It would take a couple of WVPCA ENews editions to fit in all the amazing activities, events, posts, and recognitions put out across our membership for National Health Center Week. So in leu of spotlighting one or two of our member CHCs, we'll take today's CHC Spotlight to say THANK YOU to all 31 CHCs, 450+ locations, and over 4,700 CHC staff members who keep nearly a third of West Virginians healthy.

Your work is vital to our state and know that we see your passion and care of our citizens, from all walks of life.

Thank you WV CHCs for all that you do!

Please join the West Virginia Primary Care Association for our annual Community Health Center Leadership Forum (Forum) this September 11^th-13^th, at Stonewall Resort Roanoke, West Virginia.

Community Health Centers in the Mountain State serve over 513,000 individuals, representing nearly 30% of the state’s population! What a great opportunity and responsibility we have to use our network to lead in improving the lives and wellbeing of those we serve. This year’s event is deliberate in focusing on the topics we have heard from you, and will include tracks for CEOs, COOs, CFOs and Finance Leaders, CMOs, BH Providers, Quality/Nursing Leaders, and Workforce and Culture Leaders. There is something for everyone!

During this year’s forum, we will hear from national and state partners on healthcare priorities and how we align our roadmap and efforts. With workforce being identified as a top priority for our health center network, we have intentionally developed several sessions to address workforce: health center culture; retention; partnerships for success; career laddering; and more! We have also included a day of training on managed care contracting and sessions on value-based care. We have worked with partners to develop quality improvement and data sessions and will have experts on site to meet with our providers. You and your teams will have two full days of learning, networking, and collaborating.

Forum Agenda: WVPCA 2023 Leadership Forum Agenda

Forum Webpage: WVPCA 2023 Leadership Forum Webpage

Target Audience: Community Health Center leadership, including but not limited to: administration, workforce, quality, and providers.

This event is only open to Community Health Center staff. 

Registration closes on September 4th, 2023.

Cost: 

• Single Day Attendance: $80
• Full Conference Attendance: $160

If you made overnight accommodations under the WVPCA's room block, per-day registration fee is included in the cost of your room. Please see registration instructions below for registering using your room block discount. 

Overnight accommodations: The WVPCA room block is full. There are still rooms available through Stonewall at the standard rate. Please call 304-269-7400 to check on availability.

The West Virginia Primary Care Association wants to honor your health center staff for their exceptional gifts of time, effort, and dedication to the Community Health movement. The WVPCA Annual Award program begins with you! Award winners will be announced at this year's WVPCA CHC Leadership Forum in September. 

To view each award, review the eligibility and nomination process, and submit nominations for this year's awards, visit the WVPCA website, under the 2023 Leadership Form Page, or use the nomination links below.

Mountain Laurel Medical Center (MLMC), based in Oakland, Maryland, has a new HRSA approved site in Bruceton Mills, WV. We welcome Brian Bailey, CEO, and his entire staff to the association and look forward to integrating them into our programming.

More details to come, but in the meantime, check out their website below.

Following passage of two new statutes and the implementation of multiple initiatives, the state’s Child Protective Service (CPS) worker vacancy rate has decreased 14 percent since January, according to West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services Bureau for Social Services Commissioner Jeffrey Pack. 



Pack, who spoke before members of the Legislative Joint Standing Committee on Health during their interim session on Tuesday, said that the CPS vacancy rate was 33 percent in January. Now, that rate is 19 percent, and trending in a positive direction. 

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, today announced funding from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to West Virginia’s Take Me Home (TMH) Medicaid Transition Program. The TMH program seeks to identify qualifying residents of long-term care facilities who wish to return to their own homes and apartments in the community and provide them with the support and services they need to do so. The program is supported by West Virginia's Money Follows the Person (MFP) grant through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV DHHR). 

“The Take Me Home transition program allows many West Virginians with long-term health care needs to decide for themselves where the best setting is to receive the services they need. For many, that is their own homes and communities. This grant will give West Virginia the needed support and flexibility to help improve the quality of health care and help drive down costs for West Virginia’s residents currently living in long-term care. As the Ranking Member of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I will keep fighting for the resources that help deliver the best standard of care possible for West Virginians,” Ranking Member Capito said.

