The West Virginia Primary Care Association and two WV Health Centers - Williamson Health & Wellness Center and Valley Health Systems - are pleased to announce that they have been chosen by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) to participate in Round 2 of the PRAPARE Train the Trainer Academy. The Academy will consist of free training and technical assistance to implement the Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) in the chosen health centers. Along with the training and technical assistance from NACHC, the WVPCA and health center staff will have the opportunity to learn from health centers and PCAs across the country who have successfully implemented PRAPARE. Health Centers and PCAs are using the data to define and document the increased complexity of their patients, transform care with integrated services and community partnerships to meet the needs of their patients, advocate for change in their communities, and demonstrate the value they bring to patients, communities, and payers. The Academy will be a year-long learning and implementation program with the goal to assist other West Virginia Health Centers with PRAPARE assessments and utilizing the data to improve outcomes.

PRAPARE is a national effort to help health centers and other providers collect the data needed to better understand and act on their patients' social determinants of health. As providers are increasingly held accountable for reaching population health goals while reducing costs, it is important that they have tools and strategies to identify the upstream socioeconomic drivers of poor outcomes and higher costs.

PRAPARE has been a multi-year effort between NACHC, the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, the Oregon Primary Care Association, and the Institute for Alternative Futures, along with a group of pioneer health centers and health center networks in Hawaii, Iowa, New York, and Oregon. PRAPARE was supported with funding from the Kresge Foundation, the Blue Shield of California Foundation, and the Kaiser Permanente Nation Community Benefit Fund at the Easy Bay Community Foundation.

The training is $125 and Nursing CEs will be available. Registration and additional information is available  here . 

The research on the impact of adverse childhood experiences on one's health is becoming more prevalent as time progresses. What is less talked about is the research that continues to demonstrate that adverse childhood experiences can disrupt many aspects of a child's development such as brain development, and cognitive functioning besides limiting social and emotional functioning which leads to a great degradation of educational performance.

ACEs are often the root cause of serious learning disabilities. According to Child Welfare Information Gateway, "For educators, students who have experienced multiple adversities can be more difficult to engage consistently, require additional supports and often need more attention thus reducing instructional time for other students." The long term effects are also documented. For instance, students with three or more ACEs are 2.5 times more likely to fail a grade. How many of our students here in West Virginia are failing a grade due to ACES? To read more about this subject, click here:  Education Brief: ACEs for Educators and Stakeholders.

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."