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Hello, just a reminder you are receiving this email because you expressed an interest in the West Virginia Primary Care Association. Don't forget to add
[email protected] to your
address book, so you don't miss any issues of the WVPCA Weekly Outlook!
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WVPCA Weekly Outlook Newsletter
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
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Quick Links: In This Issue.....
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Justice announces task force aimed at keeping rural WV hospitals open
Read the entire article, originally from the The Charleston Gazette Mail
here.
Read the entire article, originally from the Associated Press
here.
Read the entire article, originally from WV News
here.
Read the entire article, originally from WV News
here.
Morgantown WV area health orgs partner in efforts against coronavirus
Read the entire article, originally from
WVNews
here.
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WVPCA News
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We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Jennifer Calohan, and the team at CURIS Consulting, to offer our members a highly interactive learning collaborative focused on using LEAN/Six Sigma principles and practices to improve health outcomes. The collaborative will be a combination of onsite training workshops, supported peer-to-peer networking, remote trainings, webinars, and individualized coaching sessions. Improving diabetes outcomes will be used as the case study for the learning collaborative. However, the principles learned can be applied to improve processes and outcomes throughout your health center.
Please join the WVPCA & CURIS Consulting for an in depth Webinar and Q&A about this learning collaborative discussing topics such as:
- Purpose & ROI
- Who Should Participate
- Commitment
- Participant Investment
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Plan Ahead for Next Flu Season.
Flu season is unpredictable. Reserve your vaccine supply online to ensure your office has enough for the 2020-2021 flu season.
Medline is now accepting pre-orders for the 2020-2021 flu vaccine. We offer well-known brands like Afluria®, Flucelvax®, and Fluzone®, plus a wide range of flu season essentials. You can reserve your 2020-2021 flu vaccine online now through July 15, 2020.
Act Now. It's Fast and Easy.
Reserving your flu vaccine is simple. All it takes is a Medline account and five minutes.
If you need to modify your pre-order, that's a snap too. Changes can be made at any time during the pre-booking period, which closes on July 15, 2020.
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State News
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DHHR Confirms Pediatric Flu Death
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Public Health confirmed the pediatric death for the 2019-20 flu season.
The last influenza-associated pediatric death was reported during the 2017-18 flu season.
No details regarding the child's death will be released including the child's name, hometown, age or gender.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the child's family and friends," said Dr. Cathy Slemp, State Health Officer and Commissioner of DHHR's Bureau for Public Health. "Such a loss is always tragic. While most people recover from the flu in a few days, it clearly is and can be a serious and life-threatening illness in both children and adults."
Flu vaccination is the most effective protection against the flu. The Bureau for Public Health urges all West Virginians 6 months of age and older to get vaccinated.
"It's not too late to get your flu shot, as influenza activity in West Virginia remains widespread. The flu vaccine is the first line of defense to protect yourself, and people around you who are vulnerable to the serious effects of the flu," added Dr. Slemp.
Those who are very susceptible to flu and its complications include children under the age of five years old, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions.
Infants under 6 months of age cannot receive the influenza vaccine.
The best way to protect them is to have everyone who will have contact with the infant receive a flu vaccine and to limit an infant's exposure to large groups of individual.
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Our Community Together: A Collective Impact on HIV in West Virginia.
This conference is intended to address medical and first responder issues surrounding the recent HIV outbreaks that are currently impacting our residents and ourselves. This can't miss event is offered at no cost and is being held on March 23, 2020 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and offers medical educational credits. For additional information and registration information click here.
Attendees will be provided the most recent information regarding HIV prevention to include impact of stigma, PrEP and NPEP, HIV case finding in the primary care setting and prevention in the setting of commercial sex work. This conference will also address burnout and mental health among first responders.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel - Huntington, WV
Seating is limited and registration must be completed by March 23rd.
6.2 CME will be available to participants.
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Fairness West Virginia Releases Interactive Health Guide
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After completing the first year of the West Virginia Transgender Health Initiative, Fairness West Virginia unveiled Friday the first phase of its comprehensive guide for transgender people who need to access medical care in the Mountain State.
Staff from Fairness West Virginia have spent more than a year training health care and mental health providers across the region in how to provide competent and compassionate care for transgender people. Those providers are now listed in an online guide.
