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WVPCA Weekly Outlook Newsletter
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
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We offer this publication as a member service of the West Virginia Primary Care Association (WVPCA).
If you have questions regarding our organization, WVPCA membership, or if you have content to suggest for this newsletter, please contact Kelsey Clough, Education and Communications Coordinator, by email or by phone at (304) 346-0032.
Sincerely,
West Virginia Primary Care Association
1700 MacCorkle Avenue
Charleston, WV 25314-1518
304-346-0032
1-877-WVA-HLTH
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Quick Links: In This Issue.....
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News
Flash!
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First generic EipPen gets FDA approval
Read the entire article from
CNN
here
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With Scarce Access to Interpreters, Immigrants Struggle to Understand Doctors's Orders
Read the entire article from
WV Public Broadcasting
here
.
Tri-State Community Health Center receives prestigious Awards
Read the entire article from
Local DVM
here
.
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WVPCA News
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WV Community Health Centers Celebrated National Health Center Week
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Last week, Community Health Centers across West Virginia and the nation celebrated National Health Center Week.
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Tri-State Community Health Center Celebrated NHCW 2018
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TSCHC organized another fun-filled week of' events for patients, providers, staff, and public offic
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ies. To see a complete write-up of events, click
here
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Southern West Virginia Health System Hosts Annual Heat N the Hills Health Fair and Chilifest
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Southern West Virginia Health System will hold their annual Heat N the Hills Health Fair and CHilifest on August 24-25. The event will be held in Hamlin WV and is free and open to the public. Click here for the brochure.
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For FamilyCare Health Centers - Health Starts at Home
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FamilyCare Health Centers is excited to be undertaking a new project called Health Starts at Home. With funding from the Kanawha Valley Council on Philanthropy, FamilyCare will be screening and referring women and children on the West side of Charleston for 6 specific indicators of health. These indicators, known as "social determinants of health," drive about 50% of a person's health. Focusing on issues like housing stability, food insecurity, and adverse childhood experiences (ACES) gives our medical providers a better understanding of a patient's entire health picture. The project screens prenatal patients and children through the age of 19.
FamilyCare is assessing for difficulties with 5 health related social needs - housing, food insecurity, transportation problems, utility assistance and interpersonal safety using a ten question screener developed by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). Families who are experiencing difficulties are referred to a "community resource specialist," a licensed social worker to help address these and other needs the family identifies.
Additionally, patients or their caregivers are asked to score themselves on the 6th factor, adverse childhood experiences, using the ACE Questionnaire (ACE-Q). Following a landmark CDC study from 1995-1997, ACEs have been determined to affect multiple levels of health throughout the lifespan. Patients with a 4 or higher "ACE score" are offered a referral to the community resource specialist. The community resource specialist provides additional information about the effects of toxic stress and the protective factors that buffer the effects of that stress, as well as referrals to other community resources that build healthy families. "While we cannot prevent negative experiences from happening, we can encourage families to build resilience and reduce the effects of toxic stress in their children over time," says Martha Carter, CEO of FamilyCare.
For more information about the project, please contact Tina Faber at
[email protected] or 304.720.4466
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Whole Child Approach to Health Care Includes Oral Health
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| When school-based health is discussed, oral health is frequently not at the forefront of the conversation. We tend to emphasize physical health followed by mental health, however statistics tell us that our children are inundated with dental caries. It has been concluded that 60% -90% of children worldwide have dental caries. Dental caries greatly impacts a child's ability to access the curriculum. Our partners here at WVPCA, including the WV Oral Health Programs and the WV Department of Education, remind us that students are missing collectively thousands of days per year due to oral health issues. Children who have poor oral health are more likely to experience dental pain, perform poorly in school, and miss school because of pain. Oral health programs that are delivered in school save money and are cost-effective while improving attendance rates. West Virginia is fortunate to have twelve FQHCs that provide dental care in schools. To find out more about how routine dental care keeps the bad grades away, click here. |
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Nearly 1 in 4 Teen Girls in the Us Self-Harm, Massive High School Survey Finds
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We have heard for some time now that 1 in 5 adolescents have a diagnosable mental illness. However, there is another group of adolescents that we need to be concerned about. A new study just published in the American Journal of Public Health reports that nearly 1 in 4 teenage girls are inflicting self-harm on purpose. A common method is cutting with a knife, burning themselves, picking wounds to prevent healing or pulling out their hair. This behavior isn't a mental illness, "but a behavior that indicates a lack of coping skills" that may be associated with illnesses such as borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, anxiety or post traumatic distress disorder. This is just more evidence of the need to increase our behavioral health services to address the challenges of our youth. To read more of this article, click here.
