NMASBHC Newsletter
February
2015
 



















 

A Note from the Executive Director 

 

We hope you had an opportunity to celebrate national School Based Health Care Awareness month in February. We here at NMASBHC advocated hard for SBHCs as we gathered at the Round House on Primary Care Day on February 5th.  We continue to share with legislators about all the good work being done to serve young people in SBHCs and hope you will too as the legislative session continues. Looking forward to March, we also hope you will have an opportunity to celebrate national Nutrition Month in some way. Read on for some resources and consider how you can address your own wellness goals at the health fair that will be a part of this year's Head to Toe! Don't miss the early bird registration deadline for H2T this month (see link below).  As always, let us know how we can help those of you working in and with SBHCs.

Best Wishes,

Nancy Rodriguez

nancyrodrigueznmasbhc@gmail.com

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

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highlightsSBHC Highlights: Opportunities to Engage Students

 

NMASBHC is always in support of SBHCs engaging youth and hopes to provide additional resources around the topic in future.  Here are a few opportunities and/or resources to help do just that:

  • Resources for Celebrating National Nutrition Month!
  • The New Mexico Department of Health, Office of School and Adolescent Health would like to remind contracted SBHCs that the deadline is approaching to complete and submit student surveys. These surveys are an important tool to get feedback from your "customers" and to engage young people. This survey is newly revised to include some youth engagement questions, and OSAH and NMASBHC hope you will make the opportunity widely available; the data is sure to be helpful in your service to patients. If you have any questions about this obligation, please contact OSAH: (505) 841-5880.

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Job Opportunitiesjobb 

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 is available on the NMASBHC website: http://www.nmasbhc.org/news.html, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please contact nancyrodrigueznmasbhc@gmail.com for more information. 

Belen SBHC Seeking Coordinator

The Central Regional Educational Cooperative is seeking a new Coordinator for the Belen High School School-Based Health Center. Please contact Linda Filippi (LFilippi@crecnm.org) for information about the position.

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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 Health Literacy Pre-Conference
If you work with young people but not at a School Based Health Center, you may be interested in participating in the Youth Health Literacy Pre-Conference at Head to Toe. This FREE day-long training will provide you with activities to do with young people focused on empowering them to address their own wellness goals. Visit: http://attendhead2toe.com/2015-preconferences/ for more information and to register or contact Tessa Medina-Lucero at the Office of School and Adolescent Health: tessa.medina-lucero@state.nm.us
 
Head to Toe Conference EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE APPROACHES
Don't miss out on the most reasonably priced Head to Toe registration option! If you register to attend the full conference by March 13th, you save $40 per registrant. Visit: http://attendhead2toe.com/cost/ for more information and to register.
 

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advocacyAdvocacy Opportunities
 
SBHC Funding Efforts
As of the date of this newsletter, it appears unlikely that the series of bills related to the funding of SBHCs will move forward in the NM Legislative Session. Instead, NMASBHC is asking members of the Senate Finance Committee to amend the budget to include some funding for NMDOH for SBHCs.  Please consider contacting these members to encourage them to fund SBHCs: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/committee_display.aspx?CommitteeCode=SFC

  

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.

 

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fundingFunding Opportunities

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health announce 5 federal grants related to teen pregnancy prevention: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/grants/open-grants.html. Most deadlines are in April. With the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation, New Mexico can't afford to be left out of these opportunities.

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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: March is National Nutrition Month

This is our monthly feature on adolescent health resources, with a special focus on serving young men. This month's resource is focused on nutrition tips for teen boys in honor of National Nutrition Month. Visit: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/TenTips/DGTipsheet34ChooseTheFoodsYouNeedToGrow.pdf to download a helpful tip sheet specifically addressing the nutritional needs of young men.

 

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