Missouri DHSS and DESE Bring Pooled COVID-19 Testing to K-12 Classrooms |
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The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) recently announced a partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. ("Ginkgo") to provide pooled SARS-CoV-2 testing through Concentric by Ginkgo. On Monday, August 23, Concentric began enrolling and onboarding interested schools in this comprehensive testing program. This will continue throughout the 2021-2022 school year. Laboratory and testing services are provided in partnership with local Missouri labs.
As school districts across the country work hard to re-open, and our youngest students remain ineligible for vaccination, regular testing remains critical for supporting students, teachers, and staff by providing a predictable environment for learning. Pooled classroom testing, which combines anterior nasal swab samples from all consenting individuals in a classroom and runs them as a single test, is a simple and scalable way to test many people at once while minimizing resource strain. Support for this program is entirely drawn from the federal American Rescue Plan funds through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which allocated $10 billion to states and territories for school testing. Missouri received approximately $185 million to "detect, diagnose, trace and monitor COVID-19 and prevent its spread" in schools.
"We believe this testing program, when combined with additional prevention strategies, will be instrumental in helping schools provide safe onsite learning opportunities and increasing confidence of parents and families," said Robert Knodell, Acting Director of DHSS.
The testing program will offer pooled SARS-CoV-2 testing throughout the state through Concentric by Ginkgo, which operates statewide programs in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and, others. Ginkgo will provide all the training and testing materials necessary, as well as staffing, data processing, and lab services through Missouri-based labs. Students, teachers, nurses, and school administrators alike have described the testing process as "simple and painless." This comprehensive program will include molecular pooled testing, as well as individual molecular testing for follow-up. The program has already been piloted in the state and is immediately accepting sign-ups from schools and districts.
"After this past school year, students and families are ready to get back to full in-person school and all the extra-curricular, support services, and socializing that entails," said Missouri Commissioner of Education Dr. Margie Vandeven. "This regular testing is one more strategy to help keep our students safe and our school doors open."
Pooled testing joins the types of strategies already listed on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' website for Elementary and Secondary Schools, including vaccination, symptom screening, physical distancing and facilities improvements, masks/face coverings, hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, and monitoring a return to school after illness. These advisory recommendations are developed and updated in collaboration with the DESE, MDHSS, and infectious disease physicians from around the state.
"We built Concentric because everyone's health is connected, and we're proud to work with school districts across Missouri to support comprehensive testing within school communities," said Matthew McKnight, Chief Commercial Officer at Ginkgo. "Asymptomatic testing provides critical information to educators, public health leaders, and community members. Each of us at Concentric is committed to supporting communities as they work to keep kids in classrooms and COVID out this fall."
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HCC Rides Program Bridges Access Gaps Across Missouri |
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Unreliable or unaffordable access to transportation can lead to missed health appointments, delays in necessary care interventions, and missed or delayed use of medications. The resulting consequences of these negative impacts on rural residents’ health may influence their decisions regarding health care. Geographic challenges, such as large distances to care facilities, may also influence these decisions. Even if transportation is available, residents may find traveling to appointments inconvenient amid work, school, or childcare schedules. According to Transportation and Health in Rural Missouri, some residents may have to travel over 100 miles round trip for health care services.
One obstacle of existing public transportation services, including the services for Medicaid enrollees, is the lack of flexibility. While these programs are helpful for appointments scheduled in advance, they offer little wiggle room for changes or emergencies. The same is true for public buses; even if there is no cost, hours of operation and routes are limited.
Because of these challenges, HCC Rides focuses on flexibility. The program aims to promote independence, especially for those who feel like a burden relying on others or miss appointments due to inconvenience. “We’ve had people say, I would not have been able to get to and from my dialysis because my kids would have had to take off work,” said Smith. “We’re able to alleviate the burden some older patients may feel when relying on others.”
There's also another benefit: HCC Rides which pairs rural residents with volunteer-driven rides to and from health and wellness appointments has resulted in family-like connections. During a time of high social isolation, a strong sense of community is more important than ever.
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September is National Recovery Month |
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National Recovery Month is a national observance held every September. Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery, just as we celebrate health improvements made by those who are managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.
This observance reinforces the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover.
The 2021 National Recovery Month theme, “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community,” reminds people in recovery and those who support them that no one is alone in the journey through recovery. Everyone's journey is different, but we are all in this together. All of us, from celebrities and sports figures to our co-workers, neighbors, friends, and family members, throughout our lives have experienced peaks and valleys, both big and small. But with strength, support, and hope from the people we love, we are resilient.
National Addiction Professionals Day will be celebrated on September 20, 2021, as part of National Recovery Month. This day aims to celebrate the vital players of the health system and continuum of care: addiction professionals. The day was established by NAADAC to commemorate all the hard work that addiction professionals do on a daily basis.
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Medicaid Expansion in Missouri:
What You Need to Know
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Who is eligible?
