Dear Colleagues,

With the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, it is clear that PCAN will still have a significant role to play in providing access to care for both the newly insured and those who will remain uncovered. In 2014, we will see a surge of new patients who need primary care - and an accompanying shortage of health care providers. In fact, hospital ERs in Massachusetts saw an increase in not-urgent visits after their health plan was implemented. People now had coverage - and nowhere to go.

Our challenge is to continue to expand patient access points while dealing with related challenges:

• Florida's potential refusal to expand Medicaid in Florida
• Uncertainty about providers accepting the new subsidized health plans and/or Medicaid
• Primary care physician shortages
• Threats to the Disproportionate Share dollars that (1) help make up Florida's federal Medicaid match and (1) fund some of Orange County's FQHCs and the entire Orange County Medical Clinic.

Still, the news is good: more people will have health insurance. That can only improve earlier access to care and lead to better population health outcomes. For these reasons, it's important that our network keep growing and working together.

Innovation and partnerships continue to be the key to PCAN's success. Central Florida Family Health Centers (CFFHC) recently partnered with Orlando Health to integrate their Pediatric Residency program into their Southside location. CFFHC is also working with Nemours Children's Hospital, Orange County Public Schools and Winter Park Health Foundation to offer primary care through a school-based FQHC at Cheney Elementary school. Community Health Centers (CHC) is opening a new Meadow Woods clinic offering pediatric medical and dental care services effective July 16th. Other PCAN partners are expanding, too. For example, PCAN's Diagnostic pilot program, funded through Blue Foundation of Florida and Florida Hospital's Community Health Impact Council (CHIC) grants, has coordinated low-cost and/or free tests to approximately 700 uninsured patients who might otherwise have foregone these tests due to cost constraints. The CHIC has also funded other initiatives with PCAN partners; the newest is an expanded dental program for the residents of Bithlo. PCAN partners include the Dental Care Access Foundation (DCAF), Health Care Center for the Homeless HCCH) and Florida Hospital.

Creating this culture of collaboration has required far more commitment and change than simply working together on single projects. We should continually ask ourselves: Are we collaborating to our full potential as PCAN partners? Are we using our PCAN relationships to best serve our patients? Are we maximizing our possibilities?

Japanese poet Ryunosuke Satoro said, "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."

Let's be an ocean.

I was asked recently about Boot Camp for New Dads by a reporter, "Are there more dads than usual these days? Are they taking over the role of mom? What's the spin? Why is there a need for a Dads Class?"

No, there aren't any more dads than usual these days, but the view of fatherhood is definitely changing, I answered. The days of dad bringing home the bread and waiting until his son can throw a baseball to get involved are over. In today's family dynamics, both parents are working hard to make ends meet, so when it comes to kids and parenting, there certainly is more involvement from fathers. Read Boot Camp for Dads Article

 

Grace Medical Home was invited to participate in a White House discussion on "How Health Information Technology (HIT) Can Improve Care Quality and Patient Health." Grace was honored to be one of 82 healthcare providers from across the country whose progress in health IT was recognized by the White House and the Health and Human Services in Washington, DC. Grace's Medical Director, Dr. Marvin Hardy, and Executive Director, Stephanie Garris, shared their views at the White House event.Read Grace Visits White House  

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PCAN Board Members Collaborate to Open New School-Based Health Center in East Orange County

by Lynn Carolan, Communications  Specialist, WPHF

A school-based health center is opening in time for the 2012-13 School Year at Cheney Elementary School in East Orange County as a result of an agreement between the Orange County School Board and Central Florida Family Health Center, Inc. (CFFHC), as well as startup funds from Nemours and some helpful facilitation by the Winter Park Health Foundation (WPHF), a longtime supporter of school health services.Read CFFHC School Based Health at Cheney Elementary

Central Florida Family Health Center and Orlando Health's Residency Program

by Tasha Casaccio, Program Manager, CFFHC

In August 2011, during a meeting with Orlando Health and other PCAN partners, Dr. Leslie Smith the CEO/CMO for Central Florida Family Health Center (CFFHC) was approached about placing the Orlando Health Pediatric Residency program in a Federally Qualified Health Center that currently offers pediatric primary health care services.  With an enthusiastic "yes", the program was implemented at the CFFHC Southside location and has been a success for all stakeholders involved. With an increased number of candidates within the Orlando Health residency program and their large patient population, CFFHC was able to seamlessly integrate the residency program within the current pediatric services provided at the Southside location.  This project not only helps to serve the primary health care needs of the community, but also strives to provide a hands-on learning experience to future physicians.

With much planning from the staff at Orlando Health and the Executive Team from CFFHC this project was able to "go live" on February 16, 2012, providing 19 examination rooms for this program. Southside's pediatric department rotates 45 pediatric medical residents per cycle, averaging 6-8 residents per day and contributes 15 attending physicians to CFFHC's current staff. Southside's pediatric patient encounters have increased by 78% within the first and second months. The number of pediatric visits jumped from 585 for the month of December to 1,040 for the month of March making a significant impact to our neediest families in our community.

Central Florida Family Health Center, to acknowledge the National Health Center Week 2012 will celebrates its 2nd Annual Patient Appreciation Week

 by Tasha Casaccio, Project Manager

August 6 - 10, Central Florida Family Health Center (CFFHC) is marking National Health Center Week 2012 (NHCW) with a "Summer Hawaiian Luau", as part of a weeklong campaign to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America's Health Centers as well as show the patients of CFFHC how much we appreciate them. Each year the second week in August is dedicated to celebrating the services and contributions of Community, Migrant, Homeless and Public Housing Health Centers. While there are countless reasons to celebrate America's Health Centers, among the most important and unique is their long success in providing access to affordable, high quality, cost effective health care to medically vulnerable and underserved people throughout the United States. In honor of our patients and our community partners, members of the CFFHC's executive team will be visiting each center during this week, offering healthy snacks and refreshments to the attendees as a token of our gratitude and a "Thank You", simply for being a part of this community.

Please join us at the following locations, dates, and times:

Monday, August 6, 2012 11:00am - 3:00pm at

2400 State Road 415, Sanford, FL 32771

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 11:00am - 3:00pm at

5730 Lake Underhill Rd., Orlando, FL 32807

Wednesday, August 8, 2012 11:00am - 3:00pm at

5449 S. Semoran Blvd., Suite 14, Orlando, FL 32822

Thursday, August 9, 2012 11:00am - 3:00pm at

6101 Lake Ellenore Dr., Suite 104, Orlando, FL 32809

Friday, August 10, 2012 9:00am-12:00pm at

11881 A E. Colonial Dr., Orlando, FL 32826