Advocacy Day is Less than One Week Away!! March 7, 2011 With less than one week left until Community Health Center Advocacy Day, we hope you are finalizing your plans to come to Albany on March 7th. New York faces a budget crisis of historic dimensions. Now, more than ever, New York needs its community health centers. This is our opportunity to ensure that policymakers and their staff are familiar with community, homeless and migrant health centers and understand the high quality and cost-effective primary health care services we provide to New Yorkers.
Join Community, Homeless and Migrant Health Centers in Albany on March 7th for our Annual Community Health Center Advocacy Day 2011. If you have not yet registered, please do so ASAP by clicking here.
News from Policy NYS Primary Care Coalition Expresses Support for the Recommendations of the Medicaid Redesign Team The New York State Primary Care Coalition has just issued a press release commending the work of the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) and is extremely encouraged by the outcomes that will enhance primary care. Not only will these recommendations greatly reduce healthcare spending, they will lead to better quality healthcare for the patients who need it most. What is more, with its recommendations, the Team has taken a significant step forward in the implementation of health care reform. For the complete release, please click here.
NACHC Policy and Issues (P&I) Forum Hill Visits: It is time to begin planning for P&I Hill visits. This year’s visits to the Hill will take place on March 24th. The State Delegation meeting is scheduled for the evening of March 23rd.
To help with organizing and your workload, CHCANYS will be making all P&I Congressional and Senate appointments this year, unless you indicate otherwise. Congressional appointments will be open to all FQHCs in the appropriate district. The Senate appointments will be open to all NYS FQHC participants.
To assist us with our planning, please provide the following information as soon as possible to Kate Graetzer, kgraetzer@chcanys.org:
Will you be attending the NACHC P&I?
Which Congressional district appointments are you interested in attending?
Will anyone else be accompanying you? If yes, whom?
If you prefer or have already setup an appointment with your Representative please let us know as soon as possible.
News from Health Center Support Registration deadlines approaching fast for Two March Trainings on CHC Sustainability Unsure of Your CHC's Solvency During These Tough Times? Get Reassurance at NACHC CHC Sustainability Training Seminars.
Maximizing Revenue and Third Party Reimbursement Training Seminar March 9-10, 2011 – New Orleans, LA Online Registration Deadline: March 4, 2011 Meeting the requirements of the new health reform laws can be a challenge for community health centers (CHC). Knowing the tools and techniques to ensure that billing and collections procedures result in acquiring all revenues due for services provided in your CHC is the key to sustainability. NACHC’s Maximizing Revenue and Third Party Reimbursement (Max Rev) training seminar provides CHCs with critical strategies in establishing effective billing and collections systems.For more information and to register, please click here.
Does your health center need coding training? Brown Consulting Associates offers several opportunities designed for coders and billers working in health centers and doctors' offices to further their education related to coding documentation and billing without leaving the office. For more information, please click here.
News from Clinical Quality Initiatives Are you looking for a Dentist, a Physician Assistant, an Internal Medicine MD, a Nurse Practitioner (Women’s Health), a Family Nurse Practitioner or a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner?
There are seven clinicians that need immediate placement:
Pediatric Dentist – NYC Area (HPSA score must be > 17)
Family Nurse Practitioner – Manhattan (0.5 FTE – Prefers adolescent care, reproductive health including well woman/paps and general family practice)
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – NYC and/or Brooklyn (Prefers general PEDS and adolescents)
If you have any interest in employing one of these dedicated clinicians, please contact Dr. Kameron Wells (VP, Clinical Affairs) at 212-710-3814 or kwells@chcanys.org to discuss further. In addition, if you would like to learn more about the BCRS click here, and for the NHSC click here.
Dental Employment Fair – April 2nd CHCANYS and the New York City Metropolitan Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) invite you to participate in a dental career/recruitment fair that will be held on Saturday, April 2nd from 10:00 am -1:00pm at the NYU College of Dentistry. The purpose of the event is to encourage third and fourth year dental students and dental residents to work in underserved areas, and recruit dentists for your centers. It will be a wonderful opportunity for you to encourage students and residents to seek careers in your health centers, and to recruit graduating residents to your centers.
The day will include a presentation by staff of the National Health Services Corps on loan forgiveness and repayment programs, presentations highlighting career opportunities in underserved areas, dental exhibits, and vendors. In addition to health centers, we expect representation from other potential employers as well as dental recruiters and associations.
We hope you will join us by setting up a table to talk about your center with potential candidates. As you know, despite significant advances in dental productivity, access to dental care remains a problem for high need urban populations, and recruiting dentists for these communities remains a challenge. The fair is supported by the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Dental Health, and will be free for students, residents and employers.
Click here to see a flyer regarding the event. Please feel free to circulate it to anyone that might be interested.
Please register on line by visiting www.metroahecdentalfair.eventbrite.com. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Dr. Kameron Wells (VP, Clinical Affairs) at 212-710 3814 or kwells@chcanys.org. Or you may call Gabrielle Kersaint (program organizer) at 718-797-1558 or by e-mail at gkersaint@bqliahec.org.
FREE Symposium on Kidney Disease The New York Presbyterian and the Rogosin Institute cordially invites you to a FREE symposium on kidney disease - The Nephrology Workforce: Challenges, Opportunities, New Models on March 16, 2011. Click here for flyer and agenda.
