NMASBHC Newsletter
January
2015
 























A Note from the Executive Director 

 

Are you ready to celebrate and advocate? As you may or may not know, February is national School Based Health Care Awareness month! We hope you are planning to recognize this month by letting young people know about SBHC services, letting your legislators know that funding for SBHCs is critical, and generally advancing the school based health movement across New Mexico and the country. That is definitely what the staff and Board of NMASBHC is planning for February. Read on to learn more about what we're doing, what you can do to advocate and how to access some helpful resources. And, as always, let us know how we can help those of you working in and with SBHCs.

In fellowship with all SBHC advocates!

Nancy Rodriguez

nancyrodrigueznmasbhc@gmail.com

What You'll Find In This Newsletter (click to jump to section):

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highlightsSBHC Highlights: Resources for Celebrating National SBHC Month
 

NMASBHC would like to encourage you all to celebrate School Based Health Awareness month by letting your community know about wonderful SBHC services. Whether that means calling your legislator to encourage them to provide funding for SBHCs, arranging legislator or student tours of an SBHC, or simply making announcements over a school intercom, we hope you will take the time to spread the good word! For resources to plan events or other advocacy efforts, take advantage of what NMASBHC and SBHA have to offer:
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jobbJob Opportunity

NMASBHC Seeking Program Manager 

The New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care is seeking a new Program Manager to advance the mission of our organization through support of the SBHCs in New Mexico. The position description will be available 2/5/15 on the NMASBHC website here, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact nancyrodrigueznmasbhc@gmail.com for more information. 

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trainingTraining Opportunities

Head to Toe SBHC Pre-Conference: New and Exciting Clinical and Financial Trainings
 
This year's SBHC Head to Toe Pre-Conference has an agenda rich with offerings for clinical, managerial and coordinating staff members. It will also include a special national speaker sharing best practices for SBHC financial sustainability, an important business meeting for OSAH-funded SBHCs, and a Medicaid MCO panel aimed at answering your questions about billing, credentialing and Medicaid benefits. Watch: http://www.nmasbhc.org/news.html for a downloadable agenda in the coming weeks, and http://attendhead2toe.com/sbhc-preconference/ for registration information today.

 

Head to Toe Positive Youth Development - Youth Leadership Track
Time is running out to apply to bring a team of youth to Head to Toe! If you have a youth SHAC or advisory group, don't miss this opportunity to have them learn with other young people about important youth health issues. Download the application on our What's New page and contact Tessa Medina-Lucero at the Office of School and Adolescent Health for more information: tessa.medina-lucero@state.nm.us
 
UNM - Envision New Mexico Webinars: New Online Training Modules Available 
 
Envision New Mexico invites you to take advantage of several live webinars in February suitable for SBHC teams, including Adolescents and HIV, Motivational Interviewing, and Integrated Behavioral Health Case Conferencing. For more information, visit the Envision calendar: http://envisionnm.org/xcalendar/2015-02/ Also, take advantage of Envision's new online training modules by visiting: http://envisionnm.org/index.php/telehealth/onlinetraining/ Four modules are now available. 
 
MSave the Date for American Lung Association Training on March 25th: Focused on Children with Asthma 
"Implementation and Interpretation of Spirometry in the Primary Care Practice" will be hosted by the American Lung Association (ALA) in New Mexico with Continuing Medical Education offered through a partnership with Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services and under the accreditation policies of the New Mexico Medical Society. Continuing Education for Respiratory Therapists will be offered through the New Mexico Society for Respiratory Care (NMSRC). The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 from 8:00am - 4:00pm at the Roswell Museum and Art Institute. ALANM is excited to offer this workshop in Southeast NM where hospitalizations for children with asthma are highest. Please help us share the information and fill the workshop with providers from across the state and especially primary care providers in Southeast New Mexico. Registration is online: http://action.lung.org/spirometrynm

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advocacyAdvocacy Opportunities
 
SBHC Funding Efforts
A series of bills related to the funding of SBHCs are moving forward now that the NM Legislative Session has begun. One, put forward by NMASBHC through the support of the Behavioral Health Sub-Committee of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, includes funding for expanding the NMDOH budget for SBHC services. This bill, SB44, is sponsored by Senator Ortiz y Pino and is currently in the Senate Education Committee. We expect another similar bill to be introduced in the House soon. The New Mexico Public Health Association and Health Action New Mexico have both endorsed this bill. Another bill, drafted by Senator Jacob Candelaria in consultation with YDI, Inc. is focused on funding for a new SBHC at West Mesa High School in Albuquerque. Please consider contacting your elected officials to encourage them to fund SBHCs. In light of declining oil and gas revenues, and the hard decisions this budgetary picture will cause legislators, your voicing of support for SBHCs is more critical than ever.

  

Preservation of Healthcare Confidentiality for Privately Insured Youth

NMASBHC recently received a grant to convene a coalition of community partners interested in addressing the challenge of breaches of patient confidentiality when the insurance policy holder is someone other than the patient.  We have heard from many of you that this problem poses a real risk to young people and to the financial sustainability of SBHCs. We know that many SBHCs bear the cost of care when a patient is seeking confidential services and private insurance cannot be billed for fear that the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or other communication will be sent to the primary policy holder. NMASBHC is holding meetings with youth advocates and other groups that serve vulnerable populations that may be effected (disability community, LGBTQ community, domestic violence community, etc.). If you are interested in participating in this effort, either by participating in the coalition or by advocating for the solutions it generates, please let me know by email at nancyrodrigueznmasbhc@gmail.com.

 

Advocacy Days at the Round House

There are several special events coming up in February that you can participate in to advocate for the health and education needs of young people. Check out the following list and let us know if you need more information about contacts for participating:

  • Feb. 5 - Primary Care Day (join NMASBHC staff and Board to visit legislators!)
  • Feb. 11 - Dental Access for All New Mexicans Day
  • Feb. 18 - GRADS Day (focused on expectant and parenting teens/students)

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shoppinggSupport NMASBHC By Shopping Throughout the Year
 

You can help support the work of NMASBHC to advocate for SBHCs by shopping! Check out the ways you can shop at Amazon, Albertson's and Smith's and get cash to the organization:

  • Amazon Smile: If you're shopping at Amazon.com, .5% of your eligible Amazon purchase can go back to NMASBHC when you make it through: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0859783. Set this up as your default Amazon account page for easy shopping. Many of the eligible items are also eligible for Prime shipping.
  • Albertson's: Shop with the Albertson's Community Partners program and 1% of your purchase value goes back to NMASBHC when you participate! Ask NMASBHC for the special key tag you'll scan when you shop to benefit NMASBHC.
  • Smith's: 1% of your purchase value goes back to NMASBHC when you assign your value card to our organization. Sign up today! Register at: www.smithscommunityrewards.com. If you already have a rewards card, you'll have to associate it in your online account with NMASBHC. If you have a card bu haven't set up an online account, you'll need to do so.

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focusAdolescent Patient Resources: February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

This is our monthly feature on adolescent health resources. This month's resources are focused on Healthy Relationship in honor of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month:

Visit: http://www.teendvmonth.org/ for downloadable tools and helpful information to address this topic with your clinic, school, community or family.

Office of Adolescent Health Tools:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health has a wealth of materials and information about health relationships available on their website at: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/healthy-relationships/

The New Mexico Attorney General's Office:

Visit the special section of the AG's Office website dedicated to teen dating violence prevention:

http://www.nmag.gov/the_office/prosecutions/teen-dating-violence It is an ever-expanding source for resources and tools.

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