December 18, 2018
  WVPCA Weekly Outlook Newsletter
    A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
 

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
Quick Links: In This Issue.....

 State  News

News 
Flash!

State officials say hepatitis A outbreak has peaked in Cabell, Kanawaha
Read the entire article from the Charleston Gazette-Mail  here

Federal judge rules 'Obamacare' individual mandate unconstitutional
Read the entire article from WV MetroNews here

Berwick to hospitals: Focus more on health, less on reimbursement 
Read the entire article from Modern Healthcare  here

WV board suggests more funding for school maintenance, mental health
Read the entire article from the Charleston Gazette-Mail   here.
WVPCA NewsWVPCA
This will be the last ENews for 2018 and this weekly publication will resume January 2019!
FamilyCare Health Centers Opens New Health Center on the Campus of Capital High School
On December 10, FamilyCare Health Centers opened a new health center on the campus of Capital High School. 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - FamilyCare has taken a unique opportunity to expand care in the Charleston area by opening a site on the campus of Capital High School. The new health center is open Monday-Friday during school hours for the students, faculty, and staff of Capital High School.

"By being on the campus, we are eliminating barriers to care for students and staff," said Fran Coleman, COO of FamilyCare. "We want to be able to provide accessible and affordable health care and that's what this opportunity is allowing us to do."

To read the entire press release,  click here
Weekly Enrollment Snapshot - Week 6
 In week six of the 2019 Open Enrollment, 934,269 people selected plans using the HealthCare.gov platform. As in past years, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday.  Consequently, the cumulative totals reported in this snapshot reflect one fewer day than last year.

Thus far, in West Virginia, 10,199 individuals have selected a plan. 

To read the entire snapshot provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) click here
State NewsState
NIDCR to Host January 10 Webinar on Upcoming Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health 
NIDCR will host a webinar on Thursday January 10, 2019, from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm EST  to update the public on the status of the new Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health, and to request public input to help guide development of the report. 

The webinar is free and open to the public; no registration is required.  A link will be provided on this web page when it is available: https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/news-events/webinar-surgeon-general-report-oral-health  . The webinar will also be recorded and archived for future viewing.

Who
  • RADM Tim Ricks, DMD, MPH, Chief Dental Officer, U.S. Public Health Service
  • CAPT Bruce Dye, DDS, MPH, Scientific Editor and Project Co-Director, Surgeon General's Report 
  •  Judith Albino, PhD, Scientific Editor and Project Co-Director, Surgeon General's Report 
How to Submit Comments
Written comments on the upcoming Surgeon General's Report must be received on or before January 25, 2019.
Interested persons or organizations are invited to submit written views on oral health, including the importance of poor oral health as a public health issue, contemporary issues affecting oral health, new knowledge that may transform the oral health of the nation, and future directions. NIDCR is also interested in receiving examples of partnerships or coalitions that have demonstrated improvement of oral health and well-being of individuals, families, or communities. 

Please note that comments received, including any supplemental material provided with the comments, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure. NIDCR will carefully consider all comments submitted and may include relevant information in the upcoming Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health.

Information about the upcoming Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health was first published in a previous  Federal Register Notice  on July 27, 2018.
National NewsNational
Statement from the Department of Health and Human Services on Texas v. Azar
Please find HHS's recently released official statement regarding Texas v. Azar. 

"The recent U.S. District Court decision regarding the Affordable Care Act is not an injunction that halts the enforcement of the law and not a final judgment. Therefore, HHS will continue administering and enforcing all aspects of the ACA as it had before the court issued its decision. This decision does not require that HHS make any changes to any of the ACA programs it administers or its enforcement of any portion of the ACA at this time. As always, the Trump Administration stands ready to work with Congress on policy solutions that will deliver more insurance choices, better healthcare, and lower costs while continuing to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions."
Request for Applications: Building a Breastfeeding Support Model for Community Health Centers 
With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is pleased to announce a funding opportunity to community health centers (CHCs) to pilot a breastfeeding support model. In addition to funding, NACCHO will provide technical assistance (TA) to CHCs as they explore and adopt policy system and environmental change solutions to increase their capacity to provide consistent and coordinated breastfeeding promotion and support services to the families they serve.
 
NACCHO will select three to six CHCs to design and implement a 6-month breastfeeding promotion and support project.  Organizations will be awarded up to $20,000 each. Examples of activities may include implementation of evidence-based breastfeeding support policies, training of staff on basic and advanced lactation care, inclusion of breastfeeding support data into electronic medical records, implementation of supportive policies for breastfeeding employees and clients; enhancement of internal and external collaborations for breastfeeding continuity of care,  and activities that connect breastfeeding mothers to relevant resources within their communities.

Online application submissions are due on January 6, 2019.
 
For more information about the application and to apply, please visit: https://application.naccho.org/Public/Awards/Detail/244 

You will be prompted to create a free NACCHO online account in order to apply.
 
