Vermont Business Magazine Two longtime and widely respected statewide advocates will retire from Vermont Legal Aid (VLA) in the next two months. Trinka Kerr, Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate, will retire on August 31 and Jackie Majoros, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman for Vermont, will retire on September 15. Both have worked at VLA throughout their legal careers.
Trinka Kerr
Kerr worked as a general law staff attorney at VLA for 20 years before joining the Office of Health Care Ombudsman in 2000. The project has been based at Vermont Legal Aid since it was established by the legislature in 1998. In 2006, Kerr was selected to head the project.
A law enacted by the Vermont legislature in 2013 expanded the mandate of the project, renamed it the Office of the Health Care Advocate (HCA) and established the title Chief Health Care Advocate. Kerr skillfully managed significant increases in the HCA’s staffing and responsibilities required by the law, including expanding its health policy role and enlarging its capacity to advocate for consumers in anticipation of the opening of the Vermont Health Connect insurance marketplace, which increased the call volume to the HCA hotline by 40%. The HCA has assisted approximately 50,000 callers with access to insurance and health care services since 1999.
Kerr and 13 staff members help individual Vermonters, regardless of their income, resources or insurance status, resolve problems with health coverage, access to services, and eligibility for programs and subsidies. The HCA also acts as a voice for consumers in health care policy matters before the Vermont legislature; advocates for the public before government agencies that oversee state insurance and other health care programs; and represents the public in rate review hearings and other matters before the Green Mountain Care Board.
Under Kerr’s leadership, the HCA has successfully championed many improvements in state programs and policies that protect consumers and increase access to health care. This year, Kerr played a significant role in the development of Act 113, which requires the Green Mountain Care Board to regulate Accountable Care Organizations and to ensure that quality of care is not sacrificed for cost reductions. Working together with other consumer advocacy groups, Kerr also worked to pass a law that will meet a critical need in Vermont – greater access to dental care.
Jackie Majoros
Majoros has served as Vermont’s State Long Term Care Ombudsman and as director of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Project at Vermont Legal Aid since 1996. Before that, she was a staff attorney in VLA’s Senior Citizens Law Project for 11 years.
Majoros, her staff and a group of highly trained volunteer ombudsmen work to protect the health, welfare and rights of more than 11,000 Vermonters who receive long-term care services in nursing homes, residential care homes, assisted living residences, and in the community through Choices for Care.
Among her accomplishments as the State Ombudsman, Majoros helped to envision the transformation of Vermont’s long-term care services and supports system from a nursing-home-focused model to the Choices for Care Program that provides options for consumers. She also advocated during the Program’s implementation to ensure that the rules protected consumer rights and provided for self-direction. Vermont’s Choices for Care Program has served as a model for many states across the country.
In addition, Majoros has worked to strengthen Vermont’s home health licensing regulations, advocated to improve adult protective services, worked to reform Vermont’s guardianship system, and championed the state’s advance care planning laws. This year, Majoros worked with state agencies and other advocates to secure passage of Act 135, which establishes a Vulnerable Adult Fatality Review Team in the Office of the Attorney General. The team will review select cases of abuse- and neglect-related fatalities. It will also identify system gaps and risk factors; educate the public, service providers, and policymakers about intervention strategies; and recommend changes to prevent similar fatalities in the future.
“Many thousands of vulnerable Vermonters have benefited from Jackie and Trinka’s leadership, depth of knowledge and tireless efforts,” said Eric Avildsen, executive director of Vermont Legal Aid. “They have inspired their staffs with the commitment and dedication they bring to their work every day and with their passion for ensuring that Vermonters have access to the quality health care and long-term care services they deserve. They have been a cornerstone of VLA’s management team, and it’s hard for me to imagine Vermont Legal Aid without them. I wish them much happiness and well-deserved rest in retirement.”
Vermont Legal Aid (VLA) is a non-profit law firm that provides legal advice and services to individuals and families throughout Vermont who are facing a civil legal problem that threatens their rights, shelter, job, health or well-being. VLA began serving clients in 1968.
Source: VLA 7.18.2016