Over the last year, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Drug Control Policy and the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment have overseen implementation of the West Virginia 2023 Priorities and Implementation Plan.

The virtual town hall meetings will provide an overview of this year’s progress and solicit feedback regarding updates to the plan for 2024. Each town hall meeting will offer breakout sessions for all eight sections of the Plan. Participants will select the session they wish to attend when they register.

Participants are welcome to attend any or all four 2023 town hall meetings to participate in more than one breakout session. Pre-registration is required for all meetings. Prior to the meeting, please download and review the corresponding section of the updated plan.

During registration, attendees will select a section of the plan to discuss during the breakout sessions of the town hall meetings.

• August 15, 2023 - 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
• August 16, 2023 - 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
• August 23, 2023 - 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
• August 31, 2023 - 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.

HRSA Virtual Job Fairs are free online recruitment events that connect career-seeking health care professionals with representatives from health care facilities across the country.

Learn more about job opportunities, hear details about benefit packages, and find out how you can help underserved communities.

Connect with representatives from 40 health care facilities recruiting for the following vacancies:

• Primary Care Physician (MD or DO)
• Dentist (DDS or DMD)
• Nurse Practitioner (NP)
• Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)
• Physician Assistant (PA)

To see a list of the health care facilities that will be recruiting at this Virtual Job Fair, scroll down and click Exhibitors on the registration page.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. ET

August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) each year. It’s a day to remember those we’ve lost to overdose, acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind, and renew our commitment to end overdose and related harms. Share the social media posts below to help spark conversations about the rise in drug overdoses and highlight ways reduce disparities among ethnic and racial groups and promote health equity.

In 2022, Vital Strategies launched a powerful Overdose Memorial as part of our “Support Harm Reduction” campaign. The Support Harm Reduction campaign builds support for harm reduction as a lifesaving, common-sense strategy to reduce overdose and humanizes people who use drugs through moving testimonials. The campaign launched with a full-page print ad in The New York Times, featuring 200 people on the front lines of the overdose crisis working in harm reduction. Three video ads featuring overdose prevention advocates aired 6,000 times in and around Washington, D.C. on a range of channels including CNN, BET, ESPN and on YouTube, Hulu and podcasts, garnering 44 million impressions to date.   

The Overdose Memorial was a major focus of the campaign. Inspired by the AIDS Quilt, the memorial offers an opportunity for those touched by this tragedy to share their stories and join in the call to support the public health solution to the overdose crisis: harm reduction.   

Join NACHC August 25-29th in San Diego, CA for this year’s CHI & Expo! Registration is now open to attend in-person or virtually. We always look forward to spending time and networking with our health center advocates. Below are opportunities to engage with the NACHC policy team:  

August 26: Apexus 340B University

This 340B compliance and operations training is specially designed for FQHCs to learn about program integrity and the 340B Program basics.

Register here! 

August 27: Medicaid Redeterminations Lunch & Learn

12:00-1:30 PM.

Capacity is limited.  

RSVP to save your seat! 

August 27: 340B Workgroup

8:00-10:00 AM

learn the latest developments from workgroup members and their work to support ASAP 340B.

August 28: NACHC 340B Day

Take advantage of the 340B track offered during CHI to learn more about emerging policy and compliance.

Last week, CMS released its CY2024 Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS proposed rule.)  The Physician Fee Schedule regulation proposes allowing FQHCs to bill Medicare for Remote Monitoring, and for three types of services related to understanding and addressing patients’ Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). The SDOH-related services could be provided by Community Health Workers, among others. Payment for the services would be separate from – and in addition to – payments under the Medicare PPS, and the monthly payment amount would be slightly lower than what is now paid for care coordination services.  

View an archived webinar that provides a guided tour of the Manual and key features. For access to the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website or any other questions, email clinical_rm_program@ecri.org.

West Virginia Primary Care Association

1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE

Charleston, WV 25314

Phone: 304.346.0032

Toll Free: 1.877.WVA HLTH