Upcoming Trainings
Don't miss out on these free, virtual trainings for community health centers offered by OKPCA this month:
Implications of Communication on Providing Care to the LGBTQ Community
- Thursday, Oct 22, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
- Part two in OKPCA's HIV Training Series (view the prerequisite)
- Presented by Russell Rooms, MSN, APRN with Diversity Family Health
- 1 CPE from Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
- This training will review how cultural knowledge and communication can positively or negatively impact providers' ability to care for patients in the LGBTQ community
Outreach & Enrollment for Health Centers
- Monday, Oct 26, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
- Presented by Steve Goldman with Legal Aid
- Will review strategies for Marketplace Open Enrollment and offer insight on how health centers can prepare to help newly-eligible patients enroll when Medicaid is expanded next year
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OHCA Unveils RFP for Managed Care
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) unveiled the details of its Request For Proposals (RFP) Thursday for its transition to third-party managed care in 2021. OHCA says the new program, dubbed "SoonerSelect," will allow the State to move to a value-based payment model, "contain costs through better coordinating services" and increase the "cost-predictability" for the state Medicaid program at-large. View more on the OHCA website.
Governor Stitt Makes Interim Agency Appointments Permanent
This week, Governor Stitt announced his plans to make three of his interim agencies appointments permanent: Carrie Slatton-Hodges as Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Dr. Lance Frye as State Commissioner of Health, and Rachel Holt as Executive Director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs. Read more.
Republican Congressional leaders seek input on changes to 340B statute by Oct. 30
Last Friday, the Chair of the Senate HELP Committee and the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee published a request for public input on "how to improve" the 340B program. The complete announcement is available here. NACHC will be preparing a template set of comments in response to this request and will share it shortly.
Provider Relief Funding
Within the past few weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made important two important announcements regarding the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund.
- First, health centers who are facing financial losses due to COVID (after accounting for Provider Relief Funds, BPHC grants, Paycheck Protection Loans, etc.) have an opportunity to apply for additional PRF funding. The health centers most likely to fall in this category include those with over 500 employees, those in COVID “hot spots”, and look-alikes. The amount of funding that will be made available to health centers will not be known until after the application deadline. The deadline to apply for additional funding ends is Friday, November 6.
- Second, health centers who feel that their PRF payments have been generous should know that HHS has tightened the definition of “lost revenues” that can be reimbursed with PRF funds. Many providers are concerned that this new definition might require them to return some PRF funds that they have already received to the Federal government. The health centers most likely to fall in this category are those with rural sites which, in addition to the “General Distribution”, received $103K per site from the Rural Distribution. NACHC and other provider organizations are reaching out to HHS to request that they return to the original definition of “lost revenues”, which they announced in June; however, unless HHS reverts to the original definition, these health centers need to reconsider the extent to which they can allocate costs to the PRF and the possibility that they might need to return some PRF funds.
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UDS Training
Hosted by OKPCA
Tuesday, Oct 20, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday, Oct 21, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Outreach & Enrollment Training
Hosted by OKPCA
Monday, Oct 26
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Motivational Interviewing for Medical, Nursing, and Center Staff - Part 2
Hosted by OKPCA
Thursday, Oct 29
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Hybrid Health Center: Building systems that sustainably support both telehealth and in-person care
Hosted by the HITEQ Center
Four-session series: Oct 21, Nov 4, Nov 18, and Dec 2
Optimizing Greenway for CY2020 UDS Reporting
Tuesday, Oct 27
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
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Workforce survey: Oklahoma Primary Care Association, alongside the Health Resources & Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce (HRSA BHW) and Primary Care Associations across the country, are working to increase provider recruitment and retention. HRSA’s new Health Professions Education and Training (HP-ET) Initiative will enhance health centers’ capabilities to recruit, develop, and retain their workforce by exposing health and allied health professions students, trainees, and residents to education and training programs conducted at health centers. The HP-ET Initiative will use the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT) to help health centers assess and improve their readiness to engage in health professions training programs. Ideally, a key contact at each health center will provide the RTAT survey link to all employees of the health center for completion. Access the link for the RTAT survey here!
Virtual UDS Training: OKPCA is hosting this year's 2020 UDS training by Zoom. Participants will attend two half-day sessions on October 20-21. The cost is $100 per person. There will be two, live 3-hour training sessions, each with a 15-minute break, and one live 60-minute Q&A. View the agenda and register today!
