made a big focus on the needs of patients who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind.  Even on the different languages.
When you do patient‑focused care and family patient‑focused care, you do pick up on those things and you learn what's the best thing, and we knew that we needed ‑‑ these are populations and every population is different and we need to be able to treat those populations.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  And we keep those resources ‑‑ we keep those resources up to date on our internal portal as well, so as new staff come in, too, we have a huge range of resources that are at people's fingertips regardless of what their needs are. 
>> TERI WILSON:  And it's part of the orientation process, too, especially in the case management department, because we, my department, we're the ones that are handling all of those things and all of the needs of the patients as far as the special needs when they're in the hospital and again the special needs or anything they need once they leave the hospital. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Fantastic, thank you.  We have so much more robust conversation that wants to happen, so I'm going to do Gina first, Chris second, Debra third, and then Debbe fourth.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I have a follow‑up. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And apparently Glenna has a follow‑up and she will be fifth.  No, I'm kidding.  Go ahead with your follow‑up question. 
[Laughter].
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I'm wondering there are three colleges with interpreter training program and helping you get training, USF, SPC, and HCC, and there is that resource. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's fantastic.  
>> TERI WILSON:  We're always open, to me, knowledge is power and the more we can gain and the better we can treat patients and the better we are and if we can get anyone come and talk, I would love it. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Any time.
I want to jump in here, I am the Co‑Chair for the deaf, hard of hearing, deaf‑blind, for the American Academy of Psychiatry so I would be more than happy to come speak.  
>> TERI WILSON:  That would be awesome.  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Your presentation is just fantastic and knowledge is power and I don't know what marketing you guys are doing about what Tampa General is offering, but it would do the community a yard of goods if you would make that part of what you present, on TV, on print materials or whatever, because most of what we hear are horror stories.
I can give you ‑‑ I can fill your head with horror stories of what happens to people who are deaf or hard of hearing in a hospital.  And the fact that you guys are doing something like Glenna said, how did you learn to do what's right?  I mean, it's commendable!
This is the first I have heard of a hospital that is so seemingly comprehensive in their approach to care.  I mean, it's amazing!  I mean, it's, like, this is a first for me and I'm, like, a senior citizen. 
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  All right, and so it's just really a blessing.
So whatever you all can do to get the word out so that you can become a model for other hospitals, you know... I don't know what that process would be like, but if you could ‑‑ we could ‑‑ can we do it legitimately, Chris, can we, like, get behind them and have ‑‑ Shay, go ahead, please.  I'm probably overstepping my boundaries saying we are going to help you!  
[Laughter]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  As part of the many hats I wear at the department, and I'm not sure if Tampa general is part of the Florida Hospital Association?  
>> TERI WILSON:  I believe they are. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I work closely with Kim Street at the Florida Hospital Association and we just on a totally different topic did a recognition at their annual meeting for hospitals who met a low primary C‑section rate and that's for our issues we're working on with women and C‑sections and other risks out there, and we recognize hospitals across the state, together with AHCA, and it was just a certificate but it was at their annual meeting, and if this is something you would like for us to explore, if we set some standards on what it looks like, with them probably being the star people, right, I could get with Kim Street at the Florida Hospital Association and see if next year maybe that's a category we could recognize hospitals for. 
[Applause].  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I really like that idea.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  It is such a definite need, we have so many people learning from hospitals and some hospitals are still stubborn and will not change and if they could be a model and contact other hospitals and tell them it's possible!  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  TGH has been a model for so many different areas for hospital care.  I may be biased because I worked there for nine years. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TERI WILSON:  We appreciate that.  We're biased too. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Chris and then Debra and then Mary.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Okay.  This is Chris.  The problem that exists is Tampa General has resources.  I mean, you guys are huge, like a city, I mean, you sit next to Davie's Island and Tampa and I've been there and I know the resources that are there and I teach a class through a grant from the Florida State Attorney General's Office for victims advocate and when I was in Tampa, a couple of your patient advocates were in my class and there was smoke coming off their hands from the notes that they were taking everyday. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  You guys are just awesome!
But like everyone was saying, how do we share that information with other hospitals?  Smaller hospitals.  Because, like, I have a fairly large hospital that is within a couple miles of my house, and before I started learning to advocate for myself, you know, ten or so years ago, I had my own horror story about going into an emergency room and not getting the accommodations I need.
And the situation comes up where especially in emergency room situation, that is when it's most critical for communication to take place.
And anything that you all can do.
One of the things I was thinking about earlier is can other hospitals piggyback off of your contracts?  Like in the Tampa Bay Area, with service providers, and use your contracts.  And do you share that with other hospitals, things like that.
I would love to see that happen.  
>> TERI WILSON:  That's an awesome idea.  I do know that there is a, what they call, like, a pool of the certified interpreters in the Tampa area, it was my understanding are shared, but because we entered into the contract with two of these companies, they have set aside folks just for Tampa General just based on our needs.  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  Another point that I would say is, so because we work in case management, we do either participate in or attend a number of different regional board meetings.  Actually one meeting that I attended two weeks ago was for patients in crisis situations and it came up, how do we get interpreters so quickly for the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community?  Particularly because in Hillsborough county and Pinellas County.
[Noise outside room]. 
>> ‑‑ it's been difficult to have a live interpreter stop, drop, and roll, and so I think there are multiple ways, the big thing is we need to communicate, period, first, by any resource we have available, but then continue to talk to the patient and have the rest of the management staff involved to say yes, well, we have a quick fix right now.
It's not the permanent fix, you know.
But in terms of sharing resources, that actually was a follow‑up for our board meeting, is to say okay, go back to your respective areas and say who do you call in that emergency‑type situation?
In terms of how do we get other hospitals to kind of get on board, I think as a patient, and I'm sure you all are your best advocates, but it's so important to remind front‑line staff, hey, this is our legal right.  You're breaking the law if you don't accommodate our needs.
And it's funny how when you hear that, all of a sudden people tend to react a little bit differently.  
>> TERI WILSON:  But we aren't trying to take away from that, to be honest, which is why we've gone through the steps of vetting agencies and contracting with what we thought were two of the best and a panel of us interviewed them and it was a long process and there were a lot of requirements we had, because we don't want a patient to come in and have to say, this is my legal right, we want to provide it because it's the right thing to do.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Kudos.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Chris had a follow‑up and then Debra, then Debbe.  Mary, I cannot make it without hearing from you today, I just can't, so you're going to be fourth.  Go ahead.  [Chuckles]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Real fast, this is Chris again.  What you were saying about reminding people that it's the law that they need to follow, unfortunately with the emergency situation, and I'll just tell you from my own deaf and hard‑of‑hearing perspective, that sometimes people are afraid to express that because people will dig in and they will say well, we don't have to do this, and there are people that are not knowledgeable about the ADA or some other things and they don't think that a hospital is responsible for doing that, and people that are deaf or hard of hearing, when you're in a situation where you have a severe or a life‑threatening illness, you don't want to start an argument with somebody, you want to get the care that you need.
Also, you want to get it quickly.
I've had situations myself where I was afraid to ask for accommodations because I thought it would slow down the services that I needed.  And so that's a big concern.
So, sharing that information with other hospitals would be a great thing for you to do.  
>> TERI WILSON:  And that's what we're working on.  Like I said, we realized and recognized the need and educating the staff, you know, this is the right thing to do.
And more ‑‑ the legal stuff aside, I know in my years ‑‑ I'm an RN by trade and being over the case management department, you've got to do what's right by the patient.
And I think that if we all go in to what's right for the person and understanding those needs, then that's where the right thing happens. 
So, I'm on several committees and boards throughout the county.  Hillsborough County, I'm happy to share with them, we share a lot of things.
And I think you're right, I don't think a lot of the hospitals do have contracted services like this and all they have to offer are the video remote interpreters or the language line phones, that's another thing for folks that speak a different language.
It's making the accommodations, you have to do the extra step, and sometimes folks aren't willing to do that.
But I will tell you, we are and we do and everyone that goes through the process of interviewing agencies and looking at the credentialing and helping anybody that wants to do that, we are more than happy to assist with that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Because I think it's important. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Debra, then Debbe, Mary, and then Gina.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I just wanted to not only reiterate how impressed I am with the level of patient care at that Tampa General is really achieving with this type of initiative, but also two things.
One is I mentioned to Shay that maybe at the Florida Hospital Association, she's going to ask with her contact that maybe you all could do a presentation for the Association for the other hospitals to talk about what your process has been and how that's worked well for, you know, your patients.  That would be one thing. 
But my second thing is, and it kind of is an aside, but I would encourage you also to think about taking the patient care in terms of deaf and hard of hearing one step further, because there are situations in which, aside from communication modality where when a patient comes into the emergency room and they're seen and maybe they have to go for a scan or something else, one of the first thing that happens is they have to take their hearing aids out, and so really educating the staff, all staff and at every level, that when they return from the scan, they need access to put their hearing devices back on.
And even everyday, if the patient is admitted and speech therapy or whomever is going to come, because they had a stroke or they are going to have an aphasia, an evaluation, they need to know this patient wears hearing aids.
Because the outcome of the evaluation is going to be very different if the patient can't hear well to respond appropriately.
So, I would encourage you to even go one step further, that access to their hearing devices on a very regular basis and making sure that the staff asks and make sure that they do that.
Sometimes batteries die too so having that availability would be important.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you. 
>> TERI WILSON:  And the nursing staff ‑‑ that's part of nursing and they do ‑‑ I'm not going to say 100%, but that is something, and it just recently came up, that they realized the patient didn't have their hearing aids in and once they put them in, then the conversation was totally different.
So that's a great thing and I would be happy to take that back. 
Because even though we know, we may not always remember.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  One thing I'm impressed, I would like to see that more of the ‑‑ since I live in Pasco County, I would be more squared to go to Trinity and I want to make sure I go to Tampa General for anything.
We need to spread ‑‑ make sure that all the hospitals.
I had a situation where I had to go through the colonoscopy and said leave your hearing aid on and I said I don't think so and when they were moving me around, I was more afraid when they moved me with a cochlear implant, it would fall off, and so I said I'm taking it off, and then the interpreter explained to the doctor why, because if they move me, that might fall off.
So, and so the interpreter had to explain to the doctor for the safety of the equipment and the safety for me, I need her to be there until I'm under ‑‑ 
>> TERI WILSON:  Sedation. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  ‑‑ what is it ‑‑ white juice or whatever they give you to go to sleep, drugs. 
[Laughter]. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  So I took it off.  But the doctor said no, no, keep it on, keep it on, and I'm, like, no, no, no.
So you need to educate the doctor that however they're moving us around, that the cochlear implant can really leave and fly off, it doesn't take much.  But the hearing aid ‑‑ 
>> TERI WILSON:  And too, we need to be listening to a patient. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  There you go. 
>> TERI WILSON:  That's the bottom line. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Listen to the patient period.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Because nobody knows your body and what's going on with you and your equipment better than you do. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Right. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Sometimes we forget that as healthcare professionals, to listen to the patient. 
But that's something that we always tell our staff at least in case management, listen to what they're telling you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you. 
>> TERI WILSON:  And actually hear what they're saying to you, because they know better than you do on some things. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, that's the key, make sure we're listening to patients and what they need.
Mary representing Elder Affairs in the state of Florida and I think I'm very interested in what you have to say.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Okay.  
>> MARY HODGES:  Thank you, Karen.  I am indeed interested.  Working with elders, two main things that we're talking about is hearing loss, because so many of them do have hearing loss, and then the other thing I feel is cognitive decline.  Just, you know, with your work and understanding that, how does that interface with what you do and how does all of the modalities that you have in place work with that population?  
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  So I think that's where we really lean on our speech therapists to help us do a cognitive eval as well, because they're truly, I think the experts, in terms of is this baseline or is this a new condition?
And you're right, particularly with our elderly community, it could go hand in hand or they might be totally separate issues.
You know, when it comes to cognitive decline, we are regularly ‑‑ regardless of the ailment going on with the patient, we check are they alert and oriented times three, because it could be a medication that's, you know, interacting in that moment, or it could be part of the disease process, it could be because they have been in the ICU for so long.
There are just a number of different factors.
You bring up another good point, though.  I think a lot of times when we are working with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing, to recognize that that's not ‑‑ that does not equate to educational levels, too.
And sometimes I think that those are confused.
So, that's just part of doing the initial evaluation with a patient, is to know communication does not necessarily, you know, interact with cognition.  Those are two separate issues.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  A follow‑up question?  Okay.  
>> MARY HODGES:  So a lot of them don't or haven't had hearing ‑‑ you know, they have hearing loss, a lot of them don't wear hearing aids, so you've got that ‑‑ and the speech therapist may be able to detect that you're dealing with somebody with hearing loss who maybe aren't aware or acknowledging that they have hearing loss in the first place.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Yeah, and my father would probably kill me if he heard me say that, I deal with that with him a little bit, but it took us years to get him to come to terms with the fact that he really couldn't hear us very well... and we were all yelling [chuckles]... and hurting our own hearing trying to communicate with him.
And I think that that's an issue, too, sometimes, that it's....
I know I can speak of him, just the pride factor and the era that he grew up in, it was very, very difficult for him to, one, admit that he was losing his hearing; but two, to get hearing aids so that he could hear us.
And it's amazing how much better we communicate when you wear some!  
[Laughter]. 
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  One other follow‑up, so we, all employees do an annual review and with the annual review component of it is educational that we have to sign off on.
I don't think that's unusual for hospitals across the board, at least I hope not.
But one of those is how do we help interact with our elderly population?  And to automatically kind of, you know, assume that you go a little bit closer just in case somebody may not hear you from ten feet away, you know, from going to go see a patient.
I think also it's easier to pick up on if somebody is starting to read your lips, that perhaps they need a little bit of extra help.
So, those are just a couple cues that come up.  But the entire hospital organization interacts with patients have to have that review. 
>> TERI WILSON:  And just like in the emergency room situation, we have had folks come in that are hearing impaired or deaf and, again, really taking care of looking at, you know, the emergency situation and what's going on, you may miss those cues, especially if there's not someone with them, which in a lot of cases there is not.
But, again, through our annual education and checkoffs that we have to do, and as a nurse, you learn to pick up on those cues and look for those things so that you can pick it up early.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, great.  I'm not sure who was next.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I was next. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Gina, then Cindy.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  First, I want to give kudos whoever on this Council brought these two ladies to us.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I know, right?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Tiffany?  Excellent, excellent decision!  
[Applause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  When you made a comment about the length that you guys go through in vetting organizations and agencies, it would be extremely helpful if you don't already have it in place to have an outline how to vet an agency, how to select a qualified interpreter, you know, if you had that, you know, in a guideline form what questions to ask, what things to look for, et cetera, and share it with us, that would be so awesome for us to share with our downstreams.
When I interact with our mayors ‑‑ I'm in Jacksonville, when we have the Mayors' Disability Council and they have a process in place that looks at qualification and the looking at vetting and integrity kind of issues, and if you have something like that in place you're willing and able to share with us, that would be from my agency a great service. 
>> TERI WILSON:  It's just something that we created.  Just things that looking at other agencies and such that we do contract with, things that we would want to know, I'm happy to share it, do I send that to you, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  [Nods head]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you so much.  Cindy next.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I have actually had this experience personally and also from hearing from patients ‑‑ I'm an audiologist ‑‑ very often, now they're afraid to take their hearing aids to the hospital because they're very expensive, very often it ends up on the floor, someone rolled a cart over it, it accidentally went into the garbage, who's going to pay to replace it. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TERI WILSON:  I do, actually, it comes out of my department's budget, so yes, we do ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I actually took my husband's uncle, I said I'm putting you on notice, he has his hearing aids with him, he cannot communicate with you without them effectively, they said well, you take it home and we'll give him a pocket talker, because we don't want to be responsible.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Oh, wow....
[Groans]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  And that is more common than not, we talk to hospitals all the time about paying for hearing aids that were run over by a cart or thrown out by the cleaning people. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Well, we've had that, and it's been a very conscious effort with front‑line staff to make sure that we keep track of the hearing aids, as well as dentures, because we pay for a lot of dentures and hearing aids, unfortunately.  I would love to tell you that we don't.
I think that number has probably diminished a little bit because we are having that more on the forefront with the front‑line staff and making sure that we keep track of these things and that we document, especially if the family members ‑‑ sometimes the family member just would prefer to take it home, that we document that the family member, who that family member was that took those home.
But we won't argue with you, we won't give you a lot of grief or anything like that.  If we're responsible, we pay for it.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  What an example.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  We're very commendable.  I would like to publish that everywhere in every hospital!  
[Laughter]. 
>> MAUREEN DECKER:  We learned. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  One of the things that should start with is the people at the registration, the registration people's desk needs to be aware and not challenge us.  If we say we're deaf or is there any accommodation, they should make the move, do you need any accommodations instead of us saying I'm deaf, I need an accommodation.  They should say it first, and then the deaf people will feel better; oh, you're willing to provide us accommodations?  Great.  Thank you.  
>> TERI WILSON:  That's, again, that's a huge education piece and one that ‑‑ I mean, I can probably ‑‑ I shouldn't share a horror story, but I will, we're not perfect.  We did have an incident with registration where a deaf patient came in and the insurance company had sent with them their own interpreter and just due to the lack of education and not knowing, the registrar sent the interpreter away.
So, again, you know, and I guess there was maybe a little bit of debate over the situation, I guess for lack of a better way to put it, between the registrar and the patient.  And the interpreter just did what she was told to do and left.
We immediately got someone else in, but, again, that's an education thing.  And that should be a "never happen."
But when it did, we corrected it, and there was education that was given to the staff.
So hopefully if you come through registration at Tampa General, that wouldn't happen with you. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Another thing ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I appreciate your honesty about that.  That's what I love about Tampa General and the willingness to say well, we had this incident happen, we learned from it, we've educated and trained the staff a little bit differently so it doesn't happen again.
TGH is always willing to grow and improve and that's why you guys are in the Newsweek top something, one of the top hospitals in the U.S.  something else?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Just for your information, I don't know how the Council feels, but there has been a big issue about the word "hearing impaired."  Some of us don't care or don't like that word, use either deaf or hard of hearing or deaf and blind.
So, it's been a real [makes noise] on Facebook about using the word "hearing impaired."  I'm not impaired, you know.  My ears are broken, but it's just a negative thing, so... 
>> TERI WILSON:  And I agree.  And that is ‑‑ now that you're bringing that up, it jogged a memory, that is one of the points that we're interviewing the different agencies, that they were telling us to change the terminology.  That it is deaf and hard of hearing.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yeah, this is Gina.  On that incident you referenced about sending that interpreter away, it was not all on that registration person, that interpreter, Rebekah, I know her personally, she would not have walked out and left her duties there.  I know her.  She would have called somebody, she would have brought Jesus down or do whatever she needed to do. 
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  She would have had an opportunity to service that client.  It wasn't all on that registration person.  Yes, the interpreter has a right to stay, but in all fairness, the interpreter also has the responsibility to contact their agency and get some support.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you all.  We are out of time for our presentation.  And I would like to thank everyone for this robust discussion, but most importantly, I would like to thank our guests.
We have a card to thank you.  
>> TERI WILSON:  Oh!  Well, thank you, it was our pleasure.  I will get with Tiffany and get you that information and anything that we can do and share, we will be happy to do that.  Thank you!  
[Applause]. 
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Just a little thank you from all of us. 
>> TERI WILSON:  Oh, not necessarily, really. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, well, then, I'll take the gift card out. 
[Laughter]. 
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  This is to officially announce we're on a 15‑minute break.  
[Break].  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have two minutes.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And we are back.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I almost leaned in just to cough [chuckles].
I want to welcome everyone.  How did you call like that most recent presentation on TGH?  
[Applause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What a wonderful example!  And I'll bet there's actually more hospitals that are shining examples than we know about.  Because we tend to hear the negative experiences and not so many of the positives, so what a breath of fresh air to hear the hospital talk about the rights of deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf‑blind.  So kudos.
Okay.  So it's now time for public comments.  And I would like to check to see if there's any members of the public who are here who would like to share comments?  Anyone?  Is there anyone?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, hi.  Hi there, my name is Annalia and I work for VR in Naples.  And I live in Seminole, it's a department community out there.  In Napoli.
I work as a VR technician and I work here at this hotel, Hyatt, for about eight years, and I speak Spanish and I worked here in banquet services and I studied at SFSW in general education with goals to become an interpreter and all of the things people experience, I've heard so many horror stories as well and I am happy to be here.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm very curious ‑‑ and thank you for being here ‑‑ I'm very curious, what has your experience been like working at the hotel?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I was in banquet services is where I was for about eight years.  This kind of feels like my second home, I really love this place.
And I worked here for a total of eight years and now I work on phone banquet services.  I still do the work, plus I work in VR, plus I also work in marketing, branding, advising on the bartending and alcohol provision as well, so....
I really enjoy my work, so... 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Of all the hats you wear, what's your favorite?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Oh, my... good question... I think I like the VR work.  Unfortunately, there's so many changes in politics and that can get frustrating, but for me, working in the hotel is great, just because of the benefits.  With VR, I'm OPS, so there are no benefits, and I don't want to pay for the education that I'm taking, and they don't have any help for me there, so that's kind of frustrating.  As a Deaf person, sometimes you need that assistance.  And they said well, you know, you speak three languages, so you're fine, that's kind of the barrier that I tend to face and the questions that I get, because I want to get my bachelor's degree so I am qualified for a job, that was in years ago and they said oh, no, you're good, you've already applied and everything can work out for your job, but it can be quite humiliating when approached that way, and fighting for disability rights and I will fight for that and my goal is to get my BA degree for interpreting and hoping to transfer to UNF, possibly.  So I'm considering all of my options to become an interpreter, I want to really become an interpreter to support the Deaf community.
And I did have ‑‑ I experienced domestic violence in my marriage and I went through a divorce because of the domestic violence, and so I really have a heart to support and encourage other people in that same situation, because I lived through it myself with no family support, became a very independent person, and now my mom has actually moved in with me from Argentina and so she's living here, for about 18 years she's been here and had a lot of rich experiences and we've shared a lot and trying to get that support into the greater Deaf community as well.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What is the Deaf community like in this area?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well... this is a very small Deaf community.  It's kind of starting to develop and progress.  One of the greater benefits as a worker has really been counseling services I have been a part of, at my job, to be able to give peace of mind to some of those people.
I look in other places and they don't seem to have the same kind of services I offer in other areas.  Their VR, we've heard that people say VR doesn't want to help them, and I love the people that I work with, the Deaf people, I hear feedback that they love working with our agency.
And there are a few more deaf starting to move in this direction.  And the community is still learning a lot about disability because of that influx, and so we're trying to do what we can to support and provide, you know, different services, different adult services and so forth.  So it's still growing.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So it's relatively small in this area?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, yeah.  There's not a whole lot.
There are some that say that they're deaf [chuckles] but they're not actually, so there's some of those kind of things where people will come in for counseling and they'll say hey, I'm deaf, but they're actually not.  There are some things like that that we've encountered and I try to stay out of that situation as much as possible.
But you kind of hear, like, the word on the streets, it doesn't seem like it's a really strong Deaf community.  Unfortunately, that's kind of where we are.  There's not really anything we can do about those situations, so... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And Debra has a question.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Hi, this is Debra.  I have a question for you.  In relation to VR, I know that each local area, VR office might handle different things a little bit differently, but in your experience here locally, are adult clients able to access hearing aids to support the purchase of hearing aids?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Oh, yes.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Okay, good.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes.  I am more talking about the education, you know, it's really important.
It doesn't matter the age, really.  The focus tends to be more on, you know, high school students and behavioral mental problems.
Some of the other issues that we face are, you know, mobility.  But most of the younger students that are in high school are able to get the support quickly.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What would you like to see from the Council and how we can be supportive to you and the Deaf community in this area?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Also a good question.
Unfortunately, I would have to say in the political scene.  There have been a lot of changes and we are needing more collaboration, some more advocacy for the community here, and how to resolve some of these issues and find some smarts, smart approaches to show them that the Deaf people are intelligent, that we can do anything that we want to do, except hear.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Very much appreciated that.  Debbe has a comment?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I was wondering if the Deaf people in the community aware of FAD, Florida Association of the Deaf, are there members?  Are you aware that there's Hearing Loss Association of America and there's also ALDA, is there anything that we that represents the different organizations can help the Deaf community in this area?  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thankfully, we did receive an e‑mail from Cecil who sent me some information about coming to the meeting and I checked with my supervisor, because this is the first time I had heard of your agency, and so I wanted to come and be a part as much as possible, because, again, my role is to be an interpreter, and I wanted to make sure to build relationships and really see our political situation advance.
So I really want to say a big thank you to Cecil for giving me the information about this council meeting so that I could come and be a part of it.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, fantastic, I'm glad he communicated that with you.  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  My question is to you is that are the Deaf people in your community aware of Florida Association of the Deaf, HLAA, ALDA?  Is there anything that we could do to help you bring awareness for those Deaf people so that they can be a part of that different organizations?  

