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COMMUNITY CLINIC VOICE NEWS DIGEST FOR SEPTEMBER, 2007
** COMMUNITY NEWS
** DISPARITIES
** EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
** ENROLLMENT ISSUES
** FUNDING
** HEALTH POLICY & TRENDS
** HEALTH REFORM
** IT & HEALTHCARE
** JOB POSTINGS
** LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
** QUALITY
** REGS
** RESOURCES & RESEARCH
** UPCOMING EVENTS
** COMMUNITY NEWS:
GRANTMAKERS IN HEALTH VISITS CCI - GIH made a site visit to the Community Clinics Initiative this month to learn how safety net providers are fostering the adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) to improve health outcomes, increase access to care, and reduce disparities. The grantmakers toured St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles to get a firsthand look at how it has improved the quality of care provided to its diverse patient population.
http://www.gih.org/calendar_url2665/calendar_url_show.htm?doc_id=506165
** DISPARITIES:
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND HEALTH CARE: HOW CAN WE IMPROVE? - A transcript is available of this Sept discussion of policies to reduce health care disparities and how early-life factors such as nutritional and environmental conditions affect health in subsequent years.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d7a
DEATH IN THE GOLDEN STATE: WHY DO SOME CALIFORNIANS LIVE LONGER? - White men in California can expect to live an average of seven more years than black men, according to a new study from the Public Policy Institute of California that echoes national surveys of the long-documented black-white gap. Heart disease and homicides account for much of the difference in life expectancies.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8bb0
** EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS:
HHS ANNOUNCES $75 MILLION IN SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING TO STATES FOR PANDEMIC FLU PREPAREDNESS - California will receive $5,482,954, and L.A. County was granted $2,268,550.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8b93
NONPROFITS PROVIDE CRUCIAL LONG-TERM SERVICES AFTER MAJOR DISASTERS - Nonprofit organizations are a crucial link in our nation's emergency preparedness and disaster response efforts, but their role is not always well integrated into disaster planning, says a brief from the Urban Institute.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8b34
** ENROLLMENT ISSUES:
MODERNIZING ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC PROGRAMS: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE - An independent assessment identified several overarching problems with the current enrollment systems and processes including the lack of a unified agency-wide approach, minimal data sharing between programs, outdated technology, reliance on manual processes, and processes that are not consumer friendly. The report makes both interim and "future state" recommendations that offer a roadmap for achieving a more streamlined, integrated and efficient approach to enrollment and retention.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8bad
EVALUATING A GATEWAY TO CHILDREN'S INSURANCE: ENROLLMENT THROUGH PROVIDERS' OFFICES - The automated process known as the Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Gateway used innovative methods to identify and pre-enroll eligible children into temporary Medi-Cal coverage, and then facilitate their transition into long-term enrollment in Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. Analysis shows that CHDP is succeeding in its goal of pre-enrolling large numbers of children into temporary Medi-Cal coverage, but has less success moving them into long-term coverage. Gateway’s automation is a powerful tool that should be refined and strengthened, say evaluators.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8bae
** FUNDING:
HRSA NEW ACCESS POINT FUNDING PACKAGE NOW AVAILABLE - Approximately 75 awards will be made, with an estimated average amount of $613,333. Application Deadline is Dec 18, 2007
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e4a
CMSP BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PILOT PROJECT RFP - This County Medical Services Program three-year pilot project seeks to test the effectiveness of primary care driven, enhanced mental health and substance abuse treatment services for selected CMSP members with mental health and/or substance abuse treatment needs. Application deadline is Oct 10.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8b55
$25 MILLION IN GRANTS FOCUS ON UNDERSERVED, CARE IMPROVEMENTS IN CA - The first round of proposal applications for the newest UnitedHealth Group /PacifiCare grants are being accepted through Oct. 12, 2007. Three more proposal periods are planned, with the next beginning in January of 2008.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8b23
PATIENT SAFETY GRANTS FOR CHCs - Cardinal Health has established a $1 million charitable grant fund to support initiatives by healthcare providers that enhance patient safety and quality of care. Letters of Intent due Oct 12.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8bb3
DENTAL PIPELINE PROJECT - The California Endowment's Community-Based Dental Education program is designed to help increase access to dental care for underserved populations. Proposals for Round 2 funds to either increase the recruitment of underrepresented minority/low-income students or to strengthen and expand service–learning programs in the community are due Oct 19, at noon.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e3f
