News from Policy If you have questions about CHCANYS' policy and advocacy work, please contact Beverly Grossman, bgrossman@chcanys.org.
HRSA Announces Capital Awards The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded grants totaling $41,982,131 to twenty community, migrant and/or homeless health centers in New York State in connection with the Capital Development-Building Capacity and Capital Development-Immediate Facility Improvement programs. More than $728 million was awarded to health centers nationwide in order to help build and renovate existing facilities, create jobs and expand health care access to approximately 860,000 patients.
These two awards were made possible by the Affordable Care Act, which has supported nearly 200 construction and renovation projects at existing health centers across the country thus far, as well as the creation of 67 new health center sites.
Click here to read the Health and Human Services press release with links to full lists of awards by state. CHCANYS extends its congratulations to New York’s awardees.
We regret that not all applications were funded. In order to best focus our advocacy efforts, CHCANYS is gathering as much information as possible about proposed projects that were not funded by these awards. If your organization submitted an application for either program and did not receive an award, please send Beverly Grossman an e-mail as soon as possible at bgrossman@chcanys.org with the following information:
Amount of funding requested
Location and scope of project
How do you plan to move forward with the project?
News from Health Center Support If you have questions about CHCANYS' health center support, please contact Rebecca Gaige, rgaige@chcanys.org.
CHCANYS' 2012 Statewide Conference & Clinical Forum – Proposals Accepted Now Through June 15! CHCANYS is accepting proposals from health centers and partner organizations now through June 15, 2012. To review proposal guidelines, deadlines and recommended topics please click here.
The conference will take place on October 24-26, 2012 at The Saratoga Hilton Hotel and City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY. Experts Jacki Leifer, Senior Partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP and Peter Epp, CPA, Managing Director, J.H. Cohn LLP are among the presenters at this year’s event. The conference is geared to CEOs; CMOs; CIOs; CTOs; COOs; board members; Finance Directors and fiscal staff; Human Resource Directors and staff involved in recruitment and retention; clinicians of all disciplines; senior and middle managers; and all those interested in primary care.
White House Releases New Publication on Community Health Centers The Obama administration has released a short paper providing an overview of the community health center expansions made possible by funding under the Accountable Care Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and highlighting the value of CHCs to their communities. To view the paper, click here.
New York State Medicaid Update Special Edition - Introducing Health Homes – Now Available The Office of Health Insurance Programs of the New York State Department of Health has approved the release of the April 2012 Medicaid Update Special Edition on Health Homes. Please click here to access the update.
National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Offers Finance Department Seminar Healthcare Reform has brought significant changes to the industry, and there is a lot more to come. New health centers are expected to be just as prepared asmore established centers. In response, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) have developed the Essentials for Establishing a Health Center Finance Department seminar to provide health centers (especially new starts and new grantees) with the training needed to provide CFOs and COOs with an orientation to financial management, accounting principles and terminology unique to health centers.
Essentials for Establishing a Health Center Finance Department May 16 – 17, 2012 in San Diego, CA
This dynamic training is intended to assist health centers in developing their financial operations to meet bottom line, reporting, operational, and regulatory needs. Topics covered include:
Operating a Community Health Center Finance Department
Health Center Scope of Project/Service: 330, Medicare and Medicaid
Reporting Tools
Understanding Reimbursement in Health Centers
Grants Management, Cost Allocation & Grant Reporting
Sponsor/Exhibit and Associate Member Opportunities Available for CHCANYS' 2012 Statewide Conference & Clinical Forum CHCANYS' 2012 Conference will once again be held at The Saratoga Hilton Hotel & Saratoga Springs City Center. Please hold the dates of October 24-26, 2012. This conference provides an opportunity to learn and network with 400 health center participants and partners serving 1.4 million patients annually. There will be one large exhibit hall this year, where some meals/breaks are scheduled to take place. Vendors will receive complimentary registrations to participate in sessions based on their level of support. Don’t wait – spaces are limited! If you can meet the wide variety of business and health care service needs of health centers, this is the venue for you! Sponsors/exhibitors who become Associate Members will receive a special designation and additional benefits. To learn more about sponsor/exhibit opportunities and the new Associate Membership discount for first-time members, click here.
