August 4, 2014
August is National Immunization Awareness Month
We all need shots (also called vaccinations or immunizations) to help protect us from serious diseases. For example, everyone age 6 months and older needs to get a flu shot every year. Other shots work best when they are given at certain ages. Talk to your doctor or nurse to make sure that everyone in your family gets the shots they need.
If you have a child age 6 or younger, find out which shots your child needs.
Find out which shots adults and teenagers need.
Use this chart for adults to see if you are up to date on your shots [PDF – 156 KB].
If you are pregnant, check out this recommended immunization schedule [PDF – 188 KB].
In This Week’s Issue
Announcements
Trainings & Webinars
Funding Opportunities
SBIRT
Ask CHCACT!
Upcoming CHCACT Meetings
Resources
This Week in Health Policy News
Events/Educational Opportunities
Announcements
National Health Center Week is coming! August 10 – August 16 is only one week away! Don’t forget to check out all the helpful resources on the NHCW website at healthcenterweek.com. Please forward information for events to Nick: ntorres@chcact.org
Celebrate the Work Health Centers do to Support Special Populations: Each year, three days during NHCW are designated to acknowledge special populations served by Health Centers. This year we celebrate Public Housing Health Centers Day on Tuesday, August 12, Health Care for the Homeless Day on Wednesday, August 13,and Farmworker Health Day on Thursday, August 14. If your center serves one or more of these populations, think about sponsoring a special event in their recognition. If you need some ideas, check out the Activities and Event Ideas section of the website.
Take Advantage of NHCW to Gain Local Media Attention! Write Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds: The goal of National Health Center Week is to create public awareness of Health Center programs. NOW is the ideal time to draw attention to your Health Center by placing stories in local media. Invite local reporters to attend your events and tour your health center. Check out the NHCW Media Toolkit for a super easy tool that that’ll will help you send a letters directly to your local newspaper as well as templates for customizable Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds.
You’re invited: The 2014 Keep The Promise Coalition Gubernatorial Forum on Mental Health. People who make decisions on where our state is going are instrumental in the conversation about mental health policy. This includes the Governor of Connecticut, who will be chosen in the November elections. Friday September 19, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Welte Auditorium at Central CT State University (CCSU) in New Britain. Click here for details, flyers, and more.
The New England Rural Health RoundTable is pleased to announce the 2014 New England Rural Health Conference: October 1-3 in Westford, MA at the Westford Regency Inn. Click here for full details, including online registration.
Register Now: CR Statewide Oral Health Conference, Oral Health in Connecticut: Probing Its Value. Friday, September 19 in Meriden. There is a full day planned, with a wonderful panel of speakers providing updates on oral health activities in CT, as well as addressing emerging oral health topics that you won’t want to miss. Click here to register.
Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment Options for States – The National Conference of State Legislatures produced the Medicaid and Marketplace Outreach and Enrollment Options for States Report to discuss outreach and enrollment requirements under the ACA and highlights common challenges, and promising outreach and enrollment strategies and options. Read the full report here.
News from NASHP – Improving Medicaid Services for Children: Spotlight on Maryland. Maryland’s Healthy Kids Program uses nurse consultants to train primary care providers on EPSDT benefit standards. The nurses also assist with program billing and reporting issues, in addition to educating providers about referral processes for children. “Our nurses develop relationships through visits, trainings, and evaluations,” said Michelle Lehner, Deputy Director of Acute Care. “They get to know the staff and are the program liaisons between the Department and our providers.” In partnership with local health departments, Maryland Medicaid also assists families in accessing follow-up services resulting from a Healthy Kids preventative screen. Local health department-sponsored entities, including school-based health centers, are enhancing both care coordination and access to care across Maryland. Learn more about Maryland’s efforts to improve Medicaid for children and adolescents on NASHP’s new “Resources to Improve Medicaid for Children and Adolescents” map.
SAVE THE DATE! The American Lung Association 2014 Annual Influenza Update will take place at Woodwinds (29 School Ground Road in Branford), September 11, 2014, 8:00 AM – 3:45 PM. For more details, contact Michelle Caul (860-838-4370).
