News from Policy If you have questions about CHCANYS' policy and advocacy work, please contact Beverly Grossman, bgrossman@chcanys.org.
National Health Center Week 2012 a Success! We want to thank you for yet another successful National Health Center Week! CHCANYS staff was honored to participate in a number of the celebrations that took place across the state, as health centers demonstrated the different ways in which they unite and affect positive change within the communities they serve.
Please remember to share your event photos and media clippings with us! We will post them to the CHCANYS website for all to enjoy. Click here to view the photos that have been submitted so far.
MRT Waiver Submitted – Stakeholder Support Needed New York’s "MRT Waiver,” submitted on August 6th to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), proposes significant investments in primary care. Now we need your help once more to ensure success. It is essential that CMS see a strong showing of support for the “MRT Waiver” from stakeholders. Here are the steps we need you to take to submit a letter of support:
Review the MRT Waiver application - click here to access it in its entirety.
Use the Waiver summary and LOS template to draft your letter, making sure to address it to Jason Helgerson, NYS Medicaid Director.
For additional information about the “MRT Waiver” and primary care, please visit www.nyprimarycare.org. If you have any questions about the letter of support process, please contact Beverly Grossman at bgrossman@chcanys.org.
New Certificate of Need (CON) Rule Posted to Department of Health Website A new rule providing for an expedited CON process for HRSA-funded projects submitted by FQHCs has been posted to the Department of Health website. Click here to view it.
News from Health Center Support If you have questions about CHCANYS' health center support activities, please contact Rebecca Gaige, rgaige@chcanys.org.
Register Today! CHCANYS' 2012 Statewide Conference & Clinical Forum – October 24-26, 2012 CHCANYS’ Statewide Conference & Clinical Forum will take place on October 24-26, 2012 at The Saratoga Hilton Hotel and City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY. Click here to register. Among this year’s speakers/panelists are:
Daniel R. Hawkins, Jr., Senior Vice-President for Public Policy & Research at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC);
Jason Helgerson, Medicaid Director and Deputy Commissioner, Office of Health Insurance Programs (OHIP), NYSDOH;
Fred Dedrick, Executive Director, National Fund for Workforce Solutions;
Donna Frescatore, Deputy Director for Healthcare Redesign, NYS Executive Chamber;
Dennis P. Whalen, Executive Vice President, Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS).
Daniel Hawkins Jason Helgerson Donna Frescatore
Workshop speakers will include John W. Gahan, Jr. Director, Bureau of Primary and Acute Care Reimbursement, NYSDOH; Greg Allen, Director, Division of Financial Planning & Policy, OHIP; Jacki Leifer, Senior Partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP; and Peter Epp, CPA, Managing Director, J.H. Cohn LLP, as well as CHCANYS and health center experts.
More scheduling details to come. Register today for the best hotel and conference rates.
NACHC and Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP to Offer Legal Webinar on Accountable Care Organizations
Evaluating Opportunities to Participate or Form an ACO August 22, 2012 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
As Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) seek to reward providers based on quality and value — in pursuit of the triple aim of better health, better patient experience, and cost effectiveness — what do health centers need to know? This session will explain accountable care business models from full risk to shared savings models, explore the role of community health centers in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and identify value-based contracting methods favorable to health centers in accountable care systems.
For more information and registration details, please click here.
Bureau of Primary Health Care Releases Grantee and Health Center Workforce Surveys The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) released two important health center surveys last week. The annual grantee survey assesses BPHC grantees' experience with program operations and processes as well as available technical assistance resources. This survey, open until September 8th,will help BPHC to improve operations and guide future actions. The new health center workforce survey assesses how health centers have been filling vacancies and whether the availability of qualified veterans to join the health center workforce is impacting hiring efforts. This survey closes on August 23rd.
All those who have been sent a link to either of these surveys are strongly encourged to share their feedback prior to the closing dates.
Priority Management Group Announces Fall WebEx Series Registration is now open for Primary Management Group’s Fall 2012 WebEx Training Series, designed exclusively for community health centers. Based on feedback from previous attendees, this series includes new topics as well as enhanced and updated versions of previous sessions. Each 90-minute session costs $119. Register for four or more sessions to receive a 15% discount.