>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I think that would be very appreciated, for sure.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Okay.  We'll be happy to share that with you.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you very much.  I will get those researches from you later and I will share my contact information with you as well.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Fantastic.  Thank you.
Okay.  Any other comments?  And we have a member of the local community who is here.
You know, actually I have a question.  We just had a presentation about a hospital system in the Tampa area that was very sensitive to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing.
How are the hospitals down in this area, to your knowledge base or your awareness?  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Also a good question.  That would be something that I would definitely want to talk about that I have written down and thank you for reminding me to bring that up.
My experience as a pharmacy tech for three years myself, I volunteered at the hospital as well, just to kind of gain some more experience there.  I worked at CVS for 3 years, 3½ years.  In college, I did study pharmaceutical technician, and so I went to an internship and I had 100 hours free, there was no cost to that, so I got that experience from the internship and I felt really ready to be hired, and I got hired quickly, and I jumped right in, because I could speak Spanish, that was helpful, and there were a lot of jobs available for that.
And so I kind of was a floating pharmacy tech and I would go to various pharmacies and help out.
But I wasn't really happy there.  They would put me on the front desk and I was a little bit nervous, I would get the wrong location, it was a lot of pressure, and I had to get their birth dates and things, and still trying to, as a Deaf person, I had to ask them to slow down and write it down, make sure everything was accurate, get their name, match it up, I got used to it, some clients got used to me and how to approach me when they came, but when they ‑‑ when we were talking about other illnesses or mental health or if there were other issues to deal with, every time they interacted with me, that was difficult, and when I left to transfer to VR, it was a big relief for me, I felt much happier in that position.  It wasn't as high pressure.  I was able to focus more on my studies.
And just because I knew I wanted to study to be an interpreter, that just became a passion of mine through that process.  And because I was full‑time, they weren't sure they would give me benefits unless I went full‑time.
So, that's kind of my background story.
As far as hospitals here, I've actually applied to work at the Birthing Center here in Naples and they asked me if I spoke Spanish without an interpreter, I had a few interviews and I passed that interview and they said oh, you speak so well, the interview was in English and they asked if I spoke Spanish and they seemed very impressed with that and they wanted to hire me and that was great, it was a great fit.
And they asked what I would do as far as patient advocacy, I really have a lot of experience and enjoy the ‑‑ looking into insurance and coverages and things like that and advocacy.
So ‑‑ but they ended up not hiring me.
The lady asked me what I would need, and I mentioned a video phone, possibly a CapTel phone.  For the two trainings, I mentioned I would need an interpreter for that training, and they asked me how much it would cost and I was, like... oh, my God, I don't know... [chuckles] I said I would ask an interpreter and see if they could give me some prices.  But it seems like they never asked me how much to charge for an interpreter, I had never been asked that, but they asked me the cost and the person from HR sent me a text message and said thank you for that, we're just waiting to hear back on pricing for interpreters and I was, like... all right... that's fine.
So, then they ended up dropping the process and not continuing because ‑‑ they said they could not hire an interpreter because of the ADA.  And it was confusing to me, I didn't understand what they meant by that.  I didn't know if they were talking about HIPAA or what they were concerned with, but talking about disabilities, for two weeks, once that training is done, I would be able to do the job myself, I wouldn't need the interpreter after the training, and I told them that, because I can read lips and speak for myself.
And Spanish was actually my first language, so I speak it very well.
And they were shocked by my response.
And they ‑‑ and now I am currently in the process of an appeal with FCR, I think is what it's called?
And they would not negotiate, they would not sign ‑‑ sorry, oh, sorry, they would not mediate, they would not participate in that process either.
So, I don't know... I feel kind of lost in the whole process.  I feel like ‑‑ I'm still looking for a job, with the ADA, they seem to think they won't hire an interpreter for the training, and every six weeks, they also have a meeting that they would need an interpreter for, I mentioned that.
So I don't know, I tried to tell them, you know, about the tax benefits of hiring somebody with a disability and they are a very large company and they have a lot of technology, I know they're doing a lot of work with mechanical arms and things like that, they have a lot of new cutting edge technology that they work with, so I think they have the funds to support it, but at the same time, they're refusing to provide interpreters and saying it's because of the ADA.
So there's definitely some confusion.
And as they were asking me prices, you know, that was not something I was familiar with.  So we're looking into it and I think it's still under investigation at this point.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Hearing that story is very concerning to me.  And I wonder if legally you have support that you need.  And if there's any information that we can provide you with legal resources. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Oh, I would be happy to take that, for sure.  I'm willing to look at it, anyway.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And Tiffany, maybe that could be an action item, is that we compile some legal support for her.  I know there are some attorneys that are specialists in disability rights. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  She should contact the Florida Disability Rights, Florida Disability Rights, that's one.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well, I did do that, I did do that. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  She did?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  And it's actually under investigation for refusing me at this point. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Excellent.  You're on the right path.  Yes, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I'm not sure, but I think, did I e‑mail you?  We spoke on e‑mail, because I remember you were saying you were coming.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah, that was me.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  All right.  Wonderful.  I'm glad to see you here.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, nice to meet you in person.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Any other comments?  Debbe, do you have another comment?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  You may want to contact John Waldo.  He is an attorney.  He represents ‑‑ he's an attorney for ALDA.  There are several other attorneys that I know, but you can also contact NAD, National Association of the Deaf, let them know your situation and see how they can help you.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Okay, yeah, I would be happy to do that.  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I'm trying to think, why would they say because of ADA, they can't, and I'm thinking there's one little line they could use as an excuse that undue hardship on their finances and things, but the emphasis is how much does it cost?  How much does it cost?  And they're more using that as an excuse, because that can't be an excuse.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well, I mean, I think they're trying to say what they need to say to avoid it, you know, like, I say at least call me and they don't call me, or they offered to call me and I said no, I want everything in writing, I would prefer you to e‑mail me the responses.
And so I haven't accepted any phone calls, I want them to e‑mail me so I have it in writing so I know the process, especially the hiring process having been dropped, I wanted everything to be in writing.
So, I had an opportunity to talk to the legal department about an interpreter and letting them know that they are confidential in their practice, but they had concerns that they brought up HIPAA and I remember them mentioning HIPAA very specifically, that they don't want interpreters because of HIPAA.  And, you know, I tried to ask questions for the legal department and they said no, I'm sorry, we cannot do that.
If I want an interpreter, to ask, you know, birth date information and all of that, private information, there's other ways to get that information without the interpreter.
But I think there's a training piece that's missing that they aren't meeting, and I was applying at the Birthing Center, you're dealing with newborns and identification for a new baby, and there's a lot of things, especially as a pharmacist, I had to deal with a lot of private information as well, it had the names and all of the information to type onto the bottle, it's a lot of information to type in, dealing with insurance information as well.
And the Birthing Center is actually a lot less stress there because you don't have to deal with the insurance directly at that point.
And yet they refuse because of HIPAA, you know, citing HIPAA as a reason, and it didn't make sense to me.
So that's why it's under investigation at this point. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, I'm glad it's under investigation, 'cause that don't fly.  It looks like they're looking for an excuse.  We're not here to give medical advice.  But I'm glad you're pursuing it.
Cindy and then Gina.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  No, I was only going to say before this came up, I thought you mentioned HIPAA before and I'm just thinking that to have an interpreter having to get the information for you, is there a HIPAA excuse?  Which is a really poor excuse.  And I would think that you could have that interpreter sign a HIPAA agreement, because you do have to have agreements ‑‑ 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Right. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  ‑‑ between the two parties.
And also to ask you, if you know on an Android, you can get something called Live Listen and it's almost instantaneously coming up on your phone but it only works with Android, and it's pretty accurate.
And that may be helpful for support.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Cindy.  Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yes, Cindy's correct, I'll show you this on my phone, it's called Live Transcribe and as the person is talking, it makes a transcript of your message.  Go ahead.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yeah, also I just wanted to add something, the video phone is HIPAA compliant as well, they've said that on a video phone as well, and working with CapTel and other options, the technology is there and they have that support.  But as the technology grows, you know, I'm still puzzled by the fact that they're that far behind and understanding how HIPAA is, and that's why I'm going through this process and trying to get it investigated and with the legal department as they finish their investigation, they totally know I'm sorry [chuckles], so but what I need when I'm looking for a job md.com is where I kind of saw it... 
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It says on the website that they're still looking for the position.  And so I sent a message, you know [chuckles] I just had to laugh as I sent it because I already applied, I'm the right person for the job, you know.  But God knows. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Also I wanted to tell you, you said you were not taking their phone calls anymore, that you wanted it in e‑mail.  But what you can also do is still talk to them on the phone, but then you e‑mail them and say thank you for talking to me, this is a summary of our conversation, to make sure that I'm clear, and then they have to respond, or if they don't respond, at least it shows you that you gave them notice this was your understanding of the conversation.  And that gives you a record also.
But I want to show you this quickly, and then I am finished.
[Gina having private discussion with audience member]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  That's what she was talking about, everything that's said is transcribed. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Okay, thank you.  Very interesting.  I may need to get that for school, because sometimes the person is speaking Spanish and the person doesn't understand the accent, so thank you, that's very helpful, I appreciate it.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Have you completed your application to the Council yet?  
[Laughter]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well, I can, of course.  Of course, yeah.  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Just a wealth of knowledge and very impressed with what your goals are and your endeavors.  So thank you very much.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, thank you.  I've been living by myself as an indigent person for nine years with no family here, and I'll tell you, it's been very frustrating, but I've gained so much experience to become an adult [chuckles] and sometimes it's not good to come off as angry, is one of the things I've learned.  If you stay calm and educate and think and respond thoughtfully, it's super important.  Critical thinking is a huge piece of that, with regards to advocacy.
So I've learned a lot from being from Argentina, especially with education for the Deaf and I read lips and I practice in the mirror, for my lip reading, when I moved here, my school is very expensive, it was like $600 a month and I have another brother who's deaf and he lives in Barcelona; I have two deaf ‑‑ it's $1,200 a month to pay for that school, that's a lot of money.
But because the education is so important for me to achieve my goals and for me to do what I need to do to become independent.
Because if, you know, parents pass away, it would be ‑‑ I would be happy to help to ‑‑ I would be okay necessarily because I have learned to be independent.
My family moved to Spain, my family moved to Argentina, I'm married, I have ‑‑ I have been married, I had experiences in domestic violence, it helped me grow a lot.
I lost the judge (sic) there because they didn't understand the judgment, anyway, it resolved... yeah, it resolved positively.
So, I've just had a lot of experience that I bring along with me.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Wonderful.  And we'd like to thank you for sharing and encourage you to stay as long as you'd like, to continue sharing.
We have a thank you card for you.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you.  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Feel free to pass those around.  The address on there is actually different, I work in Naples at this time, so the address is Airport Play Road, and the e‑mail is there.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much again.
We're going to check the chat line and also the telephone to see if there are other public comments?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Darlene wanted to speak during public comments. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's right, thank you for reminding me.  Darlene, you wanted to share in public comments?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Yes [chuckles].  I want to make a comment.  And yes, I am a part of the Council, as an individual who is deaf‑blind.
However, I am going to make a comment as an individual who receives services from the state of Florida through the vocational rehab program.
And I will begin with life is full of challenges.  If it weren't so, we just wouldn't have fun.
For the last four weeks, I have been very patient and waiting to do what I can without technology.  My desktop crashed.  They sent somebody from the Lighthouse of Tampa (sp) to evaluate it, they gave me a new hard drive, they submitted a referral, and I found out yesterday that somehow that request was denied, once they realized it needed to be taken care of, finally on the 20th, and I indicated the Lighthouse again to make sure what it is that was needed.
So, my part is still on its way.
Now, with that being said, without technology, I cannot function.  And I know that everybody has stuff like I do everyday of their lives.  I can't just write a note, I can't just read what I receive by e‑mail or by mail.  My laptop is not fully accessible to me because I don't have the proper ‑‑ it needs to be updated.
My Mac Book I need more training for it, and I need training for my browser display so that I can use it for communication.
I have requested training several times over through the Division of Blind Services, and so far have been ignored.
I have worked ‑‑ talked to a trainer several times and he is reminding me that if I contact them, that he should be able to help me.  Well, he can't until they make a referral.
Now, I want to focus on the word "challenges."  I have seen many of them over the years.  I face being hard of hearing and sighted as growing up.  I faced being diagnosed with a condition that caused progressive vision loss at the age of 28.
I faced giving up driving.
I faced raising my boys as a single parent.
And I faced domestic violence, as my husband wanted to hurt me.
Furthermore, I have faced a 38‑year‑old son who is a consistent drug addict and in and out of jail.
So my life has been full of many challenges.
But I can overcome them.  I can face them.
But the hardest, the hardest has been vision loss, with additional hearing loss, and the reason why is because there are no accurate support.  It's about available resources, it's about waiting lists, it's about justifying why you need the resources, it's about when you think you know your abilities and then you got your ability because you're not up to speed with the technology age.
So, how can a client who is a client of vocational rehabilitation be somebody who can become employed if they're not ‑‑ they're not adequately trained to know what that field is?
It doesn't matter about their education.
I received three degrees over the past 20 years, just so that I could go back to work.
So there is something ‑‑ so, so far what I have seen is Florida is policy driven.  There is a need to be consumer driven.  There is a need to recognize how humbling it is to acknowledge your abilities in a different state, even later in life.
It is challenging, even more, because of the lack of resources.  And being faced with your limitations everyday.  Everyday!
It doesn't affect just those who are disabled, it can affect anyone who is at a disadvantage.  It affects everyone.
It noticeably impacts anything to empower a human being.
And maybe I sound very negative right now, but my nerves are basically shot because there's been so many things that I could have done for the Council that I have not been able to do.
There's been so many things that I haven't done in my personal life that I am not able to do, because I can't, I can't get into my bank account to do online banking, I can't pay my bills, I have to have somebody go and do it for me.
So, in order to be an individual with disabilities, we need to be empowered, empowered, to do what we can and to learn all we can, and to prove ‑‑ we don't even have to prove that we're capable.  We are capable!
So, again, life is full of challenges.  And if it wasn't so, we wouldn't have fun.  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, Darlene.
Can you hear me?  Because I really want to respond to you right now.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Pardon me?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can you hear me?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I am, I was earlier on my other phone, I was using my phone, but it put my battery down real low and I had to charge it, and now I'm on a captioning phone on my house phone, but I can't ‑‑ that's one other thing, I can't read the captioning or the CART because it's going by too fast.
My vision field has reduced some 10 degrees when I was first diagnosed, to less than 1 degree.
So when I look at something, a word, even if it's magnified, I'm only seeing one letter at a time.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  So I can't ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  It's hard to read. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene, can you hear me right now?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Yes. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, wonderful.  This is Karen.  I want to tell you that you are a valued member of this Council.  And you are a ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Thank you, I appreciate that.  And sometimes I don't feel like that I'm being able to contribute effectively because I'm having to deal with so much in my personal life.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, and you sharing your experience is valuable.
We are here to support you as much as we are to support everyone in this community.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I humbling thank you all.  And I am grateful for that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  I'm not just saying words.  We are going to reach out to resources to see how we can best help you.  Okay?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  You're welcome.  This is something that we take seriously for members of our council, as well as members of the community in Florida.
So thank you for sharing so honestly and truly from your heart.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I know that what I don't do ‑‑ I'm not alone, there are so many out there that are going through something similar, and we just need to change our mindset and approach, and I don't know how to do that, but it needs to become more system driven.
Thank you very much for listening to me.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have a question from Debra.  She says ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Okay. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  ‑‑ would it be okay if we contact Cecil to get some additional support for you?  For VR.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Sure, I have contacted vocational rehabilitation as well and they work with the Division of Blind Services, but the way this is set up, the Division of Blind Services while VR is handling my employment, you know, goals.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, great.  I want to ask Tiffany.  Tiffany, one of the concerns I heard from Darlene is that she's having problems with her technology for the blind.  Is there some support we can offer as a Council to connect her with someone who can help with that?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Well, as a former employee of Division of Blind Services Headquarters, I'm going to have to say that sometimes when you're supposed to just go with your counselor, go over to the district administrator and speak the same information, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with continuing up to the highest level.
I'm one of those people who would have written Director Doyle, if it was me.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  So, Darlene, Tiffany is stating that it's okay to go above who your VR counselor is, keep going up the chain to get the services that you need.
Tiffany, would you be someone who could aid Darlene in that?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I sure can, I sure can.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene, Tiffany is going to see what she can do to aid you.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Okay.  I want to say, though, I did reach out to the rehab blind council center and tell them they need more training around Florida, especially those with hearing loss, there aren't enough training centers in Florida to help adults, who lose their hearing or to learn sign language or to understand what's available to them.
In the past, I had used my fingers and typed letters over and over to get the resources that I need.
So, you know, everybody's aware of that.  And right now they're blessed because I'm not able to type that letter!  [Laughs]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, I think that you have a right to type that letter.  So we're going to see how we can best assist you.
Tiffany had her hand up and I want to see if there's something else she wants to add. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I was going to add, I really ‑‑ one thing that a lot of the agencies like that may not know right away, one, she's right, I concur with her about that there is no ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Tiffany says that she agrees with you that there is no ‑‑ 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Not very many ‑‑ not very much help with regard to deaf‑blind. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That there's not as much help for deaf‑blind. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Through the Division of Blind Services. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Through the Division of Blind Services. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Vocational rehab and Division of Blind Services meet together for any division towards your case management. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So what she's stating is that what's really important to happen is that the Division of VR and Division of Blind Services get together to meet your needs. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  It's a requirement, not necessarily just your needs. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's a requirement, she says. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  However, both agencies are busy with their own individual things.  So what has been difficult in my case, which is somewhat similar to hers, is that they ‑‑ getting them to meet in the same room for a meeting regarding my case is quite daunting.  And it leaves me still waiting. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  She says it can be challenging to get them to meet in the same room for her needs and you have that experience as well.  And Tiffany, I think you are a great resource for Darlene.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Thank you.  Also the progressive loss of her vision is requiring training, yes, the first time, but because it's progressive, it causes her to need training again and then again as she loses more vision and hearing, it makes it so she cannot articulate the location of things.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That sensory loss combination is really problematic, in that it doesn't sit still.  It continues to cause new challenges that you already conquered, already trained for, and already came up with accommodations and modifications that do not apply. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  So what Tiffany is sharing is that as the vision loss is more progressive, there will be a need for more training, because what you developed with the vision loss that you had before may not be as applicable as you have more vision loss. 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Right, right. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So I will try ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  That's one of the things that with Usher syndrome, you know, when I was first diagnosed, it took years for it to finally ‑‑ my degree affliction to show up and by that time, I was totally unprepared.  And even though I was still a client, I was not provided with resources in order to prepare for that.
And that ‑‑ and for the past ten years, I have worked hard to gain resources, to train myself, with Braille, everything.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So ‑‑ 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  So. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  ‑‑ does the Helen Keller Institute offer additional training?  
[Talking over one another]. 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  ‑‑ so that's something that needs to be addressed. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Darlene, does Helen Keller Institute offer additional training as the vision deteriorates?  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  I'm not too sure.  I don't know if I have to go back to New York or if they would provide it here in Florida.  But I do know that it is a major expense to go to New York.  But I can find out.
I did contact someone from the I Can Connect program who gave me information about getting more training, so they're looking into that.  So I'm hoping I get more training on that, with a Braille display, with that.
But as far as getting help or training, additional training through HKIC, that would be something that Cory Parker would have to look into, because that would mean to approach him with that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  I want to thank you for sharing so openly and so honestly.  And we are here for you, Darlene.
There are some other members of the public who want to share, so I'm going to turn it over to them to share.  Thank you, Darlene.  
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Okay.  Thank you.  Bye‑bye.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  So, I noticed that there were a couple other folks that came in during public comment time, and I wanted to invite members of the public to share at this time.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Sharing is now open... sharing is caring. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Do you want me to come to the front to share?  Do you want me to stay here?  Okay.  Hello there.  My name is Jenny and I came here with Lisa from AQI Interpreting Services, so I'm a manager there, and I'm really thankful to be a part of the meeting today.  Thank you.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hi, I'm Lisa ‑‑ sorry about that ‑‑ hello, good morning, I see some familiar faces and it's wonderful to see you all!  And some new faces, so I'm glad I'm able to come here with Jenny today to see you all.  My name is Lisa Schaefermeyer and we're your vendor for the interpreting services.  So thank you very much for having us and we just came to see what the meeting was like here these two days.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you for being here.
This probably is one of my most favorite parts of the day, is to hear from the public, and to hear what people's real experiences are.  That's the only real reason we exist.
Anybody on the chat line that wanted to share?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, ma'am?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  One thing that's important that I forgot to mention, of the many things I mentioned, is the concern with the interpreters that are not certified.
For example, in the school systems, I went to college and took classes ‑‑ well, in the process of receiving the services from the interpreters, I asked during a break time, you know, I asked if the teacher... or... 
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I asked if they were certified as a teacher and they said no, and I was surprised.  I went to investigate this, look for more resources, and I found, and I was very surprised by it... 
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  ‑‑ that RID, that they were ‑‑ that they never asked the vendor if they were RID certified.
And I didn't feel like I wanted to ask, but I wanted to find out, you know....
So I went online to the RID website to look them up.  And because I know they provide certification, but as a vendor, it was very confusing.
And then they would come and a lot of their facial expressions were, you know, a little bit too much, it was very confusing to the message, and I said, you know, I let them know that their facial expressions were a bit too much.
And I told the interpreter that and I tried to work with that, but the skills weren't all there.
And this happened three different times.  And I was just so surprised by that.  I don't know if they didn't believe me or what [chuckles], because I would ask for a nationally certified interpreter, and I was just tired of all the ‑‑ I'm tired of all the different things and my mind would get tired at the end of the day, after trying to filter through what the interpreter was saying in my classes.
And so that's one of the reasons that I want to become a CDI, one of the many reasons, is to support that process.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much.  I think actually there's been some really good conference ‑‑ 
>> OPERATOR:  Has left the conference. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  ‑‑ fatigue in children and adults who are trying to learn the material through schooling, as well as trying to figure out exactly what the interpreters are saying, if they're not certified.
And you bring up a very good point.
I'm thrilled that you're seeking CDI.  You sound like you have many, many, many, many hats and many skills, so... yes, ma'am, Gina, and then ‑‑ she wants to share one more.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yeah, I want to say too I have the experience of a pharmacy technician, I have certification there, but I still have to work under a pharmacist, I'm not able to give vaccines or work in the clinic at all, that's not a part of that role.
So, it's the same as the interpreter.  They need to be professional and under professional supervision and be able to do the work.
Although they may be excited about the position ‑‑ tomorrow I'm going to a meeting in Orlando and I am going to interpret there and I am going to tell them I'm not certified, because I am going to be up front with them and let them know that I am still looking into training, because I want to be honest because I want them to hire me based on the skills that I do have or based on the skills that I do or do not have.
So I definitely want to have that continued support, you know, when I'm getting ‑‑ when I'm trying to be a part of these agencies, looking for good interpreters, looking for qualified interpreters, you know, that's one of the things that I want to advocate for and be a part of, and unfortunately there's so many things that happen, politically, with the changes that are happening in the political scene and just this past month there was an approval that was passed for basically however much you earn as a member, that you have ‑‑ that there's 80% ‑‑ there's an 80/20 rule ‑‑ the person has to ‑‑ the company has to pay 20 versus 80 for those services.
So there's a lot of things that are happening on the political scene that are making it more difficult, more frustrating.
It's been very frustrating.
I know there are free hearing aids available, but interpreters ‑‑ I'm not sure how interpreters fit into that picture with the new policies.
And therapy, I know, is another area that is kind of an 80% rule.
So, there are all of these changes that are happening here. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have Gina, and then Mary.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  And this is why it's so important that you continue to speak up and speak out, because we've had a lot of discussions in the past that there's no state standard for interpreters, there's no requirements for them to be certified in Florida, and without the Deaf community being involved and supportive and speaking out, that that is something we require, to have skilled interpreters, it's not going to happen.  You will continue to have students and beginners to accept ‑‑ I'm sorry ‑‑ to accept jobs ‑‑ I'm so sorry ‑‑ 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I understand. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  ‑‑ to accept jobs, and that's why we talk about having not only the Deaf community but the agencies and everybody involved to be able to be very focal to ‑‑ tally at rally ‑‑ what is it called?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Rally at tally. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  [Chuckles].  The rally at tally, it's important for you to be involved and we need the Council to speak out, but we need deaf people speaking out as well, and that's something that we require.  I encourage you to be involved.
You sound like a very vocal person.  Don't stop. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I'm not planning on it.  Many deaf people, we say ask for help and they don't want to do it, they need to get their hands dirty and roll up their sleeves, they just sit back and take it as opposed to asking for help and walking on their two feet.
