Position # 3 - One Candidate
Representing Snohomish, Skagit, Island, Whatcom and San Juan Counites.
Edwin Bondoc
To my fellow Adult Family Home Providers, I am Edwin T. Bondoc a resident and an Adult Family Home Provider in Lynnwood Washington. Once again as a proud supporter of Adult Family Home industry I am declaring my candidacy for Region 3 Executive Board position.
In my 3-year term as your Region 3 representative (2020 to 2023) I am proud to share with you that I have work hard to address rate equity among the designated DSHS Region. As a result, Effective July 2023, Snohomish daily rate are equal to the King County daily rate. With my personal contribution, help, dedication, and in working together with my fellow board members and with our current Adult Family Home Council Staff we were able to negotiate a general increase to our DSHS client service daily rate in which is going to be effective in July 2023. Along with the DSHS client service daily rate increase there are other work associated with Adult Family Home (issues, concerns, benefits, legislative issues, etc.) I sponsored that were presented/to be presented to DSHS, insurance commission, local government and to be lobbied with our state government.
If I’m elected, I assure you will have a Board Member who can represent you (AFH Provider) to our AFH Council. A board member that understand the AFH industry, the community we serve and DSHS regulations. I also believed, there is more work we can do to improve our relationship with fellow AFH Providers, Caregivers, AFH Council, partnership with DSHS, industry regulators, client’s family, business partners, neighbors and mostly the vulnerable adult we serve.
Three years ago, before pandemic, I said, I have seen the evolution and progressive movement of our industry. To this date, Adult Family Home business is still a growing home business and proven essential service to our community.
For those who have nominated and trusted me for the Executive Board position, I humbly accept your nomination to be one of your elected Board of Directors.
If, I am elected as a Board Member, I will continue to do my best in serving our Region 3, our AFH industry and membership. It will be my duty as board member to help and support you and our partners for the good of our service industry. I will encourage our general membership to get involve in the work of our council. I will mentor members who would want to become member of the board and be a future leader of our industry.
I will continue to champion the noble work AFH Provider contribute to the community. Be mindful of the service needs our AFH industry can provide to our community. So, join me to this candidacy and elect me again as one of your board members.
“GOD Be with All of Us and Success to All”
Position # 6 - Two Candidates
Representing Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston, and Wahkiakum Counites
Claudia Coppola
Claudia is a current board member for the Adult Family Home Council. She is an east coast native who moved to Washington five years ago and is delighted to call the Pacific Northwest her home. Claudia has a master’s degree in social work with a focus on Community Engagement and Program Design. She has worked with organizations that support people with IDD for over 15 years – 10 of those years focused on nonprofit management. She spent several years as an accreditation surveyor and had the opportunity to visit other organizations supporting people with IDD across the US and in parts of Canada. She is currently the executive director for Olympic Neighbors, which operates the only adult family home for people with IDD in Jefferson County. She is committed to making sure the needs of this population and those that support them are heard and will continue to advocate for better funding for services.
Claudia lives in Mukilteo with her partner and two pups. She enjoys traveling, being outdoors, reading and jigsaw puzzles.
Dr. Michelle Simmons
Dr. Michelle Simmons, DNP, PMHNP owns and operates an adult family home in Clark County, WA. She has over 22 years of health care experience in wide variety of settings; afh, nursing home, hospital, ICU, emergency room, outpatient clinics, home care, and hospice. She has over ten years of experience in education, management, and business operations. Her education includes a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. She works as a Geriatric Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in a community clinic. She provides direct nursing care and management oversight at her adult family home. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and loves the outdoors. She values her faith and community.
Region #7 -Two Candidates Representing King County
Paul Galasso
Paul is the co-provider with his wife Evelyn of their DreamHaven Adult Family Home since 2013. We specialize in providing care and enabling independence for Special Needs Adults in the Issaquah area. He is also an instructor for the Adult Family Home Administrator class at Highline College and North Seattle College. Where he enjoys sharing his knowledge with future AFH providers and becoming a resource to them to help them successfully open their home.
Paul also is on the Housing Committee for a local Non-Profit called Life Enrichment Options that focuses on building Adult Family Homes in the Issaquah, Fall City and the Snoqualmie Valley. As a member of this committee, he assists the organization to build the homes that meet the DSHS specifications for Adult Family Homes and uses his real estate knowledge to ensure that the home allows for future growth of the organization.
In the past, Paul also served as Chairman of the Board for a Non-Profit Real Estate Association for 5 years. Concentrating on bringing education and mentoring to the organization to assist it in supporting the needs of those real estate professionals in the Puget Sound area.
