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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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Report warns of 'dangerous complacency' in the fight against HIV
Read the article from WV Public Broadcasting here.
Manchin leads Democrats on resolution protecting pre-existing conditions coverage
Read the article from WV Metro News here.
Neighbors continue clinic fight
Read the article from the Register-Herald here.
Health Insurers are vacuuming up details about you - and it could raise your rates
Read the article from NPR here.
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WVPCA News
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WVPCA Hosted Successful Quality Improvement Reboot Training
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The West Virginia Primary Care Association hosted a successful Quality Improvement Reboot: New Beginnings and Innovation in WV Health Centers at Stonewall Resort on July 17. The training included 32 attendees representing 15 West Virginia Community Health Centers.
Jennifer Calohan of CURIS Consulting discussed Process Improvement, Data Integrity and Data Validation, High Performing Care Teams, Care Team Engagement, Care Management and Care Coordination, while utilizing the Model for Improvement. Adam Baus with West Virginia University's Office of Health Services Research discussed 5 Uniform Data System (UDS) Clinical Quality Measures.
Two innovative programs were highlighted: Target: BP Quality Improvement Program, a presentation by Johnna Beane, from the American Heart Association and the Medicaid Diabetic Health Home Program from the Richard Ernest, Jr. with the WV Bureau for Medical Services and Terrance Hamm with KEPRO.
"This training was an excellent opportunity to provide a sense of renewal and passion for process improvement work within the participating Community Health Centers," noted Emma White, Clinical Quality Coordinator with the WVPCA.
As part of the one-day workshop, White announced the development and launch of a CHC-Quality Impact Team. This QI-Team will be comprised of quality improvement staff from each Community Health Center. The purpose of this team will be to focus on the various aspects of quality improvement, such as the intersection of social determinants of health; behavioral health issues such as depression; the combination of diabetes and other chronic conditions; patient engagement and self-management; motivational interviewing; and data analysis.
Also, as part of QI-Team focus, the WVPCA will be bringing Calohan back for an in-depth 1 ½ day Care Management/Care Coordination training this fall. Stay tuned for additional announcements as we continue the conversations started at Stonewall!
The WVPCA would like to extend a special thank you to event sponsor the American Heart Association. |
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Notice for Participating Community Health Centers Currently Using, Testing, or Considering the Use of PRAPARE
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The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), and the Oregon Primary Care Association (OPCA) recently shared this email message with Community Health Centers using, testing, or considering the use of PRAPARE. NACHC, AAPCHO and OPCA developed a national PRAPARE user survey to document the experiences among current PRAPARE users and those that have not yet implemented it.
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Make Sure Your Sunscreen is Doing its Job!
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Sunscreen can help reduce your risk of skin cancer. Although, if you don't apply correctly, your sunscreen may not work as well as it could.
Take these five steps to make sure your sunscreen is doing its job:
1. Measure it out. You may have heard the advice to use a shot glass full of sunscreen - about 1 ounce - to cover your entire body. But it might be easier to think smaller. One way to apply enough, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), is to rub one teaspoon of sunscreen onto your face and scalp, one onto each arm, two onto your stomach and back, and two onto each leg.
2. Spray generously. Spray sunscreens are certainly convenient. However, the AAD warns that with sprays, it can be hard to see how much you're actually putting on, which could result in inadequate coverage. If you prefer sprays, apply enough so you can see an even sheen on your skin, and always rub it in.
3. Store wisely. If you're outdoors in the heat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends wrapping your sunscreen bottles in a towel or even storing them in a cooler, as these products shouldn't be left out in the sun or heat. Also, don't leave bottles in your car for a prolonged period of time. If you notice a product has changed color or consistency, toss it out, advises the AAD.
4. Rely on SPF - but not entirely. A sunscreen's sun protection factor (SPF) relates only to how well it protects against the UVB rays that cause sunburn, according to the FDA. However, UVA rays cause aging, and both UVA and UVB rays can cause skin cancer.
SPFs are important, and the AAD recommends using at least an SPF 30. For full protection against UV damage, however, make sure your product is labeled "broad spectrum," which means it has been tested to protect against both UVA and UVB rays, advises the FDA.
5. Reapply at least every two hours, no matter the SPF. The AAD conducted a survey in 2016 and found that a majority of those polled incorrectly believe that high-SPF sunscreens protect them for longer than low-SPF sunscreens. SPF has nothing to do with the length of time you can spend in the sun. It actually defines how much UVB radiation gets blocked, according to the FDA. No sunscreen lasts all day. Always reapply products every two hours or after swimming or sweating heavily.
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Medline Community Impact Grant Program: Breast Cancer Awareness. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.1 The chances of survival vary by the stage of cancer. When breast cancer is detected in its earliest stages, the 5-year survival rate is 90%.2 However, each year, there are an estimated 40,000 breast cancer related deaths.
Through the Community Impact Grant program, Medline will award results focused grants to non-profit organizations that address breast cancer related challenges around prevention, early detection, improving patient care or enhancing the quality of life for breast cancer patients and survivors.
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The 2018 Community Impact Grant cycle begins June 12, 2018 and the application deadline to apply is August 31, 2018.
The 2018 grants will be announced on or before October 10, 2018. Applications may be submitted at any time during this funding cycle.
Eligibility
Non-profit organizations. Must be based in the US and its territories. Applications must be completed in full and submitted online to be considered. Submitting an online application does not guarantee funding.
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Contact me to learn more:
Greg Smith | VP Community & Rural Health
[email protected] | 502-836-7908
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Medline Industries, Inc.
