Join or renew your membership online 
Join now to take full advantage of discounts and scholarships to attend professional development conferences. Plus members save $70 every time you post a job to the ACU Career Center.
|
Join the Conversation
   Receive more news, resources and updates when you like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join the ACU group on LinkedIn. |
ACU is a proud member of  Building an Asthma Care Home View this 60-minute recorded webinar presented by ACU staff at your convenience. Please allow time for the files to fully load on your computer. Download time depends on your connection speed. Watch now
|
JHCPU The February 2012 issue of the JHCPU, dedicated to Black History Month, is now available online. Online access to the JHCPU is an ACU member benefit. To join ACU, click here. 
|
ACU joined the Million Hearts campaign; so can you. |
April is National Minority Health Month
Health equity can't wait: Act now in your CommUNITY!
|
|
Our Sponsors
Partnership Level
Platinum Level
Gold Level
|
|
|
|
 Imagine yourself attending the 24th annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care in Tampa, FL, in December 2012. If that picture looks appealing, apply now for an ACU scholarship to cover the cost of your registration fees.
The IHI National Forum is huge, attracting more than 6,000 participants each year. At the 2012 conference, you will learn to:
- Recognize habits that support quality health care and apply the basic principles for improving them
- Define ways to reduce suffering and improve health
- Develop an understanding of how to transform an organization
- Identify elements for creating a culture of change that will lead to continuous improvement
A limited number of scholarships is available, so apply early. |
New on the ACU website
We have gathered lots of information on patient-centered medical homes, so whether you have already achieved designation or are just beginning the process, you will find something of interest on this page. The ACU website is undergoing a makeover to make it easier to use. The drop down menu under Our Issues contains information and resources on topics ranging from asthma to tobacco cessation. Under Education and Training, we've grouped links to upcoming conferences, publications, and archived webinars. More changes are coming, so please pardon our dust. |
|
National Nutrition Month
 March is national nutrition month and the 2012 theme is "Get your plate in shape." ACU offers a variety of tips and resources for health care providers and their patients on our Chronic Disease Prevention page. Check it out.
In response to our call for reader suggestions, we learned about a blog devoted to plant-based nutrition. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., of the Cleveland Clinic and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, calls heart disease a food-borne illness. Former President Bill Clinton may be one of the most famous adherents of a plant-based diet, but low-income people can eat this way too. For example, the Meals for Health program taught food bank recipients in Sacramento how to adopt a plant based diet.
|
Healthy Plates around the world
 | | IFH diabetes educator Christina McGeough helps patients choose healthy foods from diverse culinary traditions. |
In working patients from many different ethnic backgrounds, diabetes educators from the Institute for Family Health (IFH)*, recognized that traditional nutrition education tools seemed "foreign" to some patients, because their culture's customary foods were not represented. In response, the Institute's diabetes team developed a series of "Healthy Plates Around the World" to help patients lose weight and manage diabetes and other conditions.
"Healthy Plates" are easy to use and are available in several designs: Criollo (Puerto Rican/Dominican in English and Spanish), Soul Food and West African. Other designs will be developed in coming months.
Special offer for ACU readers: The first 10 readers to send an email to acu@clinicians.org will receive a "sample pack" of the IFH's full-color, 11" x 17" Healthy Plates Around the World. Please put Healthy Plates in the subject line and include your full mailing address. Healthy Plates are available for purchase on the Institute's website.
* IFH is a federally qualified health center network with practices in the Bronx, Manhattan and the Mid Hudson Valley and cares for over 7,000 medically underserved patients with diabetes.
|
Mobile technologies
One of the most popular resources ACU shared on its Facebook page recently was an article titled Top 20 Free iPhone Medical Apps for Health Care Professionals. We are publishing the link again in case you missed it.
Tech-savvy clinicians might also be interested in mHIMSS, a new initiative from the Health Information and Management Systems Society. It is a website dedicated to mobile technologies, workflow, and data exchange. There is an area focused on the ways mHealth may improve or reduce health disparities. For more information, please contact mhimss@himss.org.
|
Conferences and E-Learning
March 14, 1 pm EST/Noon, CST, Care for the Whole Person: Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care, offered by the Migrant Clinicians Network.
March 28, 1 pm EST/Noon, CST, the Nuts and Bolts of Cholinesterase Monitoring for Farmers, Ranchers and Agricultural Workers, offered by the Migrant Clinicians Network.
April 23 - 24, AIDS Watch 2012 sponsored by the National Association of People with AIDS in Washington, DC.
