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 June 2010
Workplace Diversity Research Project
In an effort to better explore the unique challenges community health centers face in fostering a healthy and diverse workplace environment, and to learn from innovative solutions for managing this critical issue, the League is collaborating with the University of Massachusetts Lowell on an important workplace diversity research project within community health centers. The project is directed by the Center for Women and Work, a vibrant community of scholars who are dedicated to advancing knowledge about the relationship between gender, race and work and to challenging inequalities, particularly through policy institutional change. The study is funded by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues: http://www.spssi.org.
The main objectives of the "Healthy Diversity" project are to:
- document the cultural and ethnic diversity of the CHC workforce
- assess the challenges CHCs face in fostering ethnically/racially/culturally diverse work settings
- identify effective and promising practices adopted by CHCs to attract and support a diverse workforce
- share the information gathered to inform future organizational practices and broader policy
Dorcas Grigg-Saito, CEO of Lowell Community Health Center, is a member of the project's Advisory Group and has provided significant input into the design and focus of the study.
The data from participating community health centers will remain confidential and only the researchers will have access to completed surveys. The results will be summarized in a manner that conceals individual organizational identities even when the information is provided to collaborators and funders. The findings and recommendations ultimately will be shared with interested health centers, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, policy makers and other key stakeholders.
In the coming weeks, the Center for Women and Work will be sending requests to health centers for their participation in the study. Voluntary participation will involve completing a two-part questionnaire (via web or paper/pencil). The first part will ask centers to describe current practices; the second part will ask for a summary of current workforce and Board demographics.
Ensuring workforce diversity has continued to be a core value of the community health center mission. It is our hope that the information gleaned from this study will help us to further strengthen the workforce diversity strategies which are fundamental to the way in which we deliver our unique brand of high quality primary care.
Questions can be directed to the center's Project Manager, Lauren Hajjar at 978-934-2727 or Lauren.Hajjar@uml.edu. You may also contact Mary Leary at the League, (617) 988-2261 or mleary@massleague.org.
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Who's Who
Alicia Castro, Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center
 It's a newborn baby!
Raising children is a long, unpredictable journey but do not fear: Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center (JMSCHC) is there to help you every step of the way.
So there you are, in the hospital holding your new, precious bundle of joy and like all mothers, slightly overwhelmed. Minutes later, a bag filled with diapers, a baby blanket, creams, new baby clothes, shampoo and care information for new parents arrives compliments of JMSCHC's "Newborn Welcoming Program."
This service, along with many others, is made possible by the generous spirit and diligent work of health center staffers like Alicia Castro. Alicia has been a caseworker at Joseph Smith for almost nine years. In addition to helping patients enroll in health insurance programs, secure housing and locate daycare, Alicia oversees a range of initiatives that support new parents.
For example...
Back at the hospital things are going great and it's time to go home. But wait! How will you get there without a car seat? No worries. The JMSCHC "Car Seat Program" will provide you with a low cost car seat that can be purchased after watching an educational video about the proper usage and the life-saving capability of the seat. Hooray! You drive your infant home safely and anxiety-free.
A few years have passed. Your once-tiny bundle of joy has now grown into a rather large and boisterous boy of seven with his father's eyes and Great Grandma Gertrude's sweet tooth. You never dreamed her bizarre love of deep fried Twinkies would pass down two generations to your son. Luckily, JMSCHC is way ahead of you. Through their "Fitness in the City Program," they already have a list from the Medical Department of children who are at risk for obesity-related problems and they call the next day to set him up with free monthly visits with a nutritionist. To top it off, he and your entire family will be offered a free three-month membership to your local YMCA!
The YMCA shows your son how much fun being physically active can be and soon he is saving up for his first bicycle. You are worried about his safety until you hear about the health center's "Bike Helmet Program" - a program Alicia helped to launch at the health center after securing sponsorship from Children's Hospital. Through the program, all JMSCHC youth in need of a bike helmet will be fitted and given one for free. Last summer, 100 patients received free helmets!