It's something we continue to fight for.  I don't plan to stop. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I want to thank everyone for providing public comments.  This section was to end at 11:45, and as typical, we end up getting wrapped up in the passion that people are standing.
I'm glad we went over a little bit.
After our lunch break, we are having a presentation from APD and I would encourage you, if you're available, stay for that, I think you would get a lot out of that presentation and a lot added to that presentation.
So, we do have a lunch break.  We will reconvene here at 1:15.
And thank you all very much.  We're on break now.  
[Break]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Could I say something to you all?  This isn't related to the meeting.
But I wanted to let you know, our fees, our resort fees $30 plus tax has been waived in this group, and so it's in the contract.  So please go ahead on and when you go to the front desk ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Actually, I will go to the front desk and ask it to be taken off of the list of names.  But if not, for some reason, no, it is in the contract that the fee is waived, you can refer to that.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Now, ironically, I actually told them this last night and told them to take it off the list for everybody, so the fact that they haven't, just so y'all know, and we'll go back and do it again.  Thank you.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Will the room be locked?  Can we leave our laptops in here?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm not taking it.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I don't know if it will be locked....
[Break].
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Welcome back:  Hello, hello, testing. 
>> It's on. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's working?  Can people hear me?  [Singing] O say can you... I'm so flat!  
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Good afternoon, we're about to start again for the Florida Coordinating Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing quarterly meeting.  May I ask who's also on the phone line?
[No response]. 
>> DARLENE LAIBL‑CROWE:  Darlene. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  All right.  We have Darlene.  Do we have anyone else who's joined us?
[No response]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Okay.  I'm going to turn it back over to our Chair, Dr. Goldberg.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Welcome back, and I hope everyone had a nice relaxing lunch.
We're very honored this afternoon to have a visitor from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.  It is my honor to introduce Debra Noel, the regional program supervisor for community affairs and wait list lead who is here.  We thank you very much and I will turn the floor over to you.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Okay.  Thank you so much.  Where do you want me?  On behalf of director Palmer, I thank you, Tiffany, for inviting me ‑‑ 
>> You'll need a mic. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Oh.  I'll start over.
On behalf of Director Palmer and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, I want to thank you for reaching out to us and inviting me to come today; I'm really thrilled.  Quite a neighborhood down here, right?  I was driving here and I thought whoa, I didn't even know where this place was!  Thank you very much, especially for the nice digs.
Tiffany indicated you would like to know more about the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and further collaboration especially with the upcoming anniversary of the ADA.
I'm going to start by going through the structure of APD.  And please feel free to stop me and ask questions.  Let me see if I can get this right.
The mission of the agency, we support persons with developmental disabilities in living, learning, and working in their communities.
Our goals, increase access to community based services, treatment, and residential options.  People want to live and work in communities.  It's our job to make sure that happens.
Increase the number of individuals with developmental disabilities in the workforce.  More jobs, more money, more power, better lives.
And improve the management of the agency and the oversight of our providers.  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Oop.  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  These are the regions.  I'm in the Suncoast region, that's the pink region.  We serve 11 counties on the West Coast of Florida.  We're the second largest.  Central has 12 regions, that would be the Orlando area, but their population is less dense.
So people who live in these counties look for services in the regions from whence they reside.
This is a chart reflecting the people with developmental disabilities and kind of a data source.  You can see almost 73% of the individuals we serve have intellectual disabilities, and you can breakdown cerebral palsy.  We only have a few with Prader‑Willi, and this needs to be updated and we have one disability called Phelan McDermid and there are a few that have this syndrome, if you have this syndrome, it's very significant and you move immediately to the Medicaid waiver and I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
What are developmental disabilities?  I won't go into detail on each of them, but so you know who we serve, individuals severely impaired with autism, not only on the spectrum but have a significant impairment with autism.
Palsy, spina bifida, and intellectual disabilities.  When I started working with the agency, intellectual disabilities ‑‑ as you know, not everybody with Down syndrome has intellectual disabilities.  They are now separate.  Prader‑Willi, Phelan McDermid, these are disabilities that are in the high risk regions.
This is who we serve, they're not named right and people will call us and say they have a heart problem or something like that.  If a developmental disabilities, our name doesn't say that, it just says Agency for Persons with Disabilities. 
>> VOICE:  Make your computer easier to use.  Windows will ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't know how to make it stop talking.
Why is it talking to me?  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Okay.  Community supports, that is what I do primarily, we have 55,644 people served through the agency as of last month, I think.  35,000 of them are on the Medicaid waiver.  And then I'm sure you've heard of our dreaded wait list, we have over 20,000 people waiting for services in the state of Florida.
A lot of families don't bother to apply because they know they'll go on the wait list, but if you don't apply when a child is very young, you have another hurdle to go through, and I'll talk about the steps from the wait list to the waiver.
Wait list versus the waiver, the number of individuals added to the waiver each depend on funding availability, it's always got money, right, legislative requirements, people in crisis in their first priority and children in child welfare are given separate priority.
The only way these days to get to the waiver is through crisis, and that's very unfortunate.  And I'll tell you what a crisis indicates.
A couple years ago, it happened three times in the last ten years, the Florida Legislature gave the agency money to move, like, 2,000 at a time people from the wait list to the waiver, but that hasn't happened in three years. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Excuse me. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I've never heard the term Medicaid waiver, so could you please explain that?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Absolutely.  When you are on Medicaid waiver, you're waiving your right to be served in institution.  Historically, Medicaid was institution based, okay, so in the Bush Administration, a family challenged and said I want to take my child home out of a hospital, but if I take my child home, they are not in an institution, so we won't get services, so the waiver waives the opportunity, anyone moving into the waiver is saying I don't want to be served in an institution.  By institution, I mean traditional institutions, but hospitals, facilities, places like that, so you're opting for home and community‑based care.  I want to be served in my community as opposed to being served in an institution.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  And so how does that differ from having Medicaid?  That's what I'm trying to figure out.  If you have Medicaid, I would assume you can be served both in an institution, as well as go to providers who are Medicaid providers.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Right, that's true, but Medicaid is a needs‑based poverty program.  So if you have resources over $2,000, you don't qualify for Medicaid.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  So the waiver says regardless of your income, you are deemed eligible if you meet the criteria.  If you have a developmental disability ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  ‑‑ you go on the wait list by virtue of that, nothing else, no income, nothing about the family situation.  But if you have a crisis, and that's what I'll get to next, you opt to go to the Medicaid waiver, where you get lots of services.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay.  I had never heard of that. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yeah.  That's a good question.  Sometimes I assume everyone knows.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm going to ask a follow‑up question on that.  So once you're on the Medicaid waiver, you can stay on that permanently.  It takes a long time to get onto it once you're there.  So let's say the child, the young person, needs residential treatment.  Is there any risk to the waiver status?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  By needing intensive services like residential?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No, that would be part of the waiver services. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Got it.  All right.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Waiver services runs from anything you can imagine, dental services, transportation services, support employment, support living, and operating all of those services to talk about them.  
>> LISA (CART CAPTIONER):  Excuse me.  Can you step back a bit?  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  Just to clarify, the services that are provided from APD are the people with the way it will affect our demographic of people in our community would be if they have a hearing ‑‑ if they were deaf, along with a developmental ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  That's correct. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  I just wanted to make sure. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  So you have to have a developmental.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes.  So I mentioned a few minutes ago about how you get from the wait list to the waiver, and these days ‑‑ am I in front of this?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes, come about this direction.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I wish I had a screen back there.  There are three crisis criteria, homeless, eminent danger of homelessness, or caregiver unable to give care.
Homeless doesn't have a place to live constitutes homeless, or death crisis, we meet weekly and make a determination indeed the person is homeless and they will go to a Medicaid waiver.
If someone is a danger to themselves or others, that's pretty clear.  They can argue in crisis and go to the wait list.
And finally caregiver unable to give care, financial, aging parents, parents who have to work, kids coming out of school at 22, they have no day program, that counts as crisis because if one of the parents has to stay home, it puts the family in jeopardy.  So those are the three crisis criteria.
So you don't apply, you go to the waiver, if you apply, you go on the wait list.  Until these days, one of these three happens. 
Makes sense?
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  The previous slide, the total number of folks served was 50 plus thousand and it was broken down by folks in the waiver and folks on the wait list?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes, ma'am. 
>> MARY HODGES:  Do people get services when they're on the wait list of any kind?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Very minimal.  We can get employment services, that was a gift from the Florida Legislature five years ago.  Director Palmer held a series of town hall meetings and specifically asked parents of children on the wait list, what can we do, short of you being on crisis or going on the waiver, says we want our children, our children want to work, they want to have meaningful work.
So, every year they give us up to a million dollars to serve individuals on the wait list who want to work.
The other thing we'll do is provide respite and occasionally other things.  But usually when it's "other things" it rises to the level of crisis.  But in general, the answer to your question is no.
So the four coordinators of the wait list are state employees, I have 15 in my region and they have case loads of about 350 people, there are no face‑to‑face visits, like in the day, they usually just get an annual status report, like, are you there, are you still on the wait list, and many people they think because you applied early, you should be advancing, like a number, and that's not true.  Some people go immediately because they're in crisis when they apply, while others can languish on the wait list for years.
Does that answer your question?  
>> MARY HODGES:  Yes, thank you.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  And I don't say that proudly [chuckles].
So how do we carry out the agency's mission?  Everyone who moves from the wait list to the waiver receives an iBudget, an individualized budget, and for those of you that have been in the industry for a while, there were tiers and all kinds of things, and now we have the notorious iBudget and that is the budget for people on the Medicaid waiver.
That budget is established ‑‑ I don't mean to do fancy double talk, it is what it is, you get a certain number of points, say, when you live in a family home versus residential because it's much more expensive than living in a group home or foster home, that gives you a certain amount of money in the budget, you have certain needs, certain behaviors, et cetera, and that's how the budget drives based on each person's needs.
When you move from the wait list to the waiver, you select, customer choice, Medicaid waiver support coordinator, that's your case manager. 
The difference between people who support people on the wait list, those are state of Florida staff and they're called support coordinators.
When you move to the waiver, we give the family a list of waiver support coordinators and they're able to call if they want and interview.
For families coming out of crisis, we usually get assigned a support coordinator because they don't even know what to ask for, but they can at any time let us know if they're not happy and switch to another support coordinator.
Make sense?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Are those support coordinators contracted or are they state employees?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  They are, they are contracted.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That was my next question too.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  We have a life skills development.  Level one is companion services, someone is at home and they could be on the wait list occasionally but they want to get out and they need support and supervision sometimes in communities, so a companion is assigned.
Supported employment, which I am, job search, over the years you can select a job coach, they support phase one and phase two employment.  Those of you familiar with VR, the way the system works, everyone goes through VR first and offers job development in phase one, when the job is maintained from 90‑150 days, then the funding goes to APD and we provide phase two, which is a follow along coaching.
Except for individuals on the wait list, we do both.  They don't have to go to VR, because it's not in federal funds, it's state funds.
And then ADT, level three, meaningful day activities, I'm a little bit sarcastic here, I don't think ADT is offered, but we have an initiative underway to identify ADTs who can work to support employment and our goal is to really address that in the coming years.
Supplies and equipment.  Consumable medical supplies, durable medical, personal emergency response system, these are all waiver services.  Residential services, res hab, those are group homes, we have behavior focus, residential, and residential rehabilitation.
There is a slide I'll get to, I'm not sure we talked about it before, we have numerous, numerous standard group homes with many beds available.
The problem is everyone likes a standard group home [chuckles] but no one wants to tackle where the role is and that's intensive ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Excuse me, if I could an a question.  What is the age range?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I'm sorry?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What the age you see for med waiver?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Three on. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So even the group homes are available ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm sorry. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  It starts at eight right now. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm sorry?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Eight years of age. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So that's available in the state of Florida. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Not really [chuckles].  The access to it's available, but whether or not we can find homes, most of the children need that type of home are coming out of the state's foster care system and we work with a community based care on individuals with developmental disabilities and they're also in foster care.  There's a great need for those types of homes.  But many of those children have intense behaviors and again, they can't go into a standard home, but we have too few providers of intensive behavior homes that's special for children, which is no surprise to you, I'm sure.
We have 465 licensed group homes within our 11 counties, but of those, only 165 are behavior focused or intensive behavior focused.  And that's where the real need is.
You probably know or some of you heard last year or the year before, we shut down Carlton Palms in Orlando, it was a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible institution, people were... um... just terribly treated, I hate to say that, and we had to find places for all 200 people that were there, and that was rough, because there's not enough intensive behavior providers to make that happen.  But we did make it happen.  And you would be amazed, people in the community have generally been wonderful, their lives have totally changed getting out of the institution.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  One other question:  How many of these group homes or residential services are specific for deaf or deaf‑blind?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I don't think any are specific to deaf/deaf‑blind. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is there a need?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  [No response].  Yes, ma'am?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  I'm Mary Hodges from Elder Affairs.  Do you know the number of residents or participants in the program who may be deaf or deaf‑blind?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I do not.  I'm sure the residential services have the data and I would be happy to follow‑up with you on that.  I just don't know.
I do not know of any group homes especially ‑‑ that specialize for those types of supports.  I'm sure they are, you know, inclusive communities and I'm sure we serve many people in residential who are deaf or hard of hearing, but I don't know of anything specific.
Yes, ma'am?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I am aware that there is a group home for deaf people.  One fella had a schizophrenic and he is an in special group home in Safety Harbor.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  But I don't think that particular group home is listed as one of the ‑‑ 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I can find out the group home's name and pass that on to you and her and see if it's certified.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Langley House?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  It might be private. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think it's private. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  We have homes that support deaf and hard of hearing.  I'm saying I don't know of any specialized homes for that specific population.
Waiver service again, residential, specialized medical home care, and then we do a lot of supported living, supported living is another favorite of mine, people who live in the communities and want employment, people like you and I, people who live in communities want to work in the communities and I'm a big fan and advocate for supported living. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Excuse me, Chris has a question.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes, sir?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Good afternoon, this is Chris.  Just to clarify, for services for people that are deaf or hard of hearing, it's my understanding that APD does not service people that are deaf or hard of hearing unless they have another primary disability that's ahead of being deaf or hard of hearing, is that correct?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  They have to have a developmental disability.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Okay.  And how is it ‑‑ and I realize you can't change the laws or anything else ‑‑ but under ADA being deaf or hard of hearing as a documented disability and also a developmental disability, if someone is born in the age period of 0‑18 or 21, being deaf or hard of hearing, it is also a developmental disability.
How is it that APD does not qualify that as part of ‑‑ I don't know who they provide services to?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can I add something?  Deaf and hard of hearing is not a developmental disability.  Developmental disabilities has to do with intellectual disability or autism spectrum that impact developmental milestones, being deaf is not a developmental milestones because if a deaf child is given access to language, they would develop typically as you would expect accommodation to language.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  [Away from microphone and unable to clearly hear]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's not a developmental disabilities.  That's what you're saying. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes, ma'am.  Our name is misgiving, Agency for Persons with Disabilities and I'm not saying deaf or hard of hearing is not a disability, it's not considered developmental disability.
When I started 20 years ago, epilepsy was a developmental disability, but every state has a different criteria for what they consider developmental disability and that is established in state statute, and they just tell us what the rules are, so... [chuckles].  
Yes, ma'am?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Hold on, we need a microphone, hold on.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I'm not sure if you know about the new word "deaf plus" meaning, like, autistic which is a developmental disability, so I just wanted to clarify that for everyone.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And this is Karen Goldberg.  I want to just tell you that I just shared ‑‑ not shared ‑‑ I just presented at the National Association of Developmental Disabilities on that very topic on Deaf Plus, so thank you for bringing that up.  Deaf Plus is a wonderful new awareness that we're getting out into the communities about making sure that those needs are met.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I have never heard of that; I appreciate that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'll be happy to speak more about it!  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Okay!
Support coordination, I mentioned that briefly.  When you are on the wait list, you get a support coordinator and that person, you have basic contact once a year, unless you're in crisis.
Waiver support coordination is more along this line, the case manager for individuals 21 or over and children in foster care.
And there's enhanced support coordination for those that need an extra level of support, such as people who are transitioning from a nursing facility or an ICF/DD into the community.
Therapeutic supports and wellness include behavior analysis, behavior assistant, and specialized mental health counseling.
These services are available via prescription.  I'm not going to read them to you, but these are things that require prescription [voice trailing off]....
So, in every region, we have work streams and this happens to be my work stream.  I do community support, intake/eligibility, we receive up to 50 applications a week at the agency.
In January, we were intaking 167 a month.  In July, that grew to 260.  Everyone asks me why am... I'm, like, I don't know. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Move over.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  I'm sorry!  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I'm sorry, we've got you in an awkward place, but they have to read the screen.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Support coordinators, support employment, supported living, and community partnerships, we have, like I mentioned, a partnership with DCF and the foster care system, we participate in numerous interagency agreements for DCF, all of the DCF circuits in our region, lockout calls, any type of issues that affect a child with a developmental disability and also in DCF care or pending DCF care.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  So, on the slide before, you had a list of the services provided.
Now, if someone there, let's say it was someone down who was in there and they had problems and they needed hearing aids, do you provide the hearing aids?  I don't see anything about audiological services. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No, all Medicaid versus are bended, they would find a Medicaid provider.  The difference is with the Medicaid waiver, they could have additional funds in their iBudget to purchase funds, to purchase services.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay.  I guess I'm not quite getting my mind around this. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Okay.  Ask me again.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I mean, I would think that ‑‑ Medicaid keeps changing how people get hearing aids, but if someone needed aural rehab because it got so late ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  It doesn't mean ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Oh, okay, that's what I'm ‑‑ I'm looking at it going wait a minute. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  We're leaving some out. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  For sure.  I should have made sure ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Before I came to talk to this group.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Cindy, I can answer that question, oral rehab services at a certain point get classified under speech therapy, so if it was under prescription for speech therapy, they would receive that and the provider themselves as an audiologist, it's not just you would be a Medicaid provider, you have to be a med waiver and also be a provider of med waiver and it works similarly to, like, full straight Medicaid used to when they had that back in the day.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yeah, thank you.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay.  I guess I'm just losing it, because usually speech isn't going to do it for an adult who may be in the program, let's say.  And then there's areas there that may not apply to speech that applies on the other side.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  For speech therapy services with Medicaid, it ends at age 21.  But if they are in med waiver, they can still remain receiving services after, but it's on a limited basis.
It works like an insurance, basically.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Usually that's prescription based is a viable Medicaid waiver service.  I didn't list them all.  I shouldn't have come talk to you guys!  I should at least put that in there!
Okay.  I also ‑‑ oh, I just did that one.  I don't want to do the same slide.  
[Pause].
>> DEBRA NOEL:  The second work stream I'm going to share with you is clinical, that's medical case management, behavior services, the QSI, the questionnaire for situational assessment, and I'll tell you what that is, and forensics.  These are offenders who may or may not be an individual receiving services from the agency, but courts often refer people who are offenders to the agency for a competency evaluation and restoration.
Not everyone within forensics because an APD client, but we work with the courts to make sure that everything is looked at and nothing falls through the cracks.
The QSI is something, when it started ten years ago, everyone received and it's a face‑to‑face with the individual and their family, asking a myriad of questions about behaviors, functioning, level of supports, and basically of funding, the people who pick QSI these days ‑‑ 
>> OPERATOR:  Has joined the conference.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  So fast forward QSI are scored by the level of support, so when we do do a waiver, your algorithm and budget is based on the findings largely of the QSI assessor.  We have 25 in the region and they're all OPS state employees.
And the lead is Bryan Scott.
Waiver services, the third work stream, these are the liaisons for the Medicaid waiver support providers in the community.  They're state staff, just to be a liaison between the agency, the individual, and the support coordinator.
We do medical necessity reviews and everything is now stored in electronic files.
Colleen Cancelliere is our region's liaison.
We have a work stream of quality assurance, they handle provider enrollment, training, monitoring, plans of remediation, incident management, we have an arm, used to be Delaware, Maryland, Virginia ‑‑ all of those years, I didn't know that meant three states, CLARET, but they are responsible for doing audits on all of our providers and they used to have a score card, per se, but their findings are public record and if there's a problem with a provider, the QA department creates a plan of remediation which may involve building discrepancies, paying back funds, stuff like that.
Another work stream is obviously fiscal.  Our office is in the Ft. Myers office, I don't know if I said earlier, I'm from the Tampa office, that's the headquarters, and we have a satellite office in Ft. Myers, but we do what fiscal offices do, Human Resources, et cetera.
So, and finally, again as Tiffany mentioned, that you would like to do some collaboration.  I, at the regional level, don't spear head that, but Melanie Etters does when Tiffany reached out with me and she is more than looking forward to working with you all on the ADA celebration.  
So that's APD in a nutshell.  Do you have questions?  Yes?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm so impressed with all the work that APD is doing. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Does everyone who is eligible or receives the Medicaid waiver, do they have a case manager?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  They do.  So everyone gets that. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes.  It's their choice. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Fantastic.  So the state of Medicaid behavior analysis carve out service goes up to the age of the 22nd birthday.  Through med waiver, if a young adult needs behavior analysis, would they be able to get that through the med waiver program?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No, it would have to be the Medicaid state plan, if I'm hearing you correctly. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Which only goes up to the age of 22.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Right, after that, yes. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  For instance, that's the quagmire I see professionally, up to age 22.  In my private practice, I have a couple of young folks in their 20's, early 20's, who function very much like younger children because of their developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities and would benefit from a behavior analysis.
And I know two of them have med waiver program.  Could I refer them to getting behavior analysis?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Um... if they're in crisis.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Or they're already on the waiver. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  If they're already on the waiver, yes. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can I get ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes, have the family contact the waiver support coordinator ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's what I recommended ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I wasn't sure.  I know through the state Medicaid, it goes up to the age of 22, but I've got a 24‑year‑old and 27‑year‑old who I think because of how they function, you know, intellectually and developmentally, they're much younger and their behaviors would benefit from a behavior analysis.  I could refer them, they have med waiver, so I could refer them to ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yeah, yeah, absolutely.  Going back to the state plan, in the services, even if they present a crisis, we don't usually approve the crisis because all we can offer is respite and that's one of the services on the wait list, if you need it, we will offer it to you [indiscernible] funds.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I have a question.  This is Gina.  On your slides earlier when you showed the different designations for disabilities, there was one that said 72.3, and it was, like, blue, and I couldn't see it quick enough.  Is that, like, an all, like, disabilities, like autism and ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  ‑‑ is it all combined in that 72.3?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  No. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  It was all blue, I wasn't able to follow.
My second question while you're finding that, is there a way to include in that data collection those who have deafness, as well as one of those disabilities?  That's the slide.  See, I was looking at the 72.3 and maybe it's my eyeballs, but it looks like autism in blue and intellectual ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  It is kind of close, it's intellectual disability, ID, that is the majority of the individuals we serve. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Because we only track developmental disabilities, we would not have data. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Oh, okay. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  On other disabilities that are not developmental.  And, again, there's nuances about all of these.  Autism, again, it's not just any one on this spectrum, it has to be pervasive, it has to be ‑‑ you have to have an ABASH (sp) and have all of these gold standard types of testing.
And when people apply under autism, it's a slippery slope, but if we're not sure, we'll test them.  Not us personally, but we will refer them to someone who is qualified to test.  And not just qualified, because what they provide to us didn't meet the criteria for eligibility.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Other questions or thoughts?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I would like to open it... just say it.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Are you allowing the public to ask questions to the speaker?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Absolutely.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hi. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Hi.
>> INTERPRETER: [Indiscernible].
>> LISA (CART CAPTIONER):  CART can't hear.  
>> INTERPRETER:  I'm sorry.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I'm sorry, I missed the beginning.  Is it a federal agency or is it for ‑‑ is it contracted?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  It's a state agency.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  So the family center can apply?  Where can someone apply?  In the family center?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Someone who wants to apply for APD services applies at the regional office where they live.
And what I can do that would be helpful, Tiffany, is send you a copy of this PowerPoint. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  And it has all the work stream leads and the regional office phone numbers and contact information.
If you live in Miami, you have to apply in the region that serves Miami. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Can you e‑mail that?  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Yes, I'll send it to Tiffany and she'll send it to all of you. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  My pleasure. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Tiffany has a question.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I would like to let you know that inside your folders there is the PowerPoint that she has presented, it should be in the very last section; I'm following hers to see if that's where it is.  That would be it.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Wow!  Section number eight. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  There's a question in the back. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Tab number eight, so if anybody is looking for that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Fantastic.  Thank you.
We have another question?
[No response]. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Okay.  Well, I have some brochures I will leave in the back for each of you kind of detailing exactly what I've spoken about this afternoon.
And once again, I thank you.
My number and e‑mail address is on the PowerPoint that Tiffany has provided you, so please, if you have any questions, concerns, please reach out to me, I would be more than happy to assist you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have a thank you card for you. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Oh, that's very sweet. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And it would have included a cookie, but everybody ate them. 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much. 
