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News from Policy If you have questions about CHCANYS' policy and advocacy work, please contact Beverly Grossman, bgrossman@chcanys.org.
Attention Health Center Advocates: Call Your Representatives Now! As Congress and the White House work together this week to reach a budget deal and avoid the “fiscal cliff,” members of the House, Senate, and Administration are voicing their ideas and opinions about changes to various programs, including the Health Centers program and Medicaid. Educating Congress about the potential harm that could come from health center funding cuts must be an ongoing process throughout the month of December and into the new year. It is critical that every Health Center Advocate stay engaged and keep the pressure on Congress to ensure that health centers are protected and supported. Here are three things that you can do right now:
Stay informed. Educate yourself about the “fiscal cliff,” deficit reduction and how the decisions Congress is making now will impact the Health Centers program. Click here to learn more.
Call your Members of Congress. Use NACHC’s Advocacy Hotline at 1-866-456-3949 to contact your Representatives and Senators and tell them:
"I understand the importance of Congress' work on a Budget deal. I am calling to ask you to help ensure that Community Health Centers like mine are protected through any effort to reduce the deficit."
When you call the hotline, you will be asked to enter your zip code and select the name of your Member of Congress. Select either your U.S. Representative or one of your U.S. Senators; after your first call is complete, stay on the line to be connected with your other Members of Congress.
Help educate new Members of Congress. There will be 96 new Members of Congress beginning in January 2013, including 12 new Senators. While new Representatives won't be sworn in until January, now is the time to reach out and tell them about your health center! Click here to see if you have a new Member of Congress and to access talking points and tips for scheduling meetings.
Decisions being made right now will affect access to care in your community! Please take a few minutes today to contact your Representatives and let them know how important health center funding is to you.
Save the Date for Advocacy Day 2013! It's time to start making plans to attend CHCANYS' Annual Community Health Center Grassroots Advocacy Day, scheduled for March 4, 2013 at the the EmpireStatePlaza in Albany. Additional details and an online registration form will be posted on the CHCANYS website in early January. In the meantime, we urge you to begin recruiting widely for this important event! Please contact Kate Graetzer in CHCANYS’ Albany office with any questions or concerns 518-434-0767 ext. 15 or kgraetzer@chcanys.org.
News from Health Center Support If you have questions about CHCANYS' health center support activities, please contact Rebecca Gaige, rgaige@chcanys.org.
Save the Date for Night of the CHCStars! Benefit Reception – April 30, 2013 This special event, hosted by CHCANYS’ Fundraising Committee, is dedicated to the men and women who are the stars of the health center movement. Enjoy a cocktail reception and an evening of celebration at the Ryan/Chelsea-Clinton Community Health Center, located at 645 Tenth Avenue. More information on sponsorship and ticket sales will be posted soon on the CHCANYS website.
HRSA Funding Opportunity for Rural Providers: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program (HRSA-13-159) The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced that it will make between 40 and 50 three-year awards of $150,000 per year to provide support to rural primary care providers for the implementation of quality improvement activities. Quality health care is the provision of appropriate services to individuals and populations that are consistent with current professional knowledge, in a technically competent manner, with good communication, shared decision-making and cultural sensitivity.
Organizations participating in the program are required to utilize an evidence-based quality improvement model, perform tests of change focused on improvement, and use health information technology (HIT) to collect and report data. This program does not support funding for an EHR, but grantees may use funds to develop or purchase a module or interface or customize reports to support collection of data. We believe that CHCANYS’ Center for Primary Care Informatics would meet the grant’s definition of a data collection system to support Quality improvement activities, and that grant funds could be budgeted to help cover a health center’s subscription costs to the CPCI. If you would like to discuss further, please contact Lisa Perry at 212-710-3815.
Eligible applicants must be rural public or rural nonprofit private entities that deliver health care services in rural areas. Examples of eligible organizations include Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics (RHC), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH).
The application is due on January 30, 2013. For additional information and a link to the full RFP, click here.
National Association of Community Health Centers and Feldesman Tucker Offer New Legal Webinar
Understanding Time and Effort: Reporting Rules for Employees Date: January 9, 2013 Time: 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. EST Online Registration Deadline: January 7, 2013
Charging the costs of employee time to federal grants can be onerous. But doing it right – that is, following proper requirements and ensuring proper oversight – is critical. Unfortunately, this continues to be an area in which we see a lot of findings from OIG audits. Use this webinar to double check your practices and as a guide to help you avoid significant cost disallowances.