He would like to bring his education and business knowledge to the Adult Family Home Council to assist the organization to fulfill its mission to serve all Adult Family Home Providers with their needs and goals.
Dan Puravet
I have been around the adult coming home industry since the mid-90s when my parents started their own AFH. I grew up with the elderly and have learned from my parents how to care for them with respect and dignity. My parents retired this year after 27 years. I got my CNA 23 years ago. I’ve helped my parents with their business, I worked at big facilities. Robinswood pointe which is now called Patriots Glen in Bellevue. So, I got to see the difference in care for big facilities versus small facilities.
My wife, Adina Sonia Puravet, and I opened our own AFH in 2016. We were able to apply all we have leaned into running Bellevue Elderly Care. We live on site with our two children.
I strongly believe that adult family homes are better off working together. Supporting each other. That’s why I have been open with other providers about sharing whatever information I know to help them out. I have been part of multiple provider groups online. One of them has about 275 providers and growing. I try to inform an update our fellow providers when I see something important that affects all of us. Many other providers share their own solutions & helpful info.
I’m a big advocate of the Adult Family Home Council and have always encouraged people to become members. It is one of our greatest tools that is underutilized by many providers. There are many benefits that people don’t even know are available. I believe the Council can help in spread the knowledge to the average Joe about the AFH option for LTC. Currently too many people don’t even know what an AFH is.
I think I will be a great addition to the board. I’m already advocating for the adult home Council and support our industry. If I don’t know the answer to questions, I’ll look it up. I have utilized the council’s help many times and appreciate everything they do. Since I’m in contact with many providers and many feel comfortable asking me sensitive questions, I think that will be able to be a conduit for providers to steer the council in the direction they want it to go.
I look forward to being part of the adult family home council and be able to help even more providers. I’ll be able to advocate membership even better since I’ll know even more about what the council does. With more memberships we can accomplish more for everyone. Thank You.
At-Large Position - Two Candidates
Representing all counties
Rey Aquinde
My wife Chona and I opened our first AFH in University Place back in 2006 and grew to 5 AFHs located at University Place and Tacoma. Our AFH experience is in senior care, from light acuity up to hospice care and certificate in the Geriatric Health Series from University of Washington.
My involvement with AFH Council as a Pierce County Chapter Coordinator from 2011 to 2021 and AFH Council Board member (Region 5 – Pierce and Kitsap Counties) from 2013 to 2021. As past chapter coordinator and board member, I am proud to have been involved in advocating to progress the quality of AFH standards throughout these years. I appreciated being involved in the Council’s work in assisting our providers and the industry in improving the standards of care to our residents, continuing education & training to our staff, DSHS issues, and seek out business resources for our industry.
I believe there is more room to improve and accomplish in our industry. I kindly seek your vote as a board member to contribute and assist AFH Council’s efforts in the progress to our AFH industry. Thank you for supporting our industry’s organization AFH Council and please stay involve.
Madonna Maxaner
My interest in serving as an AFHC board member is to help shape the future of the AFH business model in the areas of cost sustainability, fair and transparent processes/policies between the State and AFH homes, and increased sharing of best practices among AFH providers.
Public service is my passion. After serving in the Army, I graduated from University of Washington and served as a Governor’s Executive Fellow working in WA Department of Health and the Insurance Commissioner. Later receiving a master’s degree in business administration / health care management from Harvard, I served 20 years as a business consultant in the federal government focusing on regulatory compliance, collective bargaining, legislative policy development, cost management, and process improvement.
When my mother fell ill with cancer and was not able to stay at home, she had no options in her rural community for a small care setting. This inspired me to open 2 adult family homes focused on complex mental health, memory care and physical needs. Our age range is 35 to 82. With one of my AFHs being urban (Clark County- 8 bed) and the other rural (Jefferson County- 6 bed), I understand the challenges faced in different parts of the state. The homes are predominantly Medicaid with a sustainable mix of private pay and Medicaid residents. I appreciate the struggles all of us have with regulatory requirements, Medicaid payments covering our rising costs, assessments being accurate, and the complexity of specialty agreements (ECS, SBS, ETR, and meaningful day).
As a board member at large for the last year, I testified in collective bargaining with DSHS and the Health Care Authority, advocating for our issues with Medicaid processes, reimbursements rates and methodology.
If you elect me, I am committed to advocating for all homes. Our issues are many, but they are the same common themes. An issue resolved for one is an issue resolved for all- advocacy is one of the important AFHC functions. Please get involved, become members of the Council to strengthen our collective voices. Thank you for your support of my nomination.