Send us your success stories! How are the outreach and enrollment efforts going at your health center? How many people have you helped so far? We’d love to know. Please send your success stories to ask@chcact.org.
Tweet of the Week
Great Op-Ed by @DoctorOlson of #Norwalk Comm. Health Center on the birthdays of #Medicaid & #Medicare! via @CTMirror http://t.co/Va0zExDjgj
— CHCACT (@CTHealthCenters) July 30, 2014
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New on Get-Centered
Our New Get-Centered Blog features a reflection from our CEO, Evelyn Barnum on the recent farewell event for Norwalk Community Health Center’s Larry Cross.
SBIRT in Your Corner
Learn more about CT SBIRT here!
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Trainings & Webinars
Coffee Break Webinar: The New Federal Grants Supercircular: How Super Is It? The federal Office of Management and Budget recently revised and consolidated the federal grants circulars into a massive guidance document called the “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Grants,” also known as the “Supercircular.” There are significant modifications to the rules that govern the administration and management of all federal grants and subgrants (also known as subrecipients) related to time and effort reporting, sole source procurement restrictions, mandatory disclosures and indirect cost rates. This 15-minute webinar will highlight the Supercircular’s key reforms that community mental health and addiction treatment organizations receiving federal grant grants should know. Click here to register.
Risk Management Considerations for Prescribing Opioids. Chronic pain affects millions of patients each year with a significant impact on quality of life and overall health. Pain management can be challenging for both clinicians and patients. Primary care providers often face challenges in assessing pain management needs while balancing potential risks of misuse and abuse of opioids. Safe and effective pain management strategies are critical to both improving patient outcomes and minimizing risks associated with opioid prescription. August 6, 12 PM – 1 PM or August 7, 3 PM – 4 PM. Click here for full details.
Are You Ready for Flu? CDC’s Recommendations and Communication Plans for the 2014-2015 Influenza Season. Wednesday, August 13, 2014 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Our August webinar will provide an overview of the 2014-2015 influenza season and information about this year’s flu vaccine communication campaign plan for the general public along with new materials that will assist with reaching Hispanic, African American and American Indian/Alaska Native populations. To register for the webinar, click here.
Grant Writing Workshop: Ridgefield Community Center and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Ridgefield, September 22-23. Tuition is $425 and includes all materials: workbook and accompanying 420MB resource CD that’s packed full of tools and more than 200 sample grant proposals. Click here for full details.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Behavioral Health Integration: A Key Step Towards the Triple Aim. It’s no secret that behavioral health and physical health are inseparable — when patients have both behavioral health and chronic medical conditions they experience poorer outcomes and higher costs than patients with a medical condition alone. Integrating behavioral health and primary care is a key component of the Triple Aim, leading to better outcomes, better patient experience of care, and lower per capita costs, particularly for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Begins August 14, 2014. Details are available here.
COPE (Collaborative Opioid Prescribing Education) for REMS. Prescribing opioids safely ultimately depends on the trust between prescriber and patient. Training can enhance trust by improving communication and collaborative skills. COPE-REMS is an interactive, self-paced, online training developed at the University of Washington-Seattle. This no-cost, online CME course is aimed at opioid prescribing providers—including physicians, registered nurses, ARNPs, physician assistants, psychologists—and other care managers who are involved in treating patients with chronic pain. Click here for more information.
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Funding Opportunities
REMINDER from HRSA: There are several critical actions you must take to ensure competitive Health Center Program applications can be submitted successfully. First, your organization must have an active SAM.gov registration at the time of application submission. Second, you must have an active AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) in Grants.gov that is approved to submit an application. As a matter of HHS grants policy, without a current SAM.gov registration and a registered AOR, your application will be rejected in grants.gov without further consideration.
Click here to view all of HRSA’s open funding opportunities.
NEW: Upcoming Changes to EHB’s, effective August 1, 2014.
