August 2022 | Issue 17
SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The national suicide prevention lifeline is 988, a three-digit dialing code that is now available to everyone across the United States. Learn more about the lifeline and 988.

Suicide Prevention Tools and Resources

Suicide Prevention Tools and Resources for American Indian/Alaska Native Communities
WHAT'S NEW
PATH Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) Program Toolkit | Access toolkit
This new QAPI toolkit from PATH provides definitions, tools and templates, case studies
and short on-demand training videos all in one convenient package!
-
Vital Signs: Drug Overdose Deaths | Learn more
From 2019 to 2020, overdose death rates increased by 39% among non-Hispanic
American Indian or Alaska Native persons, respectively. This CDC report walks through
the latest statistics and sociodemographic and social determinants of health characteristics. 
IN THE KNOW
Monkeypox Declared Public Health Emergency
Earlier this month, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HSS),
direct contact with monkeypox rash, scabs or body fluids from a person with monkeypox and
though touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, towels) and surfaces that have
been used by someone with monkeypox. While the PATH team will continue to monitor this PHE,
please reach out to your local quality improvement advisor (QIA) with any needs or requests
on your facility’s monkeypox PHE response.
-
How to Receive Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) | Learn more
SAMHSA is partnering with the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to increase the number of clinicians authorized
to prescribe buprenorphine and other medications used in treatment for opioid use disorder. 
Clinicians eligible to train and receive clearance from the Drug Enforcement Administration 
are physicians (MD or DO), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives
and certified registered nurse anesthetists. Learn more and sign up for notifications. 
-
American Heart Association Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator | Learn more
This three-year initiative is designed to eliminate health disparities with learning collaboratives
and professional education for hospitals and clinicians. Up to 700 rural hospitals will receive
no-cost access to add new Get With The Guidelines quality programs for coronary artery disease,
heart failure and stroke.
-
AHRQ Five-minute Learning Modules for Frontline Staff | Check out these modules
These brief videos from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offer self-paced learning for those on the front lines of care. While focused on nursing homes, these modules offer many tips and strategies that can be used in any health care setting.
IHS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
IHS Hospitals Benefit from PATH Tools and Resources
PATH takes great pride in developing tools and resources that IHS hospital partners find useful and are able to apply to forge their quality improvement successes! That's why we are here!

This month we focus on how PATH resources helped IHS hospitals achieve their specific improvement goals.
PATH EVENTS
PATH Emergency Department (ED) Affinity Group | Contact your QIA!
Starting September 21, PATH is hosting an affinity group for IHS ED teams! This affinity group will be a collection of individuals from across organizations to share a vision of improved ED flow and use. This group will explore:
  • Sharing specific practices from a variety of facilities on how to ensure effective and efficient triage
  • Ensuring Emergency Severity Index (ESI) accuracy
  • Promoting optimal ED utilization methods for education
  • Using data to understand vulnerabilities and disparities in ED use
ED affinity group participants will:
  • Participate in collaborative discussions and foster an environment of trust and mentorship
  • Join six learning sessions and six check-ins over a six-month period (Learning sessions are 45 minutes and informal. Check-ins are 30 minutes and are for discussion and Q&A. Attendance at each session is encouraged, as meetings will not be recorded.)

If you are facility ED personnel, quality staff or another stakeholder in Tribal health ED utilization quality improvement, let your PATH quality improvement advisor (QIA) know if you are interested in joining the PATH ED affinity group!
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-251-08/11/2022