September 2020
In this issue...
Annual Members' Meeting
Board Nominees
CEO Connection
A Message from Your Board Chair
Deputy Director
NAFC Charitable Health Care Symposium
Upcoming Events & Deadlines
Quick Links
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Annual Members' Meeting
In partnership with Northwest AHEC of Wake Forest School of Medicine and part of the NC AHEC program.
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Special Thanks to our Sponsors |
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North Carolina Association of
Free and Charitable Clinics
Annual Members' Meeting
Creating "Systemness" Through Regionalization of
Free and Charitable Clinics
Virtual Meeting
September 16, 2020
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Meeting Topics
NCAFCC Update * Finance Report
Board Election
Regionalization: The Shift
NCAFCC Awards
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2020 Board Nominees
To be voted on during the Annual Members' Meeting.
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Janet Jarrett
Albemarle Hospital Foundation Community Care Clinic
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Public At-Large Directors |
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Michael Lischke
Northwest AHEC
WFU School of Medicine
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John Price
NC Office of Rural Health
Retired
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CEO Connection
Randy Jordan, CEO
The Canary in the Coal Mine
Recent reporting from NC Medicaid suggests that Medicaid enrollment is climbing in North Carolina and COVID-19 may be responsible. We are seeing something similar in NCAFCC’s free and charitable clinic members during COVID-19. One of the requirements of NCAFCC’s recent state appropriation is to collect data on the number of new patients seen at our clinics during the pandemic. We now have five months of reporting from March-July, 2020. Our clinics (57) have seen a total of 56,951 patients during this period. Of that number, 6,927 or 12% were reported as new patients. To annualize this number similar to the way that NC Medicaid reports on Medicaid enrollment, new patients represent an 8.5% annual increase over the 82,300 unduplicated patients that were seen at free and charitable clinics during 2019. This is an astounding number of new patients in a short 5-month window. While our data doesn’t go so far to establish precise causation, it is a reasonable assumption that newly unemployed and, therefore, newly uninsured North Carolinians are, in part responsible for the increase.
The number of uninsured patients at free and charitable clinics has always been one of the “canaries in the coal mine” on the status of North Carolina’s insurance coverage rates. Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there were approximately 1.5 million uninsured in North Carolina. Until last year, that number decreased to 1.1 million according to the Kaiser Family Foundation as NC residents purchased individual ACA coverage. We remain hopeful that the efforts of Care4Carolina and others in closing the coverage gap will lower that number even further. However, the Kaiser Family Foundation is now reporting that in 2019 there were 1.3 million uninsured in our state. The data from NC Medicaid combined with NCAFCC’s on new patients suggests that the uninsured rate is climbing even higher during COVID-19. We’re proud of the contribution that NC’s free and charitable clinics are making in providing healthcare to those who have not yet been blessed with health insurance.
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A Message from Your Board Chair
April Cook
Lake Norman Community Health Clinic
Lake Norman Community Health Clinic is getting ready to celebrate our 21st year serving the uninsured. I was thinking about it last night and remembering a patient of ours who was a very proud middle-aged woman that came in with a Ziploc sandwich bag full of change, mostly pennies. She requested a visit with one of our providers and plopped the baggie on the counter. Our receptionist, quickly assessed that she might need that change much more than we needed the donation and told the lady that she didn’t need to pay for the appointment. The proud lady quickly responded, “I know, but I feel so fortunate to be able to donate this today. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the way you all take care of me, and I only wish that I had more to give to you”. I know each of you have a story just like this one and it is these stories that are the impetus of why we all do what we do every day on a shoestring budget with under-paid staff and precious volunteers.
My service as your board chair will be wrapping up at the end of this month. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and for your willingness to explore new ways for us to work together to better our patients’ overall health. Please be sure to attend our virtual annual meeting on September 16 to preview the work the board and staff have been working on this past year.
It has been an honor and quite a privilege to represent this organization these past two years. Thank you for providing me this priceless opportunity to see firsthand the great works that each of you do on a daily basis. Stay safe!
April
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Keep Scrolling
Mark Scheerer
Deputy Director
This month's newsletter has a lot of great information so keep scrolling through.
Finally! After having our meetings sidelined by COVID-19, we're going virtual on September 16th. Join us to hear about and provide valuable feedback about "Creating "Systemness" Through Regionalization of
Free and Charitable Clinics". Other staff and board members are encouraged to attend as input from everyone is valuable as we roll out the new way of doing business.
Many of you had spring fundraising events cancelled because of COVID. Virtual fundraising events are now being planned and held to replace all-important revenue to keep your doors open. If you would like your event (whether in-person or virtual) to be posted on our website, just email me the event flier or information and I'll have it posted.