Extending Contact Center Hours. To better support you, HRSA is extending the hours of the HRSA Contact Center. The HRSA Contact Center will operate Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST. Previous hours were 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
New Error Reporting Capability. while accessing the EHBs, an option will display for the user to report the error. The popup form will capture all pertinent user and error information and provide a comments section. Once you submit the form, the software will create a help ticket and automatically forward it to the appropriate HRSA staff for problem evaluation and resolution.
User Feedback Capability. The EHBs will provide a new User Feedback form where you can enter comments, concerns, and suggestions. You can access this form by clicking the “Feedback Form” icon in the EHBs system toolbar
NBC Connecticut – 21st Century Solutions. The NBC Universal Foundation is partnering with NBC Connecticut in the third annual grant challenge for nonprofit organizations implementing new and innovative programs in the areas of Education, Civic Engagement, Jobs and Economic Empowerment, Media Arts, and Technology. The first place grant recipient will receive a $50,000 grant and two runners-up will each receive $25,000. The deadline for applications is August 8, 2014. Click here for more information and application details.
Call for Applications: Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children 2015 Access to Care Grants. Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children (HSHC) is committed to supporting community-based initiatives providing Dental Homes to children whose families cannot afford dental care through Access to Care Grants. HSHC Grants are one-year matching grants of up to $20,000, supporting community-based initiatives in the U.S. that provide dental care and ultimately serve as a Dental Home to underserved/limited access children. Special consideration will be given to programs supporting the age-one dental visit and providing care to special needs patients. For more information and how to apply for an Access to Care Grant visit http://www.aapd.org/foundation/kids/
New Markets Tax Credits Allocation Awards Announced. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation awards aimed at revitalizing low-income communities and increasing economic opportunity nationwide. More information is available here. Applications for CDFI & CDE Certification are being accepted on an ongoing basis. Click here for application trainings and deadlines.
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Ask CHCACT!
“Ask CHCACT,” a new advice column, will feature questions from health center staff, answered by your favorite CHCACT staff members! For the first several months, the column will focus exclusively on Outreach & Enrollment. Send your questions to ask@chcact.org! Ask CHCACT columns are also archived on the Outreach & Enrollment Resources section of the CHCACT web site. This site is now available to the public, with no log-in requirement!
Deb Polun answers this week’s question:
Deb Polun, MA
Director of Government Affairs/Media Relations
Q: My family and I are on HUSKY A right now and it’s almost time for us to renew. My husband’s employer is going to offer us health insurance, but I think we may still be eligible for HUSKY A because of our income. Do we have to take the employer-sponsored coverage?
A: As long as you still meet the income and citizenship requirements for HUSKY A, you can remain on the program – even if you have other insurance available to you. If your income exceeds the HUSKY A guidelines, you can choose to have your kids go on HUSKY B, if that is cheaper for you than the employer-sponsored coverage. Then, just you and your husband would go on the employer plan.
Also, if your income exceeds the HUSKY A limits, you probably do not want to buy a health plan from Access Health CT. The law is that, when employer coverage is available, your family is not eligible for financial assistance (“Advanced Premium Tax Credits” or “APTCs”) in purchasing an Access Health CT health plan.
As always, feel free to go to your nearest health center for help with enrollment in either HUSKY or Access Health CT plans! Find one here: http://www.chcact.org/find-a-health-center/.
Upcoming CHCACT Meetings
All CHCACT Staff can be reached by calling 860.667.7820.
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This Week in Health Policy News
Here is a sampling of health policy news from around the state. If you see something in your local newspaper that you would like featured here in future weeks, please contact Deb Polun at dpolun@chcact.org.
