As the end of the year comes quickly, so does the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) annual meeting in Washington, DC. The Bangor Beacon Community again will be highlighted during the conference with several staff members invited to present best practices and lessons learned about our experiences.

Bangor Beacon's executive sponsor Cathy Bruno, EMHS vice president and chief information officer, will be presenting during a session entitled, "Provider Support of Payment and Delivery Reform" to share information about how meaningful use plays a role in our Pioneer ACO experience and other health information technology needs as they relate to sustainability.

Tom Lynn, LSW, Community Health and Counseling Services (CHCS) is presenting during a panel discussion "Behavioral Health and Technology Status" about our work in behavioral health and primary care integration and the technology we are using to accomplish this.

Barbara Sorondo, MD, EMMC's director of clinical research center, will present during a session entitled, "IT-Enabled Care Management" which builds from an October 24 ONC meeting that Dr. Sorondo and Kathy Bragdon, RN, Penobscot Community Health Care participated in on behalf of the Bangor Beacon Community.

Watch next month's eNewsletter for more information about these presentations and a very special story about the annual meeting.

The holiday season is upon us! And while I wish it was as magical for me as it is for my five-year-old daughter, it can still be filled with laughter, joy, and good times. One of my favorite people, David Prescott, PhD, chair of the Mental Health Task Force, shares a bit of advice to help make the holidays enjoyable. These are tip are worth sharing.

"If you are feeling too much stress and anxiety about the holiday season, one important step is to reflect on the exact cause, or causes, of your stress. Simply taking a moment to write down the reasons you feel anxious helps you focus on potential solutions. 

For some reason, many people focus largely on the negative or troubling things in their life, and minimize the hopeful or positive things. Our thinking can become like a drop of ink in a pool of water. Left unchecked, pretty soon all of the water is black. 

Try balancing the negative with the positive in your thoughts and your actions. If you spend time with family members over the holiday and some of those people are bothersome to you, limit the amount of time you spend with stressful people. Spending more time with people you like results in a more positive holiday experience.

Finally, avoid things during the holidays that make things worse in the long run. It may be tempting to cope with holiday stress by using alcohol excessively, repeatedly eating excessively, or cutting back on sleep or exercise. Ultimately, coping strategies like this may cause more problems than they solve. Avoiding negative coping helps make any stressful experience a little easier to manage."

Best wishes for a warm holiday season and a new year filled with possibility and hope!

Lanie Abbott 

The Bangor Beacon Community Statewide Advisory Committee met in November for its next to last meeting. The group heard presentations about sustainability, through the EMHS Pioneer Accountable Care Organization, listened to a panel on mental health, provided feedback and participated in discussion regarding the effectiveness and lessons learned from the Statewide Advisory Committee. They also heard about the plans for a celebration to mark the successful completion of the Bangor Beacon Community grant.

The final Statewide Advisory Committee meeting will be held in conjunction with the celebration on March 12, 2013 at Spectacular Event Center in Bangor. Please save the date!

During the last meeting, participants will have an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments made under the grant, learn about the final data regarding the program, and discuss how healthcare transformation will continue in our state. 

During the November Patient Advisory Group meeting, members heard a presentation from Barbara Sorondo, MD, director of the Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) Clinical Research Center, regarding the nuts and bolts of the Bangor Beacon Community. They wanted a better understanding of how the model of primary care is evolving and what proof we've seen that we're on the right road. "It's important to see how these improvements have become the foundation of healthcare delivery moving forward, it helps me talk about it in the community, armed with more facts and a better understanding," explains Julian Haynes, patient advisor. The group was interested in knowing how the model was developed and how we are demonstrating improvements. Dr. Sorondo shared the data collected on the 1,177 patients receiving care management services through the grant.

David Small has interesting insight on why this approach is successful. "A few years ago, I was approached by my insurance company to participate in care management, but I declined because I didn't trust the intent behind the offer. The Bangor Beacon Community grant gave me an opportunity to get the supported I needed with someone I knew and trusted at my primary care office and that's made all the difference."

The Patient Advisors also weighed in on what they feel is important to share with our community, state, and the nation about what is taking place because of our Beacon grant. Half of the group believes that data will drive interest in our transformation and the other half feels that our patient stories make what we are achieving real. They also had ideas about how we could get the word out. "The eNewsletter is nice, it's a quick glance at what is happening and focuses a lot on people and I appreciate that, it helps me better explain to my family and friends what Bangor Beacon is all about," shares Belinda Wee, patient advisor.

Our next meeting will be in January.