CHCANYS Submits Comments on DSRIP 2.0 Concept Paper
On September 17, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) released its proposal   to extend New York’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) waiver, seeking an additional $8 billion in federal funding spanning from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2024. Comments were due November 4, 2019, and CHCANYS comments can be viewed by clicking here . DSRIP COMMENTS CHCANYS comments included a recommendation that 25% of DSRIP funds be allocated for community-led Value Driving Entities (VDEs), where community providers (i.e. community health centers and behavioral health organizations) are the lead entity, and asked the State for additional investments in nonclinical workforce, Independent Physician Associations, and towards the development of a health center Alternative Payment Methodology (APM), among other comments. 
CHCANYS CEO and Health Centers Testify at NYC Council Hearing
On October 31, the NYC Council held an oversight hearing on the NYC Care program where the Council introduced Int. 1668 , a measure that would expand the NYC Care program to include NYC’s health centers. Int. 1668 seemed to receive great support from the Council, including the Speaker, Corey Johnson. Rose Duhan, President and CEO of CHCANYS participated in a press conference ahead of the hearing and also testified in person in support of Int. 1668. Thanks to all the health centers who came out and showed their support for the measure: Apicha Community Health Center, Boriken Neighborhood Health Center, Care for the Homeless, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Community Healthcare Network, Hudson River HealthCare, Ryan Health Network, and Urban Health Plan. To read CHCANYS’ testimony, click here . 
 
NYS Submits Criminal Justice 1115 Demonstration Amendment Application 
On November 6, New York State proposed an amendment to its Medicaid Redesign 1115 Demonstration to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requesting authorization of federal Medicaid matching funds for the provision of targeted Medicaid services to eligible justice-involved populations. These Medicaid services would be provided in the 30-day period immediately prior to release from incarceration in county and State facilities to Medicaid-enrolled individuals who have two or more chronic physical/behavioral health conditions, a serious mental illness, HIV, or opioid use disorder. To view the State’s amendment submission, click here .
 
NYIC Hosting a Public Charge Train the Trainers event in NYC
The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) will be hosting a   Public Charge Train the Trainer event at their New York City office (131 W 33rd St #610, New York, NY 10001) on December 4, 2019 from 9 am – 5 pm. The training will equip frontline staff members with the correct information about public charge, who it applies to and when, and who it does not affect. The program provides participants with an intensive one-day training, educational resources on public charge, and access to ongoing technical assistance from the NYIC’s expert staff. To register, please fill out the NYIC’s form by clicking here .
 
Southern District of NY Court Voids Trump Administrations Conscience Protections Rule
On November 6, the Southern District of NY Court voided the Trump administration’s conscience protections rule  that would allow health care providers to refuse to participate in abortions, sterilizations, gender-reassignment, hormonal birth control, and other procedures they disagree with on religious or moral grounds. Employers that did not comply with the rule could have their federal funding withdrawn. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on November 22. Opponents of the rule argued it would have disproportionately harmed LGBTQ patients and would allow health care workers to circumvent rules against discrimination. The rule will not go into effect on November 22, though the SDNY’s decision is likely to be appealed.
CHCANYS “Strikes a Chord” with Emergency Preparedness
Fordham University radio station WFUV is currently focusing its “Strike a Chord” series on emergency preparedness. This week, WFUV’s Caroline Albacete spoke to CHCANYS’ own Director of Emergency Management, Alexander Lipovtsev, about the importance of CHCs to their communities in emergency situations, focusing in part on why a CHC might be a better option than the hospital emergency room for someone in a non-life-threatening situation.
 
But as events like Super Storm Sandy showed us, CHCs also need help to ensure they are ready to serve when disaster strikes. The federal government agrees, and in 2016 passed legislation to ensure CHCs remain functional in the aftermath of a devastating emergency event. According to Alex, “The goals are to safeguard life and safety of staff, patients, everybody involved, to ensure business continuity, meaning continuity of access to care.” You can listen to the full story here .
Were You “Seen” at CHCANYS19?
Thanks to everyone who joined us in Tarrytown October 28-30 for our annual conference and clinical forum. And a special thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors for helping us make this year such a tremendous success!
Check out our Facebook album to find out if you were “seen” over the course of our three day event. The album features hundreds of photos of our honorees, speakers, panelists, sponsors and attendees on the CHCANYS Facebook page.
Please follow, like, tag yourself and your organization, and share!
 
This year’s conference included several great speakers , including our keynote, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician, professor, and public health advocate who put her own career in jeopardy when she took on government – and blew the whistle on the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Her book,  What the Eyes Don’t See , is a dramatic first-hand account of her work and personal advocacy.
Attendees also took part in a panel discussion focused around a documentary produced by Dr. Barbara Berney, Power to Heal . The film articulates a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans.
 