Featured Stories
7.30.14 CT Mirror Op-Ed: Federal Insurance and Obamacare – Why This Birthday Matters (by Dr. Doug Olson, Norwalk Community Health Center)
State Health News
8.4.14 Hartford Business Journal: Supermarkets’ Next In-Store Offering – Medical Care
8.1.14 CT NewsJunkie Op-Ed: Confusion Abounds For Those Who Receive Home Care
8.1.14 CT Mirror: Ten Things John McKinney Thinks About Health Care
7.31.14 CT Mirror: Ten Things Tom Foley Thinks About Health Care
7.30.14 CT Health I-Team: State Ranks High on Long-Term Elder Care, But Caregivers’ Needs Not Met
7.30.14 WNPR: Doctor Advises Not to Avoid Vaccines
7.22.14 Register-Citizen: Community Mental Health Associates Closing Clinic in Lakeville, Group Home in Torrington
ACA/Health Reform
8.2.14 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Access to Specialty Care Out of Reach for Many
8.2.14 NY Times: Newly Insured, Many Now Face Learning Curve
7.29.14 WNPR: Obamacare, Doctor Pay and Access to Care
7.27.14 Christian Science Monitor: Obamacare for Ex-Inmates – Is Health Insurance an Antidote to Crime?
National/Other Health News
8.2.14 NPR: Breast Feeding Still Difficult for Many Moms
8.1.14 CT NewsJunkie: Congress Passes Veteran Health Care Reforms
7.30.14 CT Mirror Op-Ed: On Their 49th Birthday, Medicare and Medicaid Strong & Healthy
7.29.14 Hartford Courant: Study Finds Five Servings of Produce a Day Enough, But We Aren’t Eating It
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Resources
Nurse-Managed Protocols Can Improve Chronic Disease Management, Study Shows. Relying more heavily on registered nurses and other members of the care team may help mitigate the shortage of primary care providers and enhance the quality of chronic disease care in the United States, concludes a study published July 15, 2014, in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Read more here.
Guidance on New Rule Requiring Laboratories to Release Test Results to Patients. Clinicians may be interested in a viewpoint article published July 9, 2014, in the Journal of the American Medical Association that offers guidance to help providers and organizations comply with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ new rule requiring laboratories to provide patients with test results upon request. The new rule means that patients may receive test results before they have discussed them with a clinician, potentially leading to confusion or anxiety. Providers may choose to proactively counsel patients about common outcomes of a test, including the normative values and the potential for false positives, in order to prevent patients from misunderstanding their results.
Weekly Outreach & Enrollment Newsletter. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) produce the CMS Weekly Assister Newsletter. This weekly Newsletter is the best resource for O/E staff to stay up-to-date on information on health insurance marketplace changes, frequently asked questions, and general advice. To sign up, email CACQuestions@cms.hhs.gov with the subject line: “Add to listserv”
Working Together to Manage Diabetes Toolkit – The National Diabetes Education Program released the updated Working Together to Manage Diabetes Toolkit, designed to empower pharmacists, podiatrists, optometrists, dentists, and other providers to deliver more integrated care for patients with, or at risk for, diabetes. The Toolkit features a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide, a customizable PowerPoint presentation, and user-friendly patient fact sheets and checklists for providers and consumers. View the toolkit here.
CMS initiative helps people make the most of their new health coverage
Quality in Action: Increasing Access to HIV Testing, Care, and Treatment. Patients and other members of your community may not know that they are living with HIV infection. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 people living with HIV are unaware of their infection. People who do not know they are HIV positive will not receive the care and treatment they need to stay healthy. They also may unknowingly pass HIV to others. Knowledge of their HIV status allows people to make informed decisions about lifestyle choices and high-risk behaviors that may result in HIV transmission. You can review this Special Edition Quality in Action newsletter with your board, providers, and staff.
New Interactive Summer Safety Guide from Stamford Hospital. In the woods, at the beach, or at the park, this new guide provides facts and tips for keeping you and your family healthy this summer. Click here for the safety guide.
Capital Link Publications. As part of their assistance to health centers, Capital Link has developed a collection of resource publications to assist health centers in accomplishing specific tasks related to the capital development process. These publications are provided to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Primary Care Associations (PCAs) free of charge. Their resources, including publications, reports, and past webinars are available here.