"This is just the beginning," said Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia. "We will continue to train medical providers and their staff over the coming year, and we hope to double the number of providers we currently have on our list. Everyone deserves access to competent and compassionate care, and we owe it to our transgender friends and neighbors to make sure they can access the services they need." An
interactive version of the guide, and a limited number of printed guides will be available upon request.
The interactive map allows viewers to see what clinics are in their area.
In May of 2019, Fairness West Virginia conducted a survey of more than 50 transgender people living in West Virginia about the forms of discrimination they have faced and their barriers to accessing health care.
Of those surveyed, 60 percent said a health care provider had intentionally misgendered them, 20 percent said they had been refused care and 25 percent said that unrelated health issues were blamed on their gender identity.
"It's no secret that access to health care
in rural parts of West Virginia can be difficult, and it's twice as hard for transgender people," Schneider said. "And we're not even talking about specific transition-related services like hormone replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgery. We're talking about basic, everyday health services that many cisgender people take for granted."
"It's so bad in some areas of our state that transgender people are subjected to invasive total-body examinations when they seek help for simple things like a foot injury," Schneider said.
In addition, nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said they delayed accessing health care because of fear of discrimination. About 36 percent traveled out of state to access care, and 46 percent had to travel more than an hour to access care.
"The providers I've worked with on this initiative have been surprised at how easy it is to provide better care to transgender people," said Natasha Stone, Fairness West Virginia's organizer who provides trainings for this initiative. "Most people want to provide the best care for their patients, but they aren't always aware of the ways they can make it easier for transgender patients to access care."
Stone has trained more than 400 professionals who work in a health care setting across West Virginia since this initiative began. She provides this training at no cost to clinics or providers located in Kanawha, Boone, Clay, Fayette, Lincoln and Putnam Counties. Providers and clinics outside those counties are asked to provide financial assistance to cover the cost of travel. To inquire about a training, please contact Stone at [email protected].
The West Virginia Transgender Health Initiative was made possible in part by a grant from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. In December, Fairness West Virginia was awarded a second year of funding for this project.
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National Children's Dental Health Month
Oral Health Documentary:
Hidden Pain: America's Oral Health Crisis highlights those who suffer without access to oral health care. Marsha Beatty, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's College of Dentistry, explained in the video how our economy and workforce suffer when people miss school or work due to oral health pain. Watch the video here.
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The Business Case for PCMH
Milliman, the world's largest providers of actuarial services, provides the first comprehensive look at the business implications for earning PCMH Recognition.
Download the White Paper
here:
Paper at a Glance:
- Reviews the operational and financial motivations for PCMH.
- Overview of revenue sources and revenue potential.
- Modeling of a hypothetical practice found between a 2% to 20% increase in revenue (dependent on payment models).
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Funding Opportunities
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The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will be making approximately 89 awards of $1 million each to rural communities to enhance substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder service delivery. Over the course of a three-year period of performance, grant recipients will implement a set of core prevention, treatment, and recovery activities that align with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Five-Point Strategy to Combat the Opioid Crisis.
The applicant organization must be part of an established network or consortium that includes at least three other separately-owned entities. At least two of these entities must be located in a HRSA-designated rural area.
FORHP will hold an hour-long webinar for applicants on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 from 1-2 p.m., ET
. A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend.
Please reference page (ii) in the NOFO for the dial-in and playback information for the webinar, and contact
[email protected]
with questions.
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National News
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At press time, there are over 60,349 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,370 related deaths. Worldwide, 6,260 people have recovered from the illness.
- Coronavirus may be more contagious than data shows, experts say, according to CNBC. It is currently estimated that about 2.2 people will get sick from each infected person, scientists say. Researchers worry the illness has mutated to adapt to human hosts much faster than SARS. Some experts say it will take weeks to know how contagious the sickness is since data has changed daily.
- A study that said coronavirus can spread before symptoms appear was flawed, CNN reports. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested patients could be infectious even if they did not present symptoms. However, new reports found that the patient studied actually exhibited mild symptoms before spreading the virus.