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Thank you.  That's lovely. 
[Applause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm going to come visit you.  
>> DEBRA NOEL:  Wonderful, I look forward to it.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much.  Very wonderful presentations we've had today.  Great attendance from the public, I'm thrilled to see.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Now is the time for additional public comments.  We do it several times during the day so everybody has an opportunity to ask questions, to share their experiences, strength and hope.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Do we have any comments?  Anybody on the chat line or on the phone?
Anyone in the room who would like to share?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I was just commenting that I really appreciate that Tiffany, who stepped out of the room, has made our binders available to members of the public so that you can see what we discuss, and it's a transparent process.
This Council exists because of a statute, because we want to serve the people of Florida who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf‑blind, and we would like you to know what we're doing.
We are now in the public comments section of our agenda.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We're all just going to stare at the public until they share... we'll just keep staring until somebody shares.
While we're waiting, one of the things that came up was this concept of Deaf Plus.  And is this a concept within the Deaf community in Florida that you're familiar with?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  [Away from microphone and unable to clearly hear]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, I want everyone to be aware of Deaf Plus.  Looking at the needs of deaf, hard of hearing who also have developmental disabilities or intellectual disabilities, there was an international conference that our group from the American Academy of Child Psychiatry presented that in Linz, Austria, I would like to say I went, but I didn't, but my co‑chair did present and she and I just presented at the NADD conference, so this is something that is getting traction, we want people to be aware of it.
The individuals who do qualify for med waiver would be under Deaf Plus, okay.  So certainly we want to have our antennas up and make sure they're getting the services that they need in Florida.
Yes, Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  Karen, where would people go to get that information?  Is there a website?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, deafplus.com.  Actually, I don't know if that really exists, but that is a great website!  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  [Laughs]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's mine, nobody take it, I just thought of it.  Not that it's not that original.
And that's a very good question.  And let me get back to you with that information.
Actually when we went to the NADD meeting and presented on Deaf Plus, this was a new concept even for them.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  Can you explain what NADD is?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  National Association ‑‑ it stands for the National Association of Dual Diagnosis which is actually a developmental disability concept.  So it's individuals who have developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities, but who also have comorbid psychiatric disorders and we presented on that two weeks ago, and that's my passion, working with neural developmental disorders and deaf and hard of hearing, and so that is ‑‑ NADD is certainly an interesting group and wonderful group to be familiar with.
Also associated with that group is the AAI... um... AAIDD, which I believe is the American Association of Intellectual Developmental Disabilities so they're kind of a sister organization to NADD, and we know from mental health and medical health that deaf and hard of hearing and deaf‑blind can fall through the cracks, but just imagine how much more you're falling through the cracks when there is a comorbid with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
And the international Community of Mental Health specialists committed to deaf mental health services are focusing on Deaf Plus right now.
And I wanted to let you guys know that there's the ‑‑ in the United States, there's ‑‑ why is it blanking... um... they had a meeting last year with... um... oh, I'm so embarrassed, ADARA, thank you, are there people familiar with ADARA?  Can you tell me what the acronym stands for?  Look up ADARA, I forgot all of the ‑‑ I don't want to misstate it.  ADARA.  And last year they co‑presented an AMPHL, which is the American... American medical Professionals With Hearing Loss, which I'm a member of, that's it, AMPHL, they had a conference together in Baltimore.
So, ADARA is the American version of the European society For Mental Health and Deafness, which I'm also a member of.
I encourage folks to get involved in all the different types of groups and committees out there.
So, in Europe, the European society For Mental Health and Deafness is the one that supported the Deaf Plus conference in Linz, Austria and they're supporting a conference coming up in December on mental health and deafness and working with interpreters.
So it's really nice to see the international community coming together for these services, so....
Other thoughts or questions or comments from public members?
[No response]. 
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Would you like me to stand here?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, would you stand there?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Hello, I'm Jenny Losy and I represent AQI, I'm the marketing coordinator.  In response for emergency services, we recently went to a Florida cert state level conference that was in Naples, Naples the second week, recently, of August, and they had train the trainers.  It was a three‑day class and after that, we were recognized with a certificate by FEMA.
The course was conducted by FEMA, but the Florida cert was running it, and Julia Mitchca (sp), she is another deaf person, and the first deaf people in the state of Florida to be involved in this FEMA certification for emergency response to become instructors, and so we can go all over the state of Florida to do these workshops, prepare for national disaster, fires, hurricanes, and what else, floods, and also helping interpreters when they're called for emergency situations to interpret for these things, you know, with the media and so forth, what do you do when you arrive, where's that place that you're interpreting, if it's a hurricane, how do you get there, what do you do, all of that was included and it was excellent training for both the deaf people and the interpreters.
And we were very excited to also be prepared to go to the National Cert Conference that was in Missouri next summer, 2020, and I will be providing a presentation at that place, it will be the first time for a deaf presenter there, and I think that's good to break through and get this out there for recognition, because the Deaf community needs to have the resources in the community through cert in the Deaf community, I think it's a good start and hopefully this will spread across the country, you know?
We are in the state of Florida during that, so....
Is there anything you wanted to add?  Okay.
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  So, it was train the emergency response?  First responders is for that as well?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We would help the community members until the responders and the professionals can arrive, you know.  If they're not there yet, if there's difficulty in getting there, we need to be there to give some kind of basic assistance.
And, you know, like things, like, if they're hurt, don't lift them and wait until the team comes and do that.
So, we're just doing some little basic assessment and, you know, until they can arrive, the first responders can get there and deal with that, you know, how to prevent stress and things like that.
So, the cert training is going to be in 2020, I think it's in the Jacksonville area/North Florida, that will be occurring in 2020, and it's a three‑day training, if you're interested.
So, keep your eyes out.
I'll be happy to e‑mail you guys all the information on that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That would be wonderful, yes.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I do have something to add.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, please.  
>> Do you want an interpreter or do you want to speak?  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  AQI Interpreting Services, Absolute Quality Interpreting Services, we had started a number of years ago to work with emergency management and with the program and so with cert, that program teaches other individuals to be a part and become cert trained.  So, that's the community emergency response team.
Every county has several programs in their county.  What we're trying to do is plug into the local certs and that's what we found out all about cert when we came to the state conference here in Naples.
So, each one of us as hearing individuals can go and take a cert program, which is 21 hours, so that's either three weeks of three hours every night, several nights, do that, or we have also finally started partnering with Pasco County and the Tampa Bay Area and we want to spread the word, that we can do a three‑day condensed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, bring in the interpreters and get them CEUs, bring in the Deaf community and get them trained to be cert individuals and be out there to help other Deaf community members.
And that is what Jenny has become a trainer for, to be able to train other deaf people to become trainers as well, not just to be cert trained. 
So we are going to go into North Florida, go there ‑‑ Glenna, we would love to come down to South Florida ‑‑ we just need to plug in to whoever can help us get to the EOCs, get to the cert programs, and tell them what we can do to partner and get the Deaf community trained in cert so we're better prepared for these disasters.
There's other programs out there that are teaching the first responders about how to work with the Deaf community.
But this is actually how to teach community members and sign language interpreters to take care of themselves first, in the first 72 hours of a disaster, because no one's coming to help you just yet, and then to be able to help others, your family members, your neighbors, in a shelter.
But this exposure helps sign language interpreters to learn the system, to learn about FEMA, to learn about how to interpret in these settings.
And the other part is also, we incorporate about interpreting for press conferences, we try to educate and get the word out to news broadcasters and anybody who's putting it on TV about not to pan in and exclude the sign language interpreter; to keep full view of the interpreter.  Because as soon as you do that, you have now just excluded that population from knowing the crucial information that the governor needs to get out to the community.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I just ‑‑ I find that so funny, every time I watch a news conference, that you have the interpreter there and you're just in the middle of saying how wonderful, when they pan into the speaker, you're, like... well, that's ridiculous.  What have they got, like, three people sitting there in the office [chuckles] and none of them need the interpreter.  So you're right, keep it panned out.  Thank you.
I don't know about other folks, but I'm starting to see people getting really jazzed up about the cert training.
So you said it's going to be Jacksonville or it's going to be in Tampa?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We already had one in Tampa area.  We're going to try to go to Jacksonville.  We would love to come down to South Florida.  One down here, probably, we've already done it ‑‑ we've been to the conference in Naples and we've got local folks here in Collier County keep asking hey, can we do this?  Can we do this?  So we're trying to just grow the pool of individuals.
But Jenny is one of the first two in the state of Florida to actually be a trainer of other instructors. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Wow.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I understand that Chris Littlewood is certified, too, an instructor.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, I'm ready to take a class!  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yeah, I'll take a class.  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Okay.  I'd like to add to that comment, if the press conference for the news, two or three years ago, I did notice on the news, they would cut off the interpreters and the interpreter wasn't being seen.  Obviously we need both, because we're not getting accessibility.
At the recent hurricane season, it had gotten much better.  I saw on social media, we could see both the interpreter and the governor through the whole press conference.
And so, you know, sometimes we have to remind them and fight.  I know it's not going to always stay that way, but hopefully we can get better access to emergency news right there on the television screen with the interpreter being provided and viewed.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The problem is that sometimes they have many TVs ‑‑ TV cameramen and maybe not the right angle for both the interpreter and the speaker.  I think maybe they need a larger room [chuckles] so that they can have them set (sp).
I do know that they do have several different TV stations represented with different cameras, but they're all focused in on the same backdrop, the same individuals.  The problem is, they have so many individuals standing in the screen that sometimes they can't fit everybody there; it gets very tight.
So it's challenging for the people who are setting up their cameras to be able to get everybody on the screen and make sure that it doesn't look too crowded.
It provides many challenges.
Recently when Governor Scott, I was a VIP person there and I had experience with that, but it was showing ‑‑ they were showing the water behind them and the wind and trying to tell everybody to get ready, but it seem like they were caring about people with disabilities, because they were putting this on top of the speaker; they were showing the video on top of the speaker.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So, yeah, I think maybe it would be a good idea if we can just remind them that when they do that, when they go to video, even while the governor is speaking, it might be a good idea to still have that box there where the interpreter can continue.
But good observation.
Gina, I know that you wanted to add something?  Go ahead.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yeah, I have a question.  Chris, is this the same training that we tried to do in Jacksonville that they were presenting the cert training?  And if not, then my question is for them, what do they need in Jacksonville to do the training?
Is that the same training you tried to do before?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  The training that I do includes some of the issues that we're talking about from the cert training, but it is a separate class.
It's for people that are victims' advocates or public safety personnel and working with people that are deaf or hard of hearing.
Community emergency response team, one of the big concepts that that focuses on is that an individual on the team can't focus on helping other people if they don't already have themselves and their family or friends taken care of first.
So one of the things that cert teaches somebody is how to take care of their friends and family first, and then also by bringing the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community in, it makes people aware that they are part of the community and they also need to be included in the disaster preparedness.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very exciting.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Last week, there was a Red Cross certification for disaster preparedness, so I did receive that certification.  It's a little scary as a deaf person, but I do have that certification and it's good to be prepared.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Who's next?  Who else would like to share?  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think there's a ‑‑ I noticed, Debbe, that we received ‑‑ that you were going to announce at the HLAA about an opening for a president position?  Remember I e‑mailed it to you?  Maybe that was something we want to announce here.  I would have to look at my e‑mail.
It was something along this line.  I thought it was for the Florida Communications Relay.  All right.  So any other comments about this?
Any other trainings that are happening out there?
[Pause]. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Oh, I... 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Question about the cert for the state of Florida, you have that, do you get paid or how does that work?  Do you get some kind of support to be able to come to places, to run the training?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  They have a supportive agency, and if we wanted to come to your area, West Palm Beach area, as an example, we could get in touch with the fire department, the sheriff's department and we may get some hearing people that want to participate, we have a sign language interpreter as well that can provide.
If it's all deaf people than I as a deaf individual, I wouldn't need an interpreter and I could teach directly in sign language.
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Do we need to hire you and pay you a fee for that type of training?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The cert training is actually free, so there is no cost for that.  There's a lot of logistics involved in trying to set it all up, but we can do that.
All right, we'll talk later, I'll get your card.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  There is a position open for to be the director for FTRI, Florida Telecommunications Relay, there is a position open.  That's all I know.  We can ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think when we were talking about communication is the reason why I brought that up [chuckles], but, yeah.
If somebody was interested in that, who would they contact?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  James Forstall. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  This is a public meeting and there may be somebody observing the meeting or sustaining by chat or by phone, that would be really perfect for the position, so they would contact James Forstall or FTRI?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you. 
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We still have about 15 minutes before our next presentation.
Any other comments or experience?  Tiffany has a hand.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes, ma'am, hi.  This is Tiffany.  If we have a few moments, I did want to get the Council's feelings on ‑‑ when we were attending It's A Deaf Thing conference, we were approached by a gentleman who was in charge of putting together the Hearing Tech Expo.  If you look in your Section 7, it would be at the very end of your folder, and it's a form that looks something like this [indicates] I'm sure yours has color, 'cause... I'm hoping it's in there....
But this year is ‑‑ did you guys see it?  Because if not, I can put it up on the screen, because I do have it there too.  
>> MARY HODGES:  We have it, but it's not in color. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Oh, I'm sorry, I thought it was in color. 
>> MARY HODGES:  It's tab number eight.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  Well, so, they wanted to know if we wanted to come and be at and have a table there and participate in this event.
And we were invited to come do so.
And so I needed your input on how do you all feel about this?
This is in February.  It's February 15th.
We are already having our next council meeting February and I think we're going to try to do our Rally in Tally somewhere around there, but it all depends how we collaborate with APD, so for that reason, I wanted to ask you all, I would attend just like we did before with our new tablecloth and some promotional items and possibly one or two, depending on what DOH let's us know we can bring of you all.
So, they have a ‑‑ they have a lot of information on hearing aids and hearing aid services and there's something for everyone because there's exhibiters and workshops.
They even let you ‑‑ I guess I would say "borrow" or "test drive" hearing aids, too, the way they described it.
So just take a look at that and maybe we can ‑‑ if we don't have to talk about it now, we can discuss it later.  But whether you're interested in having us participate.
I kind of feel like the more we are involved in the community, the more they know we're here.  So... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much, Tiffany.  Tiffany, what section is that?  I'm trying to find it. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Oh, I just found it. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Is it in Section 8?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  It is in Section 8, it's kind of in the middle. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, I see something here. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  It took me a while. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I was really hoping that I... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, that will be here in Bradenton.  They're in Bradenton.  That's by HLAA ‑‑ 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Sarasota, which is a very active chapter.
All right.  Fantastic.  Thank you.
So, next on our agenda is a discussion about bylaws.  But our speaker from 3:15 is here early, and I would like to propose that we change the schedule around a little bit and let the speaker go first.
All in favor?
[Hands raised]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Point to your ayes.  No, I'm kidding....
Any opposed?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  Let's go ahead and have the speaker present now, and we would like to welcome and very grateful to have our next speaker ‑‑ what's his name? ‑‑ Mr. Bob Finney.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Thank you. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What is EMP?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Emergency member professional.
I'm already feeling comfortable that this group uses as many acronyms as we do in public safety. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You just had words all over your face.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Can I grab a glass of water really quick?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Sure.  
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Mr. Finney, if you would like to bring your things on over here, that way you don't have to walk so far.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  And not stand in front of the screen.  I figured so.  Great.
All right.  So thank you, I really do appreciate having the opportunity to be part of this afternoon's agenda and get to speak on 911.
I love 911.  I actually started in 911 as a 911 call taker back in 1995, so about 25 years ago in Washington State. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, fantastic!  Is that when the phones went like that [indicates]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Not quite that long. 
[Laughter]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  So I have a question, I want to make this as fun and as happy as possible, it's a serious topic, but I do want to direct....
911, does anyone know why in the United States the number that we use for emergencies is 911?  Does anyone want to take a guess?
[No response]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  And you kind of alluded to it.  So the 911 service started in 1968, and I will get to that, but what kind of phones did we have in our homes in 1968, for those of us ‑‑ 
>> ALL:  Rotary. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Rotary phones.  No touch tone phones, it had to be an easy number, something you could do in the dark and do by feeling.
Obviously 111 would have been the easiest and shortest.  However the problem with the number one...?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  International. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  It's the American U.S. country code, so it couldn't start with one.  The other obvious choice, go to a 0, of course that's calling operator.
So, thinking back in the day, it would be easier to go back to a one to a nine, and then go back to a nine and one one.
Another country uses codes, 999, 122 over in Europe, and some of the reasons they were able to do that is they didn't have the one as a country digit.
So just a little trivia there.
So I'm from the Collier County sheriff's office, I'm the director for the communications down in Naples for the Collier County sheriff's office, we actually have two 911 centers there in Collier County, one in the sheriff's office, the one that dispatches for all the public, for law enforcement, Collier County sheriff's office, Marco Island police department, fire department, and EMS, and where they dispatch in the city of Naples police department, and I know Tiffany had invited, there were going to be a couple of other 911 coordinators that wanted to be a part of this, as well as the state 911 coordinator who works for the Department of Management Services, DMS, and their schedules didn't work, so you got me, you get the second act.
And I appreciate ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I'm sorry, could you slow down a little bit for our providers?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I will.  Thank you for pointing that out.  I have a tendency, like I said, to get a little excited about 911 and I do have a tendency to speak quickly, so... you may have to remind me again as I get going, but that's fine.  Thank you.
So, just briefly, I was going to mention, what I was going to go over in the next 45 minutes, and I don't remember what time I started, so someone will have to help me with time, keep me on the stairs as well, and a little bit about the history of 911, the challenge specifically with implementing text to 911 as an advance to 911, what the solution has been and really what the future is going to be, 911's mantra has been one nation, one number.  One emergency number across the country.
And one thing that 911 directors and those across the country responsible to providing a 911 service tried to always keep at the forefront is if we have one number, it needs to be accessible from any device, regardless of the type of device that's used, and that it can be available anywhere in the country.
And those are three points that we tried to always keep at the forefront and are very much more important today, in today's technology age, where there are so many different apps and innovation and different things that people come up with that are great ideas, but can confuse the 911 fabric in the country.
Because someone coming up, say, with an app to text 911 or to provide a service to 911 in Florida that's only available in Florida would require a user to have to download an app, train them how to use it, who's going to use that in an emergency.  It becomes difficult.
So, we always try to keep it to the basic level where any user, and even as many of you are aware, we have public education programs where we're training kindergartners and first graders what 911 is for and how we use it.
So we always try to keep everyone in mind when we implement any 911 service.
With that said, in 1957, the National Fire Chiefs Association thought it would be wise for fire departments to have one number nationwide.
And, again, if you remember back in the day, there used to be different ten‑digit numbers to get ahold of the fire department, your police department, there wasn't really much to medical services at the time, but there were different numbers depending where you were.
And the I thank the Fire Chiefs Association for coming up with that in 1957.
However, not much happened.
In 1967, a presidential commission decided it was necessary for the entire country to have one number, a short number, for all of the public safety in the United States, and that was, again, in 1967.
So they turned to the FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, and appointed a committee to try to investigate this, at the time there was one telephone provider for the most part, AT&T and then in 1968, in Haleyville, Alabama, the first 911 call was made, and it wasn't done by AT&T, oddly enough it was done by a very small telephone company, Alabama Telephone, they actually beat AT&T to the punch, so to speak, and delivered the first 911 call in February of 1968, just over 50 years ago.  So, 911 is 50‑years‑old in this country.
In Collier County, we've had it for about 40 years and that's common with a lot of the counties in Florida.
All along through the history of not ‑‑ until 911 was established, legislation has been good about keeping the deaf and hard of hearing in the legislation.  For example, requiring that anyone ‑‑ any 911 call‑taking position also had the ability to receive a call from a TTD device, and over the years, those have taken different forms.
Some of the devices with the couple on it, puts the telephone handset on it, others have been integrated into our telephone systems, our 911 telephone systems, to be many different flavors, but the point was we had to be able to receive 911 calls just like any other call in our 911 call‑taking equipment.
Of course, there were challenges.  Sometimes, again, in trying to provide the same service, we would receive silent 911 calls and we would have to train call takers to remember to hit the space bar on the TTD device to initiate a call if the caller wasn't speaking, and make sure we challenged the calls, in that sense.
To make sure we tested our devices. 
Where I started up in Washington State, we had a larger Deaf community than we have in Collier County, and so we had regular calls.  In Collier County, we don't get a lot of calls, and it's important and we have a lot of turnover in 911.
And so it's important that we're able to continue to train on that service.
A couple of interesting dates.  In 1992 is when the first actual text or SMS, simple messaging service, call was sent and it wasn't between cell phone and cell phone, it was between a computer and a cell phone.
Then in 2003 was when the first TTY over a cell phone was sent.  And that was, again, a coupler device sent with a cell phone.  So kind of a hybrid mix there.
And just to put it in perspective, it was 2007 when the first iPhone came out, right, and that really marks in our history when people started carrying devices, when people started disconnecting their home phones and relying more and more on their cellular devices.
I'm sure in the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community, that those events made it easier to communicate, no longer having to have specified TTD devices or TTY devices, and there were apps that you could use with family and friends in the community, but 911 was sort of disconnected in that.
And a lot of the 911 technology that's still out there, with a voice call, quite frankly, is still based on that technology from 1968.
In fact, the 911 system in Haleyville, Alabama, that first 911 call still uses the same analogue technology, because it's reliable.
But that brings problems when we look at some of the newer innovation and newer devices.
So, SMS ‑‑ let me go a little bit farther in the time.  In 2012, in 2012, the four major carriers, wireless carriers, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and T‑Mobile, along with two of the public safety associations, one is national emergency number association, NENA, they're very involved in providing 911 services.  You had asked about the abbreviation after my name, EMP, it's a certification, the emergency member professional and that's a certification that comes from NENA to distinguish a degree of training that vendors and 911 providers go through to fully understand issues such as ADA‑type issues.
And then the other association is Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, APSCO.
And those wireless carriers and those two associations work together to come up with a solution to send text messages to 911.  It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult, I know.
But there were a lot of challenges.
A couple of things, because the wireless carriers, you were already able to text between devices, right?  But there was a whole short code of 911.
How do you actually enter 911 and the device knows where to send it?  Because there's not a location attached to an SMS message, so it doesn't know where to route that call.  That was one of the big issues.
Next service is a ‑‑ texting service is not always a reliable service, it's best effort, wireless company, it's best effort.  You may or may not get a text and you don't know if you receive the text, if you send a long text, it may break it up in one, two, or three messages and may not come in order and it's difficult.
Things we see in the consumer world are very difficult in the 911 realm, because, again, we have to have that reliable service.
So, in 2012, they came up and went to the FCC with a what they call an interim solution, and it would allow 911 centers, they would deliver 911 ‑‑ I'm sorry, they would deliver text messages to 911 in one of three ways, and it was up to each of the 911 centers across the country to determine how they would receive it, and there's nearly 7,000 911 centers across the country.
One was to receive a text message over the traditional means receiving a TTY, with the coupler devices, that was the most straightforward, but that didn't really improve technology and get us moving forward, but it was one of the three solutions.
The second was to have a web client where we could go to a web page and the 911 centers on each consult could have a web page and when the text message came in, they could answer it there.
That's how Collier County first implemented and we choose to do that which worked very well, but again, it's another application that a 911 call taker has to remember, you know, have open, in front of them, they have four or five screens in front of them, but it worked.  It didn't provide an app and we could get a rough idea of where the caller was calling from.  Very rough.
And then the third interim implementation was to integrate it into our existing 911 call taking equipment and most of our systems are computers, they're not phones anymore.
So those are the three options.  Again, we went with what was called the web client because we didn't have a software that we could integrate it into at the time, it's upgraded and now has that software.
The agreement between the carriers in 2012, they said by May of 2014, this will be available.  In May of 2014, we sent a letter to each of the carriers advising them we were ready for the service and we wanted to move forward in Collier County and it was in August of 2014 when we actually began receiving the text to 911 service, and so this is a map that I'm showing from the state of Florida, it was October of 2014, Collier County, we were operational, several, a handful ‑‑ I shouldn't say several, a handful of other counties had requested the service or began to install the service.
But again, it would seem that counties would just jump on board, but they didn't.  In fact, even until today, it's only about 50% of the counties in the United States that have that service available.
The SMS, or simple messaging service, made sense to the 911 community because it was already native to all of the wireless areas, it was something that came with the phone, it wasn't ‑‑ battery may be dead.  Standby.  Technology.  
[Laughter]. 
[Pause]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  I don't know if I need the microphone.  
>> LISA (CART CAPTIONER):  Yes.  
[Pause]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Thank you.  So SMS was native to the devices, there wasn't a new app that needed to be installed, it was available to everybody that had a cell phone.
It was a process that was easy for the carriers to get over their data channel, to get into 911.