ECRI Institute has made the webinar “Building and Maintaining an Effective Triage System” available in its archive for those who were unable to participate last month. The webinar is available here. You will need log-in credentials from ECRI to access their resources. If you need access, send an email to Clinical_RM_Program@ecri.org or call (610) 825-6000 ext. 5200.
Key Findings from the 2013 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey –The 2013 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey addresses a wide range of topics that are at the heart of women’s health care as a result of the ACA. The findings presented in this report examine women’s coverage, access, and affordability to care, as well as their connections to health providers and use of preventive services. The report can be found here.
The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality has developed a free, interactive Collaborative Action Now to Defeat Obesity (CAN DO) Playbook. Details are available here.
SAMHSA has released a helpful Behavioral Health Barometer. It contains data that you may find useful for grants and reports. It is available on their website here.
The PBRN Resource Center is pleased to announce the recent launch of a PBRN Playlist on the AHRQ Primary Care YouTube Channel. This playlist contains video recordings of national webinars hosted by the AHRQ PBRN Resource Center. The channel and all recordings can be accessed here.
ECRI Institute announces new resources for Credentialing and Privileging Non-Physician Providers and Staff. Credentialing is not just for physicians and other clinical providers. HRSA Policy Information Notice (PIN) 2002-22 states that health centers must credential any individual who is required to be licensed, registered, or certified by the state, commonwealth, or territory in which the health center is located. This list includes, but is not limited to, licensed independent practitioners (LIPs) (e.g., physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives) as well as other licensed or certified personnel such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physician’s assistants, laboratory technicians, social workers, medical assistants, dental hygienists, and nutritionists. The list should include locum tenens and volunteers as well. Click here to read their Get Safe! announcement and access their checklists and other resources.
The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance Series is designed to help safety net providers and rural health clinics understand and adopt telebehavioral health services. The implementation of telehealth services for mental health and substance abuse allows for increased access to these services, particularly in rural or underserved areas. The 6-session training will provide health centers with the tools/resources necessary to identify and implement a telebehavioral health program. Learn more here.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has launched a High Value Care Coordination Toolkit intended to improve communication about referrals between primary care and subspecialist providers. The toolkit includes a checklist of information that must be provided in a generic referral to a subspecialist, a checklist of information that must be provided in a subspecialist’s response to a referral request, model care coordination agreement templates between several providers and care settings, and an outline of recommendations to providers that can help them prepare patients for referral using a patient- and family-centered approach.
Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! – HHS and the Administration for Children and Families has launched Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! to encourage healthy child development, universal development and behavioral screening for children, and support for the families and providers who care for them.
Scope of Project Webpage: HRSA has released a new “Scope of Project” Page on the BPHC website. This page provides a “one-stop-shop” for Health Center Program Scope of Project and Change-in-Scope policy, process, and resources. View the new Scope of Project webpage.
New Rural Mental Health and Substance Abuse Toolkit Launched. The Rural Assistance Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis launched this toolkit, designed to help rural communities and organizations develop and implement programs that meet the targeted mental health needs of communities based on proven approaches and strategies.
ECRI has developed Asthma Care for the Pediatric Patient. Asthma is a challenging, common, chronic childhood illness associated with significant school absenteeism, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions. Racial and ethnic disparities in both asthma management and outcomes put safety net populations at particular risk. This self-assessment checklist will help healthcare providers assess and develop a patient-focused asthma treatment plan.
Check out the This Week in CHCACTion! Resources Archive on the CHCACT web site here! It’s chock full of webinars and other informative resources compiled from our weekly bulletins. You can also visit a password-protected FQHCs Resources Library which includes a message board to facilitate communication across centers. To gain access to the FQHC Resources, contact Deb Polun, at dpolun@chcact.org.
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Events/Educational Opportunities
Click here to view our full events calendar. Click here for NACHC Seminars/Conferences/Webcasts.
Welcome to our new events calendar! The calendar is updated on a regular basis with upcoming events, webinars, educational opportunities, outreach activities and more. You can sort the calendar by category and subscribe to calendar updates by clicking here.
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