April 26 - 29, National Hispanic Medical Association 16th Annual Conference "Innovations to Improve Health for Hispanics, Families and Communities" at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington. Early registration rates through March 26. Look for ACU in the exhibit hall.
Various, Medical Home Webinar Series, offered by Harvard Health Policy Review and Medical Home News. ACU staff member Anna Gard, FNP, will speak about Nurse-Managed Health Clinics: A Road Map for Achieving Patient-Centered Medical Home Status on May 23.
June 7 - 8, Life's Sweeter with Fewer Sugary Drinks national summit sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, DC. Get details and download a registration form online.
June 27 - July 1, the 12th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved & Health Equity, sponsored by the Intercultural Cancer Council at the Hilton Americas Houston, Houston, Texas.
July 29 - Aug. 2, the National AHEC Organization presents its 2012 National Conference in San Antonio, TX.
Sept. 6 - 7, Save the Date: Plain Talk 2012 conference in Arlington, VA.
Sept. 7 - 8, Save the Date: the 2012 Integrative Medicine for the Underserved conference at Santa Clara University; preconference day on Sept 6. More details will come from the planning committee as they develop.
Oct. 31- Nov. 3, Save the Date: Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, Integrating Science, Policy and Practice, Building a Healthier Society at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, MD. Email: 2012summit@mail.nih.gov
|
|
Scholarship Winner
 | |
Lynn Evans, APRN-BC
|
Lynn Evans, a family nurse practitioner at Cabot Westside Health Center, in Kansas City, MO, saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. She responded to an invitation in this newsletter, applied, and was selected to receive a scholarship to attend a nursing informatics conference in Las Vegas in February. Lynn says her clinic implemented an electronic medical record more than a year ago. However, despite begin identified as a "super user" she hadn't received any additional training or updates. Returning from the conference, she made several suggestions. Now, she says, "we are going to coordinate meetings between super users across our system and members of the IT team." Congratulations, Lynn. |
|
Oral Health
Our colleagues at the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) recently conducted a needs assessment of Health Center Dental Directors and follow-up interviews with nine "early adopter" organizations that have made substantial progress integrating oral health into the PCHH. The results are compiled in the Oral Health and the Patient-Centered Health Home: Action Guide. Download the report in PDF form here.
|
|
Reducing Health Disparities
ACU board member Virna Little, PsyD, LCSW-R, SAP will represent ACU at the spring meeting of the AMA's Commission to End Health Care Disparities (CEHCD) in Nashville, Tennessee at the end of March. The focus of the meeting will be eliminating behavioral health and mental health disparities. If you would like to share your thoughts on this topic with Virna, email acu@clinicians.org |
|
New Resources on Hypertension
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published a new research review, Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: Comparative Effectiveness,which summarizes evidence on the effectiveness of SMBP, with or without clinical support, in managing and controlling hypertension. Related publication on this topic are also available to educate and support shared decision-making between patients and clinicians including: a new clinician summary, consumer summary, CME activity, and faculty slide set.
AHRQ has also updated its research review comparing the effectiveness and risks of hypertension medications, Comparative Effectiveness of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEIs), Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists (ARBs), and Direct Renin Inhibitors for Treating Essential Hypertension: An Update. The report concludes that there is not enough evidence to determine whether there are long-term differences in health outcomes associated with the use of three leading hypertension treatments-ACEIs, ARBs, and direct renin inhibitors-and calls for further research in the field. AHRQ also has released new clinician and consumer summaries of this review, as well as a CME activity and faculty slide set.
|
|
Fellowships and Scholarships
Integrative Medicine Fellowship, a one-year fellowship beginning July 2012, is offered by the Institute of Urban Family Health, in affiliation with Beth Israel Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Fellows will learn clinical Integrative Medicine in both primary care and consult models. Clinical training will be at a community health care center, as well as the Continuum Center of Health and Healing, an integrative health care setting. Additional information available online. |
|
NHSC Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council (NAC) on the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is seeking nominees for five open positions available after June 30, 2012 to serve 3-year terms. The NAC is an advisory committee comprised of a diverse group of primary care clinicians, NHSC Alumni, faculty, site administrators, community representatives and others who are experts in the recruitment and retention of clinicians and practice sites for the NHSC. Submit nomination to Njeri Jones at njones@hrsa.gov by Wednesday, March 28, and include a CV and bio.
|
|
Diagnosing Diabetes
 A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes triggers a lot of questions. You can order free copies of the American Diabetes Association's Where Do I Begin? booklet to give to your patients. Then, encourage them to enroll in the free Living With Type 2 Diabetes program that offers that offers information and support to help patients live well during their first year with diabetes.
|
|
|
|
|
