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May 2012

Community Health Center
Special Projects Grant Recipients

In January 2009, the League announced the Community Health Center Special Projects Grant for primary care providers.  The Community Health Center Special Projects Grant was developed to enhance retention of providers at Massachusetts community health centers through the support of funded projects, mini fellowships, and international experiences that match the clinical or career interest of selected providers and the programmatic needs of the health center.  We are happy to announce that the recipients of the 2012-2013 grant awards will assist eleven community health centers in offering paid protected time to the following primary care providers to undertake projects and mini fellowships:

 

Marie Mechel, PA

Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center

Q2A - Cue to Action!!

This project, Cue to Action or "Q2A" will expand on the modality of Shared Medical Appointments (SMA), while specifically targeting patients who are on an anti-hypertension regiment to help improve life style changes.   This project will help these patients by giving them an outlet to share their personal stories as well as work on their self-empowerment to help them manage their chronic disease.

 

Colleen Anderson, DDS

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program

Quality Improvement in Oral Health for Homeless Patients Fellowship

This is a mini fellowship in community health management will have a focus on dental care for homeless individuals and will help increase the clinician's knowledge of multiple areas of clinic management such as staffing, funding, patient scheduling and retention.

 

Joseph Panerio-Langer, MD

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center

Adult Primary Care Practice Redesign Initiative

The project will redesign the adult medicine department by forming three smaller teams with leaders that will each report to the medical director regarding workflow, policy concerns and patient issues. 

 

Timothy Eddy, DO

Community Health Connections, Inc.

Diabetes Group Visits

Development of a curriculum for diabetes group visits to be piloted in 2013. The 6-8 week curriculum will help patients understand how lifestyle changes and physical activity can improve their health.

 

Kathleen Floyd, FNP

Community Health Programs, Inc.

CHP on Wheels:  Connecting Rural Residents to Health Care

The Program will bring together all facets of the organization to plan and launch a mobile medical unit that will provide care to underserved residents in rural areas of Berkshire County.

 

Julie Crosson, MD

Dorchester House Multi-Service Center

Nurse Practitioner Professional Development Curriculum Program (NPPDCP)

The project will create a professional development curriculum for nurse practitioners.  The curriculum will help Dorchester House build a team of NPs that will help support primary care as well as create greater continuity of care for their patients.

 

Robert P. Marlin, MD, PhD

East Cambridge Health Center (CHA)

Creating a Community-Based PCMH for Political Violence Survivors

Expand PCMH model to the community to improve care for the growing political violence survivors' population and link EMR to social and community based organizations to better serve this population.

 

Frank Schiano, MD

Fenway Community Health Center

Improving Oral Health Outcomes for LGBT and HIV Populations

A mini fellowship to provide increased training to help improve the lead clinician's ability to manage additional staff and dental residents and support the lead clinician's certificate from the Pathway's Program, funded by HRSA.

 

Evan Teplow, MD

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

Healthy Weight Clinic Expansion Project

The project entails expanding and rolling out the Healthy Weight Clinic (HWC); improving the infrastructure of the organizational approach and PCMH; and to incorporate obesity management to all 4 of GLFHC's clinical sites.  

 

Alison Marshall, RN, MSN, FNP-C

South Boston Community Health Center

SBCHC Medical Home Pilot Project

Support the Center in developing a working medical home.  The lead clinician will provide staff training and enact quality improvement measures of the course of the grant cycle to encompass all of SBCHC's needs.

 

Liliana Rosselli-Risal, MD

Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center

Comunidad en Accion

Promote the health of the Center's Latino population in the areas of fitness, nutrition and healthy weight.
Who's Who: Dr. Holly Alexandre
at SSTAR Family Health Center
 

 

Dr. Holly Alexandre has been SSTAR Family Health Center's Medical Director for almost 8 years.  Last year she felt like trying something new. Her idea, which awarded her a Community Health Center Special Project Grant from the League, was to mentor a group of mostly adolescent girls on important health topics. Because of her experience as a tri-athlete, Holly decided to get the girls interested in running. Running, she thought, is something they can do wherever they are, doesn't require expensive equipment and can be done individually or as part of a group.

 

Partnering with Kuss Middle School in Fall River -- which was on the verge of launching an after-school wellness initiative -- Holly began to mentor 15 to 20 girls. Meeting the girls twice a week, she facilitated discussions on a range of health topics and led fun running games and exercises. The group set its first goal: a local 5K race. Four months later, fifteen girls not only showed up for the race - they all finished.

 

"It gave the girls a huge sense of achievement," says Holly. "Not only were they proud to have accomplished a big goal, they began to realize the importance of eating well to attain that goal."  More importantly, Holly emphasizes, is the fact that the girls can build off the training experience by adopting running as a long-term healthy lifestyle choice. "I knew I had made some impact when I heard the girls talking about their weekend runs," she says.

 

Although the race is over, Holly and the girls continue to meet. Many of them lack strong role models as well as access to information on health and overall well-being, so Holly's after school sessions enable them to discuss pertinent topics in a safe setting. Holly is quick to explain that although she serves as the discussion guide, she generally lets the girls pick the topics. Discussions have hit on a range of themes, including friendship, texting, safe technology, smoking, avoiding drugs and alcohol, moods, self-confidence, body image, relationships with fathers, pregnancy prevention, staying in school, and goal setting.

 

Through her work at the middle school, Holly soon realized that she cares for some of the girls' parents at SSTAR. As a result, she has gained deeper insight into the familial and cultural dynamics that impact the lives of her students, particularly in a community burdened with high rates of drug addiction. Holly enjoys caring for multiple generations of the largely Portuguese population in the area, and it is this continuity of care that she loves the most.  

 

 

Workforce Calendar

June 22, 2012

Customer Service Training

Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers 

 

June 25, 2012, 10AM

HealthCorps 2011-2012 Graduation 

Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers 

 

If you have an article suggestion or a recommendation of who to feature in an upcoming monthly Workforce Newsletter, please send it to Janice Brathwaite: jbrathwaite@massleague.org

In This Issue
CHC Special Projects Grant Recipients
Who's Who: Dr. Holly Alexandre

Mayor Menino's Million Pound Challenge

Join the city of Boston in Mayor Menino's weigh loss challenge to lose 1 million pounds as well as moving 10 million miles.

For more info please visit the official website:
 

 

Green Your Garage

1. Ditch the garage-based refrigerator 
(it will use a lot of electricity trying to compensate for temperature change) 
2. Insulate and seal your garage doors to cut down on drafts

3. Remove or safely store hazardous 
chemicals (the fumes may be harmful)
 
4. Clean out your garage and hold a yard-sale or donate unwanted items

Career Opportunities

If your health center has any career opportunities to post on the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers' job posting website, please contact Lesley for more information!

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