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State News
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12th Annual Southern Obesity Summit
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Early registration for the 12th Annual Southern Obesity Summit (SOS) ends August 31! The Summit will be held in Charleston, WV on October 22-24 and offers 12.5 Continuing Education Credits for Physician, Nursing, Dietitian, Social Work and CHES.
The Southern Obesity Summit (SOS) is the largest regional obesity prevention event in the United States, drawing hundreds of participants from 16 Southern States consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Together, these states join forces to fight obesity.
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West Virginia Webinar and Training Opportunities
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Social Work License Exam Prep Course
When: September 8-9
Where: Charleston, WV
What: Join Dr. Sophia Dziegielewski through the National Association of Social Workers, West Virginia Chapter for a Social Work License Exam Preparation Course.
2018 WVGS Scientific Assembly
When:
September 13
Where: University of Charleston
What: Registration is now open for the 2018 WVGS Scientific Assembly, "Caregiving: Challenges and Solutions." This conference is planned for an interdisciplinary audience of healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and social workers. Registration is available
here.
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26th Annual WV Rural Health
Conferenc
e
When: October 17-19
Where
: Pipestem State Resort
What:
This conference features national and state best practices speakers, provides continuing education to physicians, attorneys, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dentists, community health educators and others, and is an unparalleled opportunity to network with others interested in improving rural health care in West Virginia.
Registration is available
here
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Appalachian Addiction & Prescription Drug Abuse Conference
When: October 18-20
Where : Embassy Suites in Charleston
What: Registration is available here.
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National News
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HHS Awards $125 Million to Support Community Health Center Quality Improvement
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $125 million in Quality Improvement grant awards to 1,352 community health centers across all U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), health centers will use these funds to continue to improve quality, efficiency, and the effectiveness of healthcare delivery in the communities they serve. This announcement comes during National Health Center Week, the annual celebration that highlights the critical role community health centers play in providing high-quality, affordable, primary healthcare.
"Community health centers provide coordinated, comprehensive, and patient-centered care to millions of Americans," said HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan. "They have a track record of delivering quality care at significantly lower cost, and are vital partners in our movement toward a health system that delivers quality, affordable, value-based health care for all Americans."
HRSA's Quality Improvement grant awards promote continued community health center improvements in the following categories: Expanding access to comprehensive care, improving care quality and outcomes, increasing comprehensive care delivery in a cost-effective way, addressing health disparities, advancing the use of health information technology, and delivering patient-centered care.
Community health centers that exceed national clinical quality benchmarks, like Healthy People 2020 goals, receive special designation as National Quality Leaders. The top 30 percent of community health centers that achieve the best overall clinical performance receive designation as Health Center Quality Leaders.
"Quality, value-based care is a priority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HRSA-funded health centers serve as leaders in quality healthcare in the U.S.," said HRSA Administrator George Sigounas, MS, Ph.D. "Nearly all HRSA-funded health centers demonstrated improvement in one or more clinical quality measures from the year prior, and these funds will support health centers' work to improve the quality of care they deliver every day in their communities around the country."
HRSA also released new data compiled from health centers through its Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting, providing an update on health centers' provision of primary healthcare services. In 2017, more than 27 million people (approximately 1 in 12 U.S. residents) relied on a HRSA-supported health center for affordable, accessible primary healthcare including:
- One in nine children 17 years or younger;
- One in five rural residents;
- One in three people living in poverty; and
- More than 335,000 U.S. veterans.
