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National Health IT Week 2013 September 16-20, 2013
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July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
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The spring issue of the JHCPU issue is available online 
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Breaking News - NHSC Funding
The Senate Appropriations Committee is set to vote this week on an appropriations bill funding all Department of Health Human Services programs, including the National Health Service Corps for FY 2014.
"We remain optimistic that the Senate will approve the full $305 million allocated in the ACA Trust Fund for FY14 for the Corps. However, we remain very concerned that the funding for the Corps is set to expire at the end of FY15, leaving the program and everyone it serves hanging in the balance," ACU Executive Director Craig Kennedy said.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a Trust Fund that provided funding from FY11 to FY15 for the NHSC. Last year the fund included $300 million for the NHSC, but that total was cut by sequestration. The cut, roughly $15 million, resulted in 171 fewer provider placements through the NHSC, and a loss of nearly 250,000 patient visits in underserved communities.
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What Families Can Do About Asthma
Listen to ACU's Spanish language podcast for families on asthma management. ACU's Associate Director for Programs, Lois Wessel, FNP participated in Univision radio show called "El Consultorio de la Dra. Aliza" in which Lois is interviewed about what families can do to manage their asthma.
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A Career in Migrant Health
 Dr. Tina Castanares has worked tirelessly to serve the migrant community, and particularly farm workers, in Oregon for more than 40 years. In this audio interview,
she discussed the challenges facing clinicians working for migrants, as well as what she feels needs to be done by policy makers and clinicians to enhance the quality of care migrants are receiving. End-of-life care is a particular interest of Castanares and she strongly believes that transdisciplinary care can make a difference in this overlooked field.
 Listen to the interview.
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College Loans and Congress
 The interest rate on federally subsidized college loans doubled on July 1, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Even if you aren't a student (or parent of one), you could be affected by this change. With the approaching insurance expansion under the ACA, attracting more well-trained and culturally diverse clinicians will be increasingly important - and even more difficult - if the cost of loans continues to rise. Continue reading online.
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Community Health Centers' Role in Family Planning
"Whenever I see a woman who has an unintended pregnancy, I make a point of looking through her chart to see if she had a recent office visit. About 75% of the time, I find she did have a visit within the previous three months, but contraception was not addressed." -- A family physician and medical director of a federally qualified health center.
This quote introduces the ACU column (PDF) by authors Ruth Lesnewski, Lisa Maldonado and Linda Prine in the current Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. We interviewed them to learn what they hoped to achieve by writing the column and what trends they see affecting family planning in health centers here. Read the full interview here.
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Welcome New Members!
ACU is pleased to welcome four new members who joined in June:
Justin D'Addario, Bridgit Klement, Patricia Sumler, and Betsy Vieth.
Welcome all!
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Chief Medical Officer, United Neighborhood Health Services, Nashville, TN.
Sr. Director, Clinical Quality Improvement Program, Community Health Care Association of New York State, New York, NY.
Administrator, Department of Public Health, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
Family Nurse Practitioner, Community Clinic Inc., Silver Spring, MD.
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Social Determinants of Health
The Association of Academic Health Centers has a new, online toolkit to help leaders in health care recognize the health impact of factors such as education, income, and housing, and take action to address them. The toolkit includes a self assessment tool, opportunities for continuing education, resources and best practices. Explore the toolkit online at wherehealthbegins.org.
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ACU - Proud Partner in National Health IT Week 2013
This September, ACU will partner to advance health information technology to help improve healthcare with approximately 200 public and private sector organizations to participating in the 8th Annual National Health IT Week (September 16-20, 2013). National Health IT Week 2013 is the premier event offering all healthcare stakeholders an opportunity to unite under one banner, expressing the benefits that health information technology (IT) brings to U.S. healthcare. "One Voice, One Vision." Read more.
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PCORI to Fund Asthma Disparities
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) plans to invest $17 million for comparative effectiveness research to reduce disparities among African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos with uncontrolled asthma. Of particular interest are interventions that will improve clinician and patient adherence to national treatment guidelines. The deadline for letters of intent is August 1, 2013. |
Linking Your Primary Care Practice to an Exchange
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Conferences and E-Learning
July 12, 2 p.m. EDT, webinar introducing Free Continuing Education Resources for Safety Net Health Professionals from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
July 16, 2 - 3:30 p.m. EDT, Improving Quality and Access to Integrated Care for Racially Diverse and Limited English Proficiency Communities. Offered by theHHS Office of Minority Health, in collaboration with the SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solution, this webinar is intended to help community-based behavioral health and/primary care organizations and practitioners reduce health disparities. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1000 attendees. Closed captioning available on request.
