Fraud Alert - Illinois Senior Medicare Patrol
October 5th, 2020
SMP National Resource Center Director Speaks on Illinois SMP
Illinois Senior Medicare Patrol at AgeOptions is celebrating 25 years of empowering consumers throughout the state to prevent, detect and report health care fraud. We work with 15 statewide agencies that help carry out our message through outreach and one on one counseling.

We asked Nicole Liebau, NEI3A SMP National Resource Center Director, if she could speak on her involvement with Illinois SMP during her tenure with SMP Resource Center. The SMP National Resource Center is located in Waterloo, Iowa and is one of the most helpful tools in our network.

Created in September 2003 with funding from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), Administration on Aging (AoA), the SMP National Resource Center serves ACL’s 54 Senior Medicare Patrol programs located throughout the country, including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The SMP Resource Center also promotes national visibility for the SMP program and helps the general public locate their state SMP project. They also provide help to the SMP network regarding trainings, reporting and compliance.

Nicole was interviewed this summer by our very own Marina Silva and her correspondence is below. Please enjoy!

Marina Silva(MS): Good Morning! Could you please explain your partnerships, innovations and relationships with the Illinois SMP?
Nicole Liebau (NL): I have been the SMP National Resource Center director for two years and the assistant director for three years prior. During this time, I have had the pleasure of working with and seeing the Illinois SMP take an active role on many national projects. Topics have included the SMP Information and Reporting System (SIRS), TRAX: Training Tracker, a Personal Health Care Journal revamp, and COVID-19 best practices. Prior to my time at the SMP Center, Illinois volunteered for work groups that included Volunteer Risk and Program Management (VRPM), media outreach, national materials, and the SMP Resource Library.

The Illinois SMP director, Travis Trumitch, has presented on successful practices for two SMP Center webinars within the last year. The webinars were a Webinar Production 201 and an Outreach Strategies During COVID-19 Webinar. 

I also had the pleasure of presenting the 2018 Barbara McGinity Leadership Award to the previous Illinois SMP director, Jason Echols, at the 2018 SMP/SHIP National Conference in Chicago. This award is given annually to an SMP director who personifies the strong leadership and contributions to the SMP network that Barbara McGinity was known for in her SMP work. It is a great honor to receive this SMP award and I was so glad that a director in Illinois received it. 

Marina Silva(MS): What can the Illinois SMP do in the future to grow as a program as they celebrate their 25th Anniversary?
Nicole Liebau (NL): I hope that the Illinois SMP continues to provide excellent feedback on future network projects and continues to share successful practices with the SMP network. The Illinois SMP has always been fantastic at collaborating with other SMP state projects and assisting with innovation throughout our SMP network. 


I would like to personally thank Nicole and the rest of The SMP Resource Center for all their help over the course of not only my tenure but years previous. They play a huge part in our SMP network and their hardworking should not go unrecognized. Nicole and her team play a critical role in the success of the Senior Medicare Patrol across the United States.
Nicole Liebau, NEI3A SMP National Resource Center Director
Ms. Nicole Liebau has been with Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), formerly Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging, since June 2012. In October of 2015, she was provided the opportunity to work within the Consumer Protection Division at NEI3A. Ms. Liebau has worked in non-profit agencies for 13 years, with an emphasis in program and grant management. 

In her career, Ms. Liebau spent her first four years as a marketing and membership manager throughout six counties in Northeast Iowa for a non-profit organization. Her program and management role prepared her regional area with consistent training, funding, program education, and membership opportunities. Working in a volunteer-based organization also shaped her skill base on strategic program planning and role administration to enhance and promote mission centered goals and outcomes. 

Ms. Liebau has worked in the SMP National Resource Center since October 2015, for the first three years she was the SMP Center’s assistant director. In her current role as director, she is responsible for the Center’s coordinating efforts with the Administration for Community Living (ACL), grant management, contract management, and technical assistance in developing written materials, webinars, and other Center products. She also manages staff development and daily managerial support. 

In 2015 Ms. Liebau attended the Leadership Institute at N4A to expand on her program leadership background and in 2017 a workshop at the Grant Training Center to expand on professional grant development skills. Along with several other leadership trainings from the Human Capital Institute to assist in agency/grant program and staff management. Ms. Liebau has also attended several aging/disability network trainings within the last seven years. These network educational and enrichment trainings encompassed evidence-based programs involving empowerment, mental health, referral counseling, and elder abuse. 

Ms. Liebau has her AA (Associates and Arts) degree from Iowa Lakes Community College and her bachelor’s degree in Social Work (BSW) from Wartburg College. 
Upcoming SMP Events from AgeOptions
NORTHLAKE PUBLIC LIBRARY SMP WORKSHOP SERIES (LAST TWO)
TYPES OF MEDICARE FRAUD
October 6th, 2020 at 10:00 AM

TIPS TO PREVENT MEDICARE FRAUD
October 13th, 2020 at 10:00 AM
You can also call-in to participate in these workshops: Phone: 312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 93267223144#

MAYWOOD PARK DISTRICT SMP WORKSHOP SERIES (LAST TWO)
TYPES OF MEDICARE FRAUD
October 7th, 2020 at 1:10 PM

TIPS TO PREVENT MEDICARE FRAUD
October 14th, 2020 at 1:10 PM
You can also call-in to participate in these workshops:  Phone:312-626-6799 Meeting ID:99047832862#


CHICAGO RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY SMP WORKSHOP SERIES
SMP BASICS
October 7th, 2020 at 11:00 AM

HOW TO READ YOUR MSN
October 14th, 2020 at 11:00 AM

TYPES OF MEDICARE FRAUD
October 21st, 2020 at 11:00 AM

TIPS TO PREVENT MEDICARE FRAUD
October 28th, 2020 at 11:00 AM
You can also call-in to participate in these workshops:
Phone: 312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 91055610221#

MATHER TELEPHONIC TOPICS CALL
SMP BASICS
October 20th, 2020 at 9:30 AM
 You can also call-in to participate in these workshops:
Phone: 312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 386 399 7030#
 
CDC Recommends Flu Shot for Older Adults
Have a safe and healthy week!

Travis Trumitch
travis.trumitch@ageoptions.org
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This project was supported, in part by grant number 90MPPG0036, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.
The Illinois SMP at AgeOptions partners with agencies across the state to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education.

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