UPCOMING TRAINING
& EVENTS
click link(s) for details
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September 2
TPCA Closed for Labor Day
September 5
September 17
October 2-4
October 10-11
October 22-24
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Are you attending an event at TPCA?
Click here for a list of nearby hotels!
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Attention
health centers!
Please send
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If you would like to be added to the
TPCA Update mailing list, please
click here.
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Nominate your superstars for a TPCA Award of Excellence! See details below in the "TPCA News" section.
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This publication is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,830,669, with 15 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit
HRSA.gov
.
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Celebrating Health Center Quality Improvement
(From HRSA)
-- HHS recently announced nearly $107 million in Quality Improvement Awards (QIAs) to 1,273 health centers across all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia. In Tennessee,
23 health centers
received awards totaling almost $2 million.
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HRSA Awards More Than $200 Million to Health Centers to Combat the Opioid Crisis
(From HRSA)
-- HRSA recently released more than $200 million in new funding for Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) awards. IBHS awards will increase access to high quality, integrated behavioral health care in 1,208 health centers across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Pacific Territories, and the Virgin Islands. In Tennessee, a total of nearly $3.5 million was awarded to support
21 health centers
.
Click here
to read the full HRSA announcement. A recording of the August 15 webinar for award recipients is available
here
.
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Proposed Changes to the Calendar Year 2020 UDS: Comments Due by September 24
(From HRSA)
-- HRSA seeks comments on proposed changes to the 2020 UDS, which Health Center Program awardees and Look-Alikes will be required to report in February 2021. The deadline for comments on the proposed changes is Tuesday, September 24.
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Federal Funding
Status of Legislation
: Congress will return from August recess the week after the Labor Day holiday, leaving three weeks to pass legislation that provides long-term, stable funding to health centers before the September 30 deadline. Health center funding extensions are components of legislation that has passed Senate and House committees. Floor votes have not yet been scheduled as another aspect of the legislation pertaining to surprised/balance billing is being debated. The bill numbers and components relative to CHC funding are:
H.R. 2328 the Reauthorizing and Extending America’s Community Health (REACH) Act
- Formerly known as the Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence (CHIME) Act; the House Energy and Commerce committee substituted the text of the CHIME Act with this new bill
- Provides four years of level funding for the Community Health Center Fund, National Health Service Corps., and Teaching Health Centers Program
- Congressman Cohen (D-9) and Congressman Fleischmann (R-3) are co-sponsors
S. 1895 the Lower Health Care Costs Act
- Introduced by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
- Provides five years of level funding for the Community Health Center Fund, National Health Service Corps., and Teaching Health Centers Program
Advocacy:
TPCA and representatives from four Tennessee health centers will be joining advocates from health centers across the nation for a congressional D.C. fly-in on September 9-10. NACHC is organizing the fly-in to make the final push for health center funding before the September 30 funding cliff. If you can’t make it to D.C., you can still
take action
to protect health center funding by:
Now is the time to act; tell Congress to extend community health center funding!
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Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) Program
Congratulations to
Community Health of East Tennessee
, which is the first Tennessee health center to be designated as a Silver Level Advocacy Center of Excellence by NACHC! An Advocacy Center of Excellence, or ACE, is a health center or Primary Care Association that creates a culture of advocacy to ensure that policy makers at all levels of government commit to investing in affordable, equitable, and innovative care that health centers provide.
The
Advocacy Center of Excellence program
supports and recognizes health centers that achieve certain engagement measures and make advocacy an organizational priority. Contact emily.waitt@tnpca.org if you want to learn more about the ACE program.
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Public Charge Rule
On August 14, the Trump administration announced the
final version
of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that expands the categories of public benefits under consideration when determining if an individual is a public charge or is “
primarily dependent on the government for subsistence
.” Public charge determinations could be used to deny individuals legal entry into the U.S. or lawful permanent resident status (green card status) and may also impact some individuals seeking to extend or adjust their status as a temporary foreign national (for example: students, visitors, temporary workers, and trainees). The rule is set to go into effect on
October 15, 2019
. Here are some key points about the new rule:
- Under current guidance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cash assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and state or local cash assistance programs are the only benefits subject to public charge consideration.
