This webinar series, designed for individuals who are actively engaged in retention and recruitment activities within their organization, will explore three building blocks to assemble and strengthen the clinical workforce of a patient centered medical home: the National Health Service Corps, Integrated Care Teams, and Educational Health Centers. Click here for more details about dates, times, distinguished speakers, and how to register.
January 2012. NASTAD has released a report describing the level and types of collaboration that currently exist between community health centers and state health department HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis programs. The report is based on 1) a one-day consultation with representatives from health departments, community health centers, and federal agencies and 2) a national assessment of state health department HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis programs. NACHC provided collaborative support for both the design of the consultation agenda and assessment. The report highlights “models of excellence” that demonstrate strong collaborative relationships; factors, such as the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the Affordable Care Act, Ryan White Program funding; improved diagnostics and treatments; and health center expansion to patient centered medical homes, that foster greater collaboration; challenges and opportunities; and recommendations for next steps. Click here to read the full report.
Registration Now Open for the 2012 ACTHIV Conference, May 10 to 12, 2012 in Denver, CO
2012 marks the 6th annual Conference for the Treatment of HIV (ACTHIV), a state-of-the-science conference for frontline health care professionals, in scientific collaboration with multiple federal and independent agencies. The conference is designed to provide up to date information on research and development that can translate into the clinical practice of HIV/AIDS prevention and management. ACTHIV is targeted to frontline providers of persons at risk for or with HIV infection, including physicians (both specialists and primary care/family medicine), nurses, pharmacists, medical case managers (including social workers), mental health and substance abuse workers, treatment advocates, treatment educators and other healthcare professionals involved in caring for those infected with HIV. Registration for the conference is $300 including continuing education credits. Click here for more information and to register.
TRAINING FOR NEW MEDICAL DIRECTORS: Saturday, March 24, at the Policy & Issues Forum
New to your role as Medical Director of your health center? NACHC is pleased to offer Training for New Medical Directors as a foundational and essential building block in your career development as a health center Medical Director. This full-day in-person training provides the core knowledge and competencies that all health center Medical Directors need to function as effective managers, leaders, and advocates for their centers and communities. In addition to providing contextual knowledge regarding the history, political evolution, regulatory expectations, and terminology of the health center movement, course content focuses on developing competency in evolving health care issues such as the patient centered medical home, electronic health records, and meaningful use. The course format includes didactic learning, presentation and discussion of case studies, and networking opportunities. These components are inter-connected and come together to provide you with a high quality and comprehensive training. As such, your participation in the full day course is required. Topics covered include: History of Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps; Funding Sources and Regulatory Expectations; Performance Evaluation: Review and Accreditation; Medical Home and Electronic Health Records; Additional Delivery Models and Supporting Organizations; Federal Tort Claims Act and Risk Management; The Role of the Clinical/Medical Director; Small Group Case Studies. Presenters: Yvonne W. Fry-Johnson, MD, MSCR, Investigator, National Children’s Study, Department of Pediatrics, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA; Christopher Strayhorn, MD, MDiv, President, Just Health PC, St. Joseph, MI. Target Audience: Course content is designed specifically for new Medical Directors. Registration limited to Medical Directors in their position for two years or less. CMEs: Application for CME credit has been filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians. Determination of credit is pending. Contact for More Information: Katja Laepke at klaepke@nachc.com or 206-780-4972. Click here to register.
2012 Loan Repayment Application Now Open
December 13, 2011. The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has opened the 2012 application cycle for its Loan Repayment Program (LRP). While the application cycle will remain open until May 15 2012, providers are encouraged to apply early. The LRP offers primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health providers the opportunity to have their student loans repaid, while earning a competitive salary, in exchange for providing health care in urban, rural, or frontier communities with limited access to care. LRP providers serve at one of more than 17,000 NHSC-approved sites located in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including federally qualified health centers. Awards have been modified from previous years to help ensure that communities with the greatest need receive recruitment support to fill much needed clinical positions. For program details, please see the 2012 NHSC Loan Repayment Program At-A-Glance Fact Sheet and the complete Application and Program Guidance. You may also learn more about NHSC programs and opportunities by clicking here.
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Announces Coverage of Screening, Counseling Services to Treat Obesity
November 29, 2011. Noting that more than 30 percent of men and women in the Medicare population are estimated to be obese, CMS announced November 29 that Medicare is adding coverage for preventive services to reduce obesity. Screening for obesity and counseling for eligible beneficiaries by primary care providers in settings such as physicians' offices will be covered under the new benefit, CMS said. The agency said its decision “adds to Medicare's existing portfolio of preventive services that are now available without cost sharing” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. “This decision is an important step in aligning Medicare's portfolio of preventive services with evidence and addressing risk factors for disease,” said Patrick Conway, CMS's Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Agency's Office of Clinical Standards and Quality. “Obesity is a challenge faced by Americans of all ages, and prevention is crucial for the management and elimination of obesity in our country,” said CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick. “It's important for Medicare patients to enjoy access to appropriate screening and preventive services.” CMS said that obesity is directly or indirectly associated with many chronic diseases, including those that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Counseling Visits: For a beneficiary who screens positive for obesity, the Medicare benefit will include weekly face-to-face counseling sessions for one month and one face-to-face counseling session every other week for five months after the initial sessions. CMS also said that the Medicare beneficiary may receive one monthly face-to-face counseling session for an additional six months (for a total of 12 months of counseling) if he or she has lost at least 6.6 pounds (or 3 kilograms) during the first six months of counseling. “This decision is an important step in aligning Medicare's portfolio of preventive services with evidence and addressing risk factors for disease,” said Conway. “We at CMS are carefully and systematically reviewing the best available medical evidence to identify those preventive services that can keep Medicare beneficiaries as healthy as possible for as long as possible.” The agency's memo noted that, given the increasing significance of the obesity problem, CMS initiated a national coverage analysis (NCA) in March. A proposed coverage decision was announced in late August (172 HCDR, 9/6/11).
Tom Curtin, MD, NACHC's Former Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Delivered the Commencement Keynote Address to graduates at A.T. Still University, School of Health Management (ATSU/SHM), Saturday, May 28, at the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall on the campus of Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri. LISTEN HERE. Prior to joining NACHC Senior Management in 1996, Dr. Curtin was Medical Director of the East Jordan Family Health Center, East Jordan, Michigan. He has a B.S. in Psychology and an M.D. from Michigan State University, and is a National Health Service Corps Scholar. Dr. Curtin spearheaded efforts to build workforce and leadership development programs for America’s Health Centers, was a key component of the Accreditation Initiative, and played a key role in designing and implementing the Health Disparities Collaboratives, a national health center program that independent studies cite as a successful treatment model in reducing chronic disease in medically underserved communities. Kimberly O’Reilly, D.H.Ed., M.S.W., Dean of SHM, calls Dr. Curtin “one of the most influential and respected healthcare professionals in the country. The fact that CHC’s serve the underserved fits squarely within the mission of SHM and ATSU.”
FREE NACHC Membership Available for Health Professional Students
This membership category is a FREE individual membership open exclusively to all enrolled health professional students who are committed to the mission and goals of NACHC: http://www.nachc.com/College%20Health%20Professional%20Membership.cfm .
