Pharmacies at Health Centers: Operations and Models

The below resources from NACHC outline how to implement or grow pharmaceutical operations in health centers, with specific guidance on the 340B Drug Discount Program.

• Primer on Health Center Pharmacy Operations: ​​Intended for health center leaders, board members, new health center 340B program staff, pharmacy leaders, and new health center staff.​

• Pharmacy Models: An Introduction for Health Center Boards: This short video​ presents strategic considerations for various models. It can help board members engage in discussions with CEOs.
  
  

Best Practices for Adapting to the Remote and Hybrid Workforce in Team-Based Care
Telehealth and remote work are going to continue to be a “way of life” even after the pandemic is over. This newly released publication provides health center leadership with ideas and best practices on how to adapt policies and procedures for a remote and hybrid workforce. The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved’s (ACU) STAR2 Center and the Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality (HITEQ) Center (both HRSA-funded NTTAPs) collaborated on this publication.

Preparing for the End of the Public Health Emergency
The federal PHE currently extends through Oct. 13, 2022. While we do not know when the PHE will end, NC Medicaid has launched a new webpage to help provide guidance on preparing for the end of the PHE. The webpage offers information and resources including a communication toolkit for community partners who work closely with beneficiaries as we work together to ensure consistent access to care. We encourage you to share this information with your partners and stakeholders.

N.C. Health Centers Served Over 743,000 Patients in 2021
According to newly released Uniform Data System (UDS) figures from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), North Carolina's Community Health Centers cared for 743,048 patients in 2021, growing the number of health center patients served by over 8 percent over the prior year.

Looking at the 2021 special populations data, North Carolina's CHCs cared for an increased number of agricultural workers, public housing residents, veterans, and children at school-based sites, compared with last year. (Note: Actual patients served may be slightly higher than the below numbers due to HRSA data not including data from CHC look-alikes.)

• 37,811 Agricultural workers and dependents served in 2021 (up from 30,041 in 2020)
• 207,280 Patients served at centers at or adjacent to a Public Housing Site (up from 146,639 in 2020)
• 6,351 Children served at school-based sites (up from 6,237 in 2020)
• 9,251 Veterans served (up from 8,269 in 2020)

Multiple New Sites Across the State Expand Health Care Access to the Underserved

During the 2022 National Health Center Week, at least four Community Health Centers celebrated the opening of new sites, with more planning grand openings soon.


Mountain Community Health Partnership cuts the ribbon on its new Burnsville location (above).


Triad Adult & Pediatric Medicine cuts the ribbon on its new Northwood site in Greensboro, with Congresswoman Kathy Manning (NC-6) in attendance (above).

In addition, Cabarrus-Rowan Community Health Centers celebrated opening a new site in Salisbury and Agape Health Services celebrated opening a new site in Plymouth.

Please send Stacie Borrello, NCCHCA communications and external affairs manager, your pictures from your National Health Center Week celebrations, and let her know if you celebrated a new site or line of service this week that was not mentioned here.

New Pharmacy Open at Kinston Community Health Center

We are excited to announce Kinston Community Health Center is expanding services to better serve the community. 

The new addition will be Kinston Community Pharmacy, the pharmacy opened for business on August 8, 2022. The new pharmacy is located at 324 N Queen St. Suite A in Kinston. The hours of operations will be Monday - Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.

Bradley Trabookis, PharmD, will be the lead Pharmacist-In-Charge at Kinston Community Pharmacy. Bradley is a 2009 graduate from Medical University of South Carolina with a Doctorate of Pharmacy and Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Packaging Science. Read more at this link.

ICYMI: Expanding Medicaid Would Increase Community Health Center Reimbursement Revenue by 32% on Average, New Analysis Finds 

A new analysis of North Carolina Community Health Center data released this week shows that expanding Medicaid would not only directly benefit individuals gaining coverage, but it would also significantly increase revenue for North Carolina’s Community Health Centers (CHCs), allowing health centers to expand access to care, create new health care jobs, and add new lines of service. On average, net increases in reimbursements to CHCs would jump by 32.2 percent annually—for health care services they are already providing to their uninsured patients.  

(Read more from NCCHCA's release.)

Personal Protective Equipment Request Process

Request PPE here from the state of North Carolina.
See PPE reports for North Carolina.

Clinical Workforce: Learning Collaborative Opportunities
Deadline: September 30, 2022
Click here for the Application to join! 
The National Health Center Training and Technical Assistance Partners (a project of CHC, Inc. and the Weitzman Institute) is opening several new Clinical Workforce Development Learning Collaborative Opportunities.

• Comprehensive and Team-Based Care (October 2022 to June 2023)

• Postgraduate Nurse Practitioner Residency Program (October 2022 to March 2023)

• Health Professions Student Training (January to June 2023) 

• HIV Prevention (January to June 2023)

How Can You Support the Mental Health of Your CHC Workforce? 

This new resource from the Star² Center suggests powerful and practical strategies to understand and address the mental health challenges of your staff. What are the sources of trauma? How can you recognize them? What supports can you offer to make a difference? Click here to read more about how you can support your team’s mental health, job satisfaction, and well-being.