- The CDC released new infection control guidelines for treating coronavirus in healthcare settings. The agency advises adhering to standard contact and airborne precautions, managing visitor access and movement, and monitoring exposed and ill healthcare personnel. The guidelines also include suggestions to minimize the chance of exposure.
- The U.S. is already seeing racial and political repercussions of the outbreak, The Verge reports. Many users on social media have blamed Chinese people for creating and spreading the virus. President Donald Trump temporarily suspended entry into the U.S. for foreign nationals who have traveled to China in the past 14 days, in opposition to the World Health Organization's recommendations that discourage travel and trade bans.
Click here for a national and global comparison between flu and coronavirus cases.
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Please join WVPCA in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, March 18 during the NACHC Policy & Issues Forum (P&I) as we meet with the West Virginia congressional delegation to advocate for health centers and the people who count on you for access to care. We will need to again secure federal appropriations in the upcoming federal fiscal year to avoid an interruption in 330-grant funding. It is critical for health center needs to be heard in Washington and heard early so we don't get overlooked. We need to educate our Members of Congress on the value primary care centers offer and the need to protect this federal investment in access to quality affordable primary health care. "Hill Day" for health center legislative visits will be on Wednesday, March 18. The full schedule, registration and other information can be found on the
NACHC 2020 P&I Website.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week a new demonstration opportunity for States to offer Medicaid coverage to adults under age 65 who are not otherwise eligible.
As part of this, States will have the flexibility to create value-based payment designs for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and potentially other safety net providers, such as Rural Health Clinics. Financing for these demonstrations would be through a defined budget target, set on either a total expenses or per-enrollee basis. Read federal policy guidance
here
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About two weeks are left for covered entities to recertify and retain their 340B participant status. Covered entities that do not recertify by the deadline of Monday, February 24, will be terminated from the HRSA 340B Program starting on Wednesday, April 1. They will require a new registration and not be eligible to participate in the 340B Program until July.
To recertify, Authorizing Officials and Primary Contacts must first set up user accounts by visiting the HRSA 340B Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System (340B OPAIS) and choosing "I am a participant." It is the covered entity's responsibility to ensure they have created their accounts before recertification to allow successful completion of the process. For questions or assistance, email the 340B call center or call 888-340-2787 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET).
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Upcoming Training Opportunities
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HRSA Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative Community Engagement Highlights
HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) invites you to participate in a series of two "HRSA Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative Community Engagement Highlights" webcasts.
Grant recipients, sub-recipients, stakeholders, and federal staff are encouraged to participate in this webcast series to hear updates from HRSA on the EHE initiative and to learn about key themes discovered during 2019 EHE Community Engagement Events. These webcasts will feature presentations from RWHAP recipients in the EHE-focus jurisdictions, who will share best practices and highlight models of care in their communities.
Thursday, February 13
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET
Presentations from RWHAP Part B Recipients South Carolina and Kentucky, and RWHAP Part C Recipients University of Louisville 550 Clinic and Eau Claire Cooperative Health Center.
Tuesday, February 18
2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET
Presentations from RWHAP Part A Recipients in Phoenix, AZ, Boston, MA, and Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL.
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Webinar: Using Health IT to Facilitate the Development and Administration of a PrEP Program
He
ar from Your Peers! The HITEQ Center is launching a new webinar series for health centers to learn how their health center peers are using health IT to improve HIV prevention and care. For the first webinar, Using Health IT to Facilitate the Development and Administration of a PrEP Program, Robert Harris from the Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. will describe their whole system approach to develop an IT-supported PrEP program. Robert will present how they developed a viable and sustainable PrEP program maximizing the use of IT resources. He will describe the IT components to support the program which consisted of structured field algorithms, custom reporting, and process automation through the use of a clinical rules engine as well as lessons learned for PrEP program implementation and sustainability.
Using Health IT to Facilitate the Development and Administration
of a PrEP Program
Tuesday, February 18|3 - 4:00 PM ET
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Webinar: Special Enrollment and Marketplace Appeals
Health Reform Beyond the Basics, sponsored by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, will host two important webinars for enrollment assisters. The Special Enrollment Periods webinar will cover the circumstances that trigger a special enrollment period and the timing of coverage effective dates for different triggering events. This webinar will be Thursday, Feb. 6, 2:00 pm. Presented in partnership with the National Health Law Program, the Marketplace Appeals Process webinar will provide information on Marketplace appeals, detailing what decisions can be appealed, how to file an appeal, and ways to expedite the appeal process.