Alicia's favorite part of her job is helping people get the things they need. "People come in very worried because they can't read a document or a notice that was sent to them. After I help them they are so relieved. I like to see people leave with a smile," says the magnanimous Castro, who also lends her bilingual talent to medical translation services at the health center.
Another important part of Alicia's job is health education. Castro explained that the idea of a car seat is new to many patients who are not originally from the US; in her home country of Colombia, for example, car seats are not enforced by law. "After watching the car seat education video, parents are shocked about the difference a car seat can make," says Castro.
Before coming to JMSCHC, Alicia Castro worked as a preschool teacher for 20 years followed by Head Start for 6 months. She has three children of her own and three grandchildren about to turn 4, 6, and 7. They all must be very proud!
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Special Projects Grant Update
Launched in 2009, the League's Community Health Center Special Projects Grant helps to enhance the retention of primary care providers at community health centers. The initiative provides support for funded projects, mini fellowships and international experiences that match the clinical or career interest of selected providers and the programmatic needs of their health centers.
In its first year, the program helped three community health centers offer paid-protected time to providers undertaking approved projects. This year, the League is happy to announce that six health centers will have the same opportunity:
Bonnie Cohen, MD
Union Square Family Health
HealthLift
Supports Health Learning Initiatives for Teens (HealthLIFT), an integrated health literacy education program targeting Union Square Family Health staff, high school students in vocational training for health careers, and patients.
Edward R. Levy, MD, MPH
Upham's Corner Health Center
Comprehensive Management of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Supports an experienced physician focused on developing expertise in the comprehensive management of ADHD and co-morbid conditions. The participating physician will lead the extension of best practices in the care of these children to the entire health center.
Julita Mir, MD
Dorchester House Multi-Service Center
Hepatitis Clinic
Expands on-site specialty care for patients with Hepatitis B and C by sending a physician to train in an academic gastroenterology program. The ultimate goal of the grant is to establish a Hepatitis Clinic at the health center.
Christina Nelson, MD
Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center
Improve Clinical Outcomes through the Community Health Information Association (CHIA)
Supports a quality improvement process to improve clinical outcomes captured through the League's CHIA. http://www.massleague.org/Programs/HealthInformationTechnology/CHIA.php
The project will include an assessment of factors impacting health outcomes, development and implementation of an intervention plan to improve those outcomes, and the establishment of a framework to continue the Quality Improvement process for other clinical indicators.
Anna Rabkina, MD
Lynn Community Health Center
Training for Midlevel Management
Enhances and optimizes LCHC's current administrative system by creating a training model for mid-level management staff who work in the satellite office or as part of a medical team. The goal is for each team to obtain responsibility for the overall management of their departments and to collaborate with the health center's senior management team.
Lara Setti, MD, MPH et. al.
Community Health Programs Health Center
Teen Family Planning Clinic
Establishes a Teen Family Planning Clinic to provide a safe, private environment for the delivery of desperately needed family planning and related health services to teens in southern Berkshire County. The goals of the clinic are to decrease the rate of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and to play an essential role in the coordination of care and treatment for teens who find themselves pregnant or infected.
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| Workforce Calendar
Health Care for Residents of Public Housing Nat'l Conference
June 28-30
Intercontinental Hotel
515 Atlantic Avenue, Boston
League/Suffolk Certificate Program in Community Health and Community Health Center Management Graduation
July 22, 2010; 6:00-8:00pm
Suffolk University Law School
120 Tremont Street, Boston
League/Suffolk Certificate Program Application Deadline
July 30th, 2010
Customer Service Training will continue throughout June at various locations
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Practice Safe Sun!
Exposure to ultraviolet rays, UVA or UVB, from sunlight accounts for 90% of the symptoms for premature skin aging such as wrinkles and skin cancers.
Here are some tips to help protect your skin:
-Wear sunscreen DAILY -Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before exposure to sun and reapply every hour -Use a broad spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays -Purchase new sunscreen every year - most sunscreens are less effective after 12 months -Limit your exposure to the sun by taking breaks in the shade or indoors
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Did you know that
44 out of 52 Massachusetts community health centers have either purchased, implemented or are in the process of implementing electronic health records? |
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