Hello, just a reminder you are receiving this email because you expressed an interest in the West Virginia Primary Care Association. Don't forget to add paula.beasley@wvpca.org to your address book, so you don't miss any issues of the WVPCA Weekly Outlook! |
|
WVPCA Weekly Outlook
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
|
|
WVPCA News - Outreach and Enrollment
Workforce Development - State News - National News
Funding and Financial Resources - Training Opportunities
|
|
Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Read the entire article from AP News here.
DHHR issues alert for increasing drug overdoses in 23 counties
Read the entire article from MetroNews here.
US overdose deaths may be peaking, but experts are wary
Read the entire article from AP News here.
Thomas Health to become full member of the WVU Health System
Read the entire article from WVNews here.
US home births rise in pandemic, to highest level in decades
Read the entire article from AP News here.
|
|
|
|
The WVPCA office will be closed Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will reopen with regular business hours on Monday, November 28. We wish you and your family a safe and blessed holiday.
The Weekly Outlook will be paused during Thanksgiving week.
The next Weekly Outlook will be in your inbox on Friday, December 2.
|
|
Medicaid and CHIP PHE Data Snapshot |
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an update to the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) COVID-19 data snapshot. This preliminary data compares April 2022 to February 2020 and shows overall enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 20%. Information on COVID-19-related service utilization by beneficiaries includes data on COVID-19 testing, treatment, service use among those 18 and younger, telehealth, mental health and other services.
|
|
Registration is Open for ACU Workforce Professional Development Webinar Series |
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved's STAR2 Center team invites health centers to participate in their upcoming Workforce Professional Development Webinar Series. Faculty and guest speakers will share insights from national, regional, and state perspectives on a variety of topics pertinent to the healthcare workforce. This monthly virtual series will run from December 2022 to March 2023, offering sessions to bolster workforce efforts to support health center recruitment and retention.
|
|
New Nursing Workforce Dashboard Released |
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) released a new nursing workforce dashboard. Users can access data from the latest National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) through multiple visualizations that can be customized by nurse type, status and area, all while experiencing native 508 compliance and accessibility in an intuitive, user-friendly dashboard.
|
|
Lawmakers Critical of $1 Million DHHR Organizational Review |
Lawmakers erupted at the leader of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the authors of a $1 million report released recommending organizational changes versus a legislative desire to split the department into two.
The West Virginia Legislature gathered at Cacapon Resort State Park in Berkeley Spring for three days of interim meetings.
The Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance – consisting of the Legislature’s top leadership – received briefings Sunday afternoon about a report released by Gov. Jim Justice and conducted by the McChrystal Group on an organization assessment and strategic plan for DHHR.
|
|
Ambulances see Reimbursement Rate Increase |
State ambulance services will receive an additional 10 percent in reimbursement from the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) starting immediately and retroactively to July 1.
The increase is set to give more than 200 ambulance providers nearly $12 million in additional reimbursements each fiscal year.
The increase comes from a request Governor Jim Justice made to DHHR Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch last June. Crouch said these funds are important because a large amount of the state’s ambulance services operate in rural areas with limited healthcare options.
“We really support those folks and what they do, they’re some of our local heroes throughout the state,” Crouch said during Justice’s COVID-19 briefing Wednesday.
The new rate matches Medicare, which is the maximum amount allowed by law.
The rate increase is part of a plan to overcome a shortage of EMTs and paramedics. West Virginia lost more than 1,900 responders over three years, or one-third of its workforce.
|
|
Join HRSA’s Virtual World AIDS Day 2022 Commemoration Event on December 1 |
Mark your calendar for “HRSA’s World AIDS Day 2022” on Thursday, December 1, 11AM - NOON. World AIDS Day provides HRSA the opportunity to bring attention to the HIV epidemic; encourage HIV testing, care, treatment and prevention; show support to those living with HIV and remember those who have died from HIV/AIDS.
The 2022 theme is “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV”. It encourages people to unite globally to eliminate the disparities and inequities that create barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and access to HIV care.
First observed in 1988, World AIDS Day is a day to unite to help end HIV and remember those lost to AIDS-related illnesses.
|
|
Attention Health Center Finance Leaders: Registration Now Open for Introduction to Community Health Center Finance |
Join National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) in historic Charleston, SC for Introduction to Community Health Center Finance (Intro to CHC Finance). This is a hybrid national training workshop. This is NACHC’s introductory-level workshop that provides helpful approaches to the business aspects of financial operations for health center CEOs, CFOs, COOs, Controllers, Finance Managers, and accountants.
Sign up now for an orientation to financial management, accounting principles, and terminology unique to health centers as well as an opportunity to network with peers and earn up to 13.8 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits.
December 1 – 2, 2022
Hyatt Place Charleston | Charleston, SC
|
|
 |
Funding and Financial Resources |
|
|
|
Federal Funding for Rural Telemedicine |
Rural hospitals and clinics fill a life-saving role to thousands of communities across the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2020 46 million people resided in non-urban areas of the country. This is believed to have increased recently due to the migration of urban dwellers out of cities due to COVID-19.
Many rural hospitals and clinics are shutting their doors causing people to travel greater distances for critical health care. In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that 80 rural hospitals had closed their doors during the previous seven years. This is why state and federal programs are important in assisting these facilities in keeping their doors open.
More and more, healthcare is being delivered to rural communities by medical specialists located many miles away in urban locales. This is done through the use of digital applications such as virtual telemedicine visits and physicians’ remote consultations with specialists. These applications utilize large bandwidth data circuits that connect rural areas to larger cities where the specialists reside.