Join the RFA informative webinar on December 11, 2018, at 2pm ET.  Register here:

Please note that no new information will be shared during the webinar.
Community Health Center ResourcesResources

Our next installment of the Legal Minute features a primer on employee handbooks.
 
A good handbook serves several important functions: it can explain policies and procedures; it can serve as a resource for front line employees and supervisors; it can educate about appropriate behavior and discourage inappropriate behavior; it can serve as an introduction to organizational culture and expectations.
 
Unfortunately, employee handbooks can also create liability exposure, especially if they contain policies and procedures that are inconsistent with state and federal law. Some handbooks contain too many polices and rules, thereby robbing employers of the flexibility needed to address different situations. Some handbooks are boilerplate documents that are copied from the Internet. Because of these concerns, some employers actually refuse to adopt an employee handbook. I understand this approach, but I certainly don't recommend it. You need a handbook that is relevant, current and legally compliant.
 
With this background, noted below are my suggestions for a useful handbook that supports your workplace:
 
1.   Avoid copy and paste handbooks. Your employee handbook should reflect your organization's operational realities and culture. Cookie-cutter policies are meaningless.
 
2.  Include disclaimers. Your employee handbook should be a guide, not a contract. Many employers include promises in their handbooks without including language that allows for changes or modification. In certain circumstances, an employee may be able to claim that they are not at-will employees. For example, most employers have a progressive discipline policy. If you do not include a provision that allows for accelerated discipline, then your failure to follow progressive discipline might support a breach of contract claim.
 
3.  Drop probationary language. Many employers include an introductory probationary period in their handbooks, but they shouldn't. This provision usually causes more harm than good. The law does not afford any special recognition or protection for probationary periods. Discrimination claims during the probationary period are just as actionable as discrimination claims afterward. Moreover, probationary periods create a sense of employment security after the employee completes the probationary period, and in some cases West Virginia trial courts will recognize this as a form of employment security. The better approach is simply to drop these provisions.
 
4.  Avoid oppressive social media policies. Most employers struggle with monitoring and regulating social media activity by employees. Certainly, healthcare providers should be able to expect their employees to protect patient confidentiality, but this concern often prompts employers to adopt overly restrictive social media policies that run afoul of employee rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"). Many employers are surprised to learn that the NLRA applies to their non-unionized workforce.
 
5. Adopt an anti-harassment policy! You need to have an anti-harassment policy, and it needs to be written in plain English. The law prohibits certain forms of harassment, and your organization may want to prohibit other forms as well. Importantly, your anti-harassment policy needs to explain reporting obligations and procedures. And you need to train on it. The anti-harassment policy should be the cornerstone of your handbook.  
 
6.   Avoid rigid progressive discipline policies. Progressive discipline is typically the best approach for routine issues, but you want to avoid a policy that contains rigid steps. Some employers borrow grievance procedures from collective bargaining agreements and use this as a basis for their progressive discipline policy. The problem with this approach, however, is that it creates administrative hurdles and frequently allows employees to claim that they were treated unfairly if the employer deviates from the process.
 
7. Publish and train! Publish your handbook. Make it available online, but also keep a hardcopy handy. As you modify your employee handbook, take the time to train your workforce, and do so periodically. Create opportunities to explain the handbook and to allow employees to ask questions.
 
8.Update! Employee handbooks should be organic. Your organizational priorities will change and the law will change. At a minimum, employers should review their employee handbooks every 3-4 years. Doing so will allow you to incorporate any significant changes imposed by state or federal law.
 
As we prepare for the New Year, consider dusting off and updating your employee handbook. If you don't have an employee handbook, now is the time to adopt one!
 
***
 
Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer at 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 you can follow him on Twitter @wvhrlawyer.
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.
Tracking and Referral Resources Available at ECRI
 
ECRI has released a Test Tracking and Follow-Up Toolkit and the Get Safe! Communication Ensuring Care Coordination of the Medically Complex PatientAll resources are provided for free by ECRI Institute on behalf of HRSA.  If you do not currently have access and would like to set up an account, just email them or call (610) 825-6000.  For those who have already registered on the site, the links will take you to these tools.  
WVPCA Staff

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
Data Services & Integration  Speci alist

 Jennifer Boyd  PA-C, PCMH-CCE Clinical Consultant
Education & Communications
Coordinator
 Warne Dawkins, MBA
Health Data Analyst
J ohn Kennedy
School-Based/Behavioral Health Coordinator
Member Relations Coordinator
Shannon Parker, 
MBA, PCMH-CCE 
Director of Health Center Operations
Special Programs Coordinator
Staff Accountant
Clinical Quality Improvement Coordinator
To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter, click HERE
West Virginia Primary Care Association
  1700 MacCorkle Ave. Charleston, WV 25314| (304) 346-0032 | WWW.WVPCA.ORG
STAY CONNECTED: