DECEMBER 2023 | VOLUME 12

HCANHUB

YOUR MONTHLY NEWS FROM HCAN

HCAN receives 5,000 dental kits to be distributed to health centers!

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood illness in the United States. In 2016, the DHHS Office of Oral Health and Dentistry (OOHD) began an educational program aimed at teaching parents and caregivers of newborns how to establish sound daily oral hygiene habits at a very early age.  

One of the main offerings of the program is the dental health starter kit. These kits contain age-specific dental cleaning items that with proper use can significantly reduce the cavity-causing bacterial biofilm in the oral cavity. The kits also include information to alert parents of the importance of establishing a dental home for their child by age one and a listing of where reduced-cost dental care can be found in Nebraska. 

HCAN is so thankful for the DHHS Office of Oral Health and UNMC College of Dentistry for these dental kits! 5,000 dental kits were delivered to HCAN that will now be distributed to the 7 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Nebraska to be used by physicians and dentists across the state! Thank you and we know that these kits will be so helpful to make a difference in oral health!

To learn more about the Nebraska Early Dental Health Start Kits, you can access the UNMC College of Dentistry’s video here.

Creighton Community Collaborative to Fund Project Access



Creighton University is working to improve access to healthcare services and address the social drivers of health across Nebraska. Made possible by a multi-year investment from UnitedHealthcare, Nebraska Total Care, and Nebraska Medicaid, the Creighton Community Collaborative was formed in late 2021 to improve the health of vulnerable families by investing in and creating innovative community-based projects that focus on addressing the main social drivers of health.

In October 2023, the Creighton Community Collaborative signed an agreement to financially support Project Access by enhancing access to primary healthcare within Nebraska Community Health Centers. Project Access, developed in partnership with the Centene Foundation and Nebraska Total Care, focuses on increasing primary care, behavioral health, and dental access throughout Nebraska via four components: recruitment and retention funding, clinical optimization, capital improvements, and pipeline development.

HCAN is thankful to Creighton University and the Creighton Community Collaborative for the partnership and financial support! To learn more about Project Access, please visit https://hcanebraska.org/page/ProjectAccess. 

Telebehavioral Health Network featured at National PCA/HCCN Conference

The Health Center Association of Nebraska (HCAN) and the Great Plains Telehealth Resource and Assistance Center (gpTRAC) led an education session about their ARPA-funded program at the National Association of Community Health Center’s 2023 PCA/HCCN Conference in Louisville, Ky., in November.

Jenna Thomsen, HCAN’s Director of Strategy and Development, and Dr. Jonathan Neufeld, gpTRAC’s Program Director, presented on “Nebraska FQHC Telebehavioral Health Network: Expanding Access through a Statewide Consortium.” (Thomsen and Dr. Neufeld are pictured above.)

The goal of the Nebraska FQHC Telebehavioral Health Network is to enhance access to behavioral health services in rural Nebraska through a shared off-site, multi-disciplinary team of telebehavioral health staff and providers. 

Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program Information Sessions

Looking for a way to upskill and retain clinical staff? Now is the time! Certify your Medical Assistants and Health Aides through a Department of Labor-certified apprenticeship. Since July 2022, the Health Center Association of Nebraska (HCAN)'s Medical Assistant Apprenticeship has graduated nearly 60 Certified Clinical Medical Assistants (CCMAs).

This self-paced curriculum will provide current employees with hands on training, career advancement, and the opportunity for higher wages, all while earning their national CCMA certification. 

Interested in learning more? HCAN is hosting information sessions on January 8th and 11th for healthcare leadership.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

·    HR Leadership

·    Hospital Administration

·    Clinical Management

·    Academic Partners

INTENDED AGENDA:

·    Apprenticeship Overview

·    Program Requirements

·    Next Steps for Partnership

·    Q&A

NEXT STEPS:

Register for the information session here.

New HCAN Career Center | 3RNET

HCAN is excited to announce its new career center, partnered with 3RNET. This career site connects professionals looking to work at community health centers. If you are looking to post or feature jobs reach out to Rachel Heinz, HCAN's Director of Programs, at rlh@hcanebraska.org.

https://hcanebraska.org/page/HealthCenterCareers

Introduction to the Health Center Program: Tools for Building and Enhancing Your Health Center

NACHC’s annual refresher course on HRSA’s Health Center Program is back on January 17-18, 2024, in an all-virtual format.

Introduction to Health Center Program: Tools for Building and Enhancing Your Health Center provides an in-depth orientation on:

·    HRSA’s Health Center Program Requirements

·    Program Compliance and Operational Site Visits (OSVs)

·    Conducting Your Needs Assessment

·    Health Center Scope of Project

·    Health Center Staffing

·    Health Center Board Governance

·    Health Center Finance

Register by January 4th, 2024 and save $100 with Early Bird Pricing!

Register here.

Ground Work: Racial Justice and Cultural Humility Training for Health Centers

Health care providers are trained to use neutral non-biased language in medical records, but studies of provider notes continue to show that bias exists. A study published in JAMA Network shows that when they use negative language about patients it falls into a few general categories: (1) questioning patient credibility; (2) expressing disapproval of patient reasoning or self-care; (3) stereotyping by race or social class; (4) portraying the patient as difficult; and (5) emphasizing physician authority over the patient. 

Evidence demonstrates that healthcare providers also exhibit implicit bias in their day-to-day interactions. Implicit bias is when a person unconsciously makes assumptions about another person that leads to a negative assessment of that person based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, ability, gender, or sexual preference. Biases in written notes include disapproval, questioning of patient credibility, labeling a patient as difficult, stereotyping, and unilateral decision-making. Certain groups ─ including non-Hispanic Black people, people of color, people with substance use disorder diagnoses, and pregnant and birthing people ─ are described with negative or stigmatizing language at higher rates than other groups.

To continue reading the article click here.

The HCAN Hub is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $850,959 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.