 |
NCDHHS Selects Vendors to Supervise 250+ New Community Health Workers in 50 Counties with COVID-19 Hot Spots
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced its selection of seven vendors to hire and manage over 250 Community Health Workers, who will be deployed in 50 targeted counties to connect North Carolinians affected by COVID-19 with needed services and support.
"Community Health Workers will bolster our statewide COVID-19 response and help North Carolinians navigate the complex impacts of this pandemic," said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D.
The teams of Community Health Workers will connect North Carolinians affected by COVID-19 with medical and social support, including diagnostic testing, primary care, case management, nutrition assistance and behavioral health services. NCDHHS has selected the following vendor organizations to recruit, train and manage Community Health Workers in areas with high COVID-19-related needs:
- Curamericas Global (based in Raleigh; serving Buncombe, Henderson, Wilkes, Surry, Forsyth, Davie, Gaston, Davidson, Guilford, Randolph, Alamance, Durham, Orange, Wake, Johnston, Chatham, Lee, Harnett, Granville, Vance, Warren, Wayne, Pitt, Franklin, Craven and Onslow counties)
- Kepro (serving Mecklenburg, Union, Rowan, Gaston, Cabarrus, Stanly and Montgomery counties)
- One to One with Youth (based in Goldsboro; serving Wilson, Johnston, Duplin, Sampson, Greene, Wayne, and Lenoir counties)
- Vidant Health (based in Greenville; serving Halifax, Northampton, Hertford, Bertie, Edgecombe, Beaufort, Duplin, Pitt, Dare and Chowan counties)
- Mount Calvary Center for Leadership Development (Based in Burgaw; serving Robeson, Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Sampson, and Pender counties)
- Catawba County Public Health (Based in Hickory; serving Catawba County)
- Southeastern Healthcare NC (Based in Raleigh; serving Orange, Wake, and Johnston counties)
Residents across 50 counties will receive services, with some counties receiving support from multiple vendors. These vendors, a limited number of subcontractors and the Community Health Workers they employ will work in coordination with local health departments and COVID-19 community contact tracers to identify and assist individuals who need help accessing medical or social services, finding a safe location to isolate, or connecting with other COVID-19-related assistance.
The selected vendors will equip all Community Health Workers with personal protective equipment, including face coverings. Vendors will also provide Community Health Workers with tablets and mobile hotspots to leverage NCCARE360, the nation's first statewide coordinated care technology platform, which is now operational across the state. NCCARE360 unites individuals with traditional health care settings and organizations that address non-medical drivers of health, such as food, housing, transportation, employment and interpersonal safety.
Community Health Workers are most successful when they can deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate services. During the contractor selection process, NCDHHS prioritized vendors' ability to ensure cultural and linguistic diversity throughout the initiative's governance, leadership and workforce. If Community Health Workers are unable to meet an individual's linguistic needs in person, they will use strategies including interpreter services, telephonic interpretation or video remote interpreting.
The NCDHHS-funded COVID-19 Community Health Worker initiative will run through December, with the possibility of renewal. Success criteria for vendors will include the number of clients assisted with COVID-19-related services and supports, the number of referrals made and the referrals in which individuals are connected to resources.
For more information on this initiative, including a detailed map and specific contact information to reach out to for these seven vendors, please view the Community Health Worker One-Pager provided by the Office of Rural Health.
Suicide Awareness Facebook Townhall on Veteran Suicide
|
Gattex for Short Bowel Syndrome and New Drug Class for Selective Constipation Agents
Gattex for Short Bowel Syndrome
Effective Sept. 27, 2020, updated prior approval criteria for Gattex 10 mg/ml injection will be in place.
Gattex Criteria for Initial Coverage (beneficiaries should meet ALL of the criteria below):
- Be one year of age or older
- Have diagnosis of short bowel syndrome
- Have been dependent on parenteral nutrition for at least 12 months
- Be receiving parenteral nutrition at least three times weekly
Gattex Criteria for Continuation of Coverage:
- Beneficiary is continuing to receive parenteral nutrition while taking the requested agent.
New Drug Class for Selective Constipation Agents
Effective Sept. 27, 2020, updated clinical criteria for Relistor tablets and vial/syringe will be in place.
Relistor tablets are covered for beneficiaries 18 years of age or older with diagnosis of opioid-induced constipation with chronic non-cancer pain (including beneficiaries with chronic pain related to prior cancer or its treatment who do not require frequent opioid dosage escalation) and the beneficiary:
- does not have known or suspected mechanical gastrointestinal obstruction
- has received opioids for at least four weeks in duration
- has tried and failed or has contradiction or intolerance to Amitiza AND Movantik
- initial approval shall be for up to four months.