NCCHCA Workforce Development Workgroup
August 24, 2022 | 10 AM ET
Click Here to Register
Join your CHC colleagues to share information, challenges, and best practices on workforce planning, development, and partnerships in your CHCs. Our August meeting will refocus our group on the practical nuts and bolts of strategic workforce planning and our collective work on this effort. We’ll continue with the next edition of Resiliency Reset, and highlight a potential training partnership opportunity.

UDS Funding
Earlier this week, BPHC announced that almost every CHCs (both grantees and LALs) is receiving $65,500 each to support the submission of patient-level UDS data. 

HRSA Announces Availability of Nearly $15 Million to Expand and Support the Nursing Workforce
Registered Nurse Training Program
Deadline: August 19, 2022
This funding opportunity will provide awards totaling $4.75 million over three years to increase the number of nursing students trained in acute care settings, with an emphasis on addressing and responding to social determinants of health factors and improving health equity.

Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies Program
Deadline: August 22, 2022
This funding opportunity will provide awards totaling $10 million over four years to grow the nursing workforce by recruiting, training and supporting clinical nursing faculty and preceptors.

NEW: Department of Labor Growth Opportunities Round 2
Deadline for Round 2: October 5, 2022
Application Link
The Department of Labor (DoL) recently announced awards for Round 1 of the Growth Opportunities (GO) initiative. I am reaching out to you today to ask for your assistance in promoting the Round 2 GO competition (FOA-ETA-22-03).

GO aims to help youth avoid violence and build conflict resolution skills; introduce and prepare youth for the world of work; help youth identify career interests and attain skills and good work habits; and provide income to youth to start them on the path of earning living wages. The grant awards prioritize projects serving high-crime, high-poverty areas, as well as communities where students of color have disproportionate rates of expulsions and suspensions. For more information on this initiative, please see the GO overview.

DoL intends for approximately 50 percent of Round 2 funds to be awarded to applicants that have not received a previous Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) grant, subject to receiving sufficient fundable applications. We need your help reaching these organizations and making them aware of the GO Round 2 opportunity! Applications must be received by October 5, 2022, for Round 2 consideration.

Webinar: Pursuing Health Through Healing Collective Trauma

August 16, 2022 | 3:00 pm
Register today
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps will host a webinar August 16 at 3:00 pm (EDT) titled “Pursuing health through healing collective trauma.” The webinar will discuss how indigenous groups are taking steps to heal generations of collective trauma resulting from federal policies that called for the destruction of their cultural identities.

Advocacy Webinar Series from the NC Center for Nonprofits

Join the NC Center for Nonprofits for Making Your Nonprofit’s Case, the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits' new 3-part advocacy series, which will offer concrete tools for everyone to be an effective advocate for their cause.

• August 16 – Making Your Nonprofit’s Case: Back to Basics – Define your nonprofit’s goals, audiences, and resources as you develop advocacy strategies and tactics to make your case with funders, policymakers, and other decision makers 
• August 30 – Making Your Nonprofit’s Case with Storytelling – Study proven narratives and practical storytelling tools to make the case for your programs and mission 
• September 13 – Making Your Nonprofits Case with Quantitative Data – Identify and track the data that supports the need for your programs and services.

Register for the full series or individual webinars. Registration for the full series begins at $60 and closes August 15. Registration for individual webinars begins at $25 and closes the day before each webinar.

Medicaid Managed Care Webinar Series
Every 3rd Thursday of the month | 5:30-6:45 PM

Hosted by Shannon Dowler, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NC Division of Health Benefits. Moderated by Hugh Tilson, Director of the NC AHEC Program. Register for sessions and access past archives on this webpage.

• August 18, 2022 | Medicaid Hot Topics
• September 15, 2022 | Medicaid Hot Topics
• October 20, 2022 | Medicaid Hot Topics
• November 17, 2022 | Medicaid Hot Topics
• December 15, 2022 | Medicaid Hot Topics

2022 NACHC Community Health Institute (CHI) Conference & 340B Day in Chicago
August 28-30, 2022
Register (option to join 340B Day virtually)

The NACHC Community Health Institute (CHI) and EXPO is the largest annual gathering of health center clinicians, executives, consumer board members, along with State and Regional Primary Care Associations and Health Center Controlled Networks. The conference is scheduled to kick off in Chicago, IL from August 28 to 30, 2022 at a time when health centers are charting a new course in a rapidly changing health environment and being called upon to assume a larger role in the nation’s health care system. 

UDS Clinical Tables Part 1: Screening and Preventive Care Measures
Wednesday, September 21 | 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET                        
Register here

Register to Attend NCCHCA’s 2022 Clinical Conference: Breaking Down Barriers
October 20-21 | Winston-Salem

We look forward to welcoming you at our 2022 Clinical Conference, which will be a valuable opportunity for professional development and networking. Please register as an attendee at this link, and reserve your hotel room before the deadline for the group rate (Sept. 30 for the Marriott and Oct. 6 for Embassy Suites).

The sponsor and exhibitor registration is at this link.