New Funding Opportunity Available
HIV Early Intervention Services (EIS) Program New Geographic Service Areas Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Announcement Number: HRSA-12-171 Deadline: May 25, 2012
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to identify and fund new Part C programs to provide HIV medical and psychosocial services to (1) newly diagnosed/identified People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who are not in care; (2) previously diagnosed PLWHA who have never been in care, (3) PLWHA who have dropped out of care and; (4) existing PLWHA clients. This funding opportunity stems from President Obama's 2011 World AIDS Day initiative to expand primary HIV medical care and support services for PLWHA. NOTE: Not in Care or Out of Care is defined here as having no HIV medical services within the past 12 months. For the announcement, click here.
News from Clinical Quality Initiatives If you have questions about CHCANYS’ Clinical Quality Initiatives, please contact Kathy Alexis, kalexis@chcanys.org.
Upcoming Events
CHCANYS’ Diabetes Learning Series – Pre-Diabetes May 31, 2012 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Contact Kathy Alexis at kalexis@chcanys.org for registration and log-on information.
9th Annual Children's Sports and Fitness Expo June 9, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Boys & Girls High School, 1740 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY Click here for more information.
10th Annual National Women's Checkup Day Monday, May 14, 2012
National Women’s Health Week The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health, will commemorate the 13th Annual National Women’s Health Week from Mother’s Day, May 13, to May 19, 2012 with the theme “It’s Your Time.”
National Women’s Health Week provides an opportunity to raise awareness and increase access to health care for women across the life cycles. During the week, community-based and faith-based organizations, tribal nations, state and local departments of health, and grassroots networks work together to bring attention to and create an understanding of women's and girls’ health issues; provide free or low-cost health screenings for women nationwide; and educate women about steps they can take to improve their physical and mental health and prevent disease. Want to participate in National Women’s Health Week? Using the National Women’s Health Week website, you can:
Plan - Plan an activity on health needs of women or girls in your community. You will find ideas for different kinds of events, a checklist for planning your event, and information on using a proclamation on the National Women’s Health Week website.
Register - To be part of the national calendar of National Women’s Health Week events, register your organization’s event and proclamation here.
Promote - You can download logos, posters, NWHW fact sheets, press templates, and e-cards to promote your event.
Evaluate - Find tools to help determine if your activity met your goals and the needs of your audience.
Remember to visit the National Women’s Health Week website for further details and to register your activity on the National Women’s Health Week calendar of events.
The NYS Diabetes Campaign The National Committee for Quality Assurance and the Bridges to Excellence (BTE) Diabetes Recognition Program (DRP) are voluntary programs for practices to receive recognition for delivering quality diabetes care. Recognized health centers enjoy benefits such as being acknowledged as leaders in the community of practice and leveraging NCQA DRP data abstraction efforts for incentives such as that received through the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition. CHCANYS staff is available to provide technical assistance to those submitting for these recognition programs and to explore opportunities to improve clinical care outcomes.
For more information regarding the Campaign and for tools and resources available, visit the Half the Care website.
To begin your application for Diabetes Recognition, contact Kathy Alexis at kalexis@chcanys.org.
News from Workforce Development If you have questions about CHCANYS’ Workforce Development Program, please e-mail us at workforce@chcanys.org.
National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Offers Free Provider Retention Webinar On May 31, 2012, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT, NACHC will offer a webinar featuring a case study presented by an experienced health center HR staff person about planning and implementing a "best practice" provider retention plan. Participants will be able to identify measures of a successful provider retention program that could be applied at their own health centers. There is no charge for this webinar; however, you must register to participate. For more information and to register, click here.
If your health center has a training or technical assistance program that you'd like to share with others around the state, or if you would like to subscribe others at your health center to Your CHCANYS, please email the pertinent information to Rebecca Gaige-Troxell at rgaige@chcanys.org. We welcome your feedback and comments.