Special Enrollment and
Marketplace Appeals
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 | 2:00 PM
Register here
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WVHAMP is a combined in-person and tele-mentorship training program designed to support primary care providers to diagnose, evaluate and manage their patients with chronic hepatitis C developed in consultation with West Virginia Medicaid.
WVHAMP provides a mentorship platform accessible for primary care providers caring for high-risk individuals throughout West Virginia, especially in rural settings.
This is crucial as West Virginia has the highest rate of new acute hepatitis C infections in the nation!
GOAL: to improve the health of individuals in underserved communities by building a primary care workforce trained by experts to screen, diagnose, offer curative treatment, and follow persons with chronic hepatitis C.
Participating WVHAMP primary care providers will receive training on hepatitis C epidemiology, diagnosis, management, curative treatment, follow-up and prevention. Thus, primary care providers throughout the state will be equipped with the skills needed to treat and cure patients with hepatitis C in their local communities. This will increase the number of individuals who are cured and help to reduce the number of West Virginians who can transmit hepatitis C to another person.
THE INITIAL DAYLONG TRAINING WILL BE HELD IN BLUEFIELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 5.
FREE HOTEL ROOMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MARCH 4.
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HITEQ Highlights | HIV Prevention and Treatment for patients with SUD/OUD in an Integrated Behavioral Health Setting
Join the HITEQ Center, in collaboration with the National Council for Behavioral Health, for a webinar on understanding how to integrate HIV screening into integrated behavioral health services, including how to identify patients at risk for HIV, facilitate screening, and prompting for rescreening at appropriate intervals.
Useful for: C-suite staff, Information technology leadership and staff, and clinical staff
HITEQ Highlights | HIV Prevention and Treatment for patients with SUD/OUD in an Integrated Behavioral Health Setting
Thursday, February 27, 2020
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
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West Virginia Cancer Resource Survivorship Summit
The West Virginia Survivorship Resource Summit sponsored by the American Cancer Society through a grant from the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health/Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease/Comprehensive Cancer Control Program has announed registration is now open. The goal of the Summit is to share the National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center survivorship guidelines toolkit and to describe aspects of clinical care for the post-treatment cancer survivor in both the cancer setting and primary care.
March 20, 2020
Event Registration-8:00 am - 8:25 am
Program - 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Breakfast (light) and
lunch will be provided.
Please bring a non-perishable food item to donate, all donations will be made to a WV Food Bank.
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Community Health Center Resources
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Jackson Kelly attorneys provide limited consultation to all members of the WVPCA at no charge, as part of the WVPCA contract. There is no limit to the number of calls which any member may make. All inquiries within the scope of professional competence of firm attorneys will be addressed. Inquiries which require expertise not available through the firm will be promptly identified and, when requested, Jackson Kelly will assist in referring the matter to accounting firms, insurance agents, or others as circumstances warrant.
All inquiries, responses and consultation services provided by the firm lawyers will be provided without additional charge beyond the retainer amount, except for matters which require formal opinions, representation of record in litigation, transactional work, e.g. the purchase or sale of real property, or matters which require continued representation, research or consultation beyond a single inquiry or document review.
Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He is available for consultation through a special retainer relationship with the WVPCA.
Justin can be reached at 304.340.1358 and via email at [email protected].
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Risk Management Manual for Health Centers Now Available!
The
Risk Management Manual for Health Centers is now available on the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website! Designed to support a proactive approach to risk management at health centers and free clinics, the Manual provides background, tips, and how-tos in a manageable format.
Specific areas that are covered include:
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Risk Management Programs & Plans
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Claims and Lawsuits
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Role of the Risk Manager
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Patient Grievances and Complaints
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Communication with Patients
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Credentialing and Privileging
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Communication among Providers, Staff, and Community Partners
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Tracking Systems for Diagnostic Tests, Referrals, and Hospitalizations
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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 [email protected].
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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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WVPCA Staff
Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
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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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This project is/was supported partially/fully by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U58CS06834 State and Regional Primary Care Associations. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
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