DDES INFO MEMO 2007-04

STATE OF WISCONSIN
Department of Health and Family Services 
Division of Disability and Elder Services 
DDES Info Memo Series
Date: March 9, 2007

To: Listserv

For:  Aging and Disability Resource Centers 
Area Agencies on Aging 
County COP Coordinators 
County Department of Community Program Directors 
County Departments of Developmental Disabilities Services Directors 
County Departments of Human Services Directors 
County Departments of Social Services Directors 
County Waiver Coordinators 
County DD Coordinators 
County Mental Health and AODA Coordinators 
County Aging Unit Directors 
Family Care CMOs 
Independent Living Centers 
Tribal Chairpersons 
Human Services Facilitators

From: Sinikka Santala, Administrator

John Easterday, Associate Administor

Subject: Senior Management Changes in the Division of Disability and Elder Services

A couple of weeks ago we sent information to you about the DHFS reorganization request that was submitted to the Department of Administration. We are pleased to now inform you of several management changes in our Department in support of our new structure that was announced yesterday by Secretary Hayden. The Secretary stated and we agree that we are very pleased that these senior managers have expressed an interest and willingness to move to these new positions as they have a wealth of experience. They will assume their new positions on April 2nd unless otherwise indicated.

We are delighted to have Fredi Bove as the new Deputy Administrator for the new Division of Long Term Care! Fredi brings a wealth of talent and knowledge to the new Division, especially her deep knowledge of fiscal issues and budget. Over the next several weeks, we will be sorting out her specific duties, but she will likely assume some programmatic duties (still to be defined) as well as the more traditional deputy duties of budgeting, personnel, contracting, etc.

As some of you may already know, Chuck Wilhelm, the current Director of Bureau of Long Term Support has announced his retirement after 33 years of State service. Chuck has been an integral part of long term care reform and many other activities related to elder and disabilities services and he has been a marvelous partner on the DDES team for the past two and a half years.

Chuck Wilhelm's retirement gave us an opportunity to have Judith Frye lead the Bureau of Long Term Support while also leading the Family Care expansion initiative. In that role, she will continue working with Donna McDowell and her team to oversee the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) development as well as the expansion of managed care. Kathleen Luedtke will continue working on Family Care expansion in her policy advisor capacity. We are fortunate that Judy is willing to assume this assignment!

We also welcome a new Bureau to the new Division of Long Term Care, Dave Lund and the staff of the Bureau of Nursing Home Services who will organizationally move to the Division of Long Term Care from the Division of Health Care Financing. Many of you already know Dave and we are pleased to have him and his staff join our team.

There are also changes within our facilities. Joann O'Connor has been appointed Policy Initiatives Advisor in the new Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Joann currently is the Director of Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Byran Bartow will serve as Interim Director of the Institute while we recruit for the WMHI Director position. Tom Speech will fill in for Byran and serve as Interim Director of Wisconsin Resource Center while Byran serves at Winnebago.

Jim Hutchison, the current Director of Southern Wisconsin Center will be appointed Management Services Director at Winnebago Mental Health Institute and the Wisconsin Resource Center effective April 15. Jim Henkes, currently SWC Deputy Director will be Interim Director of SWC. The director positions at Winnebago Mental Health Institute and Southern Wisconsin Center are critical positions on our management team and in the facilities so we will move as quickly as possible to fill these positions with permanent directors.

Please join us in thanking these experienced leaders for the work they have done and welcome them to their new positions! We value the partnership that we have with all of the stakeholders who care deeply about quality of life and quality of care and treatment of other people and individuals with disabilities, including those with mental health and substance abuse problems. With the new management team in place in the Department of Health and Family Services, we look forward to ongoing collaboration with you!

REGIONAL OFFICE CONTACTS: Area Administrators

CENTRAL OFFICE CONTACT: Sinikka Santala, Administrator 
DDES, Room 850 
Department of Health and Family Services 
PO Box 7851 
Madison, WI 53707-7851 
Telephone: 608-266-0554

John Easterday, Interim Administrator 
DDES, Room 850 
Department of Health and Family Services 
PO Box 7850 
Madison, WI 53707-7850 
Telephone: 608-267-9391

MEMO WEB SITE: http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/dsl_info/ 

cc: Area Administrators/Human Services Area Coordinators 
All DDES Councils and Committees 
Disability Rights Wisconsin 
Mental Health Association of Wisconsin 
Wisconsin Council of Independent Living Centers 
Independent Living Council of Wisconsin 
Grass Roots Empowerment Program 
NAMI Wisconsin 
People First 
ARC Wisconsin 
Board on Aging and Long Term Care

Last Revised: October 24, 2008