Your CHCANYS

Update: NYS Legislative Session
The NYS 2015 legislative session, marked by the indictments of Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos, has been a difficult one. Scheduled to end last Wednesday, June 17, the session is currently in overtime as lawmakers continue to negotiate a number of outstanding issues. Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced on Tuesday, June 24 that they had agreed upon the “framework” for a deal on rent regulations, the 421-a tax abatement program, mayoral control of New York City's schools and the education tax credit, although many of the finer details have yet to be worked out. read more >>

House and Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittees Begin Consideration of FY2016 Spending Bills
On June 16, the House Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee released their version of the FY2016 LHHS bill.The legislation contains the full health center request for FY2016 of a discretionary funding level of $1.5 billion. When combined with the $3.6 billion made available in H.R. 2, health centers would receive a total of $5.1 billion in FY2016. A copy of the Subcommittee summary can be viewed here. The outcome for health centers in the proposed House LHHS Subcommittee legislation is positive result in an environment where total funding levels within the LHHS Subcommittee is being reduced -- and a great first step in the FY2016 process. read more >> 

Update: DSRIP
The NYS Dept. of Health (DOH) DSRIP Team continues to release useful information on its DSRIP website and to the 25 Performing Provider Systems (PPSs) to support successful transformation planning.  On June 1^st, PPSs submitted Domain 1 Implementation Plans to the NYS Department of Health (DOH).  The plans are currently being reviewed by DOH, its partner agencies, and the DSRIP Independent Assessor (IA). In early June, DOH shared baseline data, additional attribution information, detailed webinars, and guidance with the PPSs. On June 18^th, DOH hosted a meeting in New York City with PPS representatives to share information and answer questions. read more >>

Louise Cohen Named New CEO of the Primary Care Development Corporation
The Board of Directors of the Primary Care Development Corporation has selected Louise Cohen, MPH as PCDC’s new Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Cohen will assume the leadership of PCDC in August 2015. Ms. Cohen is currently Vice President for Public Health Programs at Public Health Solutions, a leading national public health institute, where she manages a wide portfolio of programs focusing on child development, family nutrition, tobacco control, women’s reproductive health and access to healthcare. read more >> 

National Health Center Week is Right Around the Corner…
Each August, we recognize National Health Center Week in an effort to build support for community, migrant, homeless, and public housing health centers and to generate community pride. Health centers across the country open their doors to state and federal elected officials and the public in order to showcase the numerous services they provide... and to celebrate! While there are countless reasons to honor health centers, among the most important and unique is their 50-year track record of providing access to affordable, high quality, cost effective health care to medically vulnerable and underserved communities. We hope that you will consider hosting an event during National Health Center Week this summer and inviting your elected officials, business partners, patients, and community members to participate. To assist you in your planning, CHCANYS has developed a special National Health Center Week in NYS web page featuring an event posting form, a list of event ideas, flyers and social media tools, and much more! To access it, click here.

Save the Date: NACHC Access is the Answer TeleForum on June 30
All health center advocates are encouraged to join NACHC on Tuesday, June 30th at 2:00 p.m. for a Teleforum to learn about the next phase of the Access is the Answer campaign. Call 877-229-8493 and enter PIN # 15035 to join!

CHCANYS Statewide Conference: Abstract and Award Nominations Deadlines Extended
This theme of this year’s conference, to take place on October 18-20, 2015 at The Sagamore Resort, Bolton Landing, is From Vision to Value: The Health Center Movement at 50.  The deadline for abstracts has been extended to June 26. To review abstract guidelines and to make a submission for a workshop and/or poster presentation, click here. Each year during the conference, CHCANYS honors and celebrates exemplary employees and supporters throughout New York State who are working to ensure access to high quality health care for all.  To make a nomination, click here by June 30. To register for the conference and reserve lodging, click here.  

CHCANYS15 Sponsor and Exhibit Opportunities Now Available – Spaces are Limited!
CHCANYS15 is the venue to network with over 400 FQHC leaders and decision-makers serving over 1.7 million patients at over 600 delivery sites in New York State. Learn more about the benefits of showcasing your products and services by clicking here and here. Don’t wait; vendor booths are available on a first come, first serve basis.  New this year: vendors may select their booth locations. Pricing will increase August 1 - register today to receive last year’s rates! 

HRSA Launches New Health Workforce Newsletter
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently launched the first issue of its new quarterly e-newsletter, Workforce Connections. The publication will feature news, information, and resources about and for HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) program participants, grantees, and other key stakeholders.  To subscribe, send an e-mail to  WorkforceConnections@hrsa.gov or click here.   

Fact Sheets Project Health Workforce Supply, Demand
The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) recently released six U.S. workforce projection fact sheets. These fact sheets provide information on the national projections of supply and demand for specific disciplines from 2012 to 2025 using the HRSA’s Health Workforce Simulation Model.  To access them, click here. 