COMMUNITY HEALTH LEADERS AWARDS- Honors outstanding and otherwise unrecognized individuals who overcome daunting odds to expand access to health care and social services to underserved populations in communities across the United States. The program aims to elevate the work of these unsung heroes through enhanced recognition, technical assistance and leadership development opportunities. Ten awards in the amount of $125,000 each will be made for the 2008 award cycle. Brief nominations are due Oct 19.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8dc9
PARTNERS INVESTING IN NURSING'S FUTURE - A collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation addresses nursing issues at the community level through funding partnerships with local and regional foundations. Applications due Oct 25.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e20
RGK FOUNDATION GRANTS IN MEDICINE & HEALTH - Grants up to $25,000 for community, education and health and medicine projects that promote the health and well-being of children and families, programs that promote access to health services, and, on a more limited basis, medical research programs. Letter of Inquiry are accepted on an ongoing basis.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8baa
** HEALTH POLICY & TRENDS:
MEDI-CAL HARD HIT BY THIS YEAR'S BUDGET DEAL; GOOD NEWS ON EAPC PROGRAM - The state's Medi-Cal emergency fund ran dry before legislators and Gov Schwarzenegger reached an agreement more than a month past the deadline. Then Medi-Cal took the largest single hit in the effort to trim more than $700 million from the proposal. The new budget transfers $332 million from the Medi-Cal reserve fund. Health care for underserved populations made up roughly $400 million of the $700 million in vetoed items by the Governor – in this year, the year of health reform, writes Robert Ross of The California Endowment. CPCA reports there is good news on legislation to fill the $10 Million cut from EAPC Program in the budget deal.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d3d
It was disappointing to see the state budget cuts made to healthcare/safety-net spending. Not quite in the spirit of a move toward universal coverage, writes Joshua Lazerson in the Grant Development Discussion.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea47e7/142
CA RELEASES ADDITIONAL $64M FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES - Money that was not spent on administration of Proposition 63 could be used to mitigate Gov. Schwarzenegger's $55 million cut from the FY2007-2008 state budget for Integrated Services for Homeless Adults with Serious Mental Illness.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d8f
SENATE APPROVES STOPGAP SPENDING PLAN; PASSES SCHIP BILL - The continuing resolution (HJ Res 52) that would fund at current levels the budgets of Cabinet departments and government agencies until Nov. 16, now will be sent to President Bush. The CR also temporarily extends SCHIP as Congress and Bush continue to debate reauthorization and expansion of the program and others set to expire on Sept. 30. Both the House and Senate have approved SCHIP compromise legislation, but Bush has vowed to veto the measure, along with seven of the 12 appropriations bills that call for $23 billion more in funding for domestic programs than his $933 billion requested budget.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e2f
HEARINGS ON CHC INSURANCE COSTS, NEW MARKETS TAX CREDITS - Congressional sponsors of H.R. 1518, a bill to allow health center employees to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, held a briefing on the impact of rising health insurance costs on Community Health Centers, and the Senate Banking Committee discussed the benefits of New Markets Tax Credits for health centers seeking facility expansions.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e1a
GREEN HEALTH CARE ONLINE - 8-week online course for health professionals is a first-of-its kind integral process that integrates evaluation, education, action, and professional development to nurture the individual.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea7cb3
CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION MARKS TEN YEARS OF INNOVATION - As its second decade begins, CHCF launches three new program areas to improve the quality of care for Californians with chronic disease, reduce barriers to efficient, affordable health care for the underserved, and promote greater transparency and accountability in California's health care system.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8dc0
SPREADING INNOVATIONS IN HEALTH CARE - Case studies of health care organizations that have achieved success in promoting change show why the spread of improvements in health care organizations is distinctly different from the diffusion of innovative ideas in other areas of life. Winners announced in a competition to Discover Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care include Family Coaching Clinics: A New Model of Preventive Mental Health Care from UCLA Semel Institute Global Center for Children and Families.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d41