- The new rule specifies additional benefits that will be considered, including Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), non-emergency Medicaid for non-pregnant adults, and several public housing programs.
- The rule excludes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid for pregnant women, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.
- The rule specifies that the definition of public charge will change to an “alien who receives one or more public benefits for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period (such that, for instance, receipt of two benefits in one month counts as two months.)”
- The rule does not impact deportability grounds and certain immigrants, including refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian immigrants, are excluded from public charge determinations.
- Public charge determinations will only consider use of benefits by the individual and will not take into account benefits used by other family members, including children.
The Kaiser Family Foundation released a
fact sheet
that presents a concise summary of the rule and how it differs from current policy; and NACHC’s webpage,
Caring for Immigrant Patients
, links to several other sources of information.
The new rule is estimated to directly impact hundreds of thousands of individuals, but the effect is likely to be much greater as patients may avoid coming to health care providers for needed care. TPCA is in contact with several national and state partner organizations and will share resources with you as they are available. In the meantime, please contact libby.thurman@tnpca.org with concerns or questions.
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Health Care Modernization Task Force
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Governor Bill Lee’s administration wrapped up a series of public meetings as part of a Health Care Listening Tour on Monday, August 12, at Lipscomb University in Nashville. TPCA’s chief external affairs officer, Libby Thurman, was invited to participate as a panelist during a discussion on models of care delivery. Thurman provided information about the ways in which health centers employ innovative strategies and models of care to improve health outcomes. The governor hosted four public meetings about various health care topics, including chronic disease, rural health, transparency, and innovation to gather information about the most critical health care issues facing the state.
Along with public meetings, the governor’s office also held private stakeholder meetings. On August 8, TPCA board officers including Phillip Tatum (president), Janie McGinley, James Lovett, and Katina Beard (president-elect) joined TPCA for a meeting with the governor’s office and several state agencies to talk about the work of community health centers, the challenges they face, and the innovative strategies they employ to improve health outcomes. The governor’s office intends to use insights gained from the Health Care Listening Tour and stakeholder meetings to guide the work of the Health Care Modernization Task Force and shape his health care agenda.
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Health Centers in the News
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Register Now for the TPCA
2019 Annual Conference
TPCA's 2019 Annual Conference will once again provide health center leaders and staff the opportunity to participate in educational workshops, network with peers, and discuss products and services with exhibitors. The conference will take place October 2-4,
at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro.
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Nominations Open for TPCA Awards of Excellence
Is there someone on your staff or in your community who needs to be recognized for contributing to your health center's success? Nominate him or her for a
TPCA Award of Excellence
. The nomination deadline for the awards listed below is close-of-business on
Friday, September 6
.
Each year, TPCA honors health center staff, board members, and community supporters for their exceptional gifts of time, effort, and dedication to the community health movement. Awards in the following categories will be presented at the 2019 Annual Leadership Conference Awards of Excellence Luncheon on Thursday, October 3:
- Caryl E. Carpenter Excellence in Community Support Award
- Charles E. Darling Organization of Excellence Award
- Logan Beasley Leadership Excellence Award
- Outstanding Practitioner of the Year
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Emergencies Happen: What Health Centers Need to Know
(From HRSA)
-- Health centers and Primary Care Associations (PCAs) play a critical role in providing services and resources before, during, and after emergency events. HRSA may request that PCAs gather critical health center information and report the status of service delivery sites, depending on the severity of the emergency. When your health center is impacted by an emergency event, your PCA will contact you, and we ask that you be prepared to report site-level operational status as soon as you are able.
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Opioid Town Hall Meetings in East Tennessee
The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program for East Tennessee Consortium (RCORP-ETC) is seeking public opinion at a series of town hall meetings.
- WHO: All community members who are interested in the opioid epidemic.
- WHAT: Please come to share feedback on opioid use in your community. Any level of participation is appreciated and voluntary.
