Dear Colleague,
The patients we serve have faced countless challenges in the past year, and our shared mission to improve health equity for all may have never been so vital. As we face the grief of the million lives lost to the pandemic and to recent violence in the U.S., the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved is renewing our focus on fostering the resilience and transformation in care necessary to meet the needs of marginalized communities.
That charge will be the focus of our upcoming 2022 Conference in Washington, D.C., and online on July 31-August 2, and it is also the subject of a variety of free new resources from ACU and our STAR2 Center. Read more below about new virtual trainings, publications, and policy updates to support the health center workforce, including webinars on health center partnerships for pathway development and giving effective feedback, new briefs on optimizing health and other benefits at health centers and integrating justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at CHCs, a crucial call to action to support the NHSC, and more.
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Learn What's in Store at ACU's 2022 Conference on July 31-Aug. 2: Browse Our Full Agenda and Register to Join Us!
ACU is preparing for our 2022 Conference, Resilience & Transformation in Care, and we're excited to invite you to join us in Washington, D.C. or virtually from July 31-August 2! You can now view a detailed Conference agenda, including workshop descriptions and presenters in three tracks: Supporting a Thriving Workforce, Healthcare Delivery Reimagined, and Emerging Issues for the Care of Marginalized Populations. Learn about the CME-accredited sessions, exciting keynote addresses from Dr. Kameron Matthews of Tour for Diversity in Medicine, BHW's Dr. Luis Padilla, and BPHC's Jim Macrae, and more, and sign up now for Early Bird rates!
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Keynote Spotlight: Dr Kameron Matthews, Co-Founder & Director of Tour for Diversity in Medicine
We are excited to welcome Dr. Kameron Matthews as the third keynote at our 2022 Conference! Dr. Matthews has devoted her career to under-resourced communities and has led Tour for Diversity in Medicine (T4D) in hosting thousands of diverse high school and college students in premedical enrichment activities across the U.S.
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Celebrate the NHSC's 50th Anniversary at ACU's Gala on August 1
Registration is open for ACU's NHSC 50th Anniversary Gala! This event in D.C. will honor the NHSC’s 50 years of connecting clinicians with under-resourced communities with festivities, films, and speeches from Corps luminaries such as Eric Redman—former Congressional staffer and author of The Dance of Legislation. Register now for the event as part of #ACUConf or separately.
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Upcoming Webinar Explores Strategies to Provide Productive Feedback to Employees
May 26: 1-2 p.m. ET
Providing constructive feedback is critical for the development of effective and efficient teams. Join ACU's STAR² Center and national expert and executive coach April Lewis on Thursday, May 26, at 1-2 p.m. ET for a webinar exploring strategies for managers to give positive, constructive, and productive feedback to their team members and staff both in-person and virtually.
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New Webinar Series: Health Center Partnerships for Pathway Development
First Webinar on June 2: 3-4 p.m. ET
If you're interested in creating or expanding a Health Professions Education & Training (HPET) program at your health center or in improving clinician recruitment by partnering with training programs, we invite you to join our STAR² Center's new webinar series on building HPET programs at CHCs! Two training institutions will discuss how they partner with health centers in our first webinar, and Dr. Kiki Nocella, Director of Healthcare Consulting at Wipfli, will open a discussion of how to forge successful HPET partnerships.
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Register for Our "Eyes on Access" Webinar to Explore Eye Health and Vision Care at CHCs
Thursday, June 9: 3-4:30 p.m. ET
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Join the Last Session in Our PCA & HCCN Workforce Professional Development Series
Tuesday, June 14: 2-3 p.m. ET
Don't miss the last session as our STAR2 Center's workforce professional development series concludes on June 14. Prior sessions explored workforce action planning, best practices for data, and a discussion of Health Professions Education & Training Plans. This series aims to bolster workforce efforts at PCAs and HCCNs and to help teams provide a robust support system for recruitment and retention at health centers. View past sessions and join us for the final webinar in June!
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New Quick Guide with Nonstop Wellness Explores Practical Strategies to Strengthen Health Center Employee Health Benefits
In the wake of the pandemic, unprecedented workforce disruptions are forcing health centers to reassess and innovate to respond to new challenges in staff recruitment and retention. Developed in partnership with Nonstop Wellness, our new executive guide outlines key strategies and best practices that administrators and HR leaders can use to sustain a strong CHC workforce by optimizing health and other benefits to improve health equity for patients and staff alike.
