Member Spotlight
FAMILY HEALTH CENTER (FHC), Laurel, MS
As Community Health Centers continue the work to address obesity in the state of Mississippi, FHC’s Dr. Rashad Ali is on the path to become a candidate for Board Certification through the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He currently serves as an active member of Obesity Medicine Association where members of the OMA are clinical leaders in obesity medicine who work to advance the prevention, treatment, and efforts to reverse the disease of obesity.  In a recent interview with Dr. Ali, he shared how one of his patients has lost almost 100 pounds and chronic conditions like high blood pressure and cholesterol are no longer conditions the patient suffers, although the patient remains actively engaged in treatment. As Community Health Center’s continue the fight and focus via its annual 65x65 initiative, along with other specific practice areas that address obesity, expanding the network’s expertise through his training will prove an asset. Dr. Ali is currently board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and practices in Laurel, while serving as CEO of FHC and board president of MPHCA.
Congratulations to Dr. Sheree Donaldson. Dr. Donaldson also practices as a member of the Executive Team at FHC. She serves as the Director of Behavioral Health Services. Dr. Donaldson graduated earlier this summer with her Doctor of Nursing Practice and published her capstone titled “PROVIDER BASED INTERVENTIONS TO MITIGATE RISK FOR OPIOID PAIN MEDICATION ABUSE AMONG ADULT PATIENTS IN A PRIMARY CARE SETTING”.  Plans are underway to collaborate with FHC and Dr. Donaldson to expand the capacity for Community Health Centers statewide in addressing Opioid treatment.
NACHC and A.T. Still partner for new school CHC-U, The College for Healthy Communities and the Underserved (CHC-U)!
Ron Yee, MD, MBA, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer, NACHC, at the recent PCA/HCCN Conference in Austin informed participants that health care systems across the country are developing their own schools and programs to train a workforce with the competencies desired by their system.  CHC-U formed through a collaboration with the NACHC and A. T. Still University (ATSU), is an educational entity solely committed to responding to the needs of health centers.

CHC-U will educate the next generation of clinical team members with the competencies necessary to improve the health of underserved communities and vulnerable populations. CHC-U’s first endeavor is a physician assistant (PA) program, and they are looking for 20-25 health center campuses / consortia that are committed to serving as the yearlong educational home for five second-year PA students in 2021 and each year thereafter.

How can your organization become involved in this “grow our own” opportunity? Attached are the following four documents to provide you with additional information on CHC-U and the developing PA program:

The leadership of A.T Still expressed their excitement about this opportunity to identify “healers in waiting” in your community and train them to work in health centers. If you would like to join us them in this effort, please contact the CHC-U Team at CHCU@nachc.com to schedule a telephone conversation.
Dr. Gary Cloud, of the A.T. Still leadership team will be here with us this Wednesday, December 6 th and will be discussing:

Strategies for Recruiting - Osteopathic - Approved for 2.5 HR (General) Credits
HR Workgroup
December 6, 2017, 9:30 am - 3:00 pm, MSU Cavs Center, Canton, MS
The use of this seal confirms that this activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.
From Recent Trainings
Funding Cliff Resolve/Issues Persist: 

During the HRSA All-Programs Webcast on November 30 2017, Jim McCrae highlighted the following:
  • Though, we remain optimistic regarding passage of the Championing Healthy Kids Act, plans are undwerway in the event of a government shutdown to fund health centers on a month-to-month basis. Congress has until next Friday, December 8th to act to avoid a government shutdown. There continue to be many competing issues for the administration.
  • If the CHKA Act does pass, implications for the health center statute include:
  • Authority for 1-time quality awards that have been broadened to include chronic conditions; workforce; telehealth; integration of MH/SA; and other areas demonstrating innovation.
  • Service Area Overlap – HRSA will be required to take a new look at need. A Request for Information (RFI) will be sent to grantees in early 2018 to provide input into this process.
Next Wednesday, Dec. 6, NACHC will host policy and advocacy update sessions to share where we are on addressing the health center funding cliff, strategies and the impact if Congress fails to take action. NACHC will hold a webinar/conference call at 12 noon CST on Dec. 6 ; to participate,  click here . We will also seek opportunities to implement further actions, as well as work with the Grassroots Advocacy Committee for additional efforts beyond the December 6 th call.
340B Training held on November 30 th – Sue Veer
 
Few Key Take Aways for those who weren’t able to attend:
 
  • New Site Registration Deadline Dec. 8 HRSA has extended the standard registration periods for new health center sites that seek to register to participate in 340B. If you have satellite sites that have not been registered, health centers have until Dec. 8, 2017 to register new sites for January 1, 2018 eligibility. To register a site, contact Apexus at this email or call 1-888-340-2787. Note that a site must be listed as "active" in EHB in order to be registered.

  • Pharmacy can be regarded as a main primary care service and not ancillary to services offered at the health center. A well-functioning 340B program can improve quality outcomes while increasing revenue and stabilizing health center operations. Make pharmacy services a part of your organizational strategic and business plans.

  • The first step in contract pharmacy compliance is a well-written contract. Health centers should make sure they have a contract, that someone reviews thoroughly and reviews annually to ensure it includes all required elements of 340b compliance and clearly delineates what each party is responsible for, as well as what terms exist for execution and termination.
MPHCA Legislative Activities

 January 16, 2018

More information to following in an upcoming News Bulletin
Thanks to those who have committed to becoming ACE Health Centers

Coastal Family Health Center, Inc.
Jefferson Comprehensive Health Center
Outreach Health Services, Inc.

What is an Advocacy Center of Excellence?

An Advocacy Center of Excellence, or ACE, is a Health Center that has achieved certain measures of advocacy success and demonstrated ongoing commitment to advocacy by making it an organizational priority. In addition to creating a true culture of advocacy at the Health Center, including operationalizing advocacy practices and creating supporting infrastructure, ACEs are actively engaged and involved with NACHC and federal policy issues, as well as their state Primary Care Association and key state-level policy issues impacting Health Centers and their patients. There are three levels of ACE status- Bronze, Silver, and Gold- each designation is valid for two years. Here is a checklist of items a Health Center must complete in order to become an ACE.

Please contact Desiree Stinson for more information.