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Welcome to the eNewsletter for the
California Community for Rural Health Improvement (CCRHI)! 
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CCRHI eNews
June 7, 2016

In This Issue:

  • Shasta County Collaborative Convenes Case Managers 
  • Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative Brings Motivational Interviewing Training to Rural Communities
  • New Analysis of the Financial Health of Rural Health Centers in Northern California
  • Local Partnership Brings Hands On Training for Nurses
  • County Medical Services Program Opportunity to Support Rural Workforce
     

Collaborative News
Shasta County Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative Convenes Case Managers


The Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative (SHARC) hosted Shasta County's first ever community-wide case management summit on June 3, 2016. Over 125 people representing 30 health and human services county agencies and community based organizations were in attendance. The event was co-sponsored by SHARC, the Area Health Education Center of Northern California and the Health Alliance of Northern California.
 
“It was a wonderful collaborative effort, a great opportunity for several organizations to be in the same room to better serve our community,” said Delcie Strahan, Patient Educator, Shasta Community Health Center. 

The case managers in attendance—through facilitated discussion—talked about their professional roles and responsibilities, the challenges of defining the profession, what their organizations do and who they serve, and how everyone can better work together. “The day was so informative,” said Elaine Flores, Chief Operating Officer, Medical Home Care Professionals. “It is so inspiring to know that we have all of these resources to improve patient outcomes.”
 
Attendees agreed that increasing importance is being placed on case managers in the county’s healthcare and social welfare system, and so the convening was pertinent. “This was phenomenal,” said T Abraham, Regional Vice-President, Hospital Council of Northern and Central California. “Problems were solved today and many more are likely to be addressed in the future with this group.”
 
Melissa Janulewicz—Regional Services Director,  Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency—agreed. “It really felt beneficial and enriching,” she said. “The networking was very valuable for our staff.”
 
For more information on future case management summits or networking opportunities, please contact Jill Phillips.
 

Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative Brings Motivational Interviewing Training to Rural Communities
Numerous agencies both inside and outside Siskiyou County combined their resources and worked together to bring a free training event called “Effecting Change through the Use of Motivational Interviewing” to over 100 health and social services, law enforcement, and education employees in this rural county. The training, which took place on May 9 and 10, was made possible by funding from Blue Shield of California Foundation, Siskiyou Community Corrections Partnership and the Behavioral Health division of the Siskiyou County Health and Human Services Agency and was co-chaired by Sarah Collard, director of Siskiyou County Behavioral Health and Paulette Adams, director of Clinics for Fairchild Medical Center. 

View the article from the Siskiyou Daily News (Jester, 5/11/16) here.
CCRHI Members

Alliance for Rural Community Health

Health Alliance of Northern California

Highway 299 Collaborative

Lassen Healthcare Collaborative

North Coast Clinics Network

Sac Valley Med Share

Shasta Health Assessment and Redesign Collaborative

Siskiyou Healthcare Collaborative
 

Upcoming Events

Webinar
Retaining Your Key Health Care Professionals
– June 9, 2016, 12pm PST.
This webinar sponsored by the California State Office of Rural Health, DHCS, California AHEC, and California Public Health Training Center will share information on good retention strategies and examples of interventions to support efforts for retaining key health care professionals. Webinar time is 12pm – 1pm PST. Register here.
 


Redding
ABCs of QI - July 19, 2016, 8:30 - 4:30
Partnership HealthPlan of California is offering ABC’s of QI in Redding. It will be a one-day in-person training designed to teach the basic principles of Quality Improvement.
 
The course is designed for individuals working on quality improvement projects, including: medical directors, clinicians, QI managers/coordinators, data analysts, front and back office staff, clinic/operations managers, IT and finance personnel and patients. The training will be held at the Red Lion Hotel in Redding. Register here.
About Our Community
 
CCRHI fosters strategic, shared learning, networking and collaboration among local health efforts for rural and frontier California. We focus on:

0 Developing health care leadership for change
 
0 Increasing access to care in the community
 
0 Strengthening local health care systems by using collaborative strategies that catalyze change and break down silos

For more information, view our factsheet here.

In the News
CMSP Governing Board Approves $15.9 Million Investment in Wellness and Prevention and Workforce Development Pilots
 
On Thursday, May 26th, the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board approved a new Wellness and Prevention Pilot Project Grant Program and a Healthcare Workforce Development Pilot Project for CMSP counties. The county-focused wellness and prevention program will provide CMSP counties funding over a three-year period to address CMSP priority areas of Community Wellness, Whole Person Care, and Addressing the Social Determinants of Health.
 
The Healthcare Workforce Development Pilot Project is focused on community-based healthcare workforce development strategies that expand the health care provider workforce in CMSP counties to best serve CMSP members, potential CMSP members, and other populations with publicly sponsored health care and coverage.

The workforce development strategies include funding for:
  • California State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) – Extension 
  • Allied Healthcare Loan Repayment Program (AHLRP) – Extension
  • Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Residency Programs – Start-up and Expansion 
  • Health Systems Development Mini Grants
More information about the opportunities will be disseminated by CMSP in the coming weeks. Visit the CMSP website for contact information and updates.
 





New Analysis of the Financial Health of Rural Health Centers in Northeastern California
Capital Link, in collaboration with Health Alliance of Northern California, prepared an analysis of key financial and operational indicators for rural community health centers in a 10-county region of Northeastern California. Some of the key findings of the report include:
  • Health centers in the region experienced growth in the Medi-Cal patient population, increasing from 27% of total patients in 2011 to 38% in 2014. This shift is financially significant, however the region has a relatively smaller Medi-Cal population compared to other more urban areas in the state (CA FQHCs overall had an average of 56% Medi-Cal), which puts these health centers at a comparative financial disadvantage.
  • The median payer mix for health centers in the region also differs from statewide averages in terms of higher Medicare and privately insured patient populations (Medicare made up 19% of patients for Rural health centers v.s. 5% CA FQHCs overall). Medicare patients represent an older demographic, which is typically a more clinically complex and expensive population to manage.
  • Health centers in the region experienced a recent improvement in patient growth of 4.3% in 2014, exceeding even the median growth rate for their statewide peers (3.6%).
  • In 2014, the median operating margin for the group of rural health centers in Northern California was 1.0%, or just above a break even performance level (as compared to 2.8% for peers in CA).
Read the full report here.
 
Local Partnership Brings Hands On Training for Nurses in a Health Center
Western Sierra Medical Clinic has established a partnership with California State University, Sacramento and Sierra College to provide hands-on education and on-site training for nursing students. The state university and community college’s nursing programs are rotating about 50 students this semester through Western Sierra Medical Clinic. Western Sierra officials and nursing educators from Sacramento State and Sierra College agree that the on-site training greatly helps the students by providing real-life clinical experiences, situations and training.

View the press release here.
 
Copyright © 2016 California Community for Rural Health Improvement, All rights reserved.


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