Primary News for Primary Care, April 2018

CEO Hallway Conversations with John McDonald

AACHC continues to work collaboratively with partners, including member health centers and non-health center Navigator organizations, to advance access to coverage and consumer education on using their coverage. Approximately 166,000 Arizonans enrolled in coverage through Healthcare.gov during the short six week open enrollment period, which was a 15% reduction from the previous year. The national average was a 3.5% reduction. Some have suggested that because Arizona’s economy is making a strong comeback and unemployment is low that more people may have access to employer sponsored coverage than in previous years.

For those who assist consumers with applying for coverage (AHCCCS, KidsCare and Marketplace), consumer confusion remains high. Multiple attempts to repeal the ACA as well as major changes in AHCCCS all contribute to uncertainty and confusion. Currently, eligibility staff are immersed in learning how the new AHCCCS Complete Care program will impact current and prospective AHCCCS members. Approximately 300,000 current AHCCCS member will be required to change health plans because their current managed care organization will no longer be available in their area. AHCCCS and AACHC are holding meetings and webinars to inform and educate application assisters and others who have consumer contact.

The future of the federal Navigator program, which provides consumer assistance for Marketplace coverage, remains uncertain. Whether there will be continued funding or what the amount of funding there may be is unknown at this time.

Regardless, Community Health Center staff engaged in outreach and enrollment continue to be vital to access to coverage and care. During 2017 CHC staff enrolled 4% of all AHCCCS consumers who were enrolled by a Health-e-Arizona Plus subscriber. But the same CHC staff accounted for 54% of all the children enrolled in KidsCare by Health-e-Arizona Plus subscribers. Thank you for all you do to ensure access to coverage and care in your communities.

All the best,

John

Program Highlight - Workforce Development

There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” We are always reminded of the value of “going together” with our partners, but it is especially true when it comes to addressing the healthcare provider shortages our Community Health Centers and Member Organizations are currently facing and are predicted to face on a larger scale later.

AACHC has been fortunate to partner with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) Bureau of Women’s & Children’s Heath to increase the number of events, programs & resources available to rural and underserved communities to help address these workforce challenges in Arizona.
Most recently these events included our Annual National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholars Conference that was held in collaboration with AACHC’s Annual Meeting on February 6, 2018 in Phoenix. Fifteen Primary Care Students participated in sessions that covered information on NHSC & AZ State Loan Repayment Programs, Q & A with NHSC Scholars that are currently in practice, Health Profession Shortage Area (HPSA) designation information, rural practice information, networking with potential practice sites, and additional resources and information.

The 2018 Recruitment & Retention Conference is another example of our collaborative relationship with ADHS focused on workforce issues. The conference was held on March 29th and March 30th in Scottsdale. Seventy Five participants registered for the conference that included Human Resources staff, Recruitment Staff, Medical Directors, CEOs and additional healthcare and academic staff interested in recruitment and retention information and resources for Arizona. The conference included sessions on Community Health Center based Residency Programs, Mission Driven Recruitment & Marketing, CHC in-house Loan Repayment Programs, the Rural Recruitment & Retention (3RNet) Program, Military Veteran Recruitment & Events, Identifying Provider Burn out & Wellness Techniques, HPSA designations, AZ State & NHSC Loan Repayment Programs, Recruitment Resources and Services as well as networking opportunities with other healthcare organizations in Arizona.

We are currently working on additional events, trainings, webinars, resources and materials to continue our joint efforts to address the healthcare workforce needs of rural and underserved communities in Arizona.

For additional information, please visit our workforce programs page listed under the programs tab on our website, www.aachc.org or contact:

National Cooperative Agreement Highlight - National Center for Equitable Care for Elders

New! The National Center for Equitable Care for Elders (ECE) is HRSA/BPHC's newest National Cooperative Agreement with a focus on care for the elderly.

They are currently looking to recruit HRSA funded health centers to join our learning collaborative activities. They are hosting 2 learning collaboratives from April - June. The topics are:
1) Integrating primary care, oral care and behavioral care for older adults
2) Care coordination for older adults with diabetes and other chronic co-morbidities.