News from the Quality Improvement Program If you have questions about CHCANYS’ Quality Improvement Program, please contact Kathy Alexis, kalexis@chcanys.org.
Diabetes and Contraception Use Unplanned pregnancy among women with diabetes mellitus poses serious risks to both the mother and the fetus. Contraception is a critical and often overlooked component of diabetes management. Recent research dispels the notion that contraceptive hormones interfere with glucose metabolism. Hormonal contraceptives have no effect on HgA1C levels, nor do they affect insulin requirements. Women who have had uncomplicated diabetes for less than 20 years may safely use anycontraceptive method.
Contraceptives containing estrogen and the progestin injection ("depo") pose risks to a small subset of diabetic women of reproductive age. Those with advanced vascular disease, end-organ involvement (neuropathy, retinopathy, nephropathy) or uncomplicated diabetes with duration over 20 years should generally not use estrogen-containing methods or the progestin injection. These methods' cardiovascular risks are too high for women with advanced or complicated diabetes. However, most of these women may safely use the progestin-only pill, the progestin implant, and either type of IUD. Barrier methods are also safe for this group, as is emergency contraception.
Women with diabetes should prepare carefully for a healthy pregnancy, delaying conception until blood glucose is well-controlled. Clinicians should inform these women about all contraceptive options, and should periodically assure that these women remain satisfied with their current contraceptive method.
Symposium on HIV Testing and Care of Adolescents in NYC
Date: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Location: New York University Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, 10th Floor, Rosenthal Pavilion, New York, NY 10012
Presented by the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention & Control, New York City STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, New York State AIDS Institute and New York State HIV Clinical Education Initiative.
2013 Prevent Blindness America Investigator Award – Up to $30,000 Available
Grant Period: One (1) year; commences on July 1, 2013 Application Deadline: March 27, 2013
The 2013 Prevent Blindness America Investigator Award provides funding for research investigating public health related to eye health and safety. Applications will be accepted in the following priority areas in adult vision, children’s vision, or eye injury:
Burden/economic aspects of eye disease/vision loss on society.
Best practices to integrate vision screening/follow up care to system care access.
Vision program effectiveness/evaluation.
All research grants need to promote the core mission of Prevent Blindness America - preventing blindness and preserving sight. Basic laboratory science research will not be supported under this program. For more information, click here. Contact Nita Patel, PBA Director of Public Health at 312-363-6019 or npatel@preventblindness.orgwith any questions.
News from Emergency Management If you have questions about CHCANYS' Emergency Management work, please contact Matthew Ziemer, mziemer@chcanys.org.
Upcoming Training Sessions
Disaster Preparedness for Hospitals and Health Care Organizations Within the Community Infrastructure Date: January 8-9, 2013 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Location:Westchester Medical Center,100 Woods Road, Valhalla, NY Registration Deadline: December 20, 2012
Sponsored by the New York State Office of Emergency Management and presented by Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), this course is geared toward health center emergency preparedness coordinators and health center leadership and will review the federal guidelines and legislation regarding emergency management and discuss the unique hazards faced by the states health care system. Click here to register via the New York State Department of Health’s Learning Management System. For additional details, please click here.
Webinar: Managing Your Emergency Preparedness Committee Date: January 9, 2013 Time: 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Presented by the Primary Care Emergency Preparedness Network (PCEPN), this webinar for health center leaders and emergency preparedness coordinators will cover the health center emergency management committee, its responsibilities, methods for managing its time, and how you can leverage your health center’s workforce expertise to build your program. To register for this webinar, click here.
Biosurveillance Update Please click here for a detailed update on Influenza.
Hurricane Sandy Relief and Recovery
AmeriCares In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a number of non-profit organizations have come into the area to assist with recovery. AmeriCares, a non-profit humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization based in Connecticut, partners with more than 400 FQHCs, community health centers and other safety net providers across the country to distribute donated medical products to improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations. We encourage all of your access points to become AmeriCares partners and take advantage of their donations. Health centers meeting AmeriCares’ requirements may secure freemedicines, vaccines, medical supplies and hygiene productsfor low-income uninsured and underinsured patients. AmeriCares partners receive weekly e-mail alerts about products that are available online and shipping for free. Last year, AmeriCares distributed more than $22 million in aid to its U.S. safety net partners – an average of $63,000 per partner.
