We hope you find this an efficient, useful tool and we welcome your feedback and comments. --Elizabeth Swain, CEO
If your health center has a training or technical assistance that you'd like to share with others around the state, or would like to subscribe others at your health center to Your CHCANYS please email the pertinent information to Libby Post at lpost@commservices.net. Thank you.
CHCANYS UPDATES--NEW REGISTER TODAY! --CHCANYS Clinical Forum & Statewide Conference, October 14-16 Hilton Rye Town in Rye Brook, NY Jim Tallon Jr. of the United Hospital Fund is this year's keynote speaker. Featured workshops this year focus on centers as medical homes and the work of health centers in integrating services across diverse populations. Click here to register today and review the schedule.
The CHCANYS conference hotel group rate has been rolled back to $149 single/double occupancy per night until September 30th. Please make your hotel reservations by calling 1-800 Hiltons or (914) 939-6300. Use code CHC#1 for this rate.
There are additional opportunities available for your center to participate in this year's conference including honoring a health center supporter or receiving some financial support to allow your CFO to attend. To learn more, please click on the topics below and respond by September 18th:
October 16th Awards--lunch to honor your health center staff and partners who support and contribute to the health center movement; and
The target audiences for this year's conference are Clinicians of all disciplines (physicians, mid-levels, Medical/Site Directors, nurses); CEOs, COOs, Senior Staff, Board Members, CFOs, and HIT Directors/Staff who are interested in health care and serving diverse populations. For further information, please contact Roxanne Wynn-Trotman at rwynn@chcanys.org or (212) 710-3806.
H1N1 Update CHCANYS continues to assist both the NYS Department of Health and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reach out to NY health centers to deal with what is projected to be a busy 2009 - 2010 flu season because of H1N1.
New York State: Pre-registration for H1N1 Vaccine Forms Now Available! The New York State Department of Health has released the pre-registration forms for becoming a distributor of H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. The forms are available for both pediatric and adult providers. Click here for pediatric patient pre-registration form. Click here for adult provider pre-registration form.
Training for healthcare surge webinars sponsored by NYS DOH NYS DOH has contracted with Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) to provide training in healthcare surge via four webinars. Click here for details.
New York City: NYC Flu Diagnostic and Treatment Center Locator to be Launched Soon! The influenza services locator will be used by DOHMH to assist the public in finding a provider for vaccinations and non-acute treatment for influenza like illness. The locator, posted on the DOHMH web portal and accessible through 311, will allow individuals to search for services by zip code or borough. Provision of this locator by the City is intended to redirect health care surge related to this year's flu season away from hospital emergency departments and spread it as evenly as possible among primary care providers. DOHMH and CHCANYS will be contacting NYC sites within the week to verify information that will allow them to be included on the system.
Influenza Working Group Continues to Inform City Planners The Primary Care Influenza Working Group, led by CHCANYS EP Team and Dr. Bindy Crouch of DOHMH's Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Program (HEPP) continues to raise important issues for this coming flu season related to FTCA coverage and reimbursement. These questions, such as how will health centers be compensated for providing flu treatment for non-patients, are being filtered up through the appropriate channels at the State and Federal level. More updates will be available on the next Influenza Working Group conference call, 8:30 AM, Thursday, September 24th. To get on the mailing list for conference call information email CHCANYS EP Coordinator, Nairobi Shellow at Nshellow@CHCANYS.org.
Sign up for City Immunization Registry (CIR) Training Webinars DOHMH is providing City Immunization Registry (CIR) training webinars to train/remind health care providers how to use the system. Centers distributing H1N1 vaccine in NYC should sign up for training. For details, click here.
Ryan White Reauthorization Due by September 30. Ryan White is the federal government's largest stream of discretionary funding dedicated to the treatment of HIV/AIDS. It is vital to New York's HIV/AIDS infrastructure. It provides funding directly to New York State, NY's Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) and directly to community providers such as community health centers for early intervention primary care. Ryan White program's authorization will not only expire on September 30th, 2009, but its authority will be repealed. Unlike when a program's authorization expires and the program's activities can continue as long as funds are available, repeal actually hinders the federal agency's ability to administer the program. In the case of Ryan White, the agency in question is the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Some months ago, numerous stakeholder groups from around the country developed a "community consensus" document on Ryan White, which can be seen by clicking here. The document calls for a three year reauthorization of the Ryan White program, and makes a number of other recommendations. That consensus document reportedly served as a starting point for the congressional committees of jurisdiction- the House Energy and Commerce and Senate HELP Committees- to begin to assemble a reauthorization bill.
The Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, "'Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2009' Discussion Draft Legislation" on Wednesday, September 9, 2009. The hearing examined draft of legislation to extend the Ryan White Program for three additional years. To get the latest expert testimonies, draft bill text, section by section summary of draft Ryan White legislation, please click here.