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Common HRSA Compliance Questions: Clinical Staffing – NPDB Queries
(From RegLantern)
-- The HRSA Site Visit Protocol states (Clinical Staffing, Element c. question #5) that a health center should complete a “query through the NPDB for NPDB-reportable provider types”. Project Officers, reviewers, and health center leaders interpret this requirement in varied ways:
- Some interpret this to mean that the health center must run National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) queries on their provider staff (Licensed Independent Practitioners or LIPs): Physicians (MDs/DOs), Dentists, PAs, or NPs, etc.
- Others interpret this to mean that the health center must run National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) queries on their provider staff (LIPs) and some of their Other Licensed of Certified Practitioners (OLCPs) staff: RNs, LPNs, CMAs, RDs, or Pharmacists).
- Still others interpret this to mean that the health center must run National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) queries on all of their clinical staff (LIPs and OLCPs), including those they would classify as “Other Clinical Staff”: MAs or CHWs where licensing or certification is not required, etc.
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TDH Urges Providers to Report Cases of Vaping-Associated Respiratory Illness
(From TDH)
-- The Tennessee Department of Health is asking health care providers across the state to report any cases of suspected serious respiratory illness they treat among patients who use electronic cigarettes or other vaping devices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a cluster of severe pulmonary disease among people who use e-cigarettes or vape, with more than 150 cases reported to date in 16 states.
‘’We are alerting Tennessee health care providers to be on the lookout for patients with severe respiratory symptoms who report vaping in the weeks before they got sick,‘’ said TDH State Epidemiologist Tim Jones, MD.
‘’We expect to find cases of this illness in Tennessee,‘’ Jones continued. ‘’We’ll investigate any cases reported here to look for common factors and collect information on specific components or brands of vaping products that may be the source of the illness.‘’
Patients have had symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue, with symptoms growing worse over a period of days or weeks before admission to the hospital. Other symptoms may include fever, chest pain, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Most of the cases are among adolescents and young adults.
TDH issued a public health advisory on the risks posed by vaping, juuling and use of other electronic nicotine delivery products in December 2018 and continues to urge caution to Tennesseans of all ages who use or are considering the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems. Find updated information on federal regulation of these products
here
; for additional information on electronic cigarettes and their health effects, click
here
.
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2019–20 Influenza Season: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Flu season is coming and the CDC recently published an update to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Click here
to see their updated recommendations.
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Wheelchair-Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment: Cutting Edge Technology, Cost-Effective for Health Care Providers, and Consumer-Friendly
(From HRSA)
-- On July 26, the HHS Administration for Community Living released an issue brief explaining why it is good business for providers to invest in accessible medical diagnostic equipment. The brief describes what accessible medical diagnostic equipment is, how it can help address health care disparities, and how it can help promote compliance with providers' disability rights obligations.
Click here
to read more and access the fact sheet.
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NCQA PCMH Training in October
The Tennessee Primary Care Association, South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, and the North Carolina Community Health Centers Association, with support from HRSA, will host the National Committee for Quality Assurance's
"Introduction to Patient Centered Medical Home" and "Advanced Patient Centered Medical Home" training programs
on October 22-24. The programs will be offered at the very reduced rate of $185 per person (compared to the normal registration rates of $2,300). Health center staff who attend the training will be eligible to register for the PCMH Certified Content Expert Exam.
- Introduction to the Patient-Centered Medical Home, October 22-23
- Advanced Patient-Centered Medical Home Concepts, October 24
The training will take place in Asheville, N.C.
Click here
to register and for hotel information.
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Opioids and Children and Adolescents: Information for Oral Health Professionals
(From HRSA)
-- Funded by HRSA, the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource has released a new publication,
Opioids and Children and Adolescents: Information for Oral Health Professionals
. It provides best practices for pain management following dental care in children and adolescents, including drugs to recommend before prescribing opioids, and information about prescribing opioids with caution and being aware of the potential for misuse or abuse.
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PARTNER-SPONSORED EDUCATION & TRAINING
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Tennessee State Pediatrics Conference, September 14
The Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics will host the Tennessee State Pediatric Conference on Saturday, September 15, in Franklin, Tenn. The training is designed for pediatricians, pediatric sub-specialists, family practitioners, intensivists, nurse practioners, physician assistants, nurses, fellows, residents, healthcare students, and others involved in the care of infants, children, adoescents, and young adults.
Click here
for more information.
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