Cuba SBHC

A huge thank you to the Cuba SBHC team for hosting NMASBHC staff on January 16, 2018. They have an incredible dental program, strong relationships with their school administrators, and are very busy during their hours of operation. Other highlights include, upcoming health education sessions in the classroom on puberty and teen dating violence and school staff education around asthma.

Happy School-Based Health Care Awareness Month! If you didn’t already know it, this is the month we celebrate all things school-based health care so that more and more people will understand this wonderful service. We hope you will join the staff and Board of NMASBHC in celebrating the difference that SBHCs make in the lives of New Mexican children. Read the special article to get more details and visit the SBHA website for logos and social media tools!

February is also Children’s Dental Health month, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the University of New Mexico and Department of Health Oral Health Office for their January convening of school-based dental health providers. I think it will be the beginning of a very productive partnership. We know that oral health pain is one of the top reasons children miss school, and NMASBHC is committed to supporting the expansion of oral health services in schools. If you’d like to be kept abreast of future convenings of this group, please let me know so we can request that you be added to the mailing list.

Yours in celebration,

Nancy Rodriguez

[email protected]

The 2018 NMASBHC Exemplary Award application is available. Start coordinating with your SBHC teams now and apply to be recognized statewide as an Exemplary Awardee. 

DOH supported and non-supported sites are encouraged to apply! The application and instructions are available here.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]

Deadline: Feberuary 28, 2018

NMASBHC will be engaging in legislative education in conjunction with our many Federally Qualified Health Center partners on Primary Care Day again this year! Please feel free to join us on February 7th at the Round House as we educate about and support for the critical healthcare provided through both types of clinics. The event begins at 8:30am in the Rotunda and wraps up with a press conference at 11:00am. NMASBHC will be delivering a copy of the 2018 SBHC Calendar to every legislator so even if we don’t see you there, the legislators will!

NMASBHC will be providing mini-grants to SBHCs of $500-$1000 to purchase supplies for their SBHCs which they cannot currently afford or that they are currently purchasing out of their own pocket. Molina Healthcare has generously donated funds to NMASBHC to carry out this project. These funds are in response to the overwhelming needs we heard about through our needs assessment the last two years.

Click here for more information and to download the application. Please submit applications to [email protected]. Applications due February 28, 2018.

NMASBHC is partnering with Western Sky Community Care and the Roadrunner Food Bank (RRFB) to provide much needed resources to SBHCs around food insecurity. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently adopted a two-question screening tool on food insecurity, Hunger Vital Sign, for healthcare practices. NMASBHC has partnered with RRFB to create a print tool that includes both the screening and NM food program resources for referral purposes. These print tools, along with the AAP’s Addressing Food Insecurity: A Toolkit for Pediatricians, will be provided to every SBHC in the state. Additionally, thanks to Western Sky Community Care, every SBHC will get an insulated grocery bag with a short-term supply of shelf-stable snacks to provide to hungry children they treat.

NMASBHC encourages you to consult:   http://www.rrfb.org/get-help/find-help-in-your-area/ or to download RRFB’s app, which provides fingertip access to food drop-off and pantry locations; just search for it in any app store. Watch for delivery of your care package in February!

 

If you are interested, please contact Maya Trujillo [email protected] or Carole Conley [email protected] for registration information.

The December SBHC coordinator call was a huge success. We had over 20 SBHCs staff participate. If you weren't able to attend, the video is posted in the "What's New" section on our website. Stay tuned for more information on the March Coordinator Call.

The HSD Medical Assistance Division released a Program Manual Supplement on November 15th with updates on the Early Periodic Screening Diagnostic and Treatment Screening Services. The update is available at www.nmasbhc.org/news.html.

Three organizations were selected as New Mexico’s Centennial Care 2.0 Managed Care Organizations (MCO) to administer the Medicaid managed care program, the New Mexico Human Services Department announced in late January. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Mexico, Presbyterian Health Plan and Western Sky Community Care (Centene Corp.) will begin operations for Centennial Care 2.0 on January 1, 2019. Visit our website for a full press release with details. Please know that NMASBHC will be assisting SBHCs through the transition to the new group of MCOs. Additionally, HSD will be doing outreach and education across the state in September of 2018 in advance of open enrollment.

The Office of Adolescent Health released their 2017 "Greatest Hits." Check out this great video , Power of the Adolescent Brain,  a TAG Talks  video that highlights the latest research on adolescent brain development, functioning, and capacity.

This 30 minute video is a great tool for anyone who works with teenagers.