Time commitment is light as each topic has 4 sessions of 1 hour video-conferencing calls. Interested health centers can participate in one or both collaboratives.

Please check out the link at https://ece.hsdm.harvard.edu/education-training to learn more. For questions, please contact Jini Etolue, Program Manager at jini_etolue@hsdm.harvard.edu

UDS Mapper Advanced Topics: Data in the UDS Mapper
April 23, 2018 | Webinar
This webinar will vary from month-to-month and cover advanced tools and uses of the UDS Mapper. The UDS Mapper is a collaboration between the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and is part of the HealthLandscape online mapping platform. This webinar is geared toward users who are familiar with the UDS Mapper and would like to learn more about its uses. Click here to register for this month's webinar.

Improving Patient Adherence with Cost of Care Conversations
April 25, 2018 | Webinar
Over 20 million people this year will not stick to their care plan because of worry about the cost -- almost 6% of the entire US population. But avoiding or delaying care, especially for chronic conditions or in prenatal care, can have adverse effects on health status and health care use -- and long-term expense. When providers talk to their patients about the cost of their care, what is recalled by the patient? How can providers present the cost of care conversation in a way that is the most effective?

In this presentation, MCN will discuss a unique project examining the cost of care conversation's structure, to see what content elements are actually delivered during the medical encounter versus what is recalled by the patients. The presentation will include a comparison of the effectiveness of the trained sub-groups (intervened) and the usual care (non-intervened) study groups. Long-term outcomes regarding the patient's adherence to the care plan, and their reason for non-adherence, will also be discussed. Click here to register.

Nuts and Bolts to Identifying Migratory and Seasonal Agricultural Workers and their Families in Your Health Center
April 26, 2018 | Webinar
Brought to you in partnership with NWRPCA and CHAMPS, this free webinar will review why it is important to identify MSAWs and their families served by health centers, discuss the elements of proper identification of MSAWs and their families, and identify common mistakes and best practices in the identification methods (e.g., Quality Improvement processes) of identifying and registering MSAWs and their families as patients. Click here for more information and to register.

The Nuts and Bolts of the National Diabetes Prevention Program
April 26, 2018 | Webinar
The National Center for Farmworker Health is partnering with the Virginia Center for Diabetes Prevention and Education program at the University of Virginia, to offer this webinar providing a high-level overview of the Diabetes Prevention Program research study and rationale for establishing a National Diabetes Prevention Program. The details and structure of CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) and Diabetes Prevention Recognition Program (DPRP) will be provided, along with information on Lifestyle Coach Training and reimbursement for NDPP. Click here to register.

Customer Service: the Art of Caring
April 27, 2018 | Webinar

Providing a high level of customer service is critical in every area of a health center, yet both knowledge and skill are necessary to handle difficult situations and exceed customer expectations. This highly engaging webinar for CHC employees at all levels discusses the critical importance of great customer service and provides a wide range of concrete tools and techniques for making exceptional service part of every interaction.

Join this free webinar to gain crucial skills, ideas and strategies to immediately improve customer service at your health center.

Making the Invisible, Visible: Lessons Learned from a Hispanic/Latino Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Needs Assessment
April 30, 2018 | Webinar
Join Betsy Rodriguez, Senior Public Health Advisor at the CDC National Diabetes Education Program, to hear findings from the latest diabetes needs assessment for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFWs). This webinar will highlight educational needs for diabetes and prediabetes and learn about culturally and/or linguistically tailored materials for MSFWs. Click here to register.

Applying the New Site Visit Protocol on HRSA’s Operational Site Visit
May 1, 4, and 8, 2018 | Webinar
May 1st, 4th, & 8th at 1pm – 3pm ET. Register today for this timely 3-part OSV webinar series for health centers. Click here for more details and to register for all three webinars.

