December 2021 | Issue 9
At this special time of year, we give thanks for our partners.

We would like to express our sincerest appreciation for the trust you have placed in us to support you in your efforts to provide the best possible care for those in your community. We look forward to moving into the New Year together.

Wishing you peace and joy of the season and a 2022 full of success.

Happy holidays!
from all of us at PATH
TRENDING RESOURCES
Protecting Families and Elders from COVID | Read NPR article
American Indian and Alaska Natives are 3.3 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID and
more than twice as likely to die from the disease compared to whites. In a recent
National Public Radio (NPR) poll, half of Native Americans say they are facing financial problems,
and three out of four Native American households report mental-health related problems in recent months. Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health released this "read aloud" of the widely distributed book, Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Overcoming COVID-19.
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Pressure Injuries and COVID-19 | View resources
The National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP) put together a list of COVID-19-related
resources that support pressure injury prevention, including how personal protective
equipment (PPE) can cause pressure injuries, unavoidable pressure injuries during the pandemic, nutritional support and more!
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CDC Tools to Build Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines | Check out tools
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a strategic framework
entitled Vaccinate with Confidence. Resources include tips for community engagement,
assessment guides and recent reports on vaccine confidence.
WHAT'S NEW: PATH QAPI Basics On-Demand Training
The PATH team has produced a series of short, on-demand training videos that outline the basics of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs and processes.

QAPI uses data to improve health care quality, safety and patient experiences. These videos, which are only about two to four minutes each, cover topics such as:

All the videos are posted to the PATH website to view or use with your team at any time. You can also check out two QAPI resources:
IN THE KNOW
New and Revised Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements: Effective January 1 | Learn more
Effective January 1, new and revised workplace violence prevention requirements will be applicable
to all Joint Commission accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has made available their Surveys on
These items assess the extent to which a hospital's organizational culture supports
workplace safety for providers and staff.
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Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Webinar: Recruiting and Training Health Professionals for Tribal Communities: A Crossroads of Rural Health Care | January 11 at 12 p.m. ET Get registered
Topics include proven strategies for health professionals from and into tribal communities,
the value of rural graduate medical educational programs in tribal communities and key topics
in cultural and governance structure.
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December 12-18: American Indians/Alaska Natives/Tribal Week of Action
Enrolling in health care coverage is one of the most important steps people can take to stay well.
Help ensure consumers in your community have the coverage they need. Open enrollment runs through January 15. CMS has developed the following tools to help talk with consumers:
IHS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT:
Finding a PATH for Reducing Readmissions
Education, data and planning are key steppingstones in driving health care improvement efforts. That is what one Indian Health Service facility is embracing, as, with support from PATH, it looks to reduce unnecessary readmissions and explore strategies to best impact readmissions rates.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Context Clues: Using SDOH to Enhance Treatment | Register
Thursday, Dec. 16 | 12-1 p.m. CT | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. MT | 10-11 a.m. PT
This monthly training series was developed by the Mid-America MHTTC and Aetna Better Health of Kansas to provide tools to identify social determinants of health (SDOH) and strategies for addressing them. A certificate for 0.5 contact hours will be provided upon each 30-minute session. Today's webinar includes:
  • Internet Access (30 minutes)
  • Transportation and Social Support (30 minutes)
CMS ITU Outreach and Education Trainings | Learn more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Tribal Affairs has posted its 2022 schedule for virtual trainings. ITU staff are encouraged to register for the training in their respective Indian Health Service (IHS) area, but registration is allowed for any IHS area of interest. Each webinar offers continuing education credits (CEUs). Number of CEUs available varies, depending on the agenda. Registration does not open until 30 days before the training. View full calendar.
  • IHS Phoenix Area | Weeks of January 24 and 31
  • IHS Navajo Area | Weeks of March 21 and 28
  • IHS Billings Area | Weeks of April 4 and 11
  • IHS Albuquerque Area | Weeks of April 18 and 25
  • IHS Oklahoma City Area | Weeks of May 9 and 16
  • IHS Great Plains Area | Weeks of June 6 and 13
  • IHS Bemidji Area | Weeks of June 20 and 27
PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE TRIBAL HEALTH (PATH) | Visit the PATH website
This material was prepared by Comagine Health for the American Indian Alaska Native Healthcare Quality Initiative under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or HHS. NQIIC-AIHQI-163-12/07/2021