EXPLORING COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN HEALTH CENTERS AND EMPLOYERS - A new issue brief from National Association of Community Health Centers provides examples of programs that health centers and employers have established in hope of finding models of financing care that can be an effective solution for employers, health centers, and patients.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e23
** HEALTH REFORM:
CA HEALTH REFORM: SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION MAKES PROGRESS - Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) this week predicted that he and Gov. Schwarzenegger are about two weeks away from reaching a deal. An expansion of health care coverage in California must be paired with an expansion of safety net health care providers to guarantee access to services, says the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. This month, San Francisco's universal health care access program expanded citywide.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e42
CCHCs CALL ON GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS TO ENACT HEALTH CARE REFORM THIS YEAR – California Primary Care Association urged Governor Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to move now to enact meaningful, comprehensive health care reform that fixes California’s malfunctioning system.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d1f
Follow the latest developments at CalHealthReform.org:
http://calhealthreform.org/
CA POLL: SEVEN IN 10 VOTERS BACK MAJOR HEALTH REFORM - Public Policy Institute of California found seven in 10 Californians believe the state's health care system needs major changes, and there is substantial support for both reform proposals now under consideration in Sacramento. Pessimism about California’s economic conditions hit its highest point since 2003, according to this year's edition of PPIC's Statewide Survey, the 25th in the Californians and Their Government series.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8dcc
** IT & HEALTHCARE:
RHIO SUCCESSES: SANTA CRUZ DOES IT RIGHT - While the key to the perfect RHIO may still be a mystery, a number of them are off and running, says an article from Healthcare Infomatics. Successful RHIOs have adopted best practices including strong vision, solid business planning, delivering value to stakeholders and reducing barriers to use. Experts cite the Santa Cruz, CA RHIO among the standard-setters.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d23
HEALTH IT PROGRESS IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY - A health IT committee in its first year completed a project that linked a 5,000-patient diabetes registry and all the major laboratories in the county, an EMR Club is another initiative. The committee is next taking up support and training for clinicians eager to tackle electronic prescriptions.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8baf
CLINICAL SYSTEMS LEARNING COMMUNITY FOLLOW UP: DOCUMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS -CSLC 2 convened on August 21, 2007, as part of the CSLC / AQIC Learning Summit in San Diego. Redwood Community Health Coalition provides links to documents and PowerPoint presentations from that event at:
http://www.rchc.net/content/projects-cslc.asp
ADOPTION OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY - This first national survey of federally funded community health centers, published in the Sept/Oct 2007 issue of the journal Health Affairs, shows that although 26% reported some electronic health record (EHR) capacity and 13% have the minimal set of EHR functionalities, CHCs serving the most poor and uninsured patients were less likely to have a functional EHR. Ensuring comparable health IT capacity among providers that disproportionately serve disadvantaged patients will have increasing relevance for disparities; thus, monitoring adoption among such providers should be a priority, say the authors. The article, part of a special issue on Caring For The Vulnerable, is available for purchase at:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/5/1373
CHCF TESTIMONY ON HEALTH IT DATA STANDARDS ADOPTION - In a September hearing, California HealthCare Foundation's Sam Karp criticized the standards effort to date, saying it has been too slow, too cumbersome, too political, and too heavily influenced by large IT vendors and other large institutions. Karp noted a growing consensus that HIPAA does not adequately safeguard health information in a digital world, and he called for the adoption of uniform privacy standards for any health information exchange activity and for clear accountability and enforcement standards as well as federal leadership in setting policy and practice standards.
http://www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemid=133467
EXPERTS OFFER ADVICE FOR RHIO PRIVACY AND SECURITY - A recent study from the California HealthCare Foundation found that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to privacy and security policies, several basic principles are common to all the successful ones. The Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health project identifies nine security and privacy principles that should be built into any health information technology system.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d84
AHRQ HEALTH INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY COLLABORATION TOOLKIT - Guidance for conducting organization-level assessments of business practices, policies, and State laws that govern the privacy and security of health information exchange (HIE).