In the next two weeks, we can expect a good deal of activity on this issue, as Congress is likely to consider both a stand-alone reauthorization as well as some sort of temporary "fix" to ensure that all Ryan White activities continue uninterrupted. CHCANYS and NACHC will continue vigilance to ensure that the Ryan White CARE Act is reauthorized on a timely basis and that the needs of New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS served by community health centers are prioritized. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Darryl W. Ng, CHCANYS Director of Government Affairs, at 212 710-3814 or at dng@chcanys.org.
Successful Repeal of Rockefeller Drug Laws Recent changes to the Rockefeller Drug Laws are expected to result in the release of somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 individuals currently incarcerated for low-level drug offenses. Approximately half of these individuals will be returning to New York City; the rest will be released to various regions around the state. To ensure these individuals receive the supportive services they need to re-enter society and lead productive lives, we are working with the New York Academy of Medicine and the Drug Policy Alliance, and others to canvas community based organizations that are able to accept referrals from this unique population. Commitments are sought for a wide range of services, including:
Access to Healthcare Services
Benefits & Entitlements Assistance
Supportive Housing
Short-term Housing & Housing Placement Assistance
Assistance with Collateral Immigration Consequences
Individual & Family Support-including for child support
Harm Reduction, including Overdose Prevention Education
Ongoing Follow-up & Support, including reunification services
Releases may begin as early as October, but service planning and provision needs to begin prior to release. Each individual must petition the court for re-sentencing, and re-sentencing petitions are strengthened considerably when service plans are in place. Thus it is planned to make service information available to Legal Aid and public defender agencies, who may, in turn, contact your agency. The goal is to work with individuals prior to release to create a tailored plan for accessing services, including short-term housing, employment, healthcare and substance abuse counseling, etc. Evidence shows that these services will contribute to successful reentry and keep recidivism rates low, which are in accordance with the spirit and purpose of the recent reforms to the Rockefeller Drug Laws.
A list of service providers and the services available for this population is currently being developed. If your agency is able to provide services to this group, please provide the following information to: Tracy Pugh from The New York Academy of Medicine at mailto:tpugh@nyam.org (212) 419-3551 or Gabriel Sayegh from the Drug Policy Alliance at mailto:gsayegh@drugpolicy.org (212) 613-8048:
Please include:
Name of your agency
Contact person/s (name, email and phone)
Type of services available
Location of services
Approximate number of individuals you can serve
If you would like to discuss this issue with a contact person from CHCANYS, please contact Darryl Ng, Director of Government Affairs, at (212) 710-3814 or at dng@chcanys.org
Creative Approaches Sought for Quality Jail-Based Health Care On Friday, September 18 at 10:30 a.m., you are invited to attend a round table discussion sponsored by NYCDOH to identify creative approached to providing quality jail-based health care, improve the health of incarcerated individuals and facilitate continuity of care for persons returning to the community from City jails. Special guests include Vincent Keane, MD, Unity Health Care, Washington, D.C. and Thomas A. Lincoln, MD, Brightwood Health Center, Springfield, MA. The discussion will take place at 161 William Street, 6th floor conference room, New York, NY. If interested in attending, please call 212-341-2278 or 212-341-2286.
Service Site Approvals Extended, No Re-Application Needed for HPSA Score Change through FY 2010 National Health Service Corps has made two temporary policy changes that make it easier for approved service sites to take advantage of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding intended to support 3,300 new clinicians in approved sites by 2010. For details, click here.
August 2009 Medicaid Update Now Available The Office of Health Insurance Programs of the NYS Department of Health has just approved the release of the August 2009 Medicaid Update, which you can access by clicking here (pdf). You can also sign up to receive these Medicaid Updates via email when they are released by emailing medicaidupdate@health.state.ny.us
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND TRAININGS--NEW Interested in Technology Training for your Health Center Staff? CHCANYS is considering applying for a New York State training grant to make free classes available to center IT and other staff to build skills in a several areas of technology and desktop applications. To help us determine the level of interest in these trainings, please click here to complete a BRIEF survey. The grant application is due early October so we would appreciate your response as soon as possible. Thanks.
NACHC UPDATES--NEWS Statement of Tom Van Coverden on President Obama's Address to a Joint Session of Congress "We in the health center family applaud our President for his remarkable address to the Congress, and his stirring call to action on one of the most pressing domestic policy issues of our time - the need to fundamentally reform our health care system so that it works for everyone, and not just for some." For the full address, please click here.
Study Projects Community Health Center Expansion Would Save $212 Billion A study released September 1 by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services suggests that the health care system could save $212 billion over a ten-year period by expanding the nation's network of Community Health Centers to accommodate an additional 20 million patients. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) welcomed the findings, which are consistent with other research that has underscored the cost-effectiveness of health centers but which are the first to measure projected ten-year savings. For details, click here.