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Learn Essential JEDI Practices in ACU's New COE Brief
Health centers provide vital patient-centered care for BIPOC and under-resourced communities, but FQHCs are not immune to systemic and interpersonal racism. ACU's new justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) brief provides essential practices based on our "Building an Inclusive Organization" toolkit and interviews with thought leaders, along with additional recommendations to help CHCs incorporate JEDI principles and address racism's impact on social determinants of health and in turn, patients' health outcomes. Read this publication and other briefs in our Centers of Excellence initiative.
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Read the Latest Edition of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
The May edition of ACU's official Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved is now available. The new issue explores medical-legal partnerships to improve health outcomes in under-resourced populations; cultural mistrust, discrimination, and depression in Latinx emerging adults; factors associated with diabetes in rural African Americans, and more. ACU Members receive free access: to start reading, simply log in to our portal and click the link on the left menu bar.
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Catch Up on Our STAR2 Center Podcast Episodes
Our STAR2 Center Talks Workforce Success Podcast Series continues to grow! In case you've missed them, spend some time listening to past episodes from our seasons on the role of Chief Workforce Officers in advancing health center success, COVID-19's impact on healthcare staff and teams, and employee self-care and how burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral distress impact the workforce.
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Take Action: Urge Your Senators to Sign on to a Letter Supporting NHSC & Nurse Corps Funding in Fiscal Year 2023!
Every year Congress's Appropriations Committee determines funding for various programs for the coming fiscal year (FY). Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) recently stepped up as a Congressional Champion, leading bipartisan efforts to alleviate health workforce shortages in underserved areas by creating a Dear Colleague letter requesting that the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps receive robust funding in FY 2023. Take action: contact your senator using an easy, one-click process and ask them to co-sign the letter and boost bipartisan support by May 23rd to support the NHSC and Nurse Corps!
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ACU Releases Statement on Recent Buffalo Massacre and Other Racist Hate Crimes
ACU mourns lives senselessly taken in the Buffalo, NY, Massacre & other recent hate crimes in Dallas, TX, and Laguna Woods, CA. We stand with our community in working to create a future in healthcare and throughout the U.S. free from the destructive grip of racism. Read our full statement and join us as an advocate.
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Join ACU As Our New Administrative Assistant
ACU is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant to join our team! This position will assist with various administrative duties, including data entry, invoices, metrics reporting, and other tasks as assigned. The ideal candidate is a highly organized, solid time-manager with excellent communication skills. Learn more and apply.
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Welcoming Our New Deputy Director of Policy & Advocacy: Jordan Marshall, MPH
ACU welcomes the latest addition to our team: Deputy Director of Policy & Advocacy Jordan Marshall! Marshall helps support ACU's federal policy and advocacy initiatives by expanding our strategic visibility and inclusive community. A graduate of George Washington University, he brings extensive experience from Capitol Hill as a former staffer for Sen. Chuck Schumer and legislative correspondent for Sen. Tom Carper covering issues such as health, education, Medicare/Medicaid, and women's issues.
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Spotlight on Our Career Center: New Jobs and Opportunities
Are you hiring or looking for a new position? ACU's Career Center is an excellent resource for job seekers and organizations looking to recruit healthcare professionals working with under-resourced populations. Recent positions include an Internal Medicine Physician at Swope Health in Kansas City, MO; a Behavioral Health Counselor with North Country Healthcare in Kingman, AZ; and more. ACU Members receive significant discounts on posting jobs to our portal—simply log in to our member website and use the code on the left menu.
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Provide Input on the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) is hosting a free webinar on Friday, May 20, at 3 p.m. ET to unveil and collect public input on the draft of a National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being. The National Plan will provide guidance and next steps to improve and bolster the well-being of the U.S. health workforce. NAM welcomes insight from all organizations and perspectives on this initiative to support health care providers.
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Additional Free At-Home Rapid COVID-19 Tests Available
The Biden Administration announced this week that at-home COVID-19 tests are again available to U.S. households through COVIDTests.gov. Americans can order eight additional tests through the website to help slow the spread of the latest subvariants of Omicron, which are causing a rise in COVID cases in some parts of the country. Individuals without internet access or who need assistance in languages other than English can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).
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Essential Steps for Health Centers Briefs:
National Health Service Corps Fact Sheets:
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Upcoming Webinars:
Archived Webinars:
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ACU is here to help: if we can do anything to better support your work to improve care and advocate for patients living in historically marginalized communities, please contact our Executive Director Amanda Pears Kelly with any feedback. Thank you for all that you do.
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