CHCANYS was also proud to honor the following members of our community during our annual awards dinner:
 
The Elizabeth H. Swain Memorial Award
 
The Philip W. Brickner Advocacy Award
 
The Rosemarie Forstner Award
 
The Paul Ramos Award
 
The Jack Geiger MD Award
 
The CHCANYS Champion Award
 
Mark your calendars! Planning is already underway for CHCANYS20 at the Saratoga Hilton and City Center in Saratoga Springs November 10, 11, and 12, 2020. 

CHCANYS’ RFI from Social Determinants of Health Vendors is now Live!
CHCANYS is developing a vendor directory to assist our members with their vendor selection process. The directory will cover solutions and tools across the spectrum of community health center needs. This RFI specifically covers vendors providing tools and services in the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) market. Social determinants of health are the complex circumstances in which individuals are born and live that impact their health. This can include intangible factors such as political, socioeconomic, and cultural constructs, as well as place-based conditions including accessible healthcare and education systems, safe environmental conditions, and food security.
 
CHCANYS will use information submitted for this RFI to evaluate vendors and create a list of SDOH vendors that meet minimum qualifications and best fit health center needs. This will enable FQHCs to make informed vendor decisions with minimal effort and retain focus on providing quality care to patients. Please let us know if you are aware of any other SDOH vendors we should reach out to for responses. For further information, contact  RFIcontact@chcanys.org  with “Social Determinants of Health RFI” questions in the subject line. Please note, answers to inquiries may be shared with all submitters.
 
Attn: Finance Directors – Cost Savings Opportunities
More than 40 FQHCs Statewide actively participate in CHCANYS’ unique partnership with the Commonwealth Purchasing Group (CPG) to save on operational expenses. Collectively these centers realized $2.7 million in savings last year. With an expansive portfolio of vendors including finance services, credentialing and compliance services, telehealth, language services, recruitment services, medical and dental suppliers and day-to-day business solutions to name a few, for 20 years CPG’s strategic contracts are designed to benefit FQHCs. To learn about a no-obligation assessment of current purchases or to discuss new site or specific project needs, please click here .
CHCANYS Compliance & Risk Management Academy- Next Webinar ‘Focus on Fraud’ on 1/29   
There’s still time to register for the upcoming academy events with  Molly Evans and Dianne Pledgie  from  Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP  . Next up,  Focus on Fraud: Prevention, Detection, and Response  a virtual meeting/webinar taking place on January 29 th  from 1:00 PM-2:30 PM EST; our objectives include providing participants with an understanding of the top risks for fraud in health centers, insights on how to identify key activities to minimize risks for fraud, and applicable fraud reporting obligations and strategies. Registrants will receive access to the live session, as well as the recording on   learning.ftlf.com. Register today and review additional training opportunities on the  academy registration page  or reach out to  questions@chcanys.org  for more information.  
NYS Outreach and Enrollment Update Webinar  
Join CHCANYS staff for a special O&E focused discussion of recent federal and state policy issues. We will review Public Charge Rule and share other policy updates relevant to NY State of Health. Please   register   in advance for this O&E session. Email  OEhelp@chcanys.org  with any questions or concerns. 
CHCANYS to Host New York State UDS Training Sessions  
Registration Includes Two (2) Webinars with John Snow Inc.  
Register today for the UDS Training in   New York City !   This one-day UDS training sessions is directed at fiscal staff, including new fiscal directors; clinical staff responsible for clinical measure reporting (e.g. QI Directors, Clinical Site Directors and Medical Directors); and senior staff of new FQHCs.
 
Click   here   for more information.   
CHCANYS 340B Webinars with Hudson Headwaters 340B Available On-Demand   
Join CHCANYS and  Hudson Headwaters 340B   for two webinars on navigating 340B Program Compliance. The first webinar  Staying Afloat: 340B Program Fundamentals  is available   here  and an intermediate level webinar,  Diving In: 340B Program Complexities  is available   here . There is no cost to view the webinars, but registration is required. 
 
Needs Assessment to Inform Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program
The New York State Department of Health – Bureau of Child Health wants to hear from you! The New York State Department of Health Division of Family Health is conducting a statewide needs assessment to inform our Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant program, which focuses on improving the health and well-being of mothers, children, including children and youth with special health care needs, and their families. The needs assessment is underway now to inform the next five years of family health programming in New York and we would like to hear what you have to say. Surveys will be open until November 30 th , 2019.
Are you a healthcare organization or service provider? Please  click here  to fill out the service provider survey.
Are you a community member? Please  click here  to fill out the public survey. 
 