The Fall 2012 training lineup includes:
October 23 - Dental Billing & Coding, hosted by Deb Fuller
October 25 - Front Desk, hosted Caroline Peucker
October 30 - FQHC Medicare: the Basics, hosted Caroline Peucker
November 1 - Key Performance Indicators, hosted by Caroline Peucker
November 6 - CHC Coding Part I, hosted by Deb Fuller
November 8 - Top 10 Leadership Questions, hosted by Caroline Peucker
November 13 - CHC Coding Part II, hosted by Deb Fuller
November 15 - CHC Coding Part III, hosted by Deb Fuller
For more information and to register, please click here.
NYU College of Dentistry to Offer Free Health Screenings Free screenings will be available on September 11, 12, and 13, 2012 at the NYU College of Dentistry, located at 345 E. 24th Street (corner of First Avenue) in Manhattan. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. No appointments are needed. Services include:
Free dental screenings;
Free toothbrushes and other personal oral health products;
Vouchers for free oral examinations and polishings;
Vouchers for free dental sealants for children 6 to 16 years of age;
Vouchers for free custom-made mouth guards for children 6 to 16 years of age;
Free oral cancer screenings; and
Free diabetes and blood pressure screenings.
The free screenings are co-sponsored by the NYU College of Dentistry, NYU College of Nursing, ABC7, and Colgate.
Capital Ink Newsletter Capital Link's e-newsletter, Capital Ink, provides updates on Capital Link programs and services and educates health centers and PCAs on creative solutions for financing capital projects and navigating through the capital development process. Click here to download the summer issue
News from the Quality Improvement Program If you have questions about CHCANYS’ Quality Improvement Program, please contact Kathy Alexis, kalexis@chcanys.org.
Southwest Telehealth Resource Center to Offer Free Webinar on Telehealth
Teledentistry: Building Enhanced Dental Teams for Underserved Communities and Families Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:00 p.m. MDT / 2:00 p.m. EST Presented by Julia Wacloff, RDH, MS and Margaret Perry, RDH, MBA, AP
Southwest Telehealth Resource Center invites you to a free webinar on the implementation and practice of telemedicine, which will focus on the following learning objectives:
How are preventive dental services delivered to underserved communities and families at a distance?
How is technology used to deliver clinical & educational services supported by private-public partnerships?
What are current teledentistry programs and practices in development to improve access to dental care?
What are developing/potential linkages between teledentistry and telehealth?
Connect® Workshop CancerCare’s free Connect® Workshop provides information on cancer-related issues for people living with cancer, their families, friends and health care professionals. The workshops are led by experts in oncology and may be accessed via telephone or online webcast. Professional continuing education credits are available for social workers and dietitians. Upcoming workshop topics include:
Advances in Treating Chemotherapy-Related Nausea and Vomiting Tuesday, September 11, 2012 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. EST
What's New in the Management of Blood Clots for Cancer Patients Friday, October 19, 2012 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. EST
Update on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Tuesday, October 23, 2012 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. EST
To register for the workshops, click here or call 1-800-813-4673. After you have registered, you will receive additional information. To listen to previous workshops on the CancerCare web site, click here.
NYPATH Announces Western Region Kick-Off Training Program NYPATH (New York Promoting and Advancing Teen Health) will kick off their western region training program in Corning, New York on September 28, 2012. Presented collaboratively by the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University, the University of Rochester and the Steuben Rural Health Network, the program will focus on key innovations in providing evidence-based adolescent-friendly reproductive health services. The training is designed for medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, who provide health care services to adolescents. Click here for additional information.
News from Emergency Management If you have questions about CHCANYS' Emergency Management work, please contact Matthew Ziemer, mziemer@chcanys.org.
Influenza Update Recently, the CDC and other public health officials have begun tracking the Influenza A (H3N2)v virus, which has attracted attention since its identification in April of 2011. Between July and August of 2012, there has been an increase in identified cases warranting closer surveillance. This influenza virus is zoonotic in nature and appears to be transmitted by contact with pigs. Current cases have all reported contact with pigs, either through work-related activities or attendance at state or county fairs. Most of the persons infected have been children, leading experts to believe that adults have some acquired immunity to this strain. For more information, please click here. Please review your pandemic screening and isolation protocols as well as your Point of Distribution (POD) plans and update them accordingly.
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.
