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.
News from Health Center Support Growing the Federally Qualified Health Center Program: New Access Point and Expansion Application Workshop July 13-14, Albany Hampton Inn & Suites, 25 Chapel Street, Albany, NY 12210 For reservations call 518-432-7000 “Group code A08” for $99 room rate
The newly passed health reform package contains significant funding to promote growth in the Federally Qualified Health Center program. Join CHCANYS for this intensive 2-day training and learn how to apply for this funding.
Whether you are an existing FQHC, a look-alike, or just getting started, CHCANYS staff and national experts will help you to determine your readiness to apply for these federal funds. This program will give existing health centers that are looking to expand sites or services tips on how to present information and what review committees are looking for. Please join us for this "hands-on" training workshop, designed to provide you with tools to develop your New Access Point and/or FQHC Look Alike Application.
Topics to be included:
Understanding the FQHC program expectations
Determining readiness to apply for an FQHC
Understanding and applying for FQHC funding
FQHC operational issues
Data resources
Developing health and business plans
Preparing a needs assessment
Bringing the community in as your partner
Presenters:
Pamela Byrnes, PhD, Director of Health Growth & Development National Association for Community Health Centers
Gil Bernhard, CPA, Managing Director RSM McGladrey, Inc.
Robert Martiniano, M.P.A., M.P.H. Center for Health Workforce Studies, University at Albany
CHCANYS Clinical Forum & Statewide Conference: Call for Proposals – June 15th Deadline
Health centers are invited to submit proposals for CHCANYS annual conference
October 3-5, 2010 at The Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY.
The conference will focus on the health care home and timely policy, clinical, reimbursement, health information technology, operational issues and more. The Call for Proposals process starts today through June 15, 2010.
Click here for Call for Proposals, Sponsor/Vendor and General Registration for the CHCANYS Clinical Forum & Statewide Conference. NACHC Offers Webinar on Legal Issues for FQHCs Wednesday, June 9th, from 2-3:30 PM,the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is hosting a webinar, "At the Bar: Hot Legal Issues Facing Community Health Centers." NACHC and Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP are offering this webinar, geared for health center administration (CEOs, CFOs, CMOs) and other key staff to highlight several legal issues facing health centers today, including:
Fraud and Abuse Enforcement
Payment and Delivery System Health Reforms
Government Reporting Requirements
The Government's Black List
Other "Hot Topics"
The speaker is Jacqueline C. Leifer, Esq. Senior Partner, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP. The cost is $99 for members, $149 for non-members. To register for an upcoming training visit www.nachc.org.
Service Site Approvals Extended, No Re-Application Needed for HPSA Score Change through FY 2010
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) 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 more information please click here.
News from Clinical Quality Initiatives & Emergency Preparedness
Clinical Quality Initiatives SEARCH: Become a Preceptor/Workforce Development Opportunity The SEARCH (Student/Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health) Program, coordinated by the New York State Area Health Education Center (AHEC) System, provides an opportunity for health centers to expose medical and other health profession students to the critical work of health centers. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Through SEARCH, community health centers will receive practice site support for each student placement during the four to six week rotation period. The program provides an opportunity for health centers to reach qualified students and to expose them to a career path of commitment to underserved populations. Through SEARCH, students may receive assistance with travel and housing reimbursement and centers receive guidance and resources through the professional AHEC network. For more information or an application, click here.
Maxine Golub, Sr. VP, Planning and Development, Institute for Family Health will provide an overview of the SEARCH Program on the June 18th Clinical Learning Call 9:00-10:30 a.m. Please join us to learn more about how this statewide program can benefit your health center. To join the call, please dial 866-504-8504 Code 2127103817.
Shared Medical Appointments--An Innovative Practice Model to Improve Outcomes in Your Patients with Diabetes Dr. Diana Berger, a diabetes and lifestyle medicine specialist, will facilitate a webinar about shared medical appointments (SMA), often referred to as a “group visit,” for patients with diabetes. In a SMA, a group of 10-15 patients meets with a physician, behaviorist, medical assistant, nurse, and dedicated documenter for 90 minutes. Patient participation and peer support is an integral part of this team-based approach to care in which the care team facilitates discussion rather than lecturing. SMAs can improve clinical outcomes, increase patient and clinician satisfaction, improve access to care, and boost a physician’s productivity. This innovative practice model is efficient, cost-effective, and potentially profitable for a practice.
The goal of the webinar is to inspire the participants to design, implement, and evaluate shared medical appointments for their patients with diabetes in their practices.