For more than 50 years, health centers have delivered affordable, accessible, quality, and cost-effective primary healthcare services to patients. Today, nearly 1,400 health centers operate more than 11,000 service delivery sites nationwide.
For a list of FY 2018 Quality Improvement Awards recipients, visit
here.
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BPHC Bulletin: Updated Compliance Manual and Related Resources Now Available
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The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), signed into law in February of 2018, reauthorized spending for the Health Center Program and other Federal programs for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The BBA also amended certain sections of the Health Center Program statute (Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act) by adding new requirements, changing some terminology, and increasing overall emphasis on the importance of maintaining compliance with Health Center Program requirements.
In order to align with these statutory changes, we are excited to announce that the HRSA Health Center Program Compliance Manual (Compliance Manual) update is now available. This document continues to serve as a streamlined and consolidated resource to assist health centers in understanding and demonstrating compliance with the Health Center Program and Federal Tort Claims Act deeming requirements.
HRSA also updated other Health Center Program documents, including the Site Visit Protocol, which is the primary tool used for assessing compliance with Health Center Program requirements during operational site visits (OSVs). Preview the updated Site Visit Protocol, which will replace the current Site Visit Protocol and be used for OSVs occurring after Thursday, September 6, 2018. Health centers with OSVs scheduled to occur after September 6 can use this preview to help them prepare for their site visit.
HRSA also created a consolidated Frequently Asked Questions web page that provides answers to common questions regarding Health Center Program requirements, compliance and oversight.
For general inquiries about the Compliance Manual or the Site Visit Protocol, please contact the BPHC Helpline online or by phone: 877-974-BPHC (2742) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). For specific questions related to your health center, please contact your project officer.
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Grants Supporting Critical Community Needs
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For the fourth consecutive year, the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation will award up to $1 million in grants that address critical community needs to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations in communities served by Dominion Energy companies (see Geographic Eligibility below). The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation will consider grant requests up to $25,000 that support one or more of the following:
- Housing and shelter
- Access to medicine and medical services (including mental health services)
- Increased food security
Priority will be given to efforts that:
- Support specific programs with significant and measurable outcomes
- Have proven records of meeting basic human needs and preventing future need
- Demonstrate strong partnerships and effective collaborations to meet critical community needs that advance the work beyond what one organization can do alone
Application Cycle
October 5 - Application period closes at 5 p.m.
November 16 - Notification to all applicants
December/January - Public announcements and check presentations
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Update to PCMH Standards and Guidelines Document
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NCQA updates the PCMH publication annually to clarify guidance and refine criteria expectations. PCMH 2017 edition, version 3 is the current version of the PCMH Standards and Guidelines; it is available via NCQA's Download Center site. Log in using your email address and password.
Highlights of the update include:
- Organizations with two or more sites are now allowed to share or partially share an additional 21 criteria across practice sites, saving time and reducing documentation.
- Updates to guidance language for clarity of criteria.
- Updated selected concept and competency descriptions to align with criteria included in the concepts and competencies.
Please contact Shannon Parker at [email protected] should you have any questions or need assistance downloading the material. |
Community Health Center Resources
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ECRI Institute
The
ECRI Institute
offers numerous policy templates that can be used as guidance consistent with the needs of community health centers. To take a look at their library of policy templates, click
here
.
If you are not an ECRI member, creating a free account before accessing these materials is required. ECRI Institute resources are provided for free on behalf of HRSA.
To Access Policies:
- From the main page, click on the clinical risk management link on the left hand side of the page
- Click sample policies and tools listed under tool-kits on left side of page
Click on the + sign to access individual templates.
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Tracking and Referral Resources Available at ECRI
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WVPCA Staff
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Chief Executive Officer
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Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
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Data Services & Integration
Speci
alist
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Education & Communications
Coordinator
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Member Relations Coordinator
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Director of Health Center Operations
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Special Programs Coordinator
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Clinical Quality Improvement Coordinator
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To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter, click
HERE
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West Virginia Primary Care Association
1700 MacCorkle Ave. Charleston, WV 25314| (304) 346-0032 |
WWW.WVPCA.ORG
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