Arizona Food and Farm Forum
May 8-9, 2018 | Gilbert, AZ
The AZ Food & Farm Forum is a 2-day conference for producers, food entrepreneurs, and local food advocates, programmed to change the way our desert state feeds itself. The event features networking sessions, nationally-acclaimed keynote speakers, instructional workshops, & the opportunity to grow your local food community. Click here for more details and to register for this forum.

National Health Center Week Kick Off Webinar
May 16, 2018 | Webinar
May 16th at 3pm ET. Save the date for the #NHCW18 kick-off webinar. Join us to find out everything you need to know about this year's focus days, event planning, and more! Click here to RSVP.

2018 Spring Primary Care Conference: Population Health Management Track
May 20-21, 2018 | Portland, OR
The Population Health Management track aims to engage participants in an in-depth dialogue about, and provide useful tools and strategies for, effective population health management. Day 1 is designed to provide an introduction to community health development principles tested over the past several decades, then dive into the social determinants of health, develop sophisticated team-based workforce models, and explore value-based purchasing through strong care coordination. Day 2, under the guidance of national expert Andy Principe, will use Day 1 as a springboard into critical population health skill sets related to patient attribution, risk stratification, care management, data analytics, and accountable care partnering. Click here for more details and to register.

Starting With Success: Building and Enhancing Your Health Center (SWS)
May 30-31, 2018 | Alexandria, VA
Starting With Success: Building and Enhancing Your Health Center, is a 2-day, intensive training that will teach participants the fundamentals of running a high-performing federally qualified health center. To accomplish this goal, the training will provide an in-depth look into the health center program requirements and highlight promising practices in the areas of health center finances, operations, governance, and clinical delivery systems. This training will feature national experts from the Bureau of Primary Health Care, health center leaders, and staff from the National Association of Community Health Centers. Early bird registration ends May 15. Click here to register and for complete details.

The West Coast Payer and Provider Summit to Address Social Determinants of Health for Complex Populations
June 4-5, 2018 | Scottsdale, AZ
The West Coast Payer and Provider Summit to Address Social Determinants of Health for Complex Populations convenes health care leaders across public and private industries to learn about cross-sector initiatives aimed at removing social, economic, and behavioral barriers to care that drive unnecessary utilization and costs in complex populations and underserved communities. Attendees gain strategies on ways to identify and engage patients, align partners, and establish community-wide networks that help build capacity and meet the basic needs of high-risk individuals. Click here to register and for full details.

Let's Get Better Together Conference
June 7-8, 2018 | Phoenix, AZ
Please join the LGBTQ Behavioral Health Coalition of Southern Arizona and the LGBTQ Consortium for the 7th annual statewide LGBTQ Healthcare Conference: Let’s Get Better Together: A Quality Look at Healthcare in Arizona! Click here for more information and to register.

45th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference
July 26-27, 2018 | Flagstaff, AZ
Save the dates! The 45th Annual Arizona Rural Health Conference at the High Country Conference Center, Flagstaff, Arizona. The conference engages a statewide audience and allows for building and strengthening partnerships, discussing ideas and solutions, networking and disseminating information. Full details here.

2018 STD Prevention Conference
August 27-30, 2018 | Washington D.C.
Save the Date! More details coming soon.

Health Justice: Empowering Public Health and Advancing Health Equity
October 4-6, 2018 | Phoenix, AZ
Join more than 600 practitioners, policymakers, lawyers, advocates and researchers in public health and other sectors at the 2018 Public Health Law Conference to learn about, and connect on the critical issues that impact the health of our communities. Click here for full details and to register.

Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provide Summit (SPS)
October 8-9, 2018 | Glendale, AZ
SPS is a national conference focusing on linking telemedicine and telehealth service provider companies with hospitals,healthcare systems, clinics and others who need their services. SPS is about bringing better healthcare to patients, communities, and populations; improving outcomes; and reducing costs. It is about helping hospitals and healthcare systems to thrive through partnerships with telemedicine providers. Click here for details and to register.

CEO Hallway Conversations with John McDonald

Program Highlight - Workforce Development

Key Health Center Guidance

National Cooperative Agreement Highlight - National Center for Equitable Care for Elders

Upcoming AACHC Trainings & Events