July 17, 1 p.m. EDT/noon CT/10 a.m. PT, Women's Health at the Intersection of Poverty and Migration, part of the Clinician Orientation to Migration Health, a 7-webinar series offered by the Migrant Clinicians Network. Learn about all seven webinars and register here.
July 17, 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST/12:30-1:30 pm PST, Tobacco Cessation in the Dental Home, presented by the National Network for Oral Health Access. Speakers include Lois Wessel, RN, CFNP, ACU Associate Director for Programs and Scott Wolpin, DMD, Vice President/Chief Dental Officer, Choptank Community Health System and NNOHA Board Member.
July 17, 1 - 2:00 p.m. EDT, Our Strength and Support: Celebrating National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. A panel of inspiring presenters will share their perspectives on mental health in minority communities, emphasizing the strengths of our cultural communities to come together to find support and carry a banner of hope for all individuals touched by mental illness.
July 24, 2013,1:00pm ET, a free webinar Peers Helping Peers: Ways to Quit with Rx for Change offered by the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center.
July 30, 2- 3 p.m. EDT, Preparing for Meaningful Use Stage 2, a live webcast by the Clinical Directors Network featuring the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services.
August 6, 2:30 - 4 p.m., ET. a free webinar on Use of Health IT in Practice-Based Research Networks to Improve Patient Care hosted by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.
August 9 - 11, Taking Integrative Medicine out of the Boutiques and into the Streets, offered by IM$US in Santa Clara, CA. CME available.
September 26 - 27, Plain Talk 2013, in Arlington, VA. Offered by the Center for Health Literacy in collaboration with the American Public Health Association, this conference is intended for anyone who must communicate effectively with health consumers.
November 13 - 16, Seventh Annual National Conference on Health Disparities in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Ongoing: Free, online training on diabetic eye disease for community health workers presented by the National Eye Health Education Program. Intended for health educators who want to help educate their communities about diabetic eye disease and the importance of eye health. The training uses the Diabetes and Healthy Eyes Toolkit. Access the training and the toolkit here.
Ongoing: Roots of Health Inequality, a web-based course and learning collaborative on social justice in public health practice offered by the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Ongoing: Free CE accredited clinical education modules based on the comparative effectiveness research from the AHRQ Effective Healthcare Program. The modules cover a variety of disease content with specific attention to the safety net population including, but are not limited to diabetes management, cardiovascular diseases, mental health, and infectious diseases.
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Scholarships and Fellowships
ACU Members-Only Scholarships - ACU members are invited to apply for scholarships to attend the 25th annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Orlando December 8-11, 2013. The scholarships cover all registration fees; travel is not included. To apply, use the online application form.
American Psychological Foundation (APF) Pearson Early Career Grant - a $12,000 annual grant plus travels costs to attend the American Psychological Association Convention intended to encourage early career clinicians to work in an area of critical societal need. Applicants must be a psychologist with an EdD, PsyD, or PhD from an accredited university and be no more than seven years postdocotoral. Submission guidelines available online. Application deadline: December 31.
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Alzheimer's Disease: Call for Abstracts
The journal Health Affairs has issued a request for abstract for a special theme issue on Alzheimer's disease. A range of topics will be covered, including exemplary state or local approaches to care and treatment. See additional details online. The deadline for submission is August 1, 2013.
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Patient Ed on Patient-Centered Health Homes
The latest issue of Health Tips (PDF) from the National Center for Farmworker Health explains patient-centered health homes in four easy-to-read pages, including how they work and how patients can work with their health care team. It includes an example of a patient named Raul who was diagnosed with diabetes in the emergency room and describes what happens when he visits his health care home. Includes English and Spanish text; available from the the National Center for Farmworker Health in PDF form.
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Smarter Snacks for School Children
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The latest effort in the battle against obesity takes place on the snack front. The USDA has announced that healthier standards for snacks sold in vending machines and a la carte will be in place for school year 2014.
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Medicaid Update
The Urban Institute projects that more than 11.5 million poor uninsured persons could be eligible for Medicaid but only IF states opt for the ACCA expansion. See the interactive map showing which states are expanding eligibility, not expanding and undecided.
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Smokefree Vet Service Launched
SmokefreeVET is a mobile text messaging service for military Veterans who receive their health care through the VA. A free, 6 - 8 week program, it provides 24/7 encouragement, advice and tips to help smokers quit smoking and stay quit. Learn more here.
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