Important Change for Health Centers with a Budget Period Start Date of November 1
Starting in Fiscal Year 2016, to ensure that all health centers have sufficient opportunity to prepare and submit their Service Area Competition and Budget Period Progress Report applications, Health Center Program grants will no longer be assigned November 1 budget period start dates. To facilitate this transition, existing grants with a budget period end date of October 31, 2015 will receive a budget period extension for up to four months. Impacted award recipients will be notified of this shift through an EHB email message that will refer them to a Notice of Award  issued in May 2015.  The May 2015 Notice of Award that issues the balance of funds for Fiscal Year 2015 will reflect the new budget period end date (December 31, January 31, or February 29) and provide prorated funding for June 1, 2015 through the new budget period end date. read more >> 

Legal Requirements and Issues Concerning Wraparound Payments to FQHCs
Issued earlier this month by NACHC, “Legal Requirements and Issues Concerning Wraparound Payments to FQHCs” reviews the legal provisions in the Federal Medicaid statute that require “wraparound” payments to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) for services provided to their Medicaid managed care patients and highlights recent developments in this payment process that can adversely impact centers and may become particularly problematic in FQHC payment reform scenarios. To view the document, click here.

State Policy Report #56: Section 1115 Waivers and Medicaid FQHC Reimbursement
State Policy Report #56, recently released by NACHC discusses the important impact Section 1115 waivers can have on Medicaid payment to FQHCs and covers FQHC service and payment requirements, waiver transparency rules, and 1115 waivers vs. FQHC APM.  To view it, click here.  

Practice Operations Management (POM) Level  II Seminar
Date: July 22-23, 2015; Location: Salt Lake City, UT; Hosted by: NACHC. POM II offers health center Chief Operating Officers, Executive Managers, practice/clinic and other managers, and board members an opportunity to learn the critical management skills necessary to optimize performance. This session features a newly improved agenda with a multi-dimensional approach to Operations Excellence, which is built on a foundation of effective management and continuous improvement in the areas of profitability, staffing, and patient workflow. read more >> 

Save on Office, Medical, Dental Supplies & More with CPG
CHCANYS has partnered with the CommonWealth Purchasing Group (CPG), the leading group purchasing organization in the country specializing in the health industry, to promote its services to FQHCs in New York State.  CPG will review your existing orders and show you how to save even more. For additional information, click here. To schedule an onsite appointment with a CPG representative, contact rwynn@chcanys.org. 

How to Report Diseases, Events, and Conditions to the NYC  Health Department
The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has released a new guide that features a table of all reportable diseases and events, including instructions on how and when they should be reported. The guide is currently available online here. For printed copies, please email Molly Kratz at mkratz@health.nyc.gov. 

Tobacco Intervention and Treatment Fact Sheet
The Center of Excellence for Health Systems Improvement for a Tobacco-Free New York has developed a fact sheet highlighting the key findings from its February 2015 literature review on Emerging Practices for Tobacco Dependence Interventions and Treatments for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness. To view it, click here.   

Webinar: Prescribing Tobacco Cessation Pharmacotherapy: Implementing Evidence-Based Practices
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2015; Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.; Hosted by: Center of Excellence for Health Systems Improvement (COE for HSI) for a Tobacco-Free New York; Faculty: Donna Shelley, MD, MPH, Associate Professor & Vice Chair for Research, Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine and Health Systems Contractor for the New York City Metro Region. The goal of this webinar is to explain best practices for prescribing tobacco cessation pharmacotherapy to patients in terms of dosage, side effects, and drug interactions. Continuing education credits are available to participants at no charge. To register, click here.

Summer Food Service Program
The Summer Food Service Program provides free, nutritious meals to all children 18 and under when school is out. There are over 2,500 sites where these free meals are available statewide. Click to access New York State-specific flyers in English and Spanish.

STD Clinical Update: Focus on Extragenital Testing and Treatment
Date: Friday, July 10, 2015; Time: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Alwyn Cohall, MD, Professor of Clinical Public Health and Pediatrics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center and Medical Director, NYC STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, will present this webinar, which will include STD clinical updates with specific focus on extragenital NAAT testing and treatment for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, as well as a brief review of Syphilis and coinfection.  To register, please click here.

Webinar: Transportation Assistance Levels (TALS) Classifications
Date: Monday, June 29, 2015; Time: 2:00 p.m.; Hosted by: CHCANYS / NY State Dept.of Health Office of Emergency Preparedness (OHEP). This webinar will provide an overview of the NYS standardized TALs system to be used by healthcare professionals to access the transportation resources necessary to systematically evacuate a facility.The target audience includes: Administrators / CEOs; Directors of Nursing; Nursing Supervisors; Directors of Resident Services; Case Managers; Directors of Safety / Security and Emergency Preparedness Coordinators. To sign up, click here.