Flu and Tdap vaccines as well as a variety of other prescription and over-the-counter medicines, medical supplies and hygiene items, are currently available through AmeriCares.
To become an AmeriCares partner, your clinic/health center must: 1) serve uninsured or underinsured patients whose income is at least 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, and 2) have a capacity to inventory products received from AmeriCares. Please click hereto learn more and initiate the partnership application process.
We hope you all will take advantage of this new opportunity. If you have any questions, please contact Euthimios Theotokatos of AmeriCares at etheotokatos@americares.org or 203-658-9553.
FEMA Assistance The CHCANYS Emergency Management Team continues to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as FEMA to help our health center community to apply for aid in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Many health centers have taken advantage of the FEMA public assistance program.
It has come to our attention that there may be community health centers that believe they submitted full requests for public assistance (RPA) from FEMA but may in actuality be missing one or more supporting documents. Because FEMA will not consider incomplete applications, we strongly encourage you to check the status of your RPA.
Those located in the 5 boroughs of NYC should call Erin Stanley at 518-292-2374.
All others should call Linda Moreno at 518-292-2388.
Click here for the New York State Office of Emergency Management’s Handbook of Policies and Guidelines for Applicants.
Click here for applicant forms and a checklist. Everything on this checklist must be submitted for your RPA to be complete.
Please keep CHCANYS up to date on the status of your FEMA application by contacting Mario Gonzalez at mgonzalez@chcanys.org or 212-710-3810.
News from Workforce Development If you have questions about CHCANYS' Workforce Development Program, please e-mail us at workforce@chcanys.org.
Free CUNY Training for the Health Care Workforce of the Future The CUNY CareerPATH program offers students the opportunity to learn about community health and outreach and how to effectively work as part of a care-coordination team. Students graduate with:
Preparation for emerging occupations such as patient advocates, patient navigators, and community health workers;
An understanding of chronic disease and preventative care, self-management strategies, and current healthcare policy;
Competencies crucial to patient-centered caregivers, including effective communication, conflict resolution, cultural awareness, advocacy, and organizational skills; and
Internship experiences that provide real-world work exposure.
During this semester-long program, CUNY CareerPATH students strengthen their academic skills, earn college credits to support future advancement, and access enhanced student services, including job-readiness training. Free programs will begin at Hostos Community College and LaGuardia Community College in January and at Kingsborough Community College in February. Interested individuals may contact the CUNY CareerPATH offices at Hostos (718-664-2544), LaGuardia (718-482-5031), and Kingsborough (718-368-5568) for enrollment information. Organizations and employers may contact Curtis Dann-Messier (718-254-7263) for partnership information. Click here for more details.
Free Medical Billing and Coding Certification Training NYACH (New York Alliance for Careers in Health), in partnership with NYC REACH, NYC Business Solutions, and the SUNY Brooklyn Education Opportunity Center, is offering free training for employees of any NYC medical practice in medical billing and coding. Those who successfully complete this 20-week training course will obtain a Medical Billing and Coding certificate. This program is designed for incumbent workers who live and work in NYC. Classes will be held on either Monday and Wednesday evenings or Wednesday and Friday evenings at the BEOC campus and begin on February 4, 2013. Anyone interested in more information should contact Amanda Brown, Workforce Development Coordinator at CHCANYS, as soon as possible at 212-710-4183 or abrown@chcanys.org.
1199/SEIU Training in Health Coaching and Care Coordination The 1199/SEIU Training Funds has developed a 48-hour training program in Care Coordination. This free training may be completed on site at health centers by any paraprofessional staff who deliver any kind of care coordination as well as by prospective health care workers. The training evolved out of a set core competencies identified by NYC health sector employers and is geared toward emerging workforce needs in health settings such as ACOs, Health Homes, and PCMH. The program is offered to staff at health centers regardless of union affiliation.
Program deadlines are approaching quickly. Please contact Amanda Brown, Workforce Development Coordinator at CHCANYS, at 212-710-4183 or abrown@chcanys.org as soon as possible for information about enrollment.
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.