One of the things I wanted to mention with the smart devices, iPhones, et cetera, we're today receiving just in Collier County specifically a little over 80%, about 82% of our 911 calls actually come from wireless devices now.  Very few people have landline‑type phones like we used to, which also has made things difficult, a lot because of the mobile nature, you know, with a home phone, a landline phone, we know where you're calling from and we know how to route that call and how to get to you.
But with wireless devices and wireless carriers not having a method to reliably deliver callers' location, that became very difficult in routing 911 calls, and SMS just made that difficult, because, again, it was a convenient service, it wasn't a service that was built by the carriers in a robust fashion.
The carriers, with text messaging, sends text message, it doesn't matter if you have a Verizon phone or Sprint phone or AT&T phone, right, you can send messages across devices, it doesn't matter, across carriers, and that's because they have TCC, text control centers that they use and that's how you connect, a text message comes in and sends out to another carrier.  There isn't just one TCC, that would be too easy, the carriers distribute it across areas TCCs.
When I mention carriers, there's the four primary carriers we have, but there's dozens of regional wireless carriers across the country.  So while they weren't part of the agreement making, they had to be included, and so they all route their various to various text control centers, and one thing with 911 that we have to take into consideration in texting to 911, if I receive a text in Collier County but it's regarding an incident in Lee County, I have to transfer that text conversation to Lee County just like I do a phone call, right?  Not a huge problem over here on the West Coast, but on the East Coast, assuming there's representatives here from the Broward, Palm Beach, Miami‑Dade, there are a couple of municipalities involved, if not 30, and they all have 911 centers that need to transfer calls between 911 centers and that's a crucial element to be able to ‑‑ if you're going to implement the service, let's say in Broward County, it needs to be for the entire county, it needs to be available for everyone, that's part of the messaging, that's a difficult thing in Florida, when we had it in Collier, we had to make our press releases had to make it known that if you're outside of Collier County, this may not work.
Part of the ruling from the FCC after the agreement was if you texted 911 and it didn't go through, you had to receive a bounce‑back message.  That doesn't happen or didn't happen if you text a friend or family member, right?  You hope it goes through.  With 911, you have to have that reliable, and so you wouldn't receive a bounce back message and that's one of the challenges.
So, I had mentioned the ability to integrate it into 911 call taking systems.  This happens to be a representation of one of the streams, one of our 911 call takers enabled would look at.  It seems kind of busy, but ultimately up there, a box was added so that we could receive text conversations right in the middle of everything else we were already doing.  So our eyes are already focused on that, we're not going to miss something over here.
Backing up a little bit ‑‑ 
>> VOICE:  Here are some details ‑‑ 
>> BOB FINNEY:  ‑‑ giving credit to Marion County in Florida, even before the carriers received an agreement, they took a step and took a cell phone, a flip phone at their supervisor's text that could receive text messages.  It didn't work for 911, they had to publish a ten digit number, there was no nationwide system, but if somebody needed to contact them, the media messaging was you can text to this number and we can text you back.  That was a first step, but you can imagine the holes that can happen, and even the liability, the battery died, somebody wasn't paying attention, somebody put on silent.
So, again, not universally available but it was the first step.
This gave us the ability to see and be aware and see the text coming in and jump on them right away and handle them.
I would say now even better than a voice call.
Now, where we are today in the state of Florida, you can see much better, we have 41 counties out of 67 text services operational.  I say it's better, but....
We're doing better than the national average, but you can see that there's still areas that need, you know, 20, 2020, 2021, it looks like everyone has a plan ‑‑ to me, it doesn't cost much for the cheapest forms of implementation, but that nonetheless, that's where we are in the state.
I left some cards in back ‑‑ go ahead, question.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Hi, this is Chris.  I just wanted to mention real fast that that's not 100% accurate, because I do know of at least one county up there that it says it's operational that they do not have texting to 911 yet.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Okay.  I guess I should put a caveat.  I got this from the Department of Management from the state of Florida and this information comes from the state and honestly it's how the county coordinator reported it to the state, so... 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Fair enough.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  So you said it was fairly inexpensive.  Would why some of these counties, I'm in Leon, Tallahassee, and it's two years... why would there be hesitancy?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I can only speak as a PSAP ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Hypothetically.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  A lot ‑‑ from across the country, there was a fear that call centers would get overwhelmed by text messages, there was a fear that people would spam the 911 centers and send messages and there was a fear.
I will tell you, in Collier County, we have approximately 15, that's one five, dispatchable texts per month, not overwhelming, not overwhelming.
But that was a fear.
To the extent that I'm going to grab the handout, that I have it back, in the back, NENA, they do their advertising, the phrase is 911, call if you can, text if you can't, and that was the fear, and there are reasons, I mean, a voice call, you can hear background, the call taker can hear background noises, if they get a medical call, they can hear the patient and determine what type of breathing and there is an awareness from a calling 911.
However, we stepped out of the bounds than what the rest of the country was doing, and we did that, we want to text for all, we want to be able to receive it regardless.
Call takers who we hire today, these young people can take two text calls, deal with more, and you can only deal with one 911 voice call at a time, that's all technologically possible.
So, it's moving in Florida.
And there's a couple things.  I mentioned some of the challenges, because of what text message is, and these are on the back of the handout, again, if you're interested you can grab one, but I wanted to highlight these, and again, it's dependent on some of these may be dependent on what county you reside in, but text location information is not as accurate as calling location information, so the location information.
Question.  
>> MARY HODGES:  I think this answers the question.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  And the reason for that, it's not a 911 problem, it's a problem that comes from the wireless service providers, and it depends what wireless service providers.
Some carriers, like Sprint, cannot do a voice call and data at the same time.  So they cannot send data at the same time you have a voice call.  That's a technological impediment because we need that data to get that location.
IPhone or Apple, with the latest upgrade IOS 13, now Apple will embed the location data and send it with that call.
So from an iPhone now, with the latest version of software, we'll actually probably get a better location than an Android phone, which is what I carry.  And I'm sure Android will do that eventually.
But the carriers are coming along.
So the location is just inconsistent with a voice call ‑‑ I mean with a text call.
And I'll be honest, it's not a whole lot better with a voice call, but great strides have been made because the FCC determined ten years ago that lives can be saved by getting location information earlier on in the call, a lot of callers just don't know where they are.  In this area, a lot of areas of Florida, there is a lot of tourism, people call in, they have access, don't know where they are, they drive into a body of water, they don't know where they are, we can't send help, that's the one information we need, where is the person.  We can't send to everybody, but if we don't know where you're at, it's impossible to send help.
We have been pushing a lot of that on the FCC as well and some of the providers, because, again, my opinion is it's ridiculous the wireless carriers have gotten away with this for so long, but that's where we are....
As with all text messages, 911 can take a long time to receive, may be out of order, or bounce back.  It will bounce back if you're out of an area.  If you're roaming and you happen to be roaming and you complete a 911 call, you're Verizon and you reach a Sprint tower, the voice may be completed but the text call may not go through, and the difference between them routing through different text control centers across the country that they use to route text messages.
Data plan, you have to be able to text on your phone, if you have a phone that doesn't have texting enabled, I think it's pretty much free now, it's a non‑event, but you have to have the text plan on your phone for that to go through.
Photos and videos cannot be sent to 911 at this time, and I'll get to that in a minute.
And the last two kind of go together, and it's there, text to 911 is SMS only, does not include photos, videos, emojis, and once an emoji or, say, a picture is attached to a text imagine or SMS message, it becomes a multi‑media message, MMS message, and if you send a message text to 911 and you add a family member, it is no longer an SMS message, it becomes an MMS message and doesn't get to 911 and you can't have multiple recipients.
Again, that is all on the back of this, but I did just want to point some of these technological challenges out.
Okay.  So, I mentioned ‑‑ I mentioned that the four carriers, what they came up with was an interim agreement.  Well, why was that an interim agreement?
One, again, in my opinion was because they didn't want to be forced by the FCC, regulated by the FCC to do this, if they came up with an agreement, at least it was on their terms, which is where it stood today.
But the other thing is, and I don't know if you've heard of the term Next Generation 911, I've referred to it, but a majority of the 911 systems across the country still use the analogue TMA type 1968‑type technology.  It made it work.
The country needs to move, the 911 centers need to move to IP based or internet based, secure based protocols.
We should be able to receive videos, data sources other than voice and even text, but until the infrastructure can be updated, which the price tag for ‑‑ on a nation level and this was in a report last year by the national 911 office at 911.gov is somewhere between $9‑12 billion over the next 12 years to be able to implement that, so it's a huge infrastructure undertaking.
We in Collier County and some of the counties around the state are stating to do it, even though there's not grant funding available, so to speak, we're starting to move to those ‑‑ away from that analogue technology and bring in that IP or internet protocol technology and what that will ultimately allow us to do then is to receive real SMS, MMS, video, images, in whatever other neat things that the innovative Google‑type community will come up to be able to contact 911, social media, it goes on and on.  It's kind of scary and the question that you had asked earlier, I think it was Shay that asked the question about why, what's the hesitation?  There's probably a lot of hesitation, what am I going to do if I get a video on 911?  I don't want my call takers ‑‑ they're not trained for this, seeing this, something, a picture, there is a lot of fear in this too.
And it's kind of the hesitation moving forward.
But as we move and adopt the next generation technologies, it's going to make it much better for the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community as well.
Realtime text, I'm assuming that's something this group is familiar with, realtime texting, that's now been pushed out by the FCC.  And finally they've come up with some rulings ‑‑ actually it was as of December 2016.
A lot of the realtime texting requires those IP Next Generation 911 circuits running into the 911 centers.
Again, we hope to have ours online around the first part of next year.  It was actually supposed to be July of last year, but the vendor is taking a lot longer than expected.
But we'll see changes and things will get better and move far beyond those interim text to 911 implementations. 
So, with that, I feel like I've been super technical.  I try not to make ‑‑ I try not to get overly technical with the information, but I do enjoy ‑‑ we are ‑‑ our sheriff in Collier County is very community oriented and wants us to be ahead of the curb on a lot of technology, which is why I can go out and kind of ‑‑ we can do some of the leading edge things that a lot of the counties are afraid of.
I'll be honest, a lot of decision makers and leaders in a lot of the counties, their hesitance is based on the hesitancies of the 911 centers within the community and not holistically and looking at where as a national community where we need to be going and really where we need to be going and taking these steps.
I put on this last slide, 911.gov is the federal office; FCC has some videos and information on text to 911; and NENA.
And also for the Florida, since this is a Florida based group, flnena.org and we need the support, and NENA at the national level, there are some individuals that come and there are committees that focus on ADA‑type requirements and needs, and we encourage that, we really encourage that and help, we need that help within the state of Florida to push, you know, the programs here in Florida.  There's been discussion of a statewide text to 911 implementation, but it lagged, and the more support we get from the community at the state level will help us and help the 67911 coordinators maybe push it a little faster, knowing and realizing and understanding that need that's out there. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you.  Chris, you have a question?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Bob, this is Chris.  Thank you so much.  And I want to jump all over a lot of this, mostly in offering kudos for what Collier County did in getting the ball rolling for text to 911 in the state of Florida.
And also for the entire country.
If you could maybe, could you go back to your history slide for just a second?  I want to point out a couple of things. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Sure.  The early one or the October one or this one?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Keep going.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Keep going?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Back, that one.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yes. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  With your panel on there, the one between 2003‑2012, it doesn't though there in 2010, at the federal level, was the adoption of the Communication and Video Accessibility Act and that's the federal law where I started to get involved in all of this.
Like you, I was a dispatcher, a telecommunicator back in the 1990's, I also served on the FCC committee for emergency access advisory, and one of the things that was ‑‑ that came out of our committee was that people wanted to use the same devices that they used everyday to communicate with 911 in an emergency.  And that's where texting to 911 came up, as a recommendation for the interim in the implementation of Next Generation 911.
It's under CVAA and Title I that talks about people with disabilities and people that are deaf or hard of hearing having the same access to emergency services that everybody else does.
And so with that, that's when texting to 911 became important for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
And you can see the timeline there was 2010 the federal law was implemented?  2012, when the four major carriers came back and said they're provided on text message and 2014 when Collier County first implemented texting to 911 as the first of 67 counties in the state of Florida.
That's amazing!  Four years, the wheels of government, they turned is slowly, but still, Collier County was way ahead of the curb in a lot of that.
That's a great step.  We still get about 50% of the state of Florida to have texting to 911 available.
What Shay was asking before about why hasn't every county jumped all over this?  What you said is absolutely true; people were afraid of the flood of calls that would happen because of the availability of texting to 911.
And also, the PSAP, which is the public safety access point, which also concerned about the reliability by allowing texting to 911 because it doesn't have the same GIS identifier that a voice call had.
But like Bob said before, a voice call on a cell phone and the pinpointing of a location for a text is almost the same anyway.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  So, there are so many people that are using cell phones only and no longer have landlines at home.  Cell phones do not have the ANI and LAI (sp) that you and I used as dispatchers in the early 1990's when you call 911 on a landline phone and a dispatcher right away has the address and the phone number of the person calling.  On a cell phone, they don't have that.
So, but, again, thank you for everything that you're doing and I just wanted to add that little piece of federal law, in 2010, that kind of got the ball rolling. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yeah, and you're right, it takes a long time, and that's why it's very unfortunate and that's why I encourage this community to reach at a state level, the wireless carriers through the CTIA ‑‑ the commercial ‑‑ I can't remember the association for wireless carriers, there's really much more that they need to be able to do, like delivering location, like making this easier, but it's been a fight all along.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I was just wondering why are they not implementing the text to 911 based on the population that the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing community?  You would think that Tampa, the entire Tampa Bay Area would be done, rather than an area where there's very little deaf.
I mean, we've been trying to get it in Pasco County, there's about 800 or 1,000 deaf people. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right.  In Florida, it's up to each county and that's why it's being done at a county level, that's what legislation requires.
Now, the state through the grant program is reimbursing any county for implementation cost annually.  They realize there's costs and there is some funding that will go to that, that 911 coordinators can get.
So, I'll challenge any county that says it's because it costs too much.  I'll challenge them.  Because it's not.  And the cost can be reimbursed. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina, I'm going back to what you said about the cost and the cost to upgrade the infrastructure.  Years ago, there's a lot of fake fees on our cell phone bills, you know, the 911 ‑‑ 
>> BOB FINNEY:  That's not a fake fee, I'll tell you, the 30¢ a month, that pays ‑‑ 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Why don't they use it to improve infrastructure?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Remember I said in Collier County we were doing that?  That 40 cent fee in the state of Florida, I have to be careful, we are one of the lowest counties in the state.  Our budget for providing 911 service is about $4 million a year.  That 40¢ for users in Collier County that the people have in the county pays for almost half of that, which means the county has to support the other 2 million.
We're Collier County.  We have a fairly decent tax base, you know, we have a lot of people with nice homes in Collier County, a lot of Florida does not ‑‑ a lot of these counties do not have that, a lot of these interior counties, you know, the rural counties rely, as state grant program just to retain the 911 system as is, much less building on ‑‑ so there is funding.  That's to implement the next generation services and, like I said, with a text, that, because of those interim solutions, you don't have to have new technology, you can do it over the existing trunks that you used to receive the TTY calls and state will reimburse any additional software or anything like that.
Keep those in mind.  Texting is one thing, that's reimbursable and that's not a cost.  Moving the whole country over to IP based circuits, that's where it gets expensive and that's where it's tough.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  And is that also time consuming?  I see that there's some installation progress. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  It's not that it's time consuming, especially now.  I mean, back in 2014, the carriers didn't really know what they were doing, even though they agreed and they have six months just to respond to our letters, but now it's not time consuming, but it does require perhaps some local technical resources to be able to work directly with the carriers, and a ‑‑ again, a lot of the smaller counties may not have technical resources in their 911 systems.
Again, some of the counties, while every county is required to have a 911 coordinator, some of them where multiply hats, EMT, oh, you're also the 911 coordinator too, we have text to 911, and they're overwhelmed.
Again, most of the counties here in southwest Florida in coastal counties, they have the staff and can carry these projects and assist.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I was just wondering... 
[Pause]. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I forgot.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  We have a public comment.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yeah, I have a question, hi, Bob, my name is Jenny.  Would you mind jumping to the next slide, if you don't mind?  The operator ‑‑ 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Oh, that screen?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yes, that's the one.  Got it.  The operator is sitting there looking at the screen, when a person, for example, a deaf person were to text 911 and giving information on an emergency or an accident, how do they describe ‑‑ look to describe the name of the street and so forth, because I see, you get that picture, why not send the picture ‑‑ you can't text a picture, so why not send, you know, a word equivalent?  Is that an issue with ‑‑ 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Are you talking about in this screen up here?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yeah, right there, mmm‑hmm.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Okay.  I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a word picture.  It's just text, so... 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Yeah, so ‑‑ sure, so why not send a picture?  Why won't they accept pictures?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Because the carrier ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  The carriers cannot deliver that ‑‑ they have no way of knowing, if you send a picture right now, they don't know where to route that, it goes to a control center probably in another state and if it's sent to 911, they'll have no idea ‑‑ 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Okay. 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  A lot of those 6500 apps around the country. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Are you going to help?  [Chuckles]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  Just to add to that, what 911 call centers can receive is SMS, simple messaging, or text only.  So the best thing you can do is describe your location, a full address, the GPS is usually, at best, within 500 feet, so if you live in a ten‑story apartment building, you need to give the apartment number, the row you're in, and every other thing possible.
Location, location, location.
Because like I said, that automatic location identifier is not available in texting to 911, so you need to explain that with the dispatcher first. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay.  Jenny, did you have anything else that you wanted to add to that?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well, I was just thinking that if a person isn't familiar with the area that they're in, like they can describe what is in the area or instead of finding someone to ask questions, that they can find on GPS, on the screen, kind of put it together, that way they have a more specific location on a GPS.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right.  And that's not only a problem with text messages, like I said, and just as a little example, I know this be was kind of blown up now, but you'll see this is two dots, this is the same call, this is probably a voice call, although, like I said, with the new Apple IOS, this could be a text call from an Apple device, this indicates this location is more accurate, it's coming from the device, versus a location that's coming either through triangulation or some other technology that's not as accurate.  I don't know what this is, but that's probably a half a mile difference.  If we don't get that additional one, we get this half a mile, you probably can't see this, but we get a degree of confidence and certainty that the carrier has to provide on voice calls and text calls, we may get a call saying it's right here with an X and Y coordinate or it's within half a mile, we're 80% sure it's within half a mile, that's 20% sure it's not.
So it's not just a problem with text messaging.  Right, on TV, when you watch 911 on TV, they know right where you're at, if they don't know where you're at, they find you in 30 seconds.
Unfortunately, again, that's the infrastructure, that's not the 911 infrastructure, but the carriers' infrastructure. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I understand.  Thank you.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well, I don't want to interrupt, but I had that experience in various areas, I live here and they have wonderful service, they saved my life.  I already text ‑‑ I sent a text and they showed up, because they texted the GPS on my phone, they know where I live. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  That's excellent. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  So they arrived quickly because they knew exactly where I was, it was a wonderful experience, so I'm thankful for that, because my phone actually found me on my GPS, automatically they were sent out to me, so it went directly to my phone.
I didn't want to interrupt, but I wanted to mention that. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  Is there anything that the Florida Coordinating Council can do or anything we can do to get the other counties to get it?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  In two weeks ‑‑ every month the 911 Board, the Florida 911 Board meets in different parts of the state.  It's on the DMS website, if you Google DMS 911 Wireless Board.  In two weeks they will be at an NENA conference, flnena.org, if you're available, especially if you're in the Palm Beach area, they have a date with the 911 coordinators, and there is a day, a board meeting in two weeks, I would encourage, approach the board, they have public speaking, public comments, bring it up, bring it up, and let the board, both the board that represents all of the coordinators, as well as the state 911 coordinators, know their concerns and desires.
I don't get out to all of the board meetings, but I haven't seen at any of the board meetings I've attended that there's been a presentation or a public comment, so I would love to see that.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  The other thing I was going to say, Debbe, and Bob you can back me up on this if you agree or not [chuckles], but contact your local decision makers, show up at a county commission meeting, express your concern for having texting to 911 in your area.
Because it's ‑‑ we have it in the state of Florida.  We have home rule.  That means each county makes the decisions themselves on how they're going to spend their money and what they're going to do, so it's dependent on the local decision makers.
And unfortunately, which was said back at the FCC probably ten years ago, sometimes tragedy drives what's going to happen.
What happened at Margie Douglas with the active shooter incident, that pushed a lot of counties in South Florida to move forward with texting to 911 because there's a lot of situations where it's not strictly just for people that are deaf or hard of hearing, it's what we refer to as deaf gain, where anybody could benefit from using texting to 911, an active shooter incident, a domestic situation, for whatever reason medically you can't use your voice, so some of those things might be ‑‑ might come into play.
But when you talk about as a citizen in your county that doesn't have the availability of texting to 911, contact your local commission.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right.  Yeah, any local 911 coordinator.
Before I forget, there's one thing I want to do, I've been working on this texting generation technologies at a national level a lot.  I've been ‑‑ we were engaged with Google a couple years ago, I want to give kudos to Google and Apple, Apple does things behind the curtain, but Google reached out to us because they are able to provide a very good location.  If you pull up your Google or iPhone and pull up a map, it has a blue dot that shows you where you're at.  That's what we should be getting with 911.  They understood that and they wanted to provide it to 911 for free as part of their technology, they understood the importance.  They went to the FCC.  The FCC, it's difficult to mandate anything.  They went to the carriers for two years and received resistance from the carriers because they said they'll come up with something.
There has been a company called Rapid SOS that Apple partnered with, any ESP can have it in a service, it's free to us, actually Apple is paying them and Android is paying them and now Uber is paying them, you may have seen them, if you're in a Uber vehicle and use the button on your Uber app, it will send your location from the Uber app, send the location, driver's name, vehicle time, license number, that's all that next generation stuff lime talking about, Uber pays this company, Rapid SOS and we integrate it all for free, all of these companies want to provide safety for their customers.
So a lot has been done in the vacuum that both the FCC and the wireless carriers have left.
And very happy and we ‑‑ so there are a lot of large players out there by Google and Rapid SOS that want to do the right thing, and we have to give them kudos, they're pushing it just because they know it's the right thing to do.
So it's not all silence from everyone out there, they're really doing a lot of things.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  This is Karen.  I know that we've talked about having a goal for this Council.  I'm trying to get text to 911 [clearing throat] ‑‑ excuse me ‑‑ this really is not fun to get, you should get your flu shot ‑‑ to make sure we can get text to 911 throughout the state of Florida, so I encourage all of us to be very active in that process.
And I think we can get it at least ‑‑ certainly not all the way, but certainly see a change.
One thing you brought up that I thought was interesting, here it will be abused, that the system will be abused.  How did Collier County overcome that fear?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  We just did it, I guess.  Is it Nike:  Just do it.
At some point, there's a lot of fear with a lot of new technology.  I mean, disruption in anything, you know.
But you just have to deal with it.  And somebody's going to do it, so thankfully, like I said, our leadership, the sheriff of Collier County wants to be able to provide the best, so if it's something ‑‑ we don't do things irresponsibly, like I said, anybody needs to access this in Collier County.  Because I've gotten calls from residents, well, I can download this app, why can't you have the app on your end, if I have this app and I send something to you, you can get it, well, there's 100 apps out there and it makes it difficult.
There is a responsible way to do it, but, again, it's all about the leadership and I do have to say that our leadership has been great for this. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Great.  Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I know maybe there's a possibly of Glenna or someone who lives in the Palm Beach area attending that meeting in two weeks.
Would it also be helpful, Tiffany sends some information to the dispatchers, and Karen, if you can send a letter as the Chair to the Council, we can send those out to the counties that are still behind or say they're two years out and we urge you as a Council on behalf of the deaf and hard‑of‑hearing citizens of Florida to expedite this process and give them the link to the resource for the state grant so, you know, and say, you know, we know that funding sometimes is an issue, we wanted to make sure you're aware of this grant program, et cetera.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I mean, I can draft a letter tonight, if Tiffany can text me all the little details that goes into, like the website and the grant stuff, I can put that in there.  Or I can send the draft to her and she can tidy it up tonight. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Yeah, we can do that ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It has to be done this week.  I'm here, now is the time ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Well, on her computer when she gets back to work, we can finalize it and get it started.  It was just a suggestion if the Council agrees. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  You said the West Palm meeting is open to the public?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yes. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  That means the Deaf community can go there and voice their concerns and their interest?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  The board meeting Wednesday afternoon is very similar to this, it's been noticed and there's public comments, you can get on public comments, I don't know when specifically on the agenda, but the letter if you send it to the state coordinator or the chair, Matthew Matty (sp) to share it, they would be glad to ‑‑ frankly, they would be glad to share that. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  I have one more question that is specific to you or to Collier County.