Catch the Second Part of a Two-Part Webinar Series on Social Determinants of Health!
Join us in November for a two-part webinar series presented by CHCANYS' New York State Wide Health Center Controlled Network (NYS HCCN) to support health centers to use social determinants of health data to enhance patient care and achieve better population health outcomes.
  • Webinar 1: Wednesday, November 13th 1-2 pm: Promising Practices to Strategize the Collection of Social Determinants of Health Data
  • Webinar 2: Wednesday, November 20th, 1-2 pm: Social Determinants of Health - Data Strategy and Population Health
Click here  to register for both webinars. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to  hccn@chcanys.org .
 
New York State Health Consortium Report Features 3 NYS Health Centers
The New York State Health Consortium has released a report titled “COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING IN NEW YORK STATE: Progress towards 80% by 2018 and a Call to Action for 80% in Every Community.” Three NYS health centers were featured as promising practices: Regional Primary Care Network (i.e. Mosaic Health), The Institute for Family Health and Family Health Network. You can find the report by clicking here .
 
NYC Health + Hospitals Transitions to EpicCare Link
NYC Health + Hospitals is transitioning to EpicCare Link as the primary referrals platform for their community providers. The web-based platform allows providers to make review their patients’ charts and results, receive notifications on their care, communicate with H+H providers, and make referrals to our sites for care. No software is needed.
 
Community providers can access EpicCare Link through their web browser . New users may request an account by visiting that site and clicking “Request New Account.” Users are provided with a unique ID and password that works when referring to all NYC Health + Hospitals sites.
H+H sites are transitioning from HHC Advantage to EpicCare Link as H+H sites go live on Epic. They expect to be fully transitioned by the end of 2019 when Kings County Hospital transitions to Epic.
 
To support you in this transition, H+H has launched a new training program. CHCANYS will be hosting a webinar on 11/18 at 10am to allow the H+H team to provide an overview of the new system. You can register for the webinar   here .
 
In addition to the webinar, Epic-Certified trainers will be available to travel to your site(s) to onboard and train providers and staff. If you would like to arrange for a training, please contact Sonya Bernstein at   sackners@nychhc.org .

November PCMH Office Hours 
Date : Thursday, November 21 st  from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Join us for PCMH Office Hours with Karen Vest-Taubert, PCMH CCE at Comagine Health, and special guest speakers from The Institute for Family Health and Open Door Family Medical Center to discuss innovative tools and methods to best engage patients in their care and ultimately improve their health outcomes. We will also be joined by our colleagues at NYC REACH at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to discuss how they may assist health centers with their PCMH-related efforts. This call is free to attend, but advanced registration is  required.   Click here  t o get started. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the NYS-HCCN at  hccn@CHCANYS.org.
 
HRSA Announces Rural Health Day Events
In recognition of National Rural Health Day on November 21, HRSA annopunced the following upcoming events:
 
  • Addressing Rural Health Care Challenges: The Unmet Need for Oral Healthcare featuring Dr. Tanya Pagan Raggio-Ashley on Friday, November 15 at Warren County Community College in Washington, NJ. Click here for more information.
  • Rural Suicide Prevention in Farm and Ranch Communities, a webinar hosted by the HRSA Office of Regional Operations, on Tuesday November 19. Click here for more information.
  • Virtual Job Fair for Health Centers in Rural Communities will help connect healthcare sites with job-seeking primary care trainees and practicing clinicians. This virtual event will be held on Wednesday, November 20 from 6:45 pm -10:15 pm. For more information and to register click here.  
  • The HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health has several additional events planned from November 18 – 21 in recognition of National Rural Health Day. These events can be found by clicking here.

Join NACHC’s Elevate 2020 
Elevate is a national learning model supporting health center systems change through application of NACHC’s Value Transformation Framework. The goal is to advance health center progress on the Quadruple Aim: improved health outcomes, improved patient and staff experience, and reduced costs. The learning forum is designed to leverage and overlay on existing health center and state/regional transformation efforts…accelerating results and impact.
  • Join together virtually with health centers across the nation in working to transform care for the 29 million patients health centers serve
  • Learn evidence-based interventions to apply at your health center; work with others to pursue new innovations
  • Connect with peers from across the country working to improve health outcomes, improve patient/staff experience, and reduce costs
  • Receive support to shape your health center’s transformation and be a part of shaping the collective transformation of health centers nationally

Click here  to learn more and sign up for Elevate 2020, today!