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8d30
EHEALTH INITIATIVE TO UNVEIL BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE - A multi-stakeholder shared vision, principles, strategies and phased roadmap for achieving transformation in healthcare while leveraging health IT will be at eHealth Initiative's Fourth Annual National Conference: Policies and Best Practices at the National, State and Local Levels for Improving Health and Healthcare Through Information and Information Technology, October 11-12, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea6991
KOLODNER: U.S. LAGS IN HEALTH IT ADOPTION, STATE COLLABORATION KEY - The National Coordinator for Health IT notes that only 4% of physician practices with one or two providers have electronic health records. Kolodner stressed the importance of state-level health IT initiatives and urged states to collaborate on issues such as physician licensure for interstate telehealth programs.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e1f
NACHC COMMENT ON AMERICAN HEALTH INFORMATION COMMUNITY TRANSITION - National Association of Community Health Centers expressed overarching concern to ensure that the successor body includes representation of core health care safety net providers, in particular FQHCs. The current AHIC lacks any representation of either FQHCs or HRSA.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d98
CCHIT PLANS OPEN-SOURCE TOOL TO TEST EHR INTEROPERABILITY - The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology and the MITRE Corporation announced a collaboration to build a testing resource to evaluate compliance of electronic health records (EHR) and networks with certification criteria for interoperability. The testing software will be developed under an open source license so that it is free and publicly available.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d3e
UC TELEHEALTH PROJECT TO CONNECT SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY RURAL HEALTH CENTERS - University of California-Merced will use nearly $1 million in grants to electronically connect four rural health centers in the San Joaquin Valley with specialists in Valley cities and other UC schools. The four rural health centers, which could be clinics or small hospitals, will be selected by spring of 2008.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e30
FREE TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FROM TECHSOUP - If you're an "accidental techie" and would like to learn how to keep your organization’s computers running and safe from viruses and other threats, attend a free training in San Francisco Oct 9 or January 27, or webinars on Nov 6 & 7, and Feb 6 & 7.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8dd2
** JOB POSTINGS:
NEW JOB OPENINGS - Postings on the Community Clinic Voice during the last week seek an RN, Nurse Practioners, Dentist, Development Director, Leadership Program Assistant and Nutritionist Program Coordinator. For details or to post your own job notice, visit:
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/Job%20Postings/
** LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
CLINIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE - CLI, a signature project of Blue Shield of California Foundation, builds financial, management and executive leadership competencies of emerging leaders from community clinics. Participants go through an 18-month, part-time program that provides career planning, seminars, professional coaching, and peer networking experiences. Applications are due by October 31.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d77
NEW MINORITY NURSE FACULTY SCHOLARS PROGRAM - A new national scholarship program will provide financial assistance to under-represented minority (URM) nursing students to facilitate the completion of graduate programs and diversify the nurse faculty population. The application deadline for Spring 2008 scholarships is October 15, 2007. Recent data show that only 10.5% of full-time nurse faculty come from URM backgrounds.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8e12
THE COMMONWEALTH FUND/HARVARD UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN MINORITY HEALTH POLICY - One-year, full-time program based at Harvard Medical School is designed to create physician-leaders who will pursue careers in minority health and health policy. Applicants complete academic work for a master's degree in public health or public administration. Deadline for applications to apply for 2008-09 is January 2, 2008.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d8a
** QUALITY:
UNCOORDINATED CARE: A SURVEY OF PHYSICIAN AND PATIENT EXPERIENCE - A survey from the California HealthCare Foundation found that 40% of California physicians report patients had problems with the coordination of their medical care during the prior 12 months. The report also says that solo practitioners may be better at coordinating care.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8dbe
** REGS:
CMS TAMPER-RESISTANT PRESCRIPTION PAD LAW EFFECTIVE OCT 1 - A new CMS rule that requires doctors to use tamper-resistant paper for beneficiaries' prescriptions is scheduled to take effect October 1, 2007. The CMS Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the Tamper-Resistant Prescription Pad Law indicates nine states, including California, currently have tamper-resistant prescription drug pad laws and/or regulations in place that meet the federal requirements.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8e43
MORE TIME TO COMMENT - BPHC has extended the deadline for submission of comments on the FQHC Look-Alike Application Guidance to 11/07/07. Anyone who previously submitted comments to DPDgeneral@HRSA.gov should re-submit them because it was temporarily out of commission.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8d3f
Deadline for comments on three HRSA Draft Change In Scope Policy Information Notices is also extended to Oct 12.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8962
** RESOURCES & RESEARCH:
BEST PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVES - Leading Healthy Communities is a web repository for best practices for community-based health initiatives, launched by Premier Inc. of San Diego and the Wye River Group on Healthcare in Austin. The site features case studies and a community action guide that offers templates, surveys, assessment tools, links to funding opportunities and help on collaboration efforts.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8e44
JOINT COMMISSION LAUNCHES WIKIHEALTHCARE - This online pilot collaboration between health care workers and researchers is designed to enable and encourage discussion and collaboration among users for the purpose of improving health care quality. Users can create, share and edit content on different topics, such as smoking cessation programs, one of two initial topics to be discussed.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8dcb
SCREENING TOOL FOR FAMILY PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS AT LOW-INCOME CHILDREN'S WELL-CHILD CARE VISITS - Researchers at Johns Hopkins University tested the use of a simple screening tool that allows clinicians to raise sensitive psychosocial issues, like housing insecurity, inadequate parental education, and parental substance abuse, during pediatric visits. Providers who used the tool--which added only a few extra minutes to the overall visit--made more referrals to community resources, and ten times more parents who completed the screen contacted those referrals.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?14@@.eea8d8d
MORE THAN ONE OUT OF THREE NON-ELDERLY AMERICANS UNINSURED - Approximately 89.6 million Americans, more than one out of three people (34.7 percent) under 65 years of age, were uninsured at some point of time during 2006-2007, according to a repor tfrom Families USA. California had the largest number of uninsured among the states, 13 million people, or 40.5 percent of the state's non-elderly population.
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx/.eea8dcd
** UPCOMING EVENTS:
For details on all events, or to post your own announcements, visit the CCV Calendar:
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?dispCal@@.eea464e!m=8&y=2007
Managing Ambulatory Health Care - Oct 1-4, Portland, OR
Grant Search for Health IT Webinars - Oct 3, 4
Aspen Health Forum - Oct 3-6, Aspen, CO
Exhibit Opening: Traditional Chinese Medicine - October 4, Los Angeles
Dental Pipeline Project Meeting - October 4, Sacramento
CPCA 2007 Annual Conference - Oct 4-5, Sacramento
eHealth Initiative's Fourth Annual National Conference - Oct 10-12, Washington, DC
CPCA Clinical Web-based Training Series: BPHC Measures - Oct 11
Free Medication Safety Symposium - Oct 12, San Francisco
Latino Health Leadership Summit: Building a Roadmap to Improve the Health and Well-Being of the Latino Community - Oct 12-13, San Ysidro
Healthy Neighborhood Festival: "Groove to Your Health" - Oct 13, Los Angeles
Binational Health Week - Oct 13-21
Creating a Community of Nurse Leaders - Oct 15-19, San Diego
CSLC Case Study Teleconference - Oct 19
Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Area/Medically Underserved Training - Oct 26
National AgrAbility Workshop - Oct 29-Nov 1, Sacramento
So CA Round Table Forum: Telemedicine/E-health - Nov 5, Burbank
HL7 Educational Summit - Nov 6-8, Los Angeles
HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo - Nov 7
CPCA Web-based Training: California Obesity Prevention Initiative - Nov 8
Financial, Operations Management & IT Conference - Nov 16, Las Vegas
CSRHA’s 7th Annual Rural Health Conference - Dec 3-5, Sacramento
Managing Ambulatory Health Care - Dec 3-6, Boston, MA
CCI Grantee Gathering: Networking for Healthier Communities - Dec 5, Save the Date, Oakland Marriott City Center
17th Annual Western Migrant Stream Forum - January 25-27, Spokane, WA
For details on all events, or to post your own announcements, visit the CCV Calendar:
http://www.communityclinicvoice.org/webx?dispCal@@.eea464e!m=8&y=2007