Pinellas County, we just went live with texting to 911, thank goodness, almost a year ago, it was early December of 2018, and because everybody in Pinellas County knows my involvement with advocating for this, one of the things they did was contacted me and wanted me to come to the call center and test it and do a bunch of stuff. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Good, mmm‑hmm. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  So how do you handle people testing calls in Collier County?  What do you suggest for people to get ready to call 911 if they're texting to 911?
When I say call, I think voice. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  If I'm texting to 911, like, I have in my phone 911 already in my contacts.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Which is a good thing to do.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Yeah. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Oddly enough, people say I can text 911, how do I do that?  Put 911 in the number, most of us have contacts in there, right?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Yes, putting 911 in your contacts, saying "emergency" and then 911.
But my question really is, do you allow people ‑‑ in Pinellas County, they're, like, sure, send us a test.  Do you allow that same thing to happen?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yes, generally with a voice call, we say because our policy in Collier County, if we receive a 911 voice call, because oftentimes we'll have a decent location or send a deputy, we will send someone even if they said hey, I'm just testing 911, good, it worked, you'll get a deputy in a few minutes at the door, or a deputy trying to find where that location is and making a best effort.
From text messaging, because the location isn't that granular and you can't really make a voice phone call first, test it.
Now how it comes across, the 911 first message will be automated, Collier County, what's your emergency, and test it, say hi, I'm test being, I'm testing 911 ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, not everyone test right now!  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No, no. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can I ask you, as a director of this, do you have the ability to show us a demonstrate to this or will they dispatch?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Remember, I'm in Lee County now, but... but they all know me and I generally ‑‑ I don't know if I have a way to display it.  But I don't mind testing it.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  You don't have any trick for displaying, right?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Glenna. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Is it successful for me to appear in West Palm Beach for public comments, how do I request an interpreter?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very good question. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  I can get that information for you. 
[Laughter]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  That's the right answer!  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I assume they would be open to having interpreters, this is text to 911, so they need to have interpreters there. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  I don't know, at a state meeting, they should have somebody on a standby.  I don't know.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I wish we had somebody from the state here.  Shay?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Is that Florida or national NENA?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Florida. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  They have people on national NENA that are deaf. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yes, and I sit on some of the ADA committee, they discuss a lot of this with 911 as we look at Next Generation 911, and that's another great place, especially for somebody that's been in the industry to plug themselves in at a National NENA level and they meet in June, and I believe this June, I believe it's in Orlando, actually, the national, so... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Really?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I believe. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  When is the national?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I know at least a couple of deaf people on national NENA, Richard Ray from California and Donna Platt are on National NENA and they're advocating this from a deaf and hard‑of‑hearing standpoint.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So you're saying the National NENA is here in Florida?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I believe it's in Orlando.  Nena.org. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Is the background, is it from here?
[Noise sound]. 
>> I think it's a fan. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I'll go look.  
[Pause]. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  I was going to do a text message just to see if I happen to... 
[Pause].
[Whistle sound in room]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Long Beach, California. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  Oh, is it Long Beach?  It would still be a good show; I would love to see you there.
Again, the ‑‑ there is a committee and there are several topics, outside of just text to 911, but even an implementation, you know, of ADA requirements into 911 centers in general.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  I couldn't remember, is there a mandate for counties to do this?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  To do...?  
>> MARY HODGES:  To implement texting to 911. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  That's a Chris answer.  Chris?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  There's no mandate.  There is no mandate at a state or federal level.
I just texted 911 and there was a message that said please make a voice call to 911.  There is no text service to 911 at this time.
So currently in Lee County or because I'm roaming. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I wanted to announce that the NENA conference 911 goes to Washington, February 12‑15, 2020, at the Grand Hyatt in D.C. 
>> BOB FINNEY:  That's very good as well, we go to the Hill and talk to our local senators and representatives about funding for next generation infrastructure, things like that, so... that's a very good forum as well.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Awesome.  Very exciting.
Okay.  Any other comments, thoughts, or questions for our speaker?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I did notice on tab eight there were some questions.  Did we answer all of them that we sent out?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I was going to ask that.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I was looking at you, hey, hook me up, which is fine.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Can I just ask them out loud and tell me if you've answered them already?  There's only eight ‑‑ that's all, eight.
So, the first question was, what is the expected dates of implementation?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Depends on the county. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  That depends on the county.
What are the steps and delays in funding difficulties in implementing the service, which he mentioned already, correct?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Yes, unless there is additional questions. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Who is allowed to use the text to 911 service?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Anyone. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay.  So even if they are not deaf or hard of hearing?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Right. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  They're able to use it.  That was a point I wanted to know.
Can anyone use the text to 911?  That's the same question.
Is location information accurate with text to 911?  And you mentioned that in your presentation.
Can pictures or videos be sent to ‑‑ by text to 911, and we all got that too.
Will a caller know if their text did not go through through the text to 911 system?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  You will get that bounce back message. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So there will be a bounce back message.  And the last one is who may we contact if we have further questions or concerns related to text to 911?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I left my card there, I'm open to all of this, I can forward this to other counties and I would love to see you in a few weeks. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  We have Glenna, Cindy.  I just want to add with her, with Glenna is available, the conference for the Florida NENA is in West Palm Beach November 17‑22.  So would they have interpreters for her there?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I will work on that.  Specifically you're talking about for the entire conference?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yes, it says the Florida NENA training conference and expo. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  She wouldn't go the whole time, just the day for public comment about 911.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Well, there's two things.  So, there's the day of public comment, and that's with the state board, the 911 board and state coordinator, and so I can check with the state specifically on that, and I'll send an answer back to Tiffany, because I have your e‑mail.
But if there's ‑‑ if you're interested in going to the other, I can check with the Florida NENA board and I'll check on that as well and pass that on. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Glenna and then Cindy.  Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  This is Glenna.  Remember last year in February, in February when we were in Tallahassee and we visited the legislators and there was a bill last year to require all counties to implement text to 911, by a certain date, or whatever, and that was the only information then.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  So my only comment was if someone or more than one person from here were to show up for public comment, if we had that letter that was sent out, we could bring that letter and read it out in public comment to encourage everyone to go faster ‑‑ I don't know, maybe, Glenna, I can get that day and switch my schedule around and go with you, if you want.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Is that it?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Let me update something because of what Glenna said made me think of something.  So while there's no legislation as far as when forcing SMS to be implemented, as a result of House Bill 441, which is as a result of the shooting at Marjory Douglas, they have to come up with a plan and as you saw from the map, as the time the plan is developed....
So, there is that out there that they may refer you to, but I think it's important to reach out to those counties and provide your support for them doing that.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  Is there an entity that would shepherd counties through the process?  
>> BOB FINNEY:  The state will.  The state 911 office will.  And if they need another county, we'll help out, we'll help out too.
The state of Indiana actually reached out to us when they were doing theirs, because they did a statewide implementation and got some positive press and news stories even for Southwest Florida.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I'm going to say, I'm horrified that Dade County is taking that long!  
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I would love to know who the holdup is or who you think we can reach in Dade County to encourage them to not drag so long.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I wonder the same thing.  I mean, they do have a 911 coordinator over there, Miami‑Dade is its own entity [chuckles], I mean, they do things... yeah, so, yeah, so, you know....
But I would reach out to the coordinator there specifically.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  Last thoughts?  
[Applause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  
[Applause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We want to thank you for coming in.  We have a thank you note, we have a thank you note for you.  
>> BOB FINNEY:  Oh, thank you so much.  Yeah, I heard you ate the cookies.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I'll give you mine.  Take it!  Take it!  
>> BOB FINNEY:  I was joking!  I will share it with my kids.  Thank you.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I want to make sure we're not violating any Sunshine Laws. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No, it's okay, it's a cookie.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is it okay to take a few‑minute break?  Let's take a ten‑minute break, is that okay with everyone?  Thank you.  Enjoy your break.  
[Break].  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I have your travel for you to sign, so all y'all. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  We'll be giving you our receipts. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Within five days.  
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I went to the front desk, if you had a resort charge, they removed it, I had them go down the list, and there is no resort charge on anyone's card now.  
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So if there are more ‑‑ I mean, remember that I need the receipts by ‑‑ in five days from all of this. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can I ask a question?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Please. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is it per diem for the food or are we giving you receipts?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I believe there's no need for receipts for the meals ‑‑ because you get a certain amount based on your amount of time that you are on the road.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, this is Debra's.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Oh, yay!  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  It's the same per diem you get every time.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is it scallop per diem?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  It's Burger King. 
[Laughter]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Maybe your total meal per diem will cover last night!  It was a little pricey. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Do I have to put my mileage somewhere?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Tell me the distance of miles that it took for you to get there; that would be helpful.  But let me tell you where.  Do you know where it says mileage and then it says mileage... 
[Room chatter].
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, all right, folks, we are back.
Okay.  Welcome back.  We have had amazing speakers today!  And amazing presence from the public as well.
This has been, I think, one of our richest meetings.  I just really have felt that power and excitement.  So I really appreciate everyone being here.
I would like every meeting to be like this, robust discussions, motivation, and off we go.
One thing I realize I did not ask the APD person was about their, more specifics about their activity for 2020, what they're going to do to celebrate the 30th anniversary.  I know they made mention of it.
But I'll send ‑‑ okay.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  So I contacted her a bit a time ago.  Melanie Etters is the one in charge of that celebration and she was the one in charge of the 25th year celebration of the ADA, and so she said she has already had, like, one meeting with someone to discuss possibly having an event, but they have not come up with what they're going to do and all of the particulars, and so she's aware that we're looking to collaborate with them, and she knows I will plan on ‑‑ she's planning it around the fact that we are going to collaborate and get with us and let us know what kind of areas she needs assistance in. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, problem solved.  Excellent.
Okay.  So, technically on the schedule, we are going to do the bylaws summary and update and I want to propose we take that tomorrow morning, after our Sunshine Law training, and then combine review of public comments with new public comments.  Are we allowed to do that?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Mmm‑hmm. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is that okay with everyone?  My brain probably needs to have some hours of sleep so I can look at the bylaws. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  That's fine.  I'll notice we put a new notation on the agenda that was recommended by Legal and when Tiffany did her Sunshine Law training, that all times are approximate and may vary.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, that's awesome, so we don't have to be quite so rigid.
Is everyone okay to table bylaws until tomorrow morning?
Now, I did make assignments on bylaws for that phone call that didn't quite happen.  I really appreciate that Tiffany put it together and some people did come to it, I was late so I missed it.
So it was my responsibility as Chair to make sure that I was there on time, and I apologize.  But we'll do it better the next time.
So, if anyone needs a reminder of what your section was, we'll have Tiffany send that out again tonight.  She had the whole list.  And then if you get a chance, you know, to take a look at your bylaw section, do so.  And then we'll have a really good robust discussion about bylaws tomorrow.
All right.  Because we're coming up on the 4:15 hour and I know that we have some really active committees, I thought we could go do the committee updates.
I'm also not seeing, and I'm sorry about that, I'm not seeing updates from our agencies.  Isn't that usually on our calendar?  Isn't that usually on our agenda?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  No. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Tomorrow?  Okay.  So we'll table that for tomorrow as well; all right, good enough.
Let's go around and do the committee updates.  We will start with Debbe and Darlene, if she's available on the phone, Web Committee.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  On Facebook, we have about 893 people that look in on Facebook, so I think that's a pretty good number.  I'd like to see that increase more.  So I've been trying to share different important information on Facebook related to hard of hearing and deaf and deaf and blind.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  So it sounds like earlier we were hearing that Tiffany said she's really not able to impact the Facebook group.  What other social media are we currently connected with?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Only Facebook.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Should we be on other things, like TIKTOK. 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't really know what that is.  I've heard of it, but I don't know what that is.  Other social media?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yeah, theoretically we should be on Twitter, we should be on Instagram, we should be on Pinterest, all of that, we should be on all of them.
I mean, the Pinterest and the Instagram is easy, because we can just take the image from the flyers and just open it. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Glenna, then Shay.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I disagree, because we're barely doing much with Facebook.  And, you know, who's going to be responsible for Twitter and all of this stuff?  We do enough on Facebook already.
And they're still not doing much... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, so no TIKTOK.  All right.  Okay, Shay.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No, I was just going to say, I don't see the value of us being on Pinterest, that's more of having your own personal boards about cooking and home designing and fashion and decorating.  It wouldn't really help the purposes of this Council.  I don't think people are probably pinning boards about councils they're interested in, but....
Again, as a Department, we wouldn't be allowed to facilitate as employees of the Department in any kind of social media.  You know, we're happy to send stuff that could be posted by people who are facilitating those apps for the Council.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I noticed that Darlene does post quite a bit from Florida and Virgin Islands Deaf‑blind Association and I'm very excited about seeing that, I'm always clicking like.  I don't know if you guys want me to share it, you want the likes up.
Chris had a comment.  I'm sorry, Chris?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  That Florida Virgin Island is actually from the University of Florida. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  UF?  Okay.  Yes, Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I was just going to say that I agree with Shay, I think we should limit our social media presence to Facebook.  If we try to branch out to other methods, it just becomes too cumbersome to manage.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Karen?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  I think it really depends on who the target audience is.  And the reason I say that is we're trying to reach the younger deaf populations and you've got to use what they use, you know, which is social media.
Now, my granddaughter did tell me Facebook was for old people [laughs], but they still look at it, so that's just a thought.
If you get the audience you're trying to reach. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I disagree, most of the deaf people are still on Facebook, Facebook has vlogs and videos and things like that.  We're still on Facebook, the Deaf community.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Well, thank you very much on that update.
Okay.  I do think that the Web Committee is more than just social media, and I think we did touch on it earlier with Tiffany sharing about what's been done on the website, so I love that yellow box, click it, and it leads you to where you want to be, with notice of upcoming meetings, and we're going to try to get the agenda put on there.
Anything else that we want to do?
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I love the new tablecloth has the new website on it, the new cards have the little scan magiggy, and anything else on web committees discussion?  
[No response]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  All right.  Let's move on.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  EMOT?  All right.  Cindy and I had a teleconference, I'll turn it over to Cindy.  I don't know if Tiffany had a little printout?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I do have it online here.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  We had a very ‑‑ lots of discussion meeting in September.  We were talking about a one to two‑page newsletter, and different ways we could do it, we had discussed we could do print versus electronic and so far everyone felt sending it electronically was best.  Vlog was brought up, and it might be possible with Facebook.  However, if we did that, then we need to make sure that it's accessible to everyone.  We have to check what do we need for those who have visual issues?  Do we need to caption it and sign it?  And what would that entail?  And we have to find out the best way to do this, should we decide to do that, as an accompaniment to the little newsletter.
The newsletter, we said, could have sections, we could have a short summary of the meeting.  As standard, we can have a list of resources or links to resources, maybe, because otherwise it would just be too many.
We could have a tips area depending on the season.  So maybe in hurricane season, something on emergency preparedness; when school starts, what are the parents' rights; medical providers need to provide accommodations, et cetera.
We could feature one of our speakers such as, I already have a little blurb for Tampa General Hospital that we could be putting in there as a featured area.
We can do a summary of public comment for topics.
This should be shared with agencies way back, when we were doing the long‑range planning, a list of agencies, we came up with a list.  John Jackson who is very instrumental in that.
I sent everything I had from that time to Tiffany, so if she goes through it, we do have a list from one of these meetings, and the suggestion had been that she ‑‑ and it's only a few agencies, you know, it's maybe ten, and maybe she can contact each one individually, introduce us, a voice rather than something that comes in, because they don't read it, because they get too many e‑mails, and create a relationship or liaison, so that we can reference each other and exchange links and share these newsletters with them.
Additionally, we discussed the PSA, do we abandon it?  When we had a meeting with Mary, we had talked about doing brochures on different topics and doing one to two a year.
We have been playing with this PSA, we've had, I still have the original quotes for it, and we actually went into production.  He didn't like using my husband and we were missing one other, and then nothing went anywhere with it.
I actually have all the original, as well as the modified stuff.
So, rather than sitting on there, especially with the Rally to Tally, maybe come up with, A, update the current brochure, check the links, make sure it's functioning properly ‑‑ a la Mary [chuckles] ‑‑ and also come up with one or two other topics, and have at least one more available so that we can revisit the PSA at a later time, but have something visceral that we can hand out in Tally.
Did I pretty much capture everything?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  The only other thing we did say that we want to hear from the Council about, your thoughts about us having a little short vlog on the Facebook page?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Yes, I brought that up in the beginning. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Just your thoughts about that, to have a little short vlog of information.  Any council members ‑‑ yes, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  In the back of your binder, there are minutes back there also, it explains about the EMOT meeting, I don't know if you saw that, but probably in Section 8, it only just says the same things that are already listed right there, it's just in this format, so... 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debra?  I'm sorry.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Hi.  I was not able to attend that meeting or participate in the meeting that day, but in terms of the newsletter, can we revisit that and just talk more about it?  Because who would be putting all that content together?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  The EMOT Committee, us, from feedback.  Like she said, both of us have been taking notes from the meetings, like highlight what would be of interest, and our thoughts would be to get together, compare notes, what would be of interest to the community.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Well, just a thought would be, you know, since we aren't using Facebook optimally, maybe instead of doing a newsletter, that there could be, like, sequenced posts that, like, you do a theme, like, you know, Monday minutes or something, I don't know... something like that, where you're posting something that's specific that you would have put in a newsletter, but it's a much faster way to get the information out, rather than try to compile a newsletter that then by the time you get it out, it's taken three weeks and then the information isn't even occurring anymore.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  You mean to post on, like, Facebook or on a web page?  Where would we post it?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  No, don't we have a Facebook page?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yes, we have a Facebook page. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Yeah, that would get it out to ‑‑ you know, that's one venue.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay, a question ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  We said that we weren't necessarily looking at this to get this out to everybody, which is what Facebook is for, we were looking at interagency communication, communication within the state to begin to build relationships and be a resource for them and have them recognize us.  That's really where we were looking.
And we thought we could have, like, specific sections in it.  So it would be summary of the meeting ‑‑ 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  You can do all of that, though, right on Facebook, by the way.  Like, you can have files, you can have all kinds of things on Facebook that you can do that.
And you could actually, you know, reach out to some of those organizations that you want to tap into, because truly, they're all on Facebook, too, that's how they reach their members.
So it might be something that's much more organic to be able to do, rather than sending something that only one person in the agency might open and might not pay attention to, because if it's on Facebook and you're connected to those other organizations, then anybody who's following their page is going to have access to that information also, so you might have a better readership of what that information that you're putting out.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I've never been on Facebook, so I truly have no clue about any of that. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  What Debra is saying is kind of accurate, but also you could also put a link, like, say to the Twitter too Facebook page and it would open up the same information. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Yes, it's much faster. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  And what Cindy was saying is kind of like the goal is to build community amongst the agencies, you know, and I think both of them are very effective.
I don't see a problem with if we have the manpower and the ability to do the vlog on Facebook as well as the posts, and then over time have the printed newsletter reach, like you said, sometimes it takes forever to get it out.  Yeah, Shay, go ahead.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  You would just say and I appreciate everyone's ideas, if you look at what gets messages out and look at social marketing, not social media, but the social marketing says newsletters is antiquated, it's not how people are getting their information.
In fact, the Department has really gone away from that; that's not how we're sharing information.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  How do you share it?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Shay, would you say that the Facebook posting and vlogging is a way to go for us, to get that camaraderie out?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  That's how the Department shares information we want to get out to the public, is through our social media channels, and every state agency has social media.
If that's what ‑‑ if the goal is to share what the Council's doing with other agencies, I think that's a good way.
But you also have members on this Council from the agencies who can make sure they're sharing that as well as part of their role.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  So then what we need to do is put a process in place where we can get those posts to the Web Committee, because you all would be posting them, correct?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  [Nods head]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  So we have to have a process in place to decide what information ‑‑ like you said, you want to present about this speaker today and I have notes too as well, I thought he was very good, to send it to the Web Committee to have it posted. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Right, a quick blurb that highlights that the Council had their meeting, we had a wonderful speaker from Tampa General who was a best practice model on how to handle ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  That's what I had. 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Did we happen to get a picture of them while they were here?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I have a bunch of pictures, I don't think I got them. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I don't know if we would have gotten their permission to post a picture and then a picture of them speaking, and that gets a quick point across to anyone that's interested and say oh, then we have a link to their contact information and how to duplicate it in their hospital setting. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Any other feedback for us?  I think that's really great.
[No response]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Everybody good?  Okay.  Let's go onto the Legislative Committee, with Glenna.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Okay.  This year, this coming 2020 session starts in January, they have already started with committee meetings in September, and we're waiting to see what bills get filed, so I will check on if anything is related to deaf and hard of hearing.
I know that every year, one day we do a legislative visit, but I noticed that Tiffany wrote up an ADA 30th anniversary, if you look at ‑‑ it's almost at the end before the contacts, she wrote a letter ‑‑ 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Sharon. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  And allowed one to five to meet with the legislation, we need a full day, some legislators have meetings in the mornings, some have meetings in the afternoon, so it has to be, like, a core group that would go visit legislators the whole day.
And... from what I've been reading in the news, it looks like the legislators will have a lot of hot bills to deal with, and we're going to be just basically a blip on their radar, because they're dealing with so much.
So, one thing I did see in the letter, I'm not sure we should include the information with APD because they're doing their celebration in July, so I think the Rally to Tally should be focused on that and APD should be at the bottom of the letter.  Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Karen wrote this letter, so when she comes back in, we should probably ‑‑ yeah.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Okay.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I think this is Karen's letter she wrote to our general counsel that we still have not gotten.  Is this dated May 8, 2019?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  No, there's an ADA 30th celebration letter, within all of the other letters that are in that particular section.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Who was she planning to send this out to?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  She mentioned this in the last meeting where she pulled up this letter and wanted us all to discuss options, and so I just included that in here just in case she wanted to discuss some options. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Oh, okay, I see it, I see it now; yeah.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Okay, yeah, so we need to discuss a plan for that day more and see what Karen was thinking.
But I feel I need a full day for appointments, because, you know, there's lots of committee meetings and voting or whatever, and that separates already all those meetings.
So I'm assuming the same core people are interested in visiting the legislators?  Who wants to visit the legislators in February?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay, this is Gina, I was going to go this time, I did not make it the previous time. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Gina.  Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I want to try to go. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debbe?  Debra?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I want to go. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I have to see what my schedule is like.  I really want to go, but I have some other classes coming in February around that time. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  The more people we have, the more we could spread out people for appointments and not be running around like crazy.
And if we do have the Rally in Tally and we get our organizations involved and maybe we could clear some of those and get some of our organizations involved in the visits, too, and that would give us more people, more contacts.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Anymore feedback from the Legislative Committee?  Yes, Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I don't think it should be a problem, but let's just make sure when we get a final number, because everyone will be coming for the meeting in Tallahassee anyways, to tack on an extra day for everybody, let's just make sure the budget looks okay.  I think it should, we could pay for that, but let's just kind of look at that as we get closer.
But I think we should be fine.
But I mean, if everyone comes an extra day, you know, and we add on, it may take away, like, an extra conference or meeting that Tiffany could go to across the state to promote whatever you all want, which is fine.  I just want to make sure we're cognizant that we have the set budget. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  We're planning a rally day anyway, so everybody should be here anyway. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Probably, yeah.  That's fine.  I just want to make sure ‑‑ I'm always looking at the budget, but I don't think that should be an issue, we've always had an excess, but we want to utilize Tiffany a little more than we have other people in doing stuff, so... 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Do you have a put‑off time when you need a final number?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  We probably need that by the first of January, that would be one month out, and then we can get travel prepared.  Tiffany, would that be okay?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yes, please.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I will say you're council members and you're not department employees and we're paying for travel, so we have some very new stringent travel rules, and if you are ‑‑ our rules are and I'll repeat them and we'll talk about how they apply to the Council, for us as employees, if we're traveling out of state, we're spending over $1500 on a trip, or we're using an airplane, we have to get special permission now.
So, that may apply to some of you all who come to visit, that we may ‑‑ so we may need a date earlier, is what I'm saying, because that takes a couple weeks' process, it goes to our chief of staff in the governor's office to do that, and I have to get clarification that you all are included in that travel role, which probably so, since we're paying for it, and then if so, we may need an earlier date in my head is what I'm thinking, to make sure that that's okay.
And if that's the case, then we may have to, you know, be a little limit on how many people are coming up that are flying or going to spend over $1500.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Would the flying be related to how far we are?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No, just in general ‑‑ 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Cindy and I are really far!  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  They don't care.  Our travel has to be approved outside of the agency.  If we travel out of state, use an airplane, or spend over $1500.
I think the reason for that, there is an outward facing website, it's always been there for everyone's salaries, but this will now show everyone's trips and travels and what everyone spent, and you all may be ‑‑ I'll let you know, I'll let you know if you all are included in that, because we're paying for your travel and you may get your name on that public site as well.
