Congratulations to Access Family Health Services (FQHC-Smithville)on Completing its 1
st
S
uccessful
M
arket
S
eason of the innovative
Farmacy & Farm4Fit Program
:
After the loss of a local grocery store resulting from North MS tornadoes, Access Family Health Services created the “Farmacy Program” combing the promotion of health and wellness with a Farmers Market. During the months July – October, 2017 the health center hosted an indoor farmers market on Saturdays offering home grown products, such as baked goods, produce and plants and delicious dishes from local residents. With support from Catholic Charities, Access also included the Farm4Fit program which is a food voucher program that gives local residents tokens to purchase items during the event and allowed them to promote wellness and education. Thanks to Marilyn Sumerford, CEO and her team at Access for leading yet another path of innovation for CHCs in Mississippi!
Also added Congratulations to Access on Receiving
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MPHCA
Legislative
Activities
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FQHC/Hospital Collaboration
"Building Residency Programs Statewide"
Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) Office
116 Woodgreen Crossing (39110)
Madison, MS
More details coming soon.
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NO TRAVEL REQUIRED
Sliding Fee Policies Under the new HRSA Compliance Guidelines - Webinar
December 13, 2017, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Health Center Compliance Manual, released by HRSA in August 2017, outlines requirements of both the program legislation and implementing regulations. While the majority of the material was taken from previously released HRSA materials, this document provides a one-stop shop for this crucial information. In addition, the Manual provides some needed clarification in a number of areas, including the Sliding Fee Discount program that is central to the Health Center Program. This webinar will outline these requirements, highlighting any changes from prior policy and practice.
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Funding Cliff Advocacy Emergency
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A recent
study
published at the Milken School of Public Health at Georgia Washington University states The Range of Economic & Employment Losses in 2018 if Health Center Funding is not restored:
In Mississippi
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Gross State Product Lost in $Millions: Low of $73M and as high as $156M
Total Privat Jobs Lost: Low of 872 and high of 1,880
Health Care Jobs Lost: Low of 415 and as high as 903
Non-Health Care Jobs Lost: Low 457 and high of 957
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Notes From National Advocacy Efforts:
As we head into 2018, the very real threat of the funding cliff's consequences become more real every day. All of you have been taking on the herculean effort to advocate continued funding with our delegation and we thank you. Unfortunately, we can't yet rest. Congress needs to hear from us so that they step up to take serious action now. We understand the fatigue you may be feeling, but ask you to forge on to continue the health center legacy at this critical juncture by doing the following:
- Use www.hcadvocacy.org to contact your House Members and our Senators (yes, again!)
- Do it yourself 1st; then encourage your staff, board, patients, friends and family to do the same and to both email and call
- Use social media to tweet at your federal legislators. This can be as simple as taking a photo and posting it - remember a picture is worth a thousand words and if everyone in our network is willing to put a face to the cause, the impact is immeasurable. For ideas on what to do, check out our feed at https://twitter.com/PACHC1
- Use NACHC's Funding Cliff calculator to be able to tell your story with real numbers
Request a meeting with your congressmen's district office to talk about your concerns and what the impact may be if funding is reduced in January of 2018. You can find their contact information at
www.house.gov
or Senators Wicker and Cochran at
http://www.senate.gov/states/MS/intro.htm
.
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2017 Recruitment & Retention Data Profiles Released!
STAR² Center individual recruitment and retention
Data Profiles
were
released to each health center CEO in the country throughout the week of November 27, 2017!
State level packets will be available to PCA and PCO staff who have completed a data use agreement in the coming weeks. Supporting documents and data use agreements are located in the
Data Profile Information Center
on STAR² website.
Contact STAR²
if you have not yet received your Data Profile or if you would like to discuss your data and potential next steps in your workforce planning!
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Mississippi “Getting to Zero” Learning Collaborative
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Treatment for HIV has improved greatly over the years, but Mississippi still has one of the highest rates of infection in the country. And, despite advances in testing and treatment, MS also has one of the highest rates of AIDS, the deadly disease caused by the virus. According to a recent study released by Emory University, four out of 10 gay or bisexual men in Jackson have HIV. This rate is the highest in the nation. Fortunately, with the availability of PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) for people at risk for HIV infection and extremely effective antiretroviral medication for people living with HIV, it is possible to turn these statistics around. Primary care providers have a crucial role to play in making sure that their patients can get access to these life-saving medications and prevent future infections.
In partnership with the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association (MPHCA) and the Mississippi AIDS Education and Training Center (MSAETC), the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) has invited all MS community health centers to participate in a six month learning collaborative, focused on the core components of HIV prevention: routine HIV testing, linkage to care, access to PrEP and inclusive care for patients most impacted by HIV. Our
“Getting to Zero” HIV prevention learning collaborative
will take place from January – June 2018 and will offer free training, technical assistance and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. Participants will be connected to local colleagues and national subject matter experts to support the integration of best practices for HIV prevention within primary care. We currently have five health centers enrolled.
For more information and/or an opportunity to participate, please contact Andrew Ellis, PCDC Project Coordinator at
aellis@pcdc.org
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UDS Mapper/Public Housing Learning Collaborative
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Overview
In collaboration with MPHCA, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium is convening a learning collaborative of Mississippi CHCs interested in learning more about UDS Mapper capabilities, as well as best practices for engaging community partners in supporting health center programming and patient outcomes.
Timeline & Commitment
Participants in the virtual learning collaborative will attend 4 learning sessions consisting of a pre-recorded webinar, a live demonstration of the UDS Mapper, and 2 peer learning sessions. These learning sessions will be hosted early December 2017 through January 2018 in preparation for completing the 2017 UDS report. Each learning session will be an hour in length.
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Please mark your calendars for First Fridays!
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Become an
ACE
Health Center
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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.
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See what's happening on our social sites:
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