And now, who won the Spirit of Free and Charitable Clinics Award and the Don Lucey Award? You really think I'm going to tell you before the Annual Members' Meeting? You'll have to attend to find out!
The 2019 Survey Outcomes Report
The report is now posted in the Members Only section of our website and is available for you to read and share with your staff, board members and general public. You can read it here.
Resource for Your Patients with Children
With school now underway, many working parents are facing the added stress of finding a safe place for their children during the day that can also support their remote learning. The good news is that there is ample licensed child care available across the state, and we are making it as easy as possible for families to find it. In partnership with Child Care Resources and Referral, the NC Department of Health and Human Services created a free hotline to connect families to licensed care for their school-age children. Families can call the hotline at 1-888-600-1685.
Help families know that they have options by:
CDC Clarifies Quarantine Guidelines
DHHS Outlines Timeline for Medicaid Managed Care Statewide Launch, Implementation Challenges
Earlier this year, the NC General Assembly passed a law requiring the state to launch Medicaid Managed Care contracts by July 1, 2021. In an update today to state legislators, the NC Department of Health and Human Services announced it would plan a statewide launch instead of a regional, phased launch. Officials also indicated that the State plans to begin Open Enrollment for Medicaid enrollees to select a Medicaid health plan on March 15, 2021, with auto-enrollment taking place for those who do not select a plan on May 14, 2021. State officials also admitted that meeting this timeline would be challenging given the state of the pandemic.
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New Infographic Available |
Looking for a way to tell your clinic's story? Our new infographic is now available for download from the Members Only section of the website. It be can customized with your clinic's information or used with just the state facts. If you want it customized, contact Mark for more details.
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The NAFC Board has decided to transition the 2020 NAFC Annual Symposium to a virtual conference which will take place October 25-27, 2020. Over the next several weeks, the NAFC Staff and Advisory Working Group will be developing a registration process and an agenda for the virtual meeting. The NAFC will launch a registration site in August 2020. If you have already registered for the meeting or were selected as a speaker, the NAFC team will be reaching out to you individually via email in the upcoming weeks with more information.
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Upcoming Events & Deadlines |
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September
16
October
25-27
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Annual Membership Meeting via Zoom
NAFC Charitable Health Care Symposium
Virtual Event
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Just Scheduled!
Donor Engagement in the Era of Covid-19
Thursday, September 24 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting
Watch for more meeting details.
Presented by Steven Shattuck, Bloomerang
The spring of 2020 has brought unique challenges to fundraisers at organizations large and small. During this tumultuous and unprecedented time, what can fundraisers do to maintain donor support in a world that seems upside down? Drawing on data from over 4,000 nonprofits and eight specific case studies, Steven Shattuck from Bloomerang will reveal five key elements of successful fundraising campaigns during COVID-19 and beyond.
Learning objectives:
- What types of outreach strategies have been effective
- Inspiration for email content and virtual event formats
- How fundraisers can stay positive during trying times
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Board of Directors
Board Chair
April Cook, MBA
Lake Norman Community Health Clinic
Vice Chair
Tony Price
Moore Free and Charitable Clinic
Treasurer
John Price, MPA
ORHCC – Retired
Secretary
Tracy Salisbury
Open Door Clinic of Alamance County
Sissy Lee-Elmore, MBA, MPA
WATCH Healthcare Program
Past Chair
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Jerry Hermanson, MBA
Community Care Clinic of Highlands-Cashiers
Andy Kurtzman, MHCA
Scotland Community Health Clinic
Michael Lischke, EdD, MPH
Northwest AHEC
WFU School of Medicine
John Mills, CPC
ECHO
Krista Woolly, MS
Community Care Clinic of Rowan County
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2019 Annual Outcomes Report - NEW
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The first four of our Healthy Neighbors podcasts are online on our website. In the first series, Randy Jordan and Dr. Andy Barbash discuss telemedicine and how NCAFCC clinics are adopting this model of care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
COVID-19 Crisis Response Webinars
Sponsored by the NC Association of Free and Charitable Clinics and the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics.
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Messaging & Communications – Developing Your Clinic’s COVID-19 Narrative | Watch
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Financial Resources – Building Your Clinic’s Value Proposition | Watch
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Human Resources – Sustaining Your Clinic Team | Watch
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Strategic Opportunities – Leveraging the Crisis for Change | Watch
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NCAFCC COVID-19 Workbook by Next Stage | View PDF
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Staff
CEO
ext. 104
Deputy Director
ext. 101
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Director of Quality & Clinical Support
ext. 103
Office Manager
ext. 102
COVID-19 Grant Manager
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