The FCC’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program helps fund these high-cost circuits for health care providers. The RHC program provides support to eligible public and non-profit health care providers (HCPs). Eligible HCPs include any:
- Not-for-profit hospital
- Rural health clinic
- Post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, including a teaching hospital or medical school
- Community health center or health center providing health care to migrants
- Local health department or agency
- Community mental health center
- Skilled nursing facility
The RHC program provides discounts to eligible providers for services such as Internet, data circuits, voice and some equipment like routers and firewalls. It returns 65 percent of the cost of these services and you don’t have to change providers.
In 1997, the FCC established the program and caped the funding at $400 million annually and has since increased it to $571 million. This money has enabled rural facilities to not only access Internet services but increase the speed of their circuit to better handle the increasing load of data being pushed across their circuits. The RHC program runs from July 1 through next June 30 each cycle year. All applications must be submitted during the filing window that opens December 1 and closes April 1.
Once the applications are approved, the discounts are typically delivered through the service providers as credits on the monthly service invoices.
Geoff Boggs, President of USF Healthcare Consulting which assists over 1,200 facilities in 36 states, facilitates with the annual RHC program applications. Please contact Geoff via email or call at 502.228.1907 to learn more.
|
|
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Planning Grants Initial Announcement |
The purpose of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Planning Grants is to support states to develop and implement certification systems for CCBHCs, establish Prospective Payment Systems (PPS) for Medicaid reimbursable services, and prepare an application to participate in a four-year CCBHC Demonstration program.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) expects that the program will meaningfully involve consumers, youth, family members, and communities in the development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of the state’s planning efforts to develop CCBHCs and prepare to apply for the CCBHC Demonstration. With the planning grants, SAMHSA aims to further expand opportunities for states to improve access to and delivery of coordinated, comprehensive behavioral health care through Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. SAMHSA plans to issue 15 awards of up to $1,000,000 per year for 1 year
Applications are due by Monday, December 19, 2022.
|
|
Call for Applications: Grants To Start or
Expand Eye Health & Vision Care Programs
|
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) with the generous support of the Centene Corporation is now accepting applications from federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and look-alikes for $25,000 grants to help start or expand permanent and comprehensive eye health and vision care programs.
Vision loss causes substantial social and economic tolls, and eye health is critical to patients' overall health. However, many individuals in medically underserved areas face significant barriers to accessing eye health and vision care. Health centers are ideally suited to help patients access these vital services due to their focus on integrated care, but many organizations lack the resources to provide these services.
Since 2018, ACU has assisted 24 health centers in establishing and expanding permanent eye health and vision care programs. Descriptions of many of these programs are available on ACU's website. This year, we are excited to award up to five health centers with these new grants. Each organization will receive:
- $25,000 for the start-up or expansion of permanent and comprehensive eye health and vision care programs.
- Direct training and technical assistance from members of ACU's Vision Services Committee and other subject matter experts.
- Flyers to promote a patient-story program: each participating patient will receive a $100 gift card.
Interested in learning more? Read the flyer for more details and grant requirements.
Applications are due by December 31, 2022.
|
|
|
Upcoming Training Opportunities |
|
|
|
Trauma-Informed Leadership |
Join the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, as expert presenter, Cindy Manginelli of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, guides the audience through an introduction to trauma-informed leadership.
Cindy will provide strategies staff can use to build their own leadership skills, and those of others in their organization, to better serve employees with a history of personal or vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress, and moral injury.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
2:00 PM ET
|
|
Health Centers as Actors (in Information Blocking) |
Join the Health Information Technology Training and Technical Assistance Center (HITEQ) Center to discuss approaches to balance patient confidentiality, sensitive situations, vulnerable populations, and meeting the provisions in CURES act and information blocking. How should health centers best prepare themselves and their staff to meet the information blocking provisions and better serve our patient population?
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
2:00 PM ET
|
|
|
|
Community Health Center Resources |
|
|
|
Jackson Kelly attorneys provide limited consultation to all members of the WVPCA at no charge, as part of the WVPCA contract. There is no limit to the number of calls which any member may make. All inquiries within the scope of professional competence of firm attorneys will be addressed. Inquiries which require expertise not available through the firm will be promptly identified and, when requested, Jackson Kelly will assist in referring the matter to accounting firms, insurance agents, or others as circumstances warrant.
All inquiries, responses and consultation services provided by the firm lawyers will be provided without additional charge beyond the retainer amount, except for matters which require formal opinions, representation of record in litigation, transactional work, e.g. the purchase or sale of real property, or matters which require continued representation, research or consultation beyond a single inquiry or document review.
Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He is available for consultation through a special retainer relationship with the WVPCA. Justin can be reached at 304.340.1358 and via email at justin.harrison@jacksonkelly.com.
|
|
Risk Management Manual for Health Centers Now Available! |
The Risk Management Manual for Health Centers is now available on the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website! Designed to support a proactive approach to risk management at health centers and free clinics, the Manual provides background, tips, and how-tos in a manageable format.
Specific areas that are covered include:
Risk Management Programs & Plans
Claims and Lawsuits
Role of the Risk Manager
Patient Grievances and Complaints
Communication with Patients
Credentialing and Privileging
Communication among Providers, Staff, and Community Partners
Tracking Systems for Diagnostic Tests, Referrals, and Hospitalizations
|
|
|
Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
|
|
|
|
To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter: |
|
1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE
Charleston, WV 25314
Phone: 304.346.0032
Toll Free: 1.877.WVA HLTH
|
|
|
This project is/was supported partially/fully by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U58CS06834 State and Regional Primary Care Associations. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
