November 2021 | Issue 8

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TRENDING RESOURCES Open Enrollment | Get information for American Indian and Alaska Natives Medicare open enrollment runs through December 7, 2021, and the Marketplace open enrollment period runs through January 15, 2022. December 12-18 is American Indian/Alaska Native/Tribal Week of Action, which encourages tribal members to get enrolled in the Marketplace, Medicaid and CHIP. Check out the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outreach and education resources about open enrollment. - COVID-19 Vaccination for Youth | Access the toolkit The National Congress of American Indians and the National Education Association have developed a COVID-19 Native youth vaccination toolkit that addresses common vaccination concerns. - Psychological First Aid for Frontline Workers | Check out the guide The ongoing pandemic continues to test the resilience of COVID-19 frontline workers. This culturally relevant guide for frontline workers in American Indian and Alaska Native communities provides healthy coping strategies and promotes community wellness. An additional psychological first aid resource may also be helpful for addressing burnout and compassion fatigue. WHAT'S NEW White House Tribal Nations Summit 2021 | View agenda This week, the White House hosted the first Summit of Tribal Nations since 2016. Tribal leaders convened virtually with leaders from the Biden-Harris Administration. Topics included COVID-19 and tribal communities leading the country in vaccinations, missing and murdered indigenous people, Native veterans health and health care and more. Recordings of the two days of streaming the event can be found on the U.S. Department of the Interior's YouTube channel. - American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month | Learn more Native American Heritage Month acknowledges the important contributions of American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, including work in public health. - American Diabetes Month | View Diabetes Prevention Program Toolkit The Special Diabetes Program for Indians has significantly improved health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native adults with diabetes. - C. diff Awareness Month | Learn more Download and share Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated resources to help educate yourself and others about Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections. IN THE KNOW Effective Discharge Follow-up for EDs | View huddle recordings The PATH two-part series on the importance of and best practices fore emergency department (ED) discharge follow-up wrapped on November 3. If you missed the huddle series or would like to review the shared information, the recordings for this and other huddle series are on the PATH website. - Context Clues: Using SDOH to Enhance Treatment | Nov. 18 and Dec. 16 | Register for webinars The Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network and Aetna Better Health of Kansas have developed a series of webinars to help health care providers and others identify and address social determinants of health (SDOH). These webinars address addiction, work stress and burnout, Internet access and transportation and social support. - Native Youth Leadership Gathering | Dec. 16-27 | Learn more The Native Wellness Institute will host an event to help Native youth ages 12 to 18 make positive contributions to their schools, families and communities. The training will cover topics such as culture and spirituality, healthy lifestyles, the power of positive thinking and healthy relationships.

IHS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Improving Care Transitions

An Indian Health Service (IHS) area office and two facilities are working to improve their referral process via direct messaging and electronic health information sharing. One change is already showing improvement in a short amount of time. Read the full story.

UPCOMING EVENTS

IHS and NHSN: Frequently Asked Questions | Register Wednesday, Dec. 8 | 12-1 p.m. CT | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. MT | 10-11 a.m. PT PATH is hosting a discussion with CDC, National Health Safety Network (NHSN) and IHS members about your NHSN needs. Learn NHSN best practices, the purpose of an annual survey and how to complete it and more! Anyone who has access to, will soon be getting access to or enters data into NHSN should attend! View PATH events.

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-157-11/09/2021