2020 Oklahoma ADCES Annual Symposium: The Oklahoma chapter of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES) is hosting a virtual symposium on Friday, Nov 6 from 7:45AM – 4:30 PM. The cost is $29 for ADCES members & $39 for non-members. This program is designed for individuals active in diabetes education, including RNs, RDS, pharmacists, and other health care providers interested in staying informed on current practices of care for patients with diabetes and other related conditions. Learn more and view the agenda here.
Same Day Billing: The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) has released a provider reimbursement notice for health centers billing multiple, same-day encounters. Health centers should use the modifier XE when billing the procedure code T1015. Read more.
Motivational Interviewing Training: It's not too late to join OKPC for free Motivational Interviewing trainings. One track is intended for medical, nursing, and center staff and another is specifically for behavioral health staff and leadership. The trainings for both groups be provided in two parts and will give a general overview of Motivational Interviewing, the rationale for use of Motivational Interviewing, and the opportunity for practical application.
Oklahoma Prepares for Vaccine Distribution: Last month, Deloitte Consulting, a major federal contractor, was awarded a contract to develop a new software platform for the CDC called the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) to support mass vaccination campaigns. Oklahoma public health officials have said in recent days the state could be the first to "go green" with the vaccination plan next month. The initial vaccination campaign will most likely deploy the first wave of immunizations to hospital workers, first responders, and other “critical” workers.
PCA Leadership Conference: The Illinois Primary Health Care Association announced its 2020 Annual Leadership Conference will be held online Oct. 28-30. IPHCA is using the virtual conference to connect its attendees with an outstanding roster of speakers:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, pro basketball's all-time leading scorer and Presidential Medal of Freedom Winner for his work to improve education in underserved communities
- Regina Benjamin, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General
- Maria Hinojosa, an Emmy-winning anchor and executive producer of NPR's "Latino USA"
Anyone interested is welcome to attend the virtual conference. To register or learn more about the conference, visit IPHCA's website.
Schedule of Uniform Data System Technical Assistance Webinars for 2020 Reporting: To support timely, accurate, and complete Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting, HRSA will hold technical assistance (TA) webinars this fall. These will help you prepare for UDS reports due on February 15, 2021. Please see the training schedule and register in advance to receive materials.
Quarterly 340B Program Registration: Quarterly 340B Program site registration is open from October 1 to 15. Health centers will be able to register a site that has been verified as implemented and with a site status reflected as “active” in EHBs Form 5B through Friday, November 27. After that date, the system will close to prepare for the January 1, 2021 start. Email the 340B Prime Vendor Program or call 888-340-2787 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET) to register a new site or ask questions.
Reminder to Complete HRSA Surveys: Health centers will receive an email today with this week’s COVID-19 survey. The deadline is 11:59 PM CT. Health centers are strongly encouraged to fill out the survey, and OKPCA will reach out to health centers that do not submit it to remind them to complete it.
Possibilities, Probabilities, and Creative Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking for Complex Environments Training Now Open for Registration: NACHC is hosting this training in partnership with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) on October 26, November 2, and November 9. This highly interactive seminar offers nontraditional approaches to leadership that can help spur the innovative thought needed to achieve better organizational results. Register now and take advantage of early bird and member rates!
Catch-Up to Get Ahead: Childhood Immunizations Toolkit: In support of National Immunization Awareness Month, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is urging health centers and health care providers to “catch-up to get ahead” on childhood immunizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to alarming declines in well-child visits and routine immunization rates. This raises the risk for outbreaks and could further strain on our nation’s health care system. To increase childhood immunization rates, HHS is coordinating the “Catch-Up to Get Ahead” effort. Your health center can promote the importance of childhood immunizations by using social media messages and graphics from the Catch-Up to Get Ahead Toolkit.
NOFO - Rural Health Care Services Outreach: HRSA has released a notice of funding opportunity for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program. The program is aimed toward promoting rural health care services by enhancing care delivery to rural underserved populations while developing innovative approaches to challenges related to the specific health needs of rural areas. HRSA plans to award 60 grants to communities as part of this funding. Applicants are required to deliver health care services through a consortium of at least three health care provider organizations. Read more and apply by December 1.
Media and Provider Tool Kits for Flu Vaccination: To support efforts to increase flu vaccination rates, health centers are encouraged to leverage the CDC resources below:
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- Facing Many Unknowns, States Rush To Plan Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines (NPR)
- Covid-19 Outbreaks Led to Dangerous Delay in Cancer Diagnoses (The Wall Street Journal)
- Oklahoma reports high in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations (The Frontier)
- Oklahoma takes first step to outsource care for most Medicaid recipients (The Oklahoman)
- COVID-19 brings new urgency to the need for rural broadband access (NonDoc)
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