APRIL 2024 | Issue 56

New Website and HEALTHeWNY Dashboard!

In February, HEALTHeLINK launched our brand-new website. The simplified layout and navigation of the new site features all the HEALTHeLINK information you may need, including an overview of our projects and services, on-demand tutorials, an up-to-date list of data providers, and more.

If you haven’t already, check it out today at wnyhealthelink.com.

With our new website also comes the official launch of our innovative Community Health Dashboard, “HEALTHeWNY,” a comprehensive, publicly accessible platform designed to provide real-time data and insights into the health status of our region. The HEALTHeWNY Dashboard, a first-of-its-kind tool, allows users to explore data at a county and zip-code level which empower local health departments, community organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers with the information they need to make informed decisions about health and wellness in our community. We encourage you to explore the dashboard available at HEALTHeWNY™ use the data to inform your health decisions and join us in our efforts to create a healthy, equitable community.

In March, The Buffalo News wrote a story about the HEALTHeWNY dashboard and the value it will provide to the community. Click here to read the story: Depew nonprofit addresses Western New York health inequities (buffalonews.com)

2023 Report to the Community

HEALTHeLINK is a resource for broad health system transformation through data-informed decision making, leading toward the goals of better health outcomes and health care delivery, controlled costs, and improved health equity.

Learn more about how HEALTHeLINK is effectively utilizing data to help build a more robust and efficient health care system in our 2023 Report to the Community.

Read the 2023 Report

Notice to Participants - Outage on April 23rd

A required upgrade by our vendor will result in an outage of HEALTHeLINK services on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024. The upgrade will start at 5:00 p.m. EST and could last up to two hours. During this time, everything will be down. This includes the User Interface (UI) as well as all inbound and outbound results and notifications.

Here is what this means for you, our participants:

You will be unable to access the Mirth Results UI during this time.
HEALTHeLINK will not be able to receive any inbound clinical data during the outage. We will also not be sending any outbound results or notifications during the outage. Messages will be queued up and sent once the system is back up.
You may experience some slowdowns after the update has been completed.

If you have any questions, or experience any issues once the upgrade is complete, please contact our help desk at 1-877-895-4724 or 716-842-6343 or support@wnyhealthelink.com.

Compliance Corner

We recently launched a new training webinar to review HEALTHeLINK’s compliance policy and discuss what users should and should not do. This webinar is biweekly on Mondays at 3 p.m. The next webinar is April 22.

HEALTHeLINK in the Community

Beginning this spring, HEALTHeLINK team members will be making in-person drop ins at participant offices. These drop ins will provide an opportunity for team members to provide one-on-one support to participants and answer any questions they may have. Additionally, the drop ins will enable HEALTHeLINK team members to gain a better understanding of the challenges participants are facing and how they can best be supported.

On March 29th, HEALTHeLINK hosted an in-person training session on the HEALTHeWNY Dashboard. Karen Craik, Senior Manager Regional Health Improvement, led the interactive session.

HEALTHeLINK Town Hall Meetings

HEALTHeLINK will be hosting a series of in-person Town Hall Meetings, starting April 19th.

Join us for breakfast, a presentation, and a conversation. As part of the presentation, the HEALTHeLINK team will summarize our core and enhanced services and give a refresher course on our compliance and operational policies and procedures. Most importantly, we want to hear from you - tell us how HEALTHeLINK can better serve you!

Registration and breakfast will open at 7:00 a.m. Presentation begins at 7:30 a.m. and runs until 9:00 a.m.

Attending a session gives you two chances to win (A $25 Amazon gift card, $1,000 credit towards an enhanced HEALTHeLINK service of at least $5,000).

We have five sessions to choose from. Click on the date below to register.

Friday, April 19, 2024, Holiday Valley Resort, Ellicottville

Friday, May 10, 2024, Templeton Landing, Buffalo

Friday, June 7, 2024, Wurlitzer Events, Wheatfield

Friday, June 21, 2024, Genesee Community College, Batavia

Friday, July 12, 2024, The Chautauqua Center, Dunkirk

Questions? Contact the Business Development team at businessdevelopment@wnyhealthelink.com

National Healthcare Decisions Day (April 16)

National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16. This annual observance exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.

HEALTHeLINK is currently involved in a two-year cooperative agreement to aggregate advance care planning documents from across the community and make electronically available to treating providers who need to know a patient’s wishes at the point of care. Funding is being provided through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s Leading Edge Acceleration Projects (LEAP) in the Health Information Technology program. We look forward to sharing more details about our project as we move towards implementation and integration.

HEALTHeLINK is Hiring!

We currently have an opening for a Senior Healthcare Informatics Analyst!

For more details and how to apply: HEALTHeLINK Senior Healthcare Informatics Analyst

Employee News

Congratulations Tracy Gettings!

Congratulations to Tracy Gettings, senior healthcare informatics analyst, on her retirement from HEALTHeLINK!

Tracy brought years of leadership and analytics experience when she started at HEALTHeLINK. In her eight years with us, Tracy initiated the creation of the Reporting & Analytics Department and was pivotal in establishing the team’s systems and processes for how they stand today. She has contributed to numerous initiatives across HEALTHeLINK and was a crucial resource for ingesting claims for population health and reporting.

Tracy’s last day with us is May 1. On behalf of all of us at HEALTHeLINK, best wishes as you embark on your well-deserved next chapter!

GUIDE 2 BETTER CARE Segments

HEALTHeLINK’s Guide 2 Better Care segments air every other Wednesday on WGRZ-TV, during the 4pm and 11pm newscasts. Local health care leaders provide education about HEALTHeLINK as well as highlight the value and benefits of HIE in Western New York.

View our Segments

In addition, HEALTHeLINK President & CEO Dan Porreca was also a guest on WNY Living in February. That segment can be viewed here: WNY Living Segment with WGRZ

HEALTHeLINK in the News

Buffalo News – A medication mistake cost a Lockport woman her life. A new grant aims to help others avoid same fate (HEALTHeLINK mention)

Buffalo News - Depew nonprofit launches dashboard that could help address health inequities in Western New York

EHR Intelligence – HEALTHeLINK HIE launches dashboard for community health

Niagara Frontier Publications – HEALTHeLINK launches community health dashboard