Community Connect Let's foster peer connections and build a supportive network by sharing success stories in our community! Meet Vanessa Self: Our Dedicated Developmental Disabilities Services Case Manager We are thrilled to introduce Vanessa Self, a passionate and dedicated DDS case manager!
Vanessa is married and a proud mother of five children, ranging in age from 10 to 24. She loves hula hooping, coffee, popcorn, ice cream, and books. In her free time, Vanessa enjoys reading, inline skating, and playing outside.
Below, Vanessa has answered questions about vendor recruitment and shared her experience with the process to help other families navigate and benefit from these services. 1. What advice would you share with an EOR on how to establish a new SDS vendor? I would say, do not be afraid to try it! Talk to your case manager about activities or items that you think could benefit the individual. Ask your case manager to send you the goods and services one-pager and SDS Vendor flyer. These forms provide detailed information on the types of services and goods that can be accessed and detailed information on how the process works. You can access a list of currently approved SDS vendors through the DDS provider list on the OKDHS website. 2. You recently assisted an EOR in setting up a new vendor using the new vendor process. How did that go? It’s great having a point of contact within our SDS program who can assist with the process. I sent the name of the vendor, their email address, and phone number to our SDS team at DDS.SDS@okdhs.org. A member of the SDS team reached out to the vendor and provided additional information about how vendor services work and collected a copy of the vendors W-9 to send to Acumen. Once the vendor was enrolled, I was notified and was able to reach out to the EOR to further discuss the next steps to request the services through the plan of care. 3. What tools did you use when assisting to set up the new vendor? I started the process by sending the EOR the vendor flyer and goods and services one-pager. After identifying with the EOR what items they would be interested in, we checked the list of SDS vendors on the DDS provider list. When we discovered there was not a vendor set up that could provide the item they wanted to request, the EOR reached out to a company they knew sold the item. I sent the company's information to the SDS team. Once we received notification that the vendor had been approved and enrolled with Acumen, I reached out to the EOR to let them know that we could move forward with obtaining the invoice and letter of recommendation. I sent the letter of recommendation one-pager to the EOR to share with the licensed professional so they would know what information needed to be included. Once the vendor was identified, getting them set up went fast. I have assisted in setting up other vendors, too. The process has taken anywhere from 2 business days to 3 weeks, depending on how quickly the vendor gets their information to the SDS team. 4. What benefits have you seen for individuals on your caseload who have utilized self-directed vendors to access goods and services? I have witnessed multiple benefits to the individuals on my caseload and their families who have utilized SDS vendors for goods and services. I have seen overall improvement in quality of life, increased participation in activities they could not access before, making new friends, enriched living environments in the home, increased community access, involvement in age-appropriate activities, opportunities to improve their health, and to reach their goals in their Individual Plan. This program allows people to explore opportunities within their community and to discover amazing talents and hobbies they did not know they had. |