Emergency Preparedness Upstate: The re-designed Health Commerce System (HCS) will launch on June 1, 2010. Introduction to the Health Commerce System Portal training sessions will be held on multiple dates and times. Training session registration can be found here.
The Health Emergency Preparedness program within the New York State Department of Health will be releasing the Critical Asset Survey for Community Health Centers on the HCS during the first week of June. A PowerPoint presentation briefing the new HCS site may be found here. See Powerpoint. Only those with valid HPN/HSC accounts are able to complete the survey so please verify your site information and remove any outdated information prior to completing the survey. Questions or concerns may be sent to John Maskin, New York State Department of Health at jxm12@health.state.ny.us, 518-408-5161 or Mary Lou Caprara, CHCANYS at mlcaprara@chcanys.org, 518-434-0767 x15.
Update On Recommendations For The Use Of Rotovirus Vaccines The FDA is updating its recommendations on both Rotarix and Roteq vaccines for the prevention of rotavirus disease in infants. Based on careful evaluation of a variety of scientific information, the FDA has determined it is appropriate for health care professionals to resume the use of Rotarix and to continue the use of RotaTeq. The complete update can be found here.
Policy/Advocacy News CHCANYS Releases FY11 Health Agenda Taking into account Mayor Bloomberg’s recently released FY11 NYC Executive Budget, CHCANYS’ FY11 NYC Health Agenda summarizes the essential services provided by community health centers and highlights opportunities to leverage resources to improve health care access, provide better quality of care and lower costs. The FY11 NYC Agenda also recommends two priorities for consideration in the NYC budget, one for the current year and one for future budget years. CHCANYS is scheduled to testify at the New York City Council’s Budget Hearing on June 7th, 2010. To download a copy of CHCANYS’ FY11 Health Agenda, please click here.
For CHCANYS’ summary of Mayor Bloomberg’s FY11 Executive Budget, please click here.
CMS Promotes Benefits of Healthcare Reform to Medicare Recipients On Tuesday, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started sending out brochures to all Medicare recipients promoting the benefits of the new healthcare reform law. The four-page pamphlet available here describes the "improvements in the Medicare program that recipients will see immediately," including the closing of the Part D "donut hole" and "how the new law preserves and strengthens Medicare." There is a short sentence about how the expansion of the community health center program will improve access to the healthcare system for about 20 million more Americans. To read and/or copy the brochure, please click here.
Management & Finance The Office of Management and Budget Issues New Agency Guidance for ARRA Recipients The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new guidance to federal agencies entitled "Holding Recipients Accountable for Reporting Compliance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" (M-10-17). The OMB guidance requires federal agencies to:
Contact new recipients no later than 10 business days before each reporting period to remind them of their reporting obligations.
Contact existing recipients who were non-compliant in the prior period and follow-up with them throughout the reporting period.
Use available tools to monitor recipients during the quarterly reporting period.
Inform recipients of the potential consequences of non-compliance, help ensure compliance in the next reporting period, and take appropriate actions.
Report non-compliant ARRA recipients to OMB within 5 business days of the close of the quarterly agency review and comment period.
Health centers can access the full guidance by clicking here.
Add to the Success of Your Health Center’s Operations with New NACHC Tools NACHC is offering health centers job description templates including ones for health center CEO, CFO, COO, medical director, physician, mid-level provider, RN, LPN, medical assistant, billing manager, registration clerk, HR director and accountant. The fee is $70 for NACHC members, $125 for non-members. NACHC is also offering a template request for proposal (RFP) to assist health centers with audit firm selections.
For more information on these tools, contact Gervean Williams at gwilliams@nachc.com, or (301) 347-0400.
HRSA PINS and PALS HRSA issues new PAL 10-02 Federally Qualified Health Center Look Alike Program Implementation of Electronic Information Systems HRSA has issued a Program Assistance Letter (PAL), which lays out the process and timeline for taking the Look-Alike program electronic through the Electronic Handbook System. The process aims to make it easier for Community Health Center Look-Alikes in a number of areas that include recertification, facilitating changes in scope of project requests, and improved communication overall. The transition will begin in July 2010. You may download the PAL by clicking here.
HRSA Streamlining Budget Renewal Period Process The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has issued a Program Assistance Letter 2010-03: Streamlining the Budget Period Renewal Process for Fiscal Year 2011, which outlines a new process for Health Center Program grantees applying for non-competitive continuation funding in fiscal year (FY) 2011. Under the new process, health centers will now be required to submit an annual Budget Period Progress Report (BPR) in lieu of a Budget Period Renewal application. Details are available in the PAL and the HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care will be hosting a technical assistance call as well. To access the letter, please click here.
Health centers are invited to submit proposals for