Relistor vial/syringe is covered for beneficiaries 18 years of age or older with a diagnosis of opioid induced constipation with one of the following:
- chronic non-cancer pain (including patients with chronic pain related to prior cancer or its treatment who do not require frequent opioid dosage escalation) OR
- advanced illness or pain caused by active cancer who require opioid dosage escalation for palliative care
AND
- does not have known or suspected mechanical gastrointestinal obstruction
- has received opioids for at least four weeks in duration
- has tried and failed or has contradiction or intolerance to Amitiza AND Movantik
- initial approval shall be for up to four months.
|
New Web Page on How to Select, Wear, and Clean Your Mask
Masks help stop the spread of COVID-19 to others. Visit our new web page to learn How to Select, Wear, and Clean Your Mask. Wear masks in public settings around people who don't live in your household and when you can't stay 6 feet away from others.
Making a decision about selecting a mask can be confusing. This new web site provides tips on how to choose your masks.
|
CMS Finds That Some QRTPs are Excluded IMDs
As earlier reported, the Children's Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) instructed states to contact their regional HHS office, not ACF headquarters, with questions about state-specific plans for implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act. In June 2019, a CMS regional office responded to an inquiry from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, saying that Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) with more than 16 beds that do not meet the federal definition of a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) would be excluded Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMDs).
988 Will Be New Three-Digit Number for National Suicide Prevention Hotline
In July, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules to establish 988 as the new, nationwide, three-digit phone number for Americans in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. The rules require all phone service providers to direct all 988 calls to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by July 16, 2022.
During the transition to 988, Americans who need help should continue to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) and through online chats. Veterans and Service members may reach the Veterans Crisis Line by pressing 1 after dialing, chatting online at www.veteranscrisisline.net, or texting 838255. Family First: Prevention Clearinghouse Posts Newly Reviewed Interventions
This week, the IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse posted 14 newly completed reviews. None are rated "well-supported," three are "supported," five are "promising," and six "do not currently meet criteria." Among the "do not meet" are adolescent and adult versions of The Seven Challenges. Fourteen interventions remain in the queue for review. To date, a total of 38 interventions have been reviewed, 17 of which have not met the clearinghouse criteria. Twenty-one have been rated at some level of effectiveness for mental health, substance abuse, or in-home parenting services. No kinship navigator programs have been approved for IV-E reimbursement; one is in the review queue. Four Months of Weekly Garden-Themed Lessons and Activities
KidsGardening.org is offering Lessons to Grow By, a free four-month program aimed at learners in grades 3 - 5. Activities can easily be adapted for younger or older audiences. Available by subscription , the program launches August 31. More resources and activities are available on the Kids Gardening website.
|
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ISSUES FOUR NEW WAGE AND HOUR OPINION LETTERS
The opinion letters issued today are:
- FLSA2020-11: Addresses whether a private "oilfield service company" that provides waste-removal services for oilfield operators may qualify as a "retail or service establishment" eligible to claim the FLSA's Section 7(i) exemption for certain truck drivers whom it employs;
- FLSA2020-12: Addresses an employer's compliance with FLSA's minimum wage requirements when reimbursing delivery drivers for business-related expenses incurred while using their personal vehicles during the course of employment;
- FLSA2020-13: Addresses whether part-time employees who provide corporate-management training and are paid a day rate with additional hourly compensation qualify for the learned professional exemption and the highly compensated employee test under Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA; and
- FLSA2020-14: Addresses whether employees' hours must fluctuate above and below 40 hours per week to qualify for the fluctuating workweek method of calculating overtime pay.
Read More Here
|
EEOC Addresses Opioid Discrimination in the Workplace
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued two seminal technical assistance documents to address how the opioid epidemic has affected employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ACA).
The first document educates employees who are using prescribed opioid medication, receiving medication-assisted treatment and/or are in recovery from opioid addiction about disability status and reasonable accommodations in the workplace. The second document informs health care providers about their patients' legal rights in the workplace
|
New Hanover County Appoints Donna Fayko as Health and Human Services Agency Director
New Hanover County has appointed Donna Fayko as the county's Health and Human Services Consolidated Agency director. Fayko will begin in this role on Tuesday, October 6, and will be the county's first agency director after the Public Health and Social Services departments consolidated in July 2019.
"We took the past year to consolidate and ensure better efficiencies among the departments, and we determined that a director of the two agencies would help bring even greater integrated service delivery to our community," said County Manager Chris Coudriet. "Donna has experience in a consolidated agency in Mecklenburg County, she has a deep understanding of social work and human services, and has a demonstrated history of being a strong leader. She understands what the county wants to achieve as a Health and Human Services Agency in the years to come and will be integral in developing new partnerships for the collective good of our entire county." Fayko currently serves as the director of the Rowan County Department of Social Services, where she has been since 2012. Prior to that, she was deputy director of the Mecklenburg County DSS Youth and Family Services and has served within the health and human services system for 32 years.
|
Ed Department Says Transition Services Must Continue During Pandemic
Federal officials are reminding schools and vocational rehabilitation agencies of their responsibility to work together to help students with disabilities transition to adulthood, even amid the pandemic.