Three Lakes Drive, Northfield, IL 60093
1-800-MEDLINE (633-5463)
1. How Common is Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society. 2. Breast Cancer Survival Rates. American Cancer Society.
©2018 Medline Industries, Inc. All product and company names are the property of their respective owners. MKT18107769 |
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A Lesson Plan to Enroll Children in Medicaid and CHIP This Back-To-School Season
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recently released the following communication regarding health coverage for children.
Although it feels like summer break recently began, now is the perfect time to start planning Back-to-School outreach! From backpack
giveaways,
to partnering with schools to educate parents on the importance of health coverage, there are
variety
of opportunities and reasons promotion of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during the summer gets high marks from organizations across the country.
Children who have health insurance miss fewer classes and perform better in school than those who are uninsured. With health insurance, they can get the immunizations, check-ups, eye exams, dental visits and other care they may need to fully participate in classroom and after-school activities.
To ensure more children gain access to health coverage to improve academic success, developing and strengthening partnerships during the Back-to-School season is key. Organizations that work closely with students, local businesses and schools are important partners for successful school-based outreach.
The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign's recent webinar explored ways your organization can work with schools and other education and student-focused groups to reach eligible families and enroll children in Medicaid and CHIP. The webinar also provided best practices and proven tips that you can use to make your outreach and enrollment efforts a success this Back-to-School season.
Download the Campaign School-Based Outreach and Enrollment Toolkit
The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign's School-Based Outreach and Enrollment Toolkit has everything your organization needs to prepare for the Back-to-School season. This resource details best practices when partnering with schools, such as strategies for incorporating enrollment into existing school processes and tips for connecting with members of the school community, like superintendents and school guidance counselors. The Toolkit features ready-to-use materials like message guides, templates, resource links, and offers social media graphics for Facebook and Twitter.
Stay Connected with the Campaign
- Share our materials widely. We have an ever-growing Outreach Tool Library featuring resources to use in outreach and enrollment efforts, including materials in other languages.
- Contact us to get more involved with the Campaign at [email protected]
- Follow the Campaign on Twitter. Don't forget to re-tweet or share our messages with your network or use our #Enroll365 and/or #KidsEnroll hashtags in your posts.
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State News
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West Virginia Webinar and Training Opportunities
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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. View the brochure here.
26th
Annual
WV Rural Health Conference
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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Save the Date: 12th Annual Southern Obesity Summit
When: October 22-24
Where: Charleston, WV
What: 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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National News
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New Research and Website Highlight Health in Appalachia
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WASHINGTON, D.C., July 24, 2018-Three new resources released today by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky offer a fresh approach to understanding health in Appalachia by focusing on community strengths and identifying local factors supporting a Culture of Health. These resources include case studies of ten "Bright Spot" counties, each defying predictions for health with better-than-expected outcomes; the performance-focused research methodology that helped identify these counties; and HealthinAppalachia.org, a website that explores extensive county-level health data for the entire Appalachian Region.
Read the entire release here. |
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Stop Blaming the Patient: Systems Thinking Could Address Medication Adherence
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According to a new communication from ECRI, systems thinking may be the key to addressing medication adherence, according to the
authors of a commentary in the July 2018 issue of
JAMA Internal Medicine
, addressing
findings published in the same issue
. Traditionally, some place the blame for medication nonadherence on patients, the authors of the commentary say, noting that "the classical view assumes that patients are careless, poorly informed, or simply too stubborn to fill their prescriptions." This, the authors say, is "an inadequate explanation." The reality is more complex. Patient factors do come into play, the authors say, but poor adherence also results from barriers outside the patient's control. Some may be unable to obtain medicine because of travel-related issues or because the pharmacy keeps inconvenient hours. The medicine they need may be unavailable when they arrive at the pharmacy; out-of-pocket costs might be too high; or clinicians may have prescribed an overly complex regimen or failed to explain the importance of the medication. Combined, these factors indicate that nonadherence is a "systems" problem, the authors say, necessitating a "systems thinking" approach. Systems thinking "considers how components within a larger system operate and interact and provides guidance on how to design and optimize the system with a lens on future actions," they write. This shift has already happened in addressing medical errors and it is time, they suggest, to apply the approach to improving medication adherence. "We learned to stop blaming individual health care professionals" for medical errors, the authors say, and "we should stop blaming the patient" for medication nonadherence. A systems approach could improve adherence, for instance, by sending alerts informing a provider when he or she has prescribed a regimen that may be overly complex or by alerting physicians about patients' prescription-filling patterns in order to facilitate early intervention, the authors propose. For more on this topics, health centers and free clinics may be interested in the archived 2018 webinar
Beyond the Pillbox: Facilitating Medication Adherence in Chronic Diseases
, as well as the guidance articles,
Medication Administration
and
Medication Safety
, on ECRI Institute's Clinical Risk Managementwebsite.
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Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Resource
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The ECRI Institute recently shared the below information regarding Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Diisorder.
"Opioid use disorder and opioid overdose have escalated into a complex, widespread-and increasingly deadly-public health crisis.
However, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic: evidence-based approaches, such as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), have been shown to improve patient outcomes.
While the need for MAT has never been greater, access has been difficult or impossible for many individuals. Federally qualified health centers play a vital role in addressing the opioid crisis, including providing MAT to patients who are medically underserved, geographically isolated, and vulnerable-all of whom are at greater risk of opioid use disorder.
Health centers and free clinics that have MAT programs, or that are considering developing an MAT program, can use this Practice Alert to balance increased access to much-needed treatment with processes that also support patient safety and risk management."
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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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Debra Boyd
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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