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WVPCA Weekly Outlook
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
November 19, 2021
In This Issue...
WVPCA News - Outreach and Enrollment News
Emergency Management News - State News - National News
Funding and Financial Opportunities - Training Opportunities
News Flash!
West Virginia Attorney General Morrisey: 13-state coalition wins COVID economic aid lawsuit
Read the entire article from WVNews here.

COVID-19 cases trending up
Read the entire article from The Herald Dispatch here.

US overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say
Read the entire article from Charleston Gazette-Mail here.

West Virginia, 11 other states sue Biden Administration over vaccine mandate
Read the entire article from WBOY.com here.
WVPCA News
National Rural Health Day
On National Rural Health Day, we pay special recognition to the essential, selfless work of our community health centers and celebrate the “power of rural!” This work continues to grow in importance as we battle the coronavirus pandemic through testing, vaccination and treatment efforts. West Virginia’s 32 community health centers are on the frontlines daily providing these COVID-19 response services and other needed health care to our state’s citizens. 

Nearly 480,000 West Virginians receive health care services from a community health center—more than one out of every four citizens. Many of these West Virginians live in federally designated rural areas, or in areas that should be considered rural due to topography or travel distance.

Let us know how you celebrated National Rural Health Day. Email us your comments and photos to info@wvpca.org.
Marketplace Weekly Enrollment Snapshot
In week two of the 2022 Open Enrollment Period, approximately 851,000 people selected individual market plans through the 33 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform. During the Open Enrollment Period, to date, more than 1,624,000 people have selected individual market plans on HealthCare.gov. As in past years, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday. 

The final number of plan selections associated with enrollment activity during a reporting period may change due to plan modifications or cancellations. In addition, the weekly snapshot only reports new plan selections and active plan renewals and does not report the number of consumers who have paid premiums to effectuate their enrollment.
Addressing Health Misinformation a Priority
The U.S. Surgeon General has released a new community toolkit for addressing health misinformation. The toolkit offers insights and guidance on how to talk about health information with family, friends and your community, common disinformation tactics and more. 
State News
Save the Date for the WV Stimulant Summit
The 2021 Virtual West Virginia Stimulant Summit is for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinicians, therapists, case managers, peer recovery coaches, and others who work with individuals affected by stimulant use disorders.

The Summit will take place on Thursday, December 16th from 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

SUMMIT OBJECTIVES:
  • Expand knowledge around evidence-based practice (EBP) for stimulant use disorders.
  • Increase awareness of lessons learned by subject matter experts as well as strategies they have used to address barriers to EBP for stimulant use disorders.
  • Increase clinical knowledge and access to effective treatment options available to individuals with polysubstance use disorders.
Save the Date for #MATRC2022
National News
November is Transgender Awareness Month
A research study conducted by the Williams Institute, a division of the UCLA School of Law found that West Virginia has the highest population of adolescents’ age 13-17 who identify as transgender.

Persons who identify as transgender have unique health and wellness needs and accessing appropriate, patient-centered care is often difficult. To access free trainings to improve your health center’s care of the LGBTQ+ community, please visit the National LGBTQ+ Health Education Center, a program of the Fenway Institute.

The WVPCA will also be hosting a three-part webinar series in January with Jen Calohan, CURIS Consulting that will provide training regarding the importance of collecting SOGI, SDOH, Race/Ethnicity, and HIV data to improve health equity in community health centers. Registration coming soon.

For more information, please contact Emma White, RN PCMH-CCE at emma.white@wvpca.org.
NACHC Special and Vulnerable Populations COVID-19 Forum 
Join several National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP) organizations for the next session of the four-part Special and Vulnerable Populations Forum. The next one-hour session convenes Friday, November 19 and will address how COVID-19 has impacted health centers across the country and the special populations they serve. The Forum will identify, share, and promote promising practices, while highlighting and addressing challenges.

Participants in the Forum will also hear from field subject matter experts from the Bureau of Primary Care (BPHC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These speakers will be on hand to offer up-to-date information about COVID-19, the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program, and to support programs and to address evidence-based strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence as well. 

Don’t miss this informative session!
Funding and Financial Opportunities
Expanded School Mental Health Grants
The WV Bureau for Behavioral Health has announced funding availability (AFA) for Expanded School Mental Health (ESMH) Expansion. This grant is used to support evidence-based programs that promote social and emotional well-being, prevention approaches, person-centered interventions and self-directed and/or recovery driven support services in schools. This grant will support planning and development of effective and sustainable school mental health services for students. The ESMH expansion grants will provide funding and technical assistance for school-community partnerships to develop policies, programs, and practices to improve access to high-quality coordinated school mental health services and supports. The deadline is January 5, 2022. 

School-Based Health Centers are uniquely positioned to directly provide integrated mental health and primary health care services in a school-based setting. SBHCs are an evidenced based program that supports schools.

The WVPCA has been a part of the State ESMH Committee for over five years and is able to provide support for the application process and/or the implementation of a successful grant application.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to John Kennedy at john.kennedy@wvpca.org
Upcoming Training Opportunities

SAVE THE DATE
Today with Macrae: Health Center Program Updates
Join Jim to hear about BPHC REACH, funding, progress reporting and more.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021
3:00 PM ET
Access info coming soon
Intro to the UDS Mapper
This webinar is a general introduction to the UDS Mapper, a mapping and decision-support tool driven primarily from health center patient location data within the Uniform Data System (UDS). The UDS Mapper is a collaboration between the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and is part of the HealthLandscape online mapping platform.

This webinar will go over basic UDS Mapper functionalities and is geared toward first time users or those who need a refresher. The webinar is open to the public and free of charge.

Wednesday, December 8, 2021
12:00 PM EST
BPHC Behavioral Health Integrated Care TA Project 
Join HRSA to learn how our upcoming tailored TA efforts will help health centers answer questions like:

  • How can we better integrate our behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) services into existing processes? 
  • What are some ways to address and mitigate workforce shortages? 
  • What are the expanded expectations relating to UDS depression measures?

Participants can earn 1 CE for attending this Webinar.

This webinar will address the following questions:
  • What is BHTA and how might it support our integration efforts?
  • What are the types of TA available to our health Center staff?
  • What are some of this years upcoming events?
  • How can I access technical assistance?

Monday, November 29, 2021
3:00 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.
ECRI Institute
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

View an archived webinar that provides a guided tour of the Manual and key features. For access to the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website or any other questions, email clinical_rm_program@ecri.org.
WVPCA Staff
Sherri Ferrell, MBA | Chief Executive Officer
Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
Joshua Austin | Policy & Communications Director
Paula Beasley | Education & Communication Coordinator
Jennifer Boyd, PA-C, PCMH-CCE | Clinical Consultant
John Kennedy, MA | School-Based Health/Behavioral Health Coordinator
Pam Moore | Member Relations Coordinator
Shannon Parker, MBA, PCMH-CCE | Director of Health Center Operations
Ruby Piscopo | Outreach & Enrollment Coordinator
Amanda West | Staff Accountant
Emma White, RN, PCMH-CCE | Clinical Quality Improvement Coordinator
Kevin Treadway | Health Data Analyst
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.