But they're trying to be really cognizant of that.
I think we can definitely justify stuff; I don't want to say we're not doing anything.  I just want you to know that these are rules and new things we have to follow.  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  So does that mean our next meeting is not in Hawaii?  
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Tiffany, go, please.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Someone asked, I was researching it while you were talking, someone asked what is the dates for our next meeting in February.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  February 4th right?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  February 5th and 6th, so I guess you start February 4th. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  The rally is the 5th?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  We're staying at the Spring Hill suites in Tallahassee and the rally is February 5 and 6. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  You would have a Wednesday and Thursday night. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  We may need Tuesday night, if we're doing Wednesday.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Right.  We can call and try to add onto that.
I will tell you, we had a very difficult time finding ‑‑ we can talk about this today or tomorrow for the next meeting date, but we had a very difficult time getting a hotel.  We tried ‑‑ we started reserving the February hotel in September and the rates she came back with were $300 a night because it's during session.  Of course, we can't do that.
So we really had to dig deep to find the hotel we found.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And the cost of the hotel that we did find is still over by just a smidge. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  But we're going to have to justify it.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, thank you for clarifying that. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  So, again, keeping that in mind for the overall budget, I mean, we'll call it a contract and see if we can tack a night on for legislative visits, depending on how many folks, and get it at the same rate.  That should be okay.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right, I'd love to go to the legislative meetings. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Yeah, apparently everyone wants to go. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Wow!  All in favor of meeting with the Legislature.
Now, when I was there the last time, they had a ‑‑ they had a number of different things going on.  They had I think Moms Demand Action and they all had the red shirts, and Alzheimer's Awareness, they had the banners.
So, did we have a thought what we want to do or wear?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Have things with cat ears?  
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  There is such a thing as a headband with a hand that sits like this, which is the oldest hearing aid in existence.  This actually amplifies by 10 dB when you use this.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Awesome!
Any other ideas?  Maybe just a nice shirt. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I'm voting for the headband. 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  No to the cat and the hand.
But something to think about, because we're very proud of FCCDHH, so, you know... 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Maybe a button?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Buttons are certainly more economical. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Dress professional. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Dress professional and wear a button. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  We could make the squishy ears on buttons. 
>> No, no....
[Groans]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  The ears were so popular at a different table, they were doing early intervention and the ear was appropriate for that.  It was cute.
Something for us to think about, we really want to leave an impression on these legislators, who will be meeting with tons of people that day, we really want them to remember us.
You can do that with positive nice shirts and banners, or negative, and I'm okay with either. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Squishy ears will leave an impression, trust me.  Tiffany?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Actually ‑‑ 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Maybe a pin or a button would be universal. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I think so too.  Yes, Tiffany?  Are. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I was going to say that I concur with Shay in that we are meeting the ‑‑ we do want to be recognized as a group and we want to have something for them to remember us by.  However, it is imperative that we are taken seriously. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Seriously. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Therefore I really strongly suggest still professionalism and maybe make it just the button with the hand. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's a wonderful idea.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Just a quick comment?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, ma'am, Cindy and then Debra.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I don't know that anyone wants to pay, these are great sweatshirts, but this, like, this is showing sound waves for an ear, we had something that said FCCDHH and they're really nice, they weren't very expensive, but I'm sure everyone in Tallahassee at that time of year can use a jacket and we can all have, like, matching.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Thank you very much.  Debra?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I was just going to say in reference to the button with the hand "I love you" now everyone who has hearing loss uses sign language so well, though it looks universal, for many it might not be as universal as you might think.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Good point. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good point. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  You would be surprised how many people know it. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, everybody knows this [indicates]. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Yes, but it doesn't necessarily represent everyone who might have a hearing loss. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Point taken.  Thank you.
Any other thoughts or comments?
Okay.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I want to mention that on Facebook, we have a picture of the Council and it's kind of old, so we need to, at some point, try and get everyone, including John and Cecil, everyone, and get another group picture, updated group picture. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think that's a wonderful idea.  Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Yes, to go back and discuss the draft letter that Karen wrote about the ADA 30th anniversary celebration, the Rally to Tally, and I mentioned that we should drop APD paragraph, because they have their own in July and we're doing it in February, so this would be more of a focus on the deaf and hard of hearing.
Is that okay?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  What section is that?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  It's section... 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Number eight?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  The section, drop the APD section. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I agree.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  And who do you intend the letters to be sent out to?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Well, we were certainly very interested in doing ‑‑ having our representing organizations be a part of this. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Yeah, that's the whole point, yeah, to have all of our organizations involved, yes.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't know where they're going to stay now; I'm worried.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think that's going to limit ‑‑ 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Campsites.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  I have two points.  One of them is sort of around the statement you just made about where they're staying.
We have, during session, the Department of Elder Affairs has the Senior Day and a lot of times people come up for that.
However, people who come from far away do stay over for a night.
The other thing is does the Council have a budget for the rally day?  No budget for the rally?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I mean, they just have the budget that we have for the whole year.  So as I would saying Karen when you were out of the room, I just want us to keep in mind, as many people that want to come, that's up to the Council, but any money we spend, you know, it limits the other money that we have to be part of conferences and get tables and to get Tiffany to go or for you guys to go and present.
So it's just a balance, you all decide what's important to you.  But just keep that in mind, because the overall budget amount, you know, we've got a little flexibility, you know, we could go over about $500, I'll figure it out and make it work, but not a whole lot. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  I'm not sure who was next.  Debbe or Mary?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Are we allowed to stay at an Airbnb?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  No. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  The state employees for travel are not allowed to stay at an Airbnb per the governor's proclamation. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Fair enough.  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  You were saying other entities and other folks who may want to come.  If we start communicating the idea that this is going to happen, they may have a budget, they may have dollars for travel to things and they may want to participate if they know far enough in advance that they can come to this.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right, so here's ‑‑ I have a couple of thoughts about this.  One is that we picked February because it was convenient for us, it was convenient because we're going to be there, it's our annual Tallahassee meeting, we meet with the Legislature, and we thought what a great idea to bring this awareness to them.
I thought it would be even greater if APD was a part of that, because we could piggyback with them, but it looks like theirs is going to be in July.
So then the question is, should we actually join with APD, if they want us, and go in July, when it's going to be easier to find lodging for our representative groups.  It's not going to be the highest rate as it would be in February.
And we're ‑‑ 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Are they doing it in Tallahassee?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, that's a good point. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  It's in July.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Where are they doing it?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Do you know where they're doing it?  
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  Also I don't know if Legislature is in session in July. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  And honestly, although I am very proud of all of the work that APD does, their focus is not on people that are deaf or hard of hearing. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right, okay.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  We heard that again today.  So I don't know that they're necessarily the best partner for us. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right, fair enough.  Then do we want to stick with February?  Yes, we want to stick with February.  Now we have to get the word out to our home groups as soon as possible.
All right, Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I was just going to agree with Chris.  After listening to APD, I don't see why we would join with them, to be honest.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  And ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  And we're already paying to fly to Tallahassee for a council meeting, so you minimize the expense to add one night of hotel to it is not as big a deal as paying two round trips.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You're correct about that, absolutely.  Yes, Glenna, and then Gina, I'm sorry.  Go ahead, Gina. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Okay.  Because of the hotel situation, it would be tough to get organizational people involved.  You would probably have to limit it to people who can drive there, drive back in one day and not worry about paying for a hotel.  That would mean from Orlando/Tampa. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right, but so we're limited ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We're limited to not stay in an Airbnb, but they're not, they can do whatever they want.  We already have housing for us, correct, Shay?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Correct. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We're done. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  We may just need to add on an extra day for legislative visits, but I don't think that's a big deal. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You may want to do that, because when people say it's not a big deal....
Which hotel is it?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Spring Hill suites, it's on Appalachia Parkway. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I've stayed there with AHCA and it's very nice.  That's very reasonable, you made great points and I'm good with keeping it in therapy.
Do we want to keep it this long of a day?  10:00 until ‑‑ really it's 10:00 till 1:00 is the rally, and then legislative meetings.  If we do that, we should have things that we're giving out, the buttons or what have you, that unifies all of us.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, sorry, I'm like ‑‑ normally I'm neglectful of the left side ‑‑ 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  And this is the side you can hear on!  You're tripping me out!  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I know. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I agree with what everybody is saying, the APD folks are going to have the celebration with ADA, I was confused, because the ADA is not deaf and hard of hearing is not the emphasis, so my question is, for the February meeting, is our focus going to be a celebration of ADA and educating the population?  Is that going to be our focus?  Or are we going to be talking about legislative‑type issues that we want to have addressed?  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I was going to, one way, how are we going to divide the time from visiting the Legislature and do the rally with hey, hey, hey, whatever, or what is our theme going to be for the rally itself?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think that's up for discussion.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna.  We can have a unique perspective on ADA, showing how ADA has helped or hurt the deaf and hard of hearing.  Because most people in general, when they hear about ADA, they think of the signs or anything, they don't think about interpreters or the group or whatever, so I think bring a unique perspective in so the ADA and how that applies to the deaf and hard of hearing and combining the two.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  I think that's a good idea.  Yes, Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  So I guess what we're looking at is educating them as to the positives of ADA on the deaf and hard of hearing, deaf‑blind, late‑deafened community.
I like to have positives and use examples of how it actually did ‑‑ like, I remember in the mid‑to late '90s when the ADA, you no longer had to pay $150 for a closed caption decoder because now every TV ‑‑ what?  It was like ‑‑ 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  It was $250. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Somewhere, yeah, I remember, because we used to get them for people, and now every TV comes with it.  That's ADA!  You know, when you go to a hotel, every time you see a phone, you know, through the '90s and 2000's, that was for the deaf and hard of hearing.  That's ADA.
So, I think highlighting, maybe even having posters that highlight the benefits to the community is really nice and a very positive thing.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You wanted coasters, you said?  Coasters?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Posters.  
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  You know, something that shows closed captioning on TV; something that shows a program or caption glasses. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I kind of like the idea of coasters. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  You can give them out. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's what I'm saying. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  But also what Cindy is saying, it's really good just to say thank you.  Thank you for... I can go to the movies now.  Thank you for... I can know what news is happening.  Thank you.  And that would keep that on their mind that when they see something come across their plate that has anything to do with the deaf and hard of hearing, oh, wow, they're appreciative.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And we're really pushing on our next agenda, which is text to 911. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  No, next is budget. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  No, no, I mean ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Thank you for the ability to text to 911. 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Saying thank you and there's another thing to say thank you which is text to 911.  I like that idea. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna.  But there are a lot of things that changed, and add a BUT... there's still room to continue to improve. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And, and, how can we continue to improve?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Next generation.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Next gen.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you, thank you.  Next.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  If I can get my daughter to do that.  Other thoughts?  Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I worked as a teacher for many years and we had the laws covering special education for the children who are ‑‑ interpreters for the students, because they never had interpreters for me until ADA, and finally they paid for interpreters for me, because with the IEP or IDEA does not cover it, and so that's one example.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's wonderful.  So I'm hoping the members of the public are stockpiling some ideas for the Rally to Tally.  We're going to go onto the Budget Committee and maybe at public comments, we can bring this issue back up.
Yes, ma'am, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Budget.  This is Tiffany.  I received the budget from our budget coordinator person, Latheria, and I sent it to ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Tab four. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Say again?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  It's tab four. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Oh, yes, by the way, it's tab four, and I sent it to Cecil Bradley, who approved the budget.
So I put it on up there.  If you guys have any questions, I have brought ‑‑ I went and had a nice meeting with her for notes, so I can explain this better.
Of course, the allocated is the amount of money/funds that are there and available for those areas.
And then the second columns, column C is the encumbered.  I would think of it as what is already kind of promised to do.
And that gives us our, in this column D, the amount that is there and available.
Then at the top of column D, these are the expenses that took place in July.
This here was the Project Deaf for It's A Deaf Thing, by the way, and travel.
And that was this amount, the $1,482, which was then subtracted from that 27, and that's what gives us this.
Then we bring this to the next line of the total budget, as you see there, it goes there.
And then it includes the August expenses, and all the way through.
And you guys do know, you know, the Florida Register.
This was actually, we found out, was an open voice when they tried ‑‑ they taught us how to use it, and that's where that 99¢ came from. 
[Laughter]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Because I had it, it just perplexed me, so I had her look it up [chuckles].
And then, of course, the travel there and the meeting space.
And so that total for that month was this, which is then subtracted from this 126, and there's our amount.
And of course that then carries over to the next month.
In row F, that's our September expenses. 
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And 26 is the Florida Register announcements, that's that again, with the open voice, and that amount there is, of course, travel, and you see the way this works.
And then this is subtracted, the 5,633 is subtracted from the 107,050, and that's that, and we're here.
This here is October.  I had to wait for this until right before we left, because it doesn't come up on the system for her to put out for us until then.
This here is all of the printing that we have done; hence, like the tablecloth and the cards, I only ordered ten cards because I wanted to get your take on whether we should keep doing that or not.  I thought it was a pretty classy way of saying thank you and it was immediate so they left here with something, you guys can let me know about that later.
And that all adds up to this for this particular one.
[Noise in room]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And that was our balance carried over from there and this is our balance at this time.
So right now we are at $97,126.28, so as you make plans for, say the Rally in Tally, in this column, keep in mind that this is where we are in this column, okay.  
[Pause]. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Right now in G, which is October we are here.
So, you guys will be getting, of course, this monthly or every time we have a meeting.  And so you can keep track of how it's going.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I have a question, then Debra.  Shay, when you do projected, like projected cost, can we map out if the whole council went to the rally, et cetera, et cetera, that that cost compare to projected opportunities that we have for Tiffany to represent us and ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  We can do some estimates, Tiffany and I can work on that when we get back and send them.  It won't be exact. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  No, but it will help everybody see ‑‑ 
>> OPERATOR:  Has left the meeting. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Debra?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I was just going to say, because the budget information ‑‑ 
>> OPERATOR:  Has left the conference. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Only goes through October, things for us coming to this meeting is not posted on the budget, so it would be less than 97,000. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Clearly.  This column will include that. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Yes. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  And it will be coming out of the 97,126.
And if we just look back at what our cost is usually for, say, travel, we are looking at approximately... this amount or this amount to be deducted from this amount.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  I don't know if this is too much work or not, I'd like to see a sheet like this, and then I'd like to see another sheet based on past meetings of projected costs so we could better ration out what we're doing for the rest of that fiscal period.  
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  We could bring last year's budget and the actual expenditures and show ‑‑ I mean, because you know what months we met and you could see what the costs ended up being.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  The costs for the things related to the meeting is this category.  And look at it from August.  And then travel.  And so... 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  That travel looks a little low.  I think some of it might have been in September also.  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yeah, because that's ‑‑ 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  It depends ‑‑ 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Yeah, when it hit, so it's possibly these two together. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  But I think we know typically that certain places cost more to travel to, so you can't go based on the last meeting, but you have to kind of average out the last two or three years for each quarter, like we know Tallahassee is usually this much ‑‑ 
>> OPERATOR:  Has joined the conference. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  ‑‑ or this has to go, and that's why I thought if we could average out, by looking at the past, see about what it is, and we can just say "estimated" and leave it at that. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Yeah, I have some information that I've pulled together every year when I ask for a legislative budget, so it pretty much has the meeting estimates and I have to justify how I got that, so Tiffany, I think we can pull that out with some other stuff. 
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Okay. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Just to give you an idea.  Like I said, it won't be exact.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, really great discussion.
We have Mary who would like to share?  
>> MARY HODGES:  Yes, well, a question.  Did we talk about legislative ‑‑ the legislative piece?  We talked about the Rally in Tally.  Do we know if there's any legislation out there that may come forward?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  They just started a committee meeting in September and I like to wait, because then they start posting the bills and I'll start searching.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Cindy?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Glenna, I don't know if you would like this, but sometimes they try to sneak in things for about people with hearing loss and other bills that if you don't write your phrases right, you don't hear about it; like the year they tried to sneak in any hearing aid or in a hunting bill, they were sneaking in any devices that don't put out more than 35 decibels of gain is over the counter, which it wasn't, but they try to sneak things in.
So if I hear some of that, because the people I know use other phrases, do you want me to let you know so you can check in on those bills if that comes up?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  That they have key words, or typing different kinds of key words, they pull it up. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Some of these things are very specific and hunts for that and there are specific types of bills and has nothing to do with people with hearing loss. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I understand. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I'm happy to share it if it comes across my e‑mail.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Okay.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  I guess I was just trying to figure out a way to focus on the rally, in terms of if there would be a specific focus?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  We had talked about it being a thank you, showing appreciation for what the ADA has done and then giving some next steps.
You know, like, thank you so much for the next thing we can do and make it better kind of thing.
My question is, are we going to collectively get those thank yous and start sending them in so we can start planning for the coaster/posters. 
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Think about it, a little coaster that says "thank you," you know, you helped me be able to see the movies, and when they put their coffee down, it's going to keep that in their mind.  So I like the idea of coasters, but I get the posters too, you know.
Are we going to start as a Council gathering thank yous from our own constituents, as well as deaf people that we know?  Because I'm thinking of my friends, if I get them to put in, you know, how much they appreciate, like Glenna said, we have interpreters that are teachers now and we can have movies captioned.  I think it's a great thing just to be thankful.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Gratitude.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  So would that mean that you take care of two things at the same time; you can have the coasters and have it enlarged on posters. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  And they're all different, so you can almost print them up in sets, make them in sets and just give them out one at a time, because if we have to have a give‑away in Tally, that would be your give‑away.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Lots of good ideas.
I think it's time that we spoke about the ‑‑ that we had the public comments at 5:00‑6:00 p.m.  I know there's the bylaws up there, but we're going to move that to tomorrow.
She's ready. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Tiffany, we're moving into the bylaws to tomorrow and we're going into the public comments now. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  If anybody would like to see the next that you were assigned, she'll send those out again tonight?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  I will. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, great.  Public comments are open.  We don't really need a break, do we?  Well, because Debbe has to pee... 
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Don't caption that!  Don't caption that!  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Public comments is now open.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Any public comments?  Jenny?  
[Pause]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Okay.  I would like to add a comment and share some information.  Again, my name is Jenny, sorry.  So FCCDHH going to the Governor's Hurricane Conference each year in West Palm Beach, that is the 17th‑22nd of 2020, it's a huge conference, folks from all over the state of Florida attend.  I think it would be good to send a message and having interpreters for emergency, so that's one thing.
And then there's another conference happening April... it's the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, the date will be April 6‑9, and you can have an exhibit booth there, they have different training opportunities there, it's a great conference.
And each year, though, between New Orleans, Louisiana and the next year will be Orlando, and they kind of go back and forth.
So 2020, this conference will be in Orlando, the National Hurricane Conference, so I just wanted to encourage you all to get involved in that, maybe have a booth there, an exhibit, and educate the folks at the conference.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  You said the governor's conference is when?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  The hurricane conference is May 17‑22 in West Palm Beach.
The exhibits are only two days, typically Wednesday and Thursday, and then May 20‑21, so those will be the dates.  Thank you so much.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  So I wanted to let you know there's a discount for Marriott members in Tallahassee, so you could put Marriott.com and there's a discount code of MMF, and they have to all be capitalized, and it's $69.
So that's one thing that may be helpful.  I just found that on here, so that might be helpful. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  $69?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Did you put those dates in?  That's for February.  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Look, it's on here. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I'll pull that up right now!  We're going to fact check!  
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So, let me ask the members of the public if they had any thoughts about what they would like to see happen at a Rally to Tally.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  For Town Place.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna, Town Place, I don't think they have meeting rooms.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Oh, Glenna, just get a suite and we will stay in your room. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  She's saying you can get a hotel room for cheap for some other people, so there's some availability.
We already have hotel rooms for us, so we're taking care of.
But what we're talking about is how would you like to envision it for the Rally to Tally if you were going to plan it and you will be the one planning it.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I thought that was funny....
Yes, ma'am?  
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  This is Lisa Schaefermeyer with AQI Interpreting Services from Tampa, Florida.  That's one of the hesitancies with raising my hand because you're given a task [laughs].
I don't know what you all had planned for this one.  I have gone to many of them before in the past.
I know there's been invitations for agencies like us to come in and set up our booth and be able to grab legislators as they're walking by and to educate them about the services we provide throughout the state.
I don't know if you have that set up.
One time we were up on the very top where you get to see the whole panoramic view, that was really nice.  And there were speakers up there from the different organizations that represent the Council.
I do know that if there are going to be, like, FAD has organized before with sign language interpreters and the agencies and for groups, be bused up there and then we rent out in groups.
But they're also required to have sign language interpreters as well.
So, I don't know what y'all have planned, but I know that's what we have done before.  That was a lot of fun.  But it does take a lot of organization to get that information out and to bring that all together, with all the different agencies and organizations that have anything to do with deaf and hard of hearing and hearing loss.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think we really just wanted to bring it to the attention of the legislators, more than what we do by meeting with them individually.
Now, when we go up, we tend to have scheduled meetings throughout the day with legislators.  We thought this would be a wonderful idea to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ADA, as well as bringing special attention to deaf, hard of hearing, and what the Council does, that's kind of the idea.
Yes, ma'am?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  We still need to somehow divide the time or divide the group of people, one for the rally part of it or the teaching and educating, and the other one going to meet with the legislators.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right, so we have that in the eight section, that letter I wrote the last time, that has not been sent out yet, so we certainly can adjust it, about how we would want to see that day go.
I'm a little bit uncomfortable putting in there about anything about balloons being released, just FYI.  I don't know what the implication is for the environment for that. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I don't think you can release balloons at the Capitol. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I don't think you can either.  I think I copied that from APD, to be honest with you, that they released it, but it was just supposed to be an idea.
But, yeah, we want to do that.  But I would like to have our representative groups, as many as we can get there, and have a table for each of them.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I was thinking something about can you hear or help us hear or something relating to "hear," the word "hear."  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Yes, Debra?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  How about something like we are HEAR to talk to you, like H‑E‑A‑R, a play on words?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I gotcha.  We are "hear."  So the members of FCCDHH can't spell, I got what you're saying. 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Go ahead, Glenna. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I don't want the emphasis to be on just the ear, but include all of it.  There's one phrase that NAD used before, and it says "Nothing about us without us."  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I love that saying.  Nothing about us without us.  I don't think we can steal it, though.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Well, NAD got it from somewhere else too. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think Marlee Matlin, I've heard her say it or seen her say it.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I don't think it's copyrighted. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  All right.  Anybody have an idea on what we want to be the theme?
How far ‑‑ I heard what people have said what ADA has done, improved the lives of Florida's deaf and hard of hearing.
And other ideas on where it can improve?  Text to 911.  Yes, Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  I wonder if we could do an extension of the newsletter, if there's something we want to highlight from that?  Can we distribute it to the same folks?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  You mean the report?  The biennial report?  
>> MARY HODGES:  The report, yeah.
And I don't know if people use hear hear anymore, but it's kind of like an agreement, "hear hear."  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, I like that, actually.  That's a play on words. 
>> MARY HODGES:  Maybe nobody knows what it means anymore. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  [Speaking softly; unable to clearly hear] I think we were getting away from the print material, it's antiquated now, people just really don't read anymore, everything is kind of visual and fast. 
>> MARY HODGES:  Right, we're talking about a theme.  I was wondering if there's something we can carry over from here as a theme for the Coordinating Council.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Are we ‑‑ is there something ‑‑ okay.  What are we talking about?  
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I thought we were talking about ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's late in the day!  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I thought we were talking about being grateful and we were going to have gratitude in the next step.  Are we talking about something different than that?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  No, no, no, we talked about that, we were talking about a number of things.  We talked about something about a sound booth. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Well, we don't have a sound booth, but I could bring a portable, find a quiet spot, and do screening.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  You're not going to have a quiet ‑‑ where would you find a quiet spot?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  We did it ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's quieter in the cafeteria. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I could actually ‑‑ you probably don't want to do this, I can do balance screening, because a lot of times balance and ears are connected. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right, yes?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I remember when we were discussing different things related to the biennial report, the phrase that we kept using was "communication access" and that applies to everybody, communication access, many different ways, it's not sexy, but it's to the point.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay, everybody put your brains together tonight, all right, and we'll finalize a plan tomorrow.
And you're going to take the lead on this. 
[Laughter]. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  See?  See?  Lisa here.  I wanted to ask the Council if whether or not this has been done.  I don't know.  But going back to emergencies, emergency management and interpreters, has there been a letter developed or could there be a letter developed from the FCCDHH that kind of mirrors the NAD standard practices of ‑‑ because this is a new area and I've seen some other information out there, which I would volunteer my services to help with the research part of it, on guidelines for news agencies to use when they have a sign language interpreter on the screen.
