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IN THIS ISSUE · Connect to Your Cluster · Genesee Scores Big
· Veteran Women's Health · and more! |
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Letter from the Executive Director
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John Lozier, MSSW
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This summer, many of you have been helping homeless people cope with the extreme temperatures by treating heat-related conditions, distributing drinking water and sunblock, and opening cooling stations. By example, at the most personal and immediate level, you are leaders in the fight against homelessness. Thank you!
Great examples of leadership are everywhere in the HCH community. Clinicians and administrators are developing supportive housing and medical respite care projects...
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Stay Connected with the Council:
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REGIONAL TRAININGS
 Registration is now open for the Region IX Health Care for the Homeless Conference in San Diego September 6-8 at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. Open to all individuals and organizations that provide care and compassion to people experienceing homelessness, this accreditted training will feature professional development and networking opportunities to better serve the needs of providers of homeless health care and shelter services.
REGISTER.
 Join us in Orlando November 1-2 for our next Regional Training. This exciting training will offer two days full of professional development workshops and networking opportunities for providers of homeless health care and shelter services. FIND OUT MORE.
Both events are jointly sponsored by the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
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WEBINARS
The National HCH Council continues its focus on the quality curve with even more free, interactive webinars, including:
- Laying the Groundwork for Meeting QI/QA Requirements | Aug. 29, 12 p.m. East. | REGISTER NOW!
- HCH Quality Leaders: Key Practices and Improvement Strategies | Aug. 30, 1 p.m. East. | REGISTER NOW!
- It Begins with a Connection: Community Voice Mail | Sept. 26, 1 p.m. East. | Registration info coming soon!
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CONNECT TO YOUR CLUSTER
 From our friends on the AIR team: The American Institutes for Research (AIR), in its role as support contractor to CMMI, is pleased to announce that new and enhanced technical assistance is now available to help FQHCs achieve practice transformation and NCQA Level 3 recognition as PCMHs by October 2014. READ MORE.
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE HIGHLIGHT
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GENESEE CO CMH SCORES BIG AFTER TA
 Over the past few months, the National HCH Council worked with Genesee County Community Mental Health and provided the organization with ongoing, in-depth TA on several topics. On June 20, the group was announced as one of HRSA's New Access Point grantees!
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IN FOCUS: WOMEN VETERANS
 To deliver the most relevant and up-to-date information available, we've changed the format and name of the quarterly research update! Instead of being a list of abstracts, it now expands upon a specific topic identified as a high interest area in the HCH field. The August 2012 "In Focus" issue of NHCHC's Research Update provides a focused review on health and homelessness among women veterans in the US, a topic gaining increased attention in research, public policy, and the media.
READ MORE.
PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH NETWORK
The National HCH Council's Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) focuses on research in clinical settings exploring issues that affect the primary health care needs of those experiencing homelessness. To join the PBRN and to participate in studies, please contact Molly Meinbresse, MPH, Program & Research Specialist.
If you are interested in conducting research with the HCH PBRN, please download and complete the Research Proposal Form.
RESEARCH COORDINATING COMMITTEE
Since its inception, the Steering Committee of the HCH Practice-Based Research Network has been meeting separately from the National HCH Council Research Coordinating Committee (RCC). The committees recently decided, however, to join forces to accomplish their work more cohesively and efficiently. HCH grantees interested in or currently participating in research will now be able to communicate directly with experienced researchers, ensuring NHCHC projects are feasible for the HCH setting while providing the highest value to the field. If you are interested in joining the newly combined Research Coordinating Committee, please contact Molly Meinbresse, MPH, Program & Research Specialist.
CALL FOR CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Have you, your clinic, or your organization been actively engaged in a research project relevant to the HCH Community? The National HCH Council would like to feature active research among our members and HCH grantees in our consolidated newsletter. In its Research Update section, the newsletter would highlight those actively conducting research relevant to individuals experiencing homelessness. There are also potential opportunitites to highlight your work in an NHCHC-sponsored webinar. If you are currently involved in a research project you would like highlighted, please contact Patrina Twilley for additional information.
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SAMHSA RELEASES NEW TOOL FOR DRUG TESTING
 A new resource, Clinical Drug Testing in Primary Care, is now available to help clinicians decide when and how to introduce drug testing in their primary care practices. The publication does not address drug testing for law enforcement or legal purposes, nor does it include testing for the use of anabolic steroids or performance-enhancing substances. Rather, it describes some of the ways that drug testing can contribute to the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients seen in primary care, the management of the treatment of chronic pain, and the identification and treatment of substance use disorders.
PREVENTING OVERDOSE IN PAIN MANAGEMENT
 View the archived "Methadone for Pain Management: The Clinician's Role in Reducing the Risk for Overdose" webinar from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Drs. Len Paulozzi and David Tauben present the epidemiology of methadone overdoses in the United States and discuss guidelines for appropriate opioid prescribing.
PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
 Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children is an initiative of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in collaboration with the National Center on Family Homelessness, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (the Alliance) and ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. The most recent publication from this initiative is "Meeting the Needs of Young Families Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Service Providers and Program Administrators". Visit the National Center on Family Homelessness for other resources from this collaboration.
HEPATITIS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
 Check out "TIP 53: Addressing Viral Hepatitis in People with Substance Use Disorders" from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This resource assists behavioral health professionals who treat people with substance abuse problems in understanding the implications of a diagnosis of hepatitis. It discusses screening, diagnosis, and referrals and explains how to evaluate a program's hepatitis practices.
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HCH CLINICIANS' NETWORK NEWS
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OCT. 3 DEADLINE FOR MEANINGFUL USE INCENTIVES  Wednesday, October 3, is the last day for eligible professionals (EPs) to begin their 90-day reporting period for calendar year (CY) 2012 for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. For EPs, this means that they must begin their consecutive 90-day reporting period by October 3 to attest to meeting meaningful use and be eligible to receive an incentive payment for CY 2012.
FIND OUT MORE.
INTERACTIVE ATLAS OF HEART DISEASE AND STROKE AVAILABLE NOW
 The CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention has created the Interactive Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke, a new online mapping tool that documents geographic disparities in the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at state and county levels. Users can create county-level maps of nine different CVD outcomes, by sex, race/ethnicity, and age group, and can overlay maps with congressional boundaries and locations of health-care facilities. Users also can view maps showing county-level social determinants of health and health services, including poverty, education, and food acquisition determinants.
TALKING HEALTH: PCMHs
 The evolution of patient-centered medical homes as a cost-efficient team approach to health care is the subject of the new episode of "Talking Health," CUNY-TV's Commonwealth Fund-supported series dedicated to health care issues and innovation. In "Patient-Centered Medical Homes," now available on commonwealthfund.org, host Mike Gilliam discusses the success of medical homes - primary care practices that offer ready access to comprehensive, coordinated care-with Commonwealth Fund Vice President Melinda K. Abrams, MS, head of the Patient-Centered Coordinated Care Program, and A. John Blair III, MD, president of Taconic IPA, a 4,000-member physician group in New York's Hudson Valley.
OTHER NEWS YOU CAN USE
Check out these links for some great items from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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RESPITE CARE PROVIDERS' NETWORK NEWS
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NEW STUDY SHEDS LIGHT ON MEDICAL RESPITE PATIENTS WHO LEAVE BEFORE DISCHARGE
 A new study published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved found that patients who are more likely to leave medical respite care prior to completing treatment plans include women, people living on the street immediately prior to entering the medical respite program, and substance users. The study also found that patients who leave early were more likely than others to decline referral and services and more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 90-days.
Reference:
Bauer, J., Moughamian, A., Viloria, J., and Schneidermann, M. (2012). Leaving before discharge from a homeless medical respite program: Predisposing factors and impact on selected outcomes.
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23, 1092-1105.
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NATIONAL CONSUMER ADVISORY BOARD NEWS
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NCAB AND NHCHC PUBLISH 2012 CONSUMER PARTICIPATION OUTREACH REPORT
 The 2012 NCAB Consumer Participation Outreach project, Within Reach: Perspectives of Hard-to-Reach Consumers Experiencing Homelessness, focuses on the consumer experience with outreach and enrollment services, a topic rarely addressed by previous research. Consumers from ten HCH projects administered the survey at street outreach sites such as parks and libraries, surveying approximately 250 individuals. Among the findings was the importance of showing individuals experiencing homelessness respect when conducting outreach, being collaborative in setting goals, and providing assistance in navigating the benefit enrollment process. Look for the full report soon on our Participation Outreach page. | |
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SUPREME COURT RULES ON THE ACA
 The Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act was delivered on June 28 and largely upheld the law. A surprising caveat, however, was the ruling that the federal government could not withhold a state's current Medicaid funding due to noncompliance with the Medicaid Expansion included in the ACA, effectively making Medicaid Expansion optional. If a state chooses not to comply with Medicaid Expansion, it will leave many homeless persons still without affordable health coverage. It is our hope that all states will choose to expand Medicaid to the fullest extent of the law, starting on January 1, 2014. This brief by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides more detail.
YOU DON'T NEED A HOME TO VOTE
 It is legal and encouraged in statute for nonprofits to register historically disenfranchised communities. If your project does not incorporate voter registration and engagement into its operations, please view the Council's Voter Registration page and help empower your consumers and communities even further!
HCH DAY 2012
Community leaders, elected officials, clinicians, staff, and consumers all came together August 6-10 to celebrate health center week and HCH Day. Check out our health center week page for stories and photos from the events.
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WWW.NHCHC.ORG This publication was made possible by grant number U30CS09746 from the Health Resources & Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Health Resources & Services Administration. |
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