- Senior (age 65 and older)
- Parent or caretaker with a child (under age 19)
- Child (age birth -18)
- Women (age 18-55) with no health insurance
- Adult (age 19-64) without disabilities
- Pregnant woman (including an unborn child)
- Women (under age 65) with breast or cervical cancer
- Person with disabilities
- Blind or visually impaired adult
How to apply. Contact HCC at 660.259.2440 for support, or follow these instructions.
- Are age 65 or older
- Are blind or disabled
- Get Social Security
- Live in a medical or nursing facility
- Have Medicare or VA healthcare
Send your paper application and forms by email, mail, or fax to:
When will I get coverage?
The Family Support Division will process your application and any supporting documentation as soon as they receive it. *This can take up to 10 business days.
Once your application is processed, you will get a letter that lets you know if you are eligible for healthcare coverage or not. If you are approved, you will receive a MO HealthNet Identification Card and information explaining the type of services and coverage you have. You will need to follow the instructions in this letter for your coverage to begin.
*NOTE: If you are applying for the new adult expansion coverage, applications will not be processed until after October 1, 2021.
For questions about Missouri Medicaid expansion, or to determine eligibility and get help enrolling, contact HCC at 660.259.2440 for help.
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5 Reasons to Enroll in the Customized Caregiver Training & Relief Program |
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The Customized Caregiver Training & Relief Program offers caregivers assistance navigating the difficulties of caring for someone with dementia.
1. Some 16% of caregivers feel emotionally strained and 26% say taking care of the care recipient is hard on them emotionally.
2. Depressed caregivers are more likely to have coexisting anxiety disorders, substance abuse or dependence, and chronic disease.
3. About 1 in 10 (11%) caregivers report that caregiving has caused their physical health to get worse.
4. Caregivers exhibit exaggerated cardiovascular responses to stressful conditions, which put them at greater risk than non-caregivers for the development of cardiovascular syndromes such as high blood pressure or heart disease.
5. Learn tools to reduce stress and navigate emotional changes.
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Mental Health Assistance Hard to Find in Rural America |
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Especially In Missouri, Shortage Of Professionals And Bad Broadband Hamper Folks Seeking Help
Ask someone in rural America what the biggest challenge is to mental health care and they’ll most likely say “access.” Not only is there a lack of mental health professionals in rural communities, experts say, but people often have to travel long distances to find those professionals. Even then, there are issues with getting it covered by insurance.
According to the University of Missouri Extension, all of the 99 rural counties in Missouri have a shortage of mental health professionals. In 57 of those counties there are no mental health professionals.
This isn’t just a rural problem, either. Less than 6% of mental health needs are met in Missouri, according to a 2021 report by the Bureau of Health Workforce, Health Resources and Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
That’s less than any other state. In Kansas, about 32% of needs are met.
Garrett Hawkins, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, said the first obstacle to mental health care for farmers is acknowledging its need.
As a farmer himself, Hawkins said he knows the physically demanding lifestyle of a farmer or rancher encourages a do-it-yourself mentality. And not in a Pinterest, make-your-own-coffee-table type of way, but in a way that stigmatizes asking for help.
“We’re known for being tough and resilient, yet at the same time, we’re not always the best about asking for help when we need it,” Hawkins said. “And so one of the roles that we have taken on as the state’s largest farm organization is to work with others to tear down the stigma, to let our members know it’s okay to not be okay.”
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HCC and its Live Well Health Centers offer a variety of behavioral health services, including assistance for substance use.
Visit https://hccnetwork.org/behavioral-health/ or call 660.259.2440 to learn more about treatment options.
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ICYMI: GET LINK'D 2021 MRHA CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHT |
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The Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) Get Link'd 2021 Conference, held virtually Aug. 17-19, connected speakers and attendees across the country to highlight and discuss issues impacting rural health.
The conference is delivered by MRHA along with collaborative partners Missouri Hospital Association, Missouri Primary Care Association and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (Office of Rural Health and Primary Care).
The Landscape of Rural Health
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National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Chief Executive Officer Brock Slabach, MPH, FACHE, delivered Wednesday’s keynote address, “The Landscape of Rural Health.” In it, he addressed unprecedented challenges to a fragile rural health safety net; the pandemic’s impact; rural health inequities and a renewed focus on racial justice; and efforts to remain innovative amidst these challenges.
This landscape is accentuated by a new presidential administration and a season of unparalleled funding to vaccinate against COVID-19, tackle pronounced vaccine hesitancy, address systemic workforce shortages, rural provider closures, and broadband connectivity, among other challenges.
As rural health care’s fragility magnifies against the backdrop of this pandemic, the NRHA has remained steadfast in its advocacy for health policy issues, especially legislation that centers health equity for 2.2 million rural Missourians. Among NRHA’s policy agenda is:
Accountable Care in Rural America Act (HR 3746)
Assuring Access to 340B Drug Pricing Program (S 773)
Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HR 2255/S 1024)
Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act (S 1988)
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (S 834/HR 2267)
Rural America Health Corps Act (S 924/HR 2130)
Rural Hospital Support Act (HR 1887)
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Stay tuned for an upcoming editorial series covering this session and more including nursing workforce shortages, COVID-19 vaccination efforts, and the impact of rural hospital closures. |
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