Is that something that you have done before?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't think the Council has done it ‑‑ oh, okay, wait a minute, Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Not here, but when we visited the legislators, there was a bill that required TV interpreters and we played with that legislative plan to bring it up again this year, so we will be looking for that bill.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And I think we tend to refer to the NAD, so their position statements are what we would follow, right?  Yes?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  We also want to keep our eyes out for what will be the Hearing Aid Bill to support insurances covering hearing aids for all children, so that would probably come up again.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina, Debra, wouldn't that be one of the good next steps?  I think in her coaster/poster, you remembered us before, don't forget us when you see this bill. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, I like that.  Maybe even on our coasters we could have the bills.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yeah, yeah, I think that's a great idea.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe, then the coaster on the other side would say ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yes, yes, or something. 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I think that's lobbying. 
>> AUDIENCE MEMBER:  This is Lisa.  So, like I said, I'm more than happy to help gather some research information that is out there now about keeping the interpreter in the frame.
But is that something that the Council would be interested in developing a letter that is more informational to be able to give to the public, give to all of the organizations represented here on the Council to disseminate and say, you know, the next hurricane conference, be at the hurricane conference, and have this kind of information out for the newscasters to know when they are going in for that headshot for the governor, that they are now excluding a large group of individuals who cannot understand what's happening, when they're trying to get the news out about being safe.
Is that something that could be developed?  And I'm more than happy to help.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mary and Glenna, they both have their hands up. 
>> MARY HODGES:  I was thinking about the meeting we had in West Florida, right after the hurricane, I forget where in West Florida it was. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Pensacola. 
>> MARY HODGES:  Pensacola, and there were folks there that were very, very concerned about communication in preparation of hurricanes and disasters, and they were very excited about the whole idea of the Rally in Tally, so I think that there are folks that are close enough to the area that can come and participate and still want to be a part of a message.
And I like the idea of a message.  I mean, gratitude and....
Like you said next, here's the next thing.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Glenna?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Connecting with what Lisa said, and another thing would be for the legislators, we need to have everything on paper, when we mention the bills, they will want to know specification and we need to have that ready on paper, the bill number, who's the sponsor and so forth, and background information, and that would come in handy, interpreter information or text to 911, information on all of that, but we need to have a lot of information ready and put in nice folders to hand to them.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  And piggybacking on what Lisa said, one very effective way is if you have, like, a particular legislator, let's just say you talk to a senator and he has a script that he ‑‑ you know those teleprompters and they have scripts, have that printed, wiped out, half of it wiped out, have half of it wiped out and say that's how much was understood when you don't have the interpreter in view, so then they could understand what you're talking about, hey, she just wants to be seen, she just wants to be seen, she has a cute dress on.  No, that's not the point.  If you don't show the interpreter, they don't hear the message.  So say this is your message, and it's wiped off, is that how you want to be presented?  Well, they'll understand that.  That's my point.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Right, I see what you're saying; that you give them half a message and every other word.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  That's what they're getting.  It's like what she said earlier, you have the video and you see the interpreter and they'll say the one great thing that happened and they switch it... what happened?  You know, it's ‑‑ I think that's excellent. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And in case of an emergency, don't forget to do... and then they pan away [laughs]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris has a question.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Okay.  With regards to the interpreter in the shot issue, I want to be clear that the issue is not usually with the Florida Governor.  That's been corrected several years back and it's usually on the more local level that it's a bigger problem.
I think a position paper is probably a good idea.  I'm just not sure how that should be approached.
And maybe that's something that Lisa and I should discuss offline for some of the trainings that we do in the near future and talk about what the plans are for the hurricane conference in 2020, things like that.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, that's great.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Mmm‑hmm. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm not sure the role of the Council in making position statements.  I mean, in one way I think it would be a good idea, that we would make position statements, right?  This is our recommendation, and we make a position statement.
I don't know, what are your thoughts about position statements for the Council?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  It's an important issue.  I'm not saying that we shouldn't take a position on it as the Council for the state for deaf and hard of hearing.  I just want to make sure that it's approached correctly.
And one of the things I was just now thinking about with the Florida Governor, it's generally not a problem, but I do know that Hurricane Michael, there were a bunch of people that kind of ambushed the governor for questions off to the side of the frame of EOC, near Panama City, and there was no interpreter in the shot, but the interpreters were on the other side of the building waiting for the Governor, so it was just some disconnect as far as the needs there, and we need to educate people as far as how that needs to be handled.
But the education doesn't necessarily have to happen at the Governor's Office, because the Governor's Office is usually very well aware that an interpreter needs to be in the shot.
It's the local agencies and the media that need to be aware of its importance.
So, again, I will continue to see how we can approach this definitely before the next hurricane here.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna, you asked me about if we can do a position paper or something similar.
We have the authority to do that, because in the section one of the bylaws, it says to recommend policies, recommend, so... we can do that.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you for bringing that up.  We'll talk more about that tomorrow.  But it sounds like we do have the ability to do that.  Yes, Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I was thinking is it possible that we can right a letter of all of the TV/radio stations and explaining the ADA and the requirements and what we would like to see and why it's important to have that communication equally accessed for the deaf and hard of hearing and deaf and blind?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  [Nods head].  I imagine that if we're going to do a Rally to Tally and we want to educate people, we may want to inform the local news that we're going to be there.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'm still stuck on the ideas of coming up with a theme [chuckles]; sorry.
And I think I was just coming up with "hear" our story or "hear" our... 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Hear/see our story?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  We're going to keep working on that, okay?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  You know, you can switch out to "hear" something instead of HEAR or whatever. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We'll work on that.  And I already came up with a give away.  It's perfect, it's going to have on the shirt "I love you" and FCC on his back.  It's cute.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I have a question.  Are we coming up with a grass root design for the button.
[Dial tone]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Or are we just talking about the words?
And I'm very confused about how many letters we're talking about, sending a letter.  I heard three letters go out and I also heard we're getting away from letters.
[Dial tone]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  So maybe we need to pass that out.  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I think we can hang it up, since they hung up.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Is there anybody on the chat line?  
>> They hung up. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Is that what we call it, the chat line?  
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  It's called the CART. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Huh?  CART.  Chat room doesn't sound right. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  It's called CART. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can someone please check ‑‑ okay, so nobody on the CART.  Good enough.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  You're tired!  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I am tired, I'm tired.
Is somebody in the submarine?  Is there somebody in the submarine?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  David has entered.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Hi, David, welcome.  You're on the air. 
[Laughter]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I always wanted to say that!  I always wanted to do that.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I didn't mean to send it to everybody, I was trying to send it to David.  
[Pause]. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Is David a member of the public?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It sounds like a member of the public.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  I'll ask him now.  
[Pause] gene watching the meeting all day.  Great work, everyone's awesome discussions.  She asked if anyone was here and I answered yes, people are watching the CART.  That is from David.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you, David.  Is there anything that you would like to add or to share about your experience?  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Not today.  Thank you for asking.  That's from David.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  This is Gina.  David, can we ask where you're from?  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  He responded from New Tampa.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Excuse me.  One of our members asked, could you share your last name?  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Last named is Richardson, David Richardson from New Tampa.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you.  We're glad you're on with us.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  It's almost 5:30, we are still open for public comments until 6:00 p.m.  
[Pause]. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  I'm looking at the NAD ‑‑ this is Glenna ‑‑ I'm looking at the NAD.org on their position statement and they have a lot!  There are several we could use, I would have to read them to make sure they're general and not... for some of the things that we were talking about.
They have a statement on accessible emergency management for deaf and hard‑of‑hearing people.  They have a statement.  They have a statement about minimum standards for interpreting in a medical setting.  A statement on mental health ‑‑ no... what else do we talk about... 
[Pause]. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Statement about function equivalent telecommunication for the deaf and hard of hearing.  And there are some statements we can use so we don't have to reinvent the wheel.  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Thank you, Glenna.
David, this is Gina.  I have a question.  You have been following the CART.  Has the ADA done anything good for you?  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  This is Karen, we're still open for public comments, if anyone would like to share.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Shay, go ahead, please. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  I don't know if we've discussed this before, but just for consideration for future meetings, we could say public comments end at 5:30, so we're not sitting here for the extra 30 minutes.  If someone is talking, we don't have to leave that minute, it's just a thought, because we're always in this situation at the end of the day where we have an hour to 30 minutes.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  And I really like that we've had public comments earlier in the day. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Yeah. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It just seemed like it really added to the conversations we were having; it was great. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  And another consideration is people getting off work and you want to give them time to get here.  Just a thought. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Cindy and then Chris.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Also, even if we are sitting here, if there is no public comment and we have done this before, we can pick on some other item and continue the meeting until such time as there is public comment, so if we wanted, say, we can do the Sunshine training in 30 minutes, we can do that.  I'm just saying.  This is traditional.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I hear you. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Chris?  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris.  I was just going to say, the issue is just that if public comment has been published anywhere and we're having it from 5:00‑6:00, we can't leave. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  No, no, we can't leave now, because we published it. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  We can go on to other agenda items since there are no public comments. 
>> SHAY CHAPMAN:  Just for the future. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  I think I mentioned this before, I would probably avoid putting public comment at the end of the second day, just in case we have people that have to fly out or cut out early for the second day.  You know, that's a pretty important part of our meeting, so I like the idea of offering it both Thursday and Friday, but maybe in the future making it earlier in the second day.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I like that idea. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  David has responded.  He said the ADA isn't structured for a single person, it has helped so many people.  The ADA is a blunt force object.  It is to be used only when needed, but with hospitals, businesses, media, and others.  It is NEEDED, emphasized, and at times to be used.
Thank you, David.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  So ‑‑ go ahead.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna.  I would suggest at the end of the day, we're starting to crumble, maybe just do organization information and announcements and go around the room with the latest news or whatever.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I think that's a great idea.  I'd like to do that.
We'll start with A.G. Bell.  What's going on, A.G. Bell?  
[Pause]. 
>> DEBRA KNOX:  I don't know.  Give me a minute to think. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  All right.  We'll start with ALDA.  
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Well, these aren't specific to ALDA, but there are a couple of things that I wanted to mention.
There are two positions in the state of Florida related to people that are deaf or hard of hearing.  One being the executive director for FTRI.  I believe James Forstall is retiring, so I want to make sure that everybody is aware of that.
Also for Pinellas County, the Family Center on Deafness, the executive director has resigned ‑‑ I think resigned into grandparenthood, I know she just had a new grandbaby that she's very proud of ‑‑ and Julie Church, a former member of this Council, is no longer going to be on the Family Center on Deafness, so that position is going to be open as well.
I know they were both posted on FAD's EZ (sp) website, but if anybody wants information on that, I can dig them up and you can send information to Tiffany and I can make sure that I get your information on the postings for both of those positions.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very good.  Thank you.
So the Council seat is open, isn't it, also, for the Family Center on Deafness?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Huh?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Isn't there a council seat open for that?  Oh, Deaf Service Center. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  We don't have a position for the Deaf Service Center, and that position is open for the Council.
I'm not sure if we have applications in for that particular position. 
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Yes, one person sent in, she heard nothing.  I told her to do it again. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  Okay.  Good to know.
As far as the organization for ALDA, we just finished our national conference, it was in Kansas City.  Great conference.
I'm always amazed that every year I still pick up something.  My latest little tidbit was just a new app that I like to use and it's just for captioning or face‑to‑face.
Somebody mentioned earlier today Google Transcribe, Transcribe Live that works really good on the Android.  Unfortunately it does not work well with the iPhone.
But there's one called Otter that works pretty well.  It has difficulty with names and some proper nouns, but other than that, it's pretty good; I've done some testing in very noisy environments and it was still spot on, so that's encouraging.
For everybody that's not in the captioning profession, because a lot of it is going to get automated eventually.
I think we're going to have the need for people like Lisa for quite a while, so I think your job's safe, Lisa. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  For our organization and for the remainder of the year, we have one more meeting and our holiday party at the end of the year in December.  We'll be posting information on that for Facebook.
Also, for personal reasons, both our president and vice president have said that they are not renewing their term or not running for office for next year, so we'll be looking into a new board for ALDA Suncoast in 2020.
Next year's convention is in Niagara Falls, and we'll talk about that in future meetings for 2020.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you.  A.G. Bell ready?  
>> DEBRA KNOX:  Sure.  So our board has literally been rebuilding this year.  We have several new board members on Florida A.G. Bell, and we're establishing committees and goals of what we want to accomplish next year, kind of like a mini‑strategic planning.
And so it's been a busy year getting new people on boarded.
But in connecting with A.G. Bell National, we really found that kind of what A.G. Bell has done in Florida is really getting the word out and being known for professional development for the people who are working with children with hearing loss in the communities and with the families, and also getting opportunities for the family members to attend some of the conferences, like FLASHA, so that they can learn more about helping their own children.
So, we look forward to establishing our goals I think in our next meeting in December, so that starting in January, we hit the ground running.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very good.  Thank you very much.  Hearing Loss Association of America.  Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  HLAA Florida state association is still restructuring right now.  We're working on modifying the bylaws and following along with what National recommends.
And me as the president of HLAA Gulf Coast and Tampa, that's moving along well.  Tampa is struggling, so I need to reestablish that.  And we're going to have a holiday party for both of them; hopefully that will get people motivated to join for a solid year. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very good.  And I just want to give kudos to Debbe taking on the lead at HLAA Florida State, as well as the work you've done with HLAA chapters.  It's a tremendous amount of work.
Were you able to attend the HLAA convention this year?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yeah. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Maybe you can give a report on that. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  HLAA convention this year was held in Rochester, New York.  It was a good turnout.  There was about 500 people attended that conference.
And there was a few minor things... they had a get together party, you had to dress up in the 1920's, it was very noisy and dark.
And then they had drag queens, and so for some people, they didn't go along with the dark and the noise part.  So that was one of the negative parts of that convention.
But otherwise, overall, I went to a workshop on the what you should do if you've been called on for jury duty and your rights, and so that was a very interesting discussion about that.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Very good, very good.  Thank you.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  And next year's HLAA convention will be in New Orleans.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  Lots to look forward to.
FAD?  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Oh, okay.  FAD has their state conference the end of October in Fort Lauderdale.  It was a small turnout, but we had really good workshops and good speakers and good food.
The new board was elected and it was tough recruiting people.  We have a new president, vice president, and secretary.  They're going to have to appoint the treasurer, because they have to appoint somebody with the skills for that.  They decided not to do the traditional conference way anymore, and they're changing to something, maybe like a FAD festival type of thing, and how to change into a traditional conference, and based on having deaf clubs hosting and coming to the conference.
We only have two deaf clubs left in the state, those are in South Florida, and so we're trying to be more creative, but it gives you with more social media and things like that.
And they have talked about maybe coming back to Tallahassee, to cam back to work on interpreting bills, but I think it will be quite a while before they will be ready to do that.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes, Debbe?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  I know that FAD is trying to now have a better collaboration with all the other organizations, so that will be exciting to really work together as a big family team.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Awesome.  
>> GLENNA ASHTON:  Glenna, I think that FCCDHH really should take a lead on getting all of the organizations here together.  We haven't been able to figure out a way to do it so it doesn't cost money.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Maybe that rally idea could be a first step in uniting the groups.
Okay.  Elder Affairs?  Oh, I'm sorry, I'll get to you in just a minute.  Go ahead.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Sorry.  It just hit me, with what Glenna was just saying, maybe you can write, like, an invitation that you can give each of us to pass onto our groups to put through their e‑mail inviting them to join us in the Rally For Tally, and you don't have to say they're paying anything, just tell them when it is and be there.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Good thought, good thought.  Let's hear from Elder Affairs.  
>> MARY HODGES:  This is Mary.  I don't really have any report on any big conferences.
I do want to share that the Department of Elder Affairs was one of, like, five or six other state agencies to attend an interagency meeting that was hosted by the ‑‑ it was held at the agency for [indiscernible] administration and hosted by the ‑‑ it was hosted by Chad [NAME] and the keynote speaker was the First Lady and it was talking about suicide and how as a state we want to move forward in suicide prevention, and the agencies are all working together in this effort.
The one thing I wanted to put before the Council is the question:  Is there any data that is available in terms of suicide in the deaf and hard of hearing population?
And if we want to share, we have that information, and the reason I ask is because I'm participating on an interagency work group and they're working, it's a work group to develop a strategic plan on suicide prevention in Florida.
So, I think that that is a group that has been left out of the data collection process, but it's not too late to share that information.
And that's really all I had to add for my update. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you very much.  Great update.  And yes, there is data on that and I'm happy to talk with you more about that.  Yes, ma'am?  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  This is Debbe.  I do know that Tess Crowder's son is setting up an online chat with anyone who's thinking about suicide, and he will sit and work with them until ‑‑ tap Chris, tap Chris.  
[Pause]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  This is Chris, sorry, I was on a mini vacation. 
[Laughter]. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  But I'm trying to think of the name of the app.  It's... something related to text messages for people with depression. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah. 
>> CHRIS LITTLEWOOD:  And things like that, but I'm not sure of statistics. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Let me tell you what the text is, it's 741741 is the national text suicide prevention. 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Yes, but Tess Crowder's son is working with the depression and helping people and working on something regarding that and suicide, he was working with them.
And I'll get the name and everything and I'll pass it on to you.  
[Pause]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh, yes.  
>> MARY HODGES:  I was just going to say specifically, if we have Florida data, if we have all of that data, that would be good. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We do have ‑‑ I think I have national data, but I can look into Florida data.  Oh, yes, Mary?  
>> MARY HODGES:  And also any relevant information, just a little paragraph on prevalence and kind of how the population is impacted by this. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  We have about ten minutes left for public comments.  
[Pause]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  May I go and give FRID's feedback so we can get that off the agenda?  Go ahead?  Okay.
For FRID, they're having their ‑‑ 
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  They're having a conference and their business meeting this week ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Oh my gosh, yes, FRID!  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  That's okay, that's okay!  
[Laughter]. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  In Valencia College and you have the opportunity to have a town hall meeting with the president, those of you that are interested and able to go.
Now, before I say this next ‑‑ what?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I said awesome. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Before I say this next thing, I have to have a caveat, I am in no way dissing our wonderful interpreters and our wonderful CART people over there, but our folks who are hard of hearing or deaf who may be stuck in a meeting and who has a PowerPoint presentation, and you may already know this, and they're having a presentation and there is no interpreters or CART, Google does transcribe realtime, and so you could simply ask the speaker to push the Google caption and everything that is said around the table will be captioned for you, and I thought that was just great.  That's only if you're stuck.  Always try to plan ahead to get an interpreter and CART if you're able to.
That's it for me.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank you so much.  And audiology, let's hear from the representative.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  They're just waiting to see what's coming up and looking what they're going to do about paying for hearing aids, as was brought up earlier, and so they're just waiting for it, and we get routine updates, but nothing yet.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Are they in favor of that or they're not?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Well, they're in some ways go yes, some ways ‑‑ we expect that children should be paid for.  I mean, let's face it, there isn't anybody that doesn't want and doesn't expect it's required to be pay for children.  I just think that of all our individuals, children, of all people, need to maximize their ability for communication.  If you're going to get hearing aids and that's the group that's going oral, they should not be given the low end of the line, they should be given something to work with that will be the most beneficial, and they're our biggest resource.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  But I'm also in favor of it being covered as necessary ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I agree. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  As necessary as glasses for everybody. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I agree with that. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I don't want to step on her toes because it's her turn, do you have a quick ‑‑ 
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  What's happening with the over‑the‑counter hearing aids?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  The Government made a decision.  It doesn't mean any of us like it, but it is what it is and they go on with it.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Okay.  What else with audiology?  What's happening there?  
>> CINDY SIMON:  In audiology?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Oh, I don't know.  Well, here's what I think is exciting, someone came up with a bone conduction implant that adheres to the mastoid by adhesive and you change the adhesive and you don't need surgery.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  That's pretty exciting. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  That's very exciting for those who suffer from maximum conductive hearing loss.  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yeah, I think that's actually really exciting.  And this is kind of a different little thing, but, you know, we don't talk much about tinnitus here but it is a huge problem for folks who are deaf or hard of hearing, this constant ringing.  I know I have a problem with it on the left side where my hearing is worse, just a constant ringing.  
>> CINDY SIMON:  Okay, so, you know I sit on a board for that.  I'm actually very involved in tinnitus, it's one of my specialties.
And there's another disorder that probably most of you don't know about called misophonia and in those, we have kids who can't go to school because they can't stand the sounds of chewing, drinking, breathing.  We just had our sixth annual misophonia meeting for consumers and we bring in speakers doing research around the world.  We Skype them in to talk to our members.  It was very uplifting.  And we look for all kinds of different ways to help them.
Interestingly, what you do for tinnitus is actually the preferred treatment for the individuals who suffer from misophonia.  But it's not just them, this creates a whole significant other dynamic, whether it's parents, significant others, caregivers, because you have to change the way you live your life.  You have to come up with ways.
And kids ‑‑ I had kids who hasn't eaten with their family at a dinner table in, like, three years, and then have to come up with a way to help them.
So it's all sound sensitivity disorders.  And it's really nice where you can look at it and be able to separate out someone who has tinnitus from someone who has misophonia with someone who has acoustics, say a soft speech level, 40 dB, I have a young man who is crying and holding his ears from the loudness of the sound.  He cannot tolerate.
And you have to find ways around that.
The great thing about audiology is it's so diverse, and the reason I brought up balance screening, which we can do easily, I have the specialized foam for it, because as you all know, the inner ear is comprised of the cochlea and the vestibular system that causes balance and there is Ménière's disease and all of this going on, things that cause profound hearing loss.
I get to see all of this everyday.  
>> DEBBE HAGNER:  Is it Ménière's disease or ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  She got it. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  It's Ménière's, M‑E‑N ‑‑ 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  A couple minutes left.  Any last burning desires to share?  Yes, Tiffany?  
>> TIFFANY BAYLOR:  Good afternoon, this is Tiffany.  The e‑mail that has everyone's divided sections for the bylaws discussion is ‑‑ has been sent.  If it's not in your e‑mail, please let me know.
Also in your binder is a page that looks like this [indicates] in the bylaws section, which if I'm correct is Section 3.
Okay, so it has ‑‑ it's the Florida Statutes about our Council, so that when you make suggestions for changes in the bylaws, we are not allowed to make any changes to those bylaws that would contradict this sheet of paper.  So it would help you when you make your suggestions. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thanks, that's very useful.  Yes, Gina?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  We have a public comment.  He has a question:  Can I ask a question involving tinnitus?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Yes. 
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Yes, David, please go ahead.
[Pause]. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  All right, while the question is coming up, I want to bring up one more thing.
All the organizations have written a bill to get those on Medicare direct access to audiology.
You know, right now if we don't have a note from the doctor saying your hearing test is medically necessary, Medicare doesn't have to pay for the exam.  And so there is a big thing and there's a bill in both areas to get direct access without this.
Yes?  
>> GINA HALLIBURTON:  Okay.  This is David.  He said:  Thank you.  The VA states that tinnitus is a mental health issue.  I have ringing bad in both years 24/7.  What is your position on this?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Can I jump in as a psychiatrist?  Tinnitus is rarely related to mental health, but it can impact your mental health.  When people are tired, it's a physiological thing, the ringing in your ear ‑‑ it is not a mental health disorder in itself, it can cause anxiety and depression but is not a ‑‑ Cindy, go ahead. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  I agree.  People have tinnitus, Karen, look it up, the code for tinnitus is actually a psychiatric code, believe it or not. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  I'll look it up right now. 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Please do, because that's one of the issues that we have with the misophonia code.  Always it's been that way.
Depending on your hearing loss, if you are able to wear hearing aids, almost all hearing aids have noise generators built in now that you can turn on to help with the tinnitus.
Best practices indicate using some kind of noise in the background, whether it be from a noise generator, for business people I suggest they put in one of those homeopathic waterfalls, and that's why we meet in Embassy Suites because they have a waterfall in the lobby area, as well as have some kind of mental health counselor to help you with cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT.
There's also a program called MBTSR, which stands for mindfulness based tinnitus stress reduction, which was born on the VAs in California which has helped many people. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Hold on.  We need to cut you off.  Let me clarify, the ICD10 code for tinnitus is not mental health, it is coded under diseases of the ear and mastoid ‑‑ it is not mental health ‑‑ 
>> CINDY SIMON:  Is that the diagnostic code or billing code?  
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It's not. 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  It is on diseases of the ear ‑‑ 
[Talking over one another]. 
>> KAREN GOLDBERG:  Thank goodness, this is where it should be.
I would like to thank everyone for staying for a very long day today, members of the public who have joined us, people on the chat line, and on the phone.  We cannot do this without you.  We will see you tomorrow.  Everyone have a good night, at 8:00 o'clock in the morning Eastern Time is when we start.  Eastern Time.  Okay.  Thank you very much.  And we are off the record for tonight.
[Concludes at 6:03 p.m.] 

** This is a rough‑draft text file that was produced by a CART Captioner (Communication Access Realtime Translation) to ensure effective communication for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.  This file is not a certified, verbatim record, and it should not be quoted as such; nor should this file be distributed without appropriate authorization by this CART Captioner.  **