Mainstay - Proactively improving the health of people with developmental disabilities and the organizations that support them.

		Frequently Asked Questions Q. Even though we have tremendous challenges and our agency could definitely use some help with all that is bearing down on us right now, we simply don’t have the flexibility to spend any money. How can we be absolutely sure you will deliver bottom line upside quickly? A. First, we guarantee the immediate impact of all of our products and services. We will refund your fees, without question, if you utilize our initiatives as directed and are not satisfied. Additionally, we know we wouldn’t have a business without delivering positive cash flow impact to you. With over twenty years of experience interfacing with providers in a variety of capacities (Mainstay’s CEO also spearheaded an agency, quickly turning it around both financially and programmatically), we are fully aware that there is absolutely no spare cash to fritter away. One reason we dedicate so much time to the development of our initiatives is that we refuse to introduce any offering that would be a drain on your expenses. Our products and services all have to pass the positive-cash-flow litmus test before being made available to the market. As one example, our food stamp funding contracts are executed as consignment agreements—you never pay Mainstay penny one (even though we do a tremendous amount of upfront work on your behalf) until you receive new food stamp revenue, and only then paying a small fraction of your total upside. Further, our management team is made up of professionals who are astute business leaders with unparalleled successes. We have a reputation for delivering on our promises and building collaborative partnerships. Our longstanding dedication to this endeavor underscores our passionate interest in helping to improve quality of life for people with developmental disabilities. We learned, early on, that we could only accomplish improved health and well-being for this vital population if our involvement was a zero-cost proposition for cash-strapped providers. In short, we understand and are committed to both your challenges and goals. We guarantee that we are an “insurance policy” providing unprecedented payback. Q. A lot of our time is dedicated to making sure that legislators understand the criticality of funding streams into our agency. Beyond this, we do all we can just to get through the day with reduced personnel and putting out budget-related fires. How on earth would we have the time to implement any new program or initiative, even if you do save us money? A. Experts widely contend that social service providers must face the fact that public and charitable funds are drying up. Competition for available funds is extreme, and the spoils will go to entities making a case for their mission based on evidence-based outcomes and proactive strategies that benefit the greater good. Providers will have to prove their impact, even though it is difficult to talk statistics where people and a highly commendable social mission are involved. “Woe are we” and waiting by the mailbox for reimbursement checks, although justifiable, will no longer ensure the continuous revenue streams needed to maintain our nation’s current provider base. We have long predicted that providers will need to become the masters of their own destinies through alternate revenue streams, differentiable programs/branded services, proactive strategic plans, and a comprehensive program dedicated to improved health and quality of life for the people they support. In essence, growing numbers of professionals contend that providers no longer have a choice regarding dedicating more time to proactive change and management. The only way to make it in this make or break climate is to proactively step outside the status quo box; Mainstay has the experience, knowledge, and track record, making it easier to do so, with confidence. And finally, our initiatives don’t take a lot of time to implement. Because everything we do has been thoughtfully custom-designed for busy, cash-strapped providers, you can be sure that time and money have been addressed as the top priorities they are. Q. Our agency has its own health/nutrition and quality of life initiatives and we run a tight financial ship, so why would we need you for anything? A. We hear this every so often and we respond by asking: Are your food costs in the $3.00 per person per day range? Are obesity rates consistently declining and BMIs steadily improving? Are you trumpeting loud and clear and marketing yourself as the lean, mean productive machine you purport to be since this will significantly increase donations into your agency from today’s savvy, tight-fisted funders demanding accountability and differentiation? Invariably, the answers we get back indicate that these key benchmarks are largely not being met to the most profitable and productive levels. This isn’t a criticism of the viable systems providers have put into place, but our findings highlight that there is room for measurable, sustainable improvement to both the bottom line and consumers’ quality of life. Additionally, Mainstay provides a number of benefits through a program such as Fiore that even the most progressive agencies value: After lowering your food costs and eliminating theft of grocery items, we make sure your food costs don’t escalate in the future. Our recipes change in response to price increases that we note through our continual monitoring of industry trends. At all times, we have your back regarding this significant operating expense. We provide continual encouragement, cheerleading and education to help keep your consumers and staff enthusiastic and knowledgeable about being on a healthy track. We do this through our webinars, customized training modules, PhotoStep™ and VideoStep™ recipes, house visits and cooking demonstrations from Mainstay’s chef, enjoyment of life curricula (celebrations, exercise, and community integration tips), and our blog. In short, we create a continual presence that you use as you see fit. Our automatically generated and easy-to-access management reports provide first-ever, critical oversight into food operations that legislative bodies and key stakeholders are increasingly demanding of providers. Our HealthTracker™ system allows providers to record, track and trend health data by person, by house, and across the entire agency. This is information that legislative bodies and key stakeholders are increasingly demanding of providers. Q. We’re not confident that our overwhelmed house managers and DSPs would be qualified or enthusiastic regarding changes you propose, so why would we even try when a new initiative like Fiore is probably destined to fail here? A. The health of people with developmental disabilities living in community based living arrangements is declining and various stakeholders are up in arms over the circumstances and associated expenses (food and health costs). Opportunistic individuals and attorneys are already starting to make headway in pinpointing management and Directors of the Board as responsible parties allowing these costly inadequacies to continue. Something has to change, and soon. Knowing the challenges house managers and DSPs face each and every day, and the lack of experience they may have in the kitchen and/or regarding good nutrition, we carefully custom-designed our programs for these dynamics and ease of use and implementation. We work closely with your staff to ensure a smooth transition, and we are available to our clients on a 24/7 basis. Q. What would a DSP say about your Fiore program? A. Most DSPs are wary at first, many being resistant to change of any kind given what their day-to-day usually looks like. In short order, however (and we guarantee this), DSPs say (and actually did!) the following about Fiore: “I worried too long about changing our meal and menu plans, fearing that it would be complicated and met with a lot of resistance; neither really happened. We had a few hiccups upon start-up as we got used to the system, but it was easy and pretty effortless. Actually, starting up Fiore turned out to be enjoyable; we all got into doing something different and focused on making improvements.” “Mainstay cuts down on my time with menus because I don’t have to think about what to serve, how to make it, and what to buy at the grocery store.” “The consumers are happy with the Mainstay menus and really like the meal variety that is part of the program, that we never had before. The food consistently tastes really good. This all makes my life a lot easier.” “Our consumers are healthier on this program, and we quickly saw reduced weights, waist sizes and medication usage. Our consumers kind of got a new lease on life, wanting to get more involved and to socialize more as their health and appearance improved.” “Our customers are much more involved during meal preparation and understand a lot more about cooking and eating well now.” “I’ve lost weight on the program and learned a lot about how to take better care of myself and my own family. I’ve also learned a lot about cooking and nutrition that I never knew before.” “We haven’t achieved perfection, but we’re a heck of a lot better off than we were before, and heading in a better direction.” Q. While we appreciate your successes with other agencies, we’re very different and unique. We don’t believe you can offer us anything that would be valuable to our specific staff, consumers and operation. A. While agencies are different in many ways, there are also a number of similarities, specifically related to staff dynamics and consumer profiles. We use the overlapping fundamentals as the basis for our products and services. The greatest differences between providers and consumers actually occur upon implementation. We effectively and enthusiastically work with you to tailor aspects of our programs to your unique circumstances. We have repeatedly proven the efficacy of our initiatives in diverse provider settings, where beneficial upsides were realized in each and every instance and staff was enthusiastic about and appreciative of our involvement. Q. Exactly how does Fiore improve our cash flow? A. We reduce your food costs, eliminate the theft of grocery items, and maintain food savings over time (all while health and nutrition improve). We are also helpful in securing new charitable funding streams into your organization and obtaining or maximizing food stamp funding for both nonprofit and for-profit providers. Q. Our consumers already get food stamps; why would we use you for this? A. We’ve been securing food stamp funding for providers for over twenty years. We make it a point to stay current on all new regulations. Additionally, based on our unique relationship with the USDA, we engage in frequent dialog to fully understand ways in which to maximize benefits. Q. We appreciate what you are saying and we can even envision how you would be helpful to our agency and consumers, but we’re just busy, busy, busy. Would it be all right if we got in touch later this year? A. We are always available to speak with you when the timing is right from your end. We would feel remiss, however, if we didn’t point out that every day, week, and month you delay, you can count on the following, all of which are uncomfortable, increasingly unacceptable, and particularly costly to a cash-strapped entity: The health and well-being of the people you support are declining due to overeating and eating the wrong foods. Because weights, waist sizes and medication usage dramatically decline through our programs (many consumers are no longer diabetic once they are a Fiore user), any delay is obviously extremely harmful. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health notes that obese individuals live 8 fewer years, exclusive of the other complicating factors impacting people with DD. Food costs, one of your highest escalating expenses continues to climb—unchecked—and any deferred savings simply puts increased pressure on your operating cash flow needs (often necessitating more personnel and program cuts). Maximizing food stamp funding is something that every provider should do, no matter what else is going on. The work you do is minimal—we do the hard lifting and only charge you when and if benefits come through. Legislation and opportunistic parties are increasingly demanding accountability from provider management and Directors of the Board regarding immediate improvements to health, nutrition and expenditures (such as no junk food purchases). Q. What if we don't have computers in all our residential homes? Does this diminish the effectiveness of Fiore, or is Fiore even a possibility for us? A. It's not necessary to have computers in each house to generate Fiore benefits. Some organizations have a person in the Residential or HQ office create appropriate documentation such as grocery lists and meal plans, based on the recipes customers and staff have selected. Additionally, many of Fiore’s offerings are useful in hard copy (simply download and print). Q. What is Mainstay's Privacy Policy? A. Protecting the identity and privacy of the people who are our clients is very important to Mainstay. Our information is held in a secure server that requires a password to enter the site. We strongly recommend that clients do not disclose or enter information into our database that could identify specific consumers. Some agencies only identify individuals by initials, or first name and last initial (never full names); sometimes only the last four numbers of a consumer's Medicaid or unique identification number (never, for example, disclosing the full Social Security number) is used. Enter only the minimum amount of information needed for internal identification purposes. For more information about our Privacy Policy, please click the link below.

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