Please join the West Virginia Primary Care Association for Trauma-Informed Care in School-Based Health Centers: Moving from Awareness to Practice on Thursday, June 10, 2021, presented by Dr. Audrey Stillerman. Being trauma aware has been promoted for several years. As a result, there is an increase of awareness of the effects of stress, adversity, and trauma on people’s lives. The evidence is clear that the effects of child neglect and abuse, as well as other forms of traumatic stress, impact the health, mental health, and behavior of individuals.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Primary Care and Behavioral Health staff in School Based Health Centers.

Ready to take your Azara DRVS utilization to the next level? Want to learn more about maximizing the Azara tools for performance improvements? Need to refresh your knowledge of the basic concepts DRVS? If so, please join the West Virginia Primary Care Association (WVPCA) and Azara Healthcare for the exciting AZARA ACADEMY webinar series. During these ninety minute webinars, health centers will have the opportunity to learn more about Azara DRVS, digging deeper into functionality and tools. Azara DRVS experts will demonstrate how DRVS can be leveraged for value based initiatives, care management, efficient patient visit planning, quality improvement, and other important functions and uses.  

After attending these sessions health centers will have the opportunity to schedule their NO-COST ninety-minute WVPCA AZARA ACADEMY Learning Lab session hosted by an Azara Coach. The Learning Lab will offer hands on training to assist the health center in further exploring the topics covered in the DRVS Academy sessions within their own organization. Please contact the WVPCA for more details.

Target Audience: All levels of DRVS users including but not limited to: CHC Leadership, Clinical Managers, Quality and Care Management Staff, Nurses, IT/EHR Managers, Behavioral Health and School Based Health Directors.

The White House announced a Month of Action to mobilize an All-of-America sprint to get people vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sunday, July 4. Read the White House fact sheet.

In addition, HHS’ We Can Do This campaign is mobilizing national organizations, community-based partners, influencers, celebrities, athletes, and thousands of volunteers across the nation to empower their communities to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The campaign will work with organizations and trusted messengers throughout this month to promote vaccines across the country.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it is designating $4.8 billion to provide relief funding for COVID-19 testing for uninsured people in the U.S.

The administration intends the funding from the American Rescue Plan to ensure the approximately 29 million uninsured U.S. residents have access to COVID-19 testing in order to track where the virus is prevalent for appropriate responses.

This observance was launched in 2006, by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of the abuse and neglect of older people by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. 

Health Centers are crucial in the recognition and prevention of elder abuse. In our recent Learning Collaborative, Aging with Respect: A Framework for Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in Older Adults, Lisa James, Director of Health at Futures Without Violence and Dr. Peter Maramaldi, discussed ways that health centers can establish partnerships to improve the health, wellness, and safety of their patients. Visit IPV Health Partners to download a toolkit to build a comprehensive and sustainable response to intimate partner violence (IPV).

Visit the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Optimizing Virtual Care technical assistance (TA) webpage for the Notice of Funding Opportunity, pre-recorded TA webinar, and other resources.

Health centers that receive this funding will be able to use it for COVID-19 related capital needs and to construct new facilities, renovate and expand existing facilities, and purchase new equipment. Read the press release.

Applications are due in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 24. Visit the American Rescue Plan funding for Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements technical assistance (TA) webpage for award submission guidance, information about upcoming question and answer sessions, and other resources.

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.

The Pandemic Operational Recovery Guide for Health Centers and Free Clinics was written to assist health centers and free clinics in identifying and minimizing risks as they recover from operational disruptions related to a pandemic.

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.

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.