"Recognizing that COVID-19 has resulted in students accessing educational services differently than in the past, whether it be virtually, in-person or a hybrid approach, the importance of the provision of transition and pre-employment transition services has not changed," wrote Mark Schultz, commissioner of the Rehabilitative Service Administration, and Laurie VanderPloeg, director of the Office of Special Education Programs. Read More Here
|
Tuesday: September 1, 2020
Community Support Safeguards During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
|
New: Thursday: September 3, 2020
Joint NC DMHDDSAS and DHB (NC Medicaid) COVID-19 Update for NC Providers
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
|
Thursday: September 3, 2020
Listening Session with Child Residential and Therapeutic Foster Care Providers, LME-MCOs and DMHDDSAS
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:30 pm
|
New: Thursday: September 3, 2020
Strategies to Meaningfully Engage Medicaid HCBS Beneficiaries
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:30 pm
|
New: Friday: September 4, 2020
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
|
Wednesday: September 9, 2020
Partners Quarterly Provider Webinar
Time: 1:00 pm
|
Wednesday: September 9, 2020
Reduction of Stigma in our Communities
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
|
Thursday: September 10, 2020
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar feat: Karen McLeod & Lisa Cauley
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
|
New: Thursday: September 10, 2020
Protecting Our Children: COVID-19's Impact on Early Childhood and ACEs
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
|
Thursday: September 10, 2020
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
|
New: Sunday: September 13, 2020
|
Monday: September 14, 2020
Western NC: Regional Policy Institutes
Time: 9:00 am thru 11:30 am
Deputy Secretary Juvenile Justice, Billy Lassiter
Advocacy 101: Adam Sotak, NC Child Legislative Panelists:
Terry Van Duyn - Buncombe
Representative Sarah Stevens -Alleghany/Surrey/Wilkes Counties Include:
Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Macon, Jackson, Swain, Haywood, Transylvania, Madison, Buncombe, Henderson, Polk, Yancey, McDowell, Rutheford, Cleveland, Lincoln, Burke, Caldwell, Mitchell, Avery, Watagua, Ashe, Alleghany, Surry, Wilkes, Yancey, Catawba, Alexander, Iredell, Yadkin, Davie, Stokes, Forsyth
|
Thursday: September 17, 2020
Partners Mental Health/Substance Use Provider Information Session
Time: 4:00 pm
|
Thursday: September 18, 2020
MEDICAL CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MCAC) TELECONFERENCE MEETING
Time: 10:30 am thru 12:30 pm
Call: 866-390-1828
Access Code: 4586030
|
Tuesday: September 22, 2020
Partners Innovations-I/DD Provider Information Session
Time: 4:00 pm
|
Tuesday: September 23-September 24, 2020
Family Focused Treatment Association's (FFTA) 34th Annual Conference on Treatment Family Care
There is a cost associated with this event. $$$
Time: 10:00 am (Events are scheduled throughout the two days)
|
Thursday: September 24, 2020
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
|
Friday: September 25, 2020
Western NC: Regional Policy Institutes
Time: 9:30 am
|
Monday: September 28, 2020
Central NC: Regional Policy Institutes
Time: 9:00 am thru 11:30 am
Keynotes: Deputy Director, Child Welfare Services Lisa Cauley
NC Child Welfare Family Advisory Council - Gina Brown
Advocacy 101: Melea Rose-Waters, Prevent Child Abuse NC
Counties Include: Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, Rowan, Rockingham, Caswell, Person, Guilford, Davidson, Randolph, Montgomery, Cabarrus, Stanly, Alamance, Lee, Moore, Anson, Richmond
|
Wednesday: September 30, 2020
Save the Date! National Adoption Month Webinar "Engage Youth: Listen and Learn"
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm
|
Thursday: October 1, 2020
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
|
Tuesday: October 6, 2020
Eastern NC: Regional Policy Institutes
Time: 9:00 am thru 11:30 am
Keynotes: Deputy Secretary, Behavioral Health & Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - Kody Kinsley
Associate Director, NC Families United - Stacy Justiss
Advocacy 101: i2i Center for Integrative Health
Legislative Panelists:
Senator Don Davis - Greene/Pitt
Representative Donna White - Johnston
Counties Include: Vance, Warren, Halifax, Northampton, Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Harnett, Cumberland, Hoke, Scotland, Robeson, Bladen, Harnett, Sampson, Duplin, Wayne, Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus, Onslow, Jones, Lenoir, Greene, Pitt, Carteret, Beaufort, Craven, Pamlico, Hyde, Dare, Washington, Martin, Bertie, Currituck, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Gates, Hertford, Camden, Chowan, Tyrell
|
Saturday: October 10, 2020
Save The Date: NAMI's 2020 Annual Conference
Virtual and Free
|
Monday: October 26, 2020
Triangle: Regional Policy Institutes
Time: 9:00 am thru 11:30 am
Keynotes: Youth Transition Program Director, NC Families United - Lacy Flintall
MomsRising - Sheila Arias
Advocacy 101: Beth Messersmith, MomsRising
Legislative Panelists:
Senator Valerie Foushee - Chatham/Orange
Senator Natalie Murdock - Durham
Representative Verla Insko - Orange
Counties Include: Wake, Johnston, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Franklin, Granville
|
Please click on each of the following links to view details sent out from each LME/MCO.
Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggests a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