Does It Run In the Family? HRSA Pilot The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is piloting a family health history patient education toolkit in up to six health centers that will each receive $40,000 to integrate the Does It Run In the Family? health history patient education toolkit into their clinical care and/or outreach services. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau is partnering with the Bureau of Primary Care to offer this exciting opportunity to health centers. Projects will be implemented over a 15-month period from May 2011 through July 2012.
Family health history is a simple, non-invasive way to capture information about health risks. Project staff at each participating health center will customize the toolkit with personal health stories, photos, quotes, information on common health conditions in their communities, and other resources. Health centers will then utilize the customized versions of the Does It Run In the Family? toolkit in clinical care and/or outreach services. Health centers will be expected to participate in a national evaluation and to provide feedback on how the toolkit can be implemented at other health centers and elsewhere in the future.
Proposals from health centers, and from other organizations that plan to partner with health centers to disseminate the toolkit, will be accepted until April 4, 2011. A question-and-answer webinar will be held on March 3, 2011, from noon to 1:00 p.m. EST. Register online at: http://www.geneticalliance.org/webinars
If you have questions, please contact Vaughn Edelson, Programs Manger, Genetic Alliance, at vedelson@geneticalliance.org or 202.966.5557 x213.
HYPERTENSION: FREE classes in downtown Brooklyn Please share this opportunity with your patients! Not only are the classes free, but this federally financed study at Long Island University will PAY YOU! Come join us to improve your health and decrease your blood pressure.
If you complete the 2x week classes for three months you will receive$120. Classes are 55 minutes long and are not aerobic (you are unlikely to sweat or breath hard). The classes will make you stretch, relax, and move your body. They are designed to decrease stress and lower blood pressure.
Classes will be held at Long Island University (Flatbush and Dekalb) and at the Mark Morris Dance Center (across from the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Lafayette). Classes will be Monday-Thursday starting at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00pm. Classes are starting March 7th but you can join at anytime. To participate you must have high (elevated) blood pressure. If you don't know if you have high blood pressure we will measure it for you for free. If you have had a heart attack or stroke, or have kidney disease you will not be able to participate. If you are already exercising more than 3x per week you will not be able to participate.
HRSA is very happy to answer any questions about the study and to help you determine if you are right for the study. Contact HRSA using the information below. Just leave your phone number and they will call you back at a time that is good for you.
Colorectal Cancer Awareness The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center will be having a Colorectal Cancer Awareness event on March 5th, 2011 from 10am-1pm. There will be lots of fun activities and educational information available for all. For more information, please click here. Feel free to pass on to your friends, colleagues and family members who may be interested.
NYSHealth's 2011 Special Projects Fund RFP The New York State Health Foundation's (NYSHealth's) 2011 Special Projects Fund request for proposals (RFP) invites organizations across New York State to apply for funds to improve the health of New Yorkers. Although NYSHealth's grantmaking is focused on three priority areas (expanding health insurance coverage, improving the management and prevention of diabetes, and encouraging the integration of substance use and mental health services), the 2011 Special Projects Fund is designed specifically to support projects that fall outside of those priority areas, but are consistent with NYSHealth's broad mission to improve health care in New York State. This RFP provides an opportunity for the Foundation to be responsive to the changing health care environment and ideas that emerge from the field.
Download the detailed 2011 Special Projects Fund RFP here.
Potential applicants are required to complete an online inquiry form to determine whether a proposed project fits the funding criteria. NYSHealth staff will review the inquiries on an ongoing basis and respond to potential applicants. For more information about the Special Projects Fund, please click here.
The deadline to complete the online inquiry form is March 11, 2011 at 1 p.m.; and the deadline for the full application is May 5, 2011 at 1 p.m.
HANYS Diabetes Webinar Series As partners in the NYS Diabetes Campaign, the Healthcare Association of NYS (HANYS) holds monthly Web conferences and they are opening the January through May sessions to all CHCANYS members. The Web conference schedule is listed below and all sessions are FREE to join. To register, please click here. Upon registration, you will be added to the e-mail list to receive reminders with log-on instructions for these Web conferences. All Webconferences will be held from noon to 1 p.m.:
Date: Thursday, March 24, 2011 Topic: Transitions of Care for Patients with Diabetes: From Hospital to Home Faculty: James Desemone, M.D., Director of Medical Staff Quality, Ellis Medicine
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2011 Topic: Benefits of Utilizing Certified Diabetes Educators and Diabetes Self Management Education for Patients with Diabetes Faculty: Esther Wei, M.S.N., A.N.P., C.D.E., Adult Nurse Practitioner and Site Co-Leader of the WCIMA Diabetes Improvement Team, Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates at New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2011 Topic: Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Community Diabetes Initiative Faculty: Abby Schwartz , R.N., B.S.N., M.B.A., Diabetes Nurse Consultant and Tracy Breen, M.D., Director, Diabetes Center, The Mount Sinai Medical Center
News from Health Information Technology Meaningful Use Requirements Recommendations The Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC), an advisory committee to the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT have released preliminary recommendations regarding Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements. You can access these recommendations by clicking here.
You can also access CHCANYS’ formal comments in response to these recommendations by clicking here.
Management, Finance and Compliance and Emergency Preparedness Check for news in future issues of Your CHCANYS
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.
