South Cove Community Health Center E-News
  South Street Clinic Quincy Clinic   88 Holmes Street Clinic    
South Cove Community Health Center
Serving with Passion since 1972

October 2015
In This Issue
How Your Donation Makes a Difference
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$50
Fill one uninsured patient's tooth

 

$100
Give one uninsured family nutrition class

 

$250
Give one uninsured woman mammogram screening

 

$500
Give one uninsured patient proper medication for one year under our 340B Pharmacy program

 

$1,000
Take care of one uninsured patient for medical visits at the health center for one year
 
Please click on "Donate" under "Quick Links" to make a donation to
South Cove.
  
Newsletter Archive

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August 2015

June 2015 

March 2015   

December 2014 

 

Photo Credit 

  Margaret Cheung

  Chien-Chi Huang

  Lily Moh  

  Pamela Lee  

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Dear South Cove Staff, Patients, Supporters and Friends:  

Eugene Welch
 
As we change season and winter approaches, we now must get ready for the flu season. We hope all staff and patients get vaccinated.
 
I would like to take a moment and congratulate James Hunt of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Center and his staff for celebrating 50 years of community health center movement and for advancing and protecting healthcare for all in Massachusetts, a job well done, Mass League!
 

Sincerely,
EW signature
CEO/Executive Director
South Cove Community Health Center  
HRSA Site Survey a Valuable Learning Experience
South Cove hosted HRSA surveyors
South Cove greeted the HRSA team of four on Tuesday, October 6, 2015. The purpose of the site visit was, first of all, to see if the health center was operating in accordance with the HRSA requirements and guidelines as a 330 federally funded health center, and second, to provide technical assistance as needed.  
 
The 2.5-day review was extensive, intensive and exhausting (at least for the South Cove staff) but yielded positive outcomes. The HRSA team, led by Jeff Zonis with Kevin Cote and Nancy Quimby, accompanied by South Cove's HRSA project officer Sheryl Alexander, examined the operations of the health center closely with a focus on 19 areas covering clinical, operational, financial and governing aspects.
 
Board participation was also required; the surveyors and several Board members met exclusively for one hour as part of the survey. Board President Nelson Liu was present in three separate meetings: the entrance conference, the meeting with the surveyors and the exit conference. Having played a part from beginning to end, he was pleased with the result.  In an email to all SCCHC staff, Nelson commended them for their "excellent preparation for the review."  He also shared that the Board had "heard praise repeatedly from HRSA," which was a testament to the team's hard work; simply put, the Board was "overwhelming pleased and proud."
 
Eugene echos Nelson's sentiments expressing that "we were very pleased and proud of the results...the corrections were mostly covered with Board votes." Additionally, he was "extremely pleased with the way the staff was able to handle the review and the stress." He felt the survey to be full of information and his takeaway is that "it is very important that people keep evaluating and reading the PINs (Policy Information Notices) as they change," and that similar to the Joint Commission standards, make sure that the 19 areas of programs measures set forth by HRSA are part of health center's operations.
 
While we were confident going into the survey, we all nonetheless felt relieved upon its conclusion and the positive outcome! But after some congratulatory words to one another, it is back to business as usual and back to work as we prepare for the next survey: the Joint Commission re-accreditation survey in 2016.

South Street Clinic Garden Level Opens for Business
New home for Behavioral Health, Optometry and Early Intervention departments

We are pleased to announce that after months of work, the construction of a brand new space in the garden level has been completed!  Patients visiting Behavioral Health or Optometry will now be greeted by staff in the garden level, featuring comfortable and spacious waiting area.  The Behavioral Health department took up the bulk of the new space with six counseling rooms; the Optometry department now operates out of two exam rooms including an eyeglass dispensary.  It is also home to the EI (Early Intervention) playroom, a conference room and a provider office. Like the Quincy clinics, the new garden level also showcases impressive Asian art carefully selected to promote a soothing and comforting atmosphere. 
 
Check-In for Behavioral Health and Optometry
 
Spacious waiting area with Chinese language TV programming
New Early Intervention Playroom
Optometry In-Take and Eyeglasses Dispensary
Art in the hallway of the Behavioral Health area
 
Now that this is completed, we are moving forward with the next phase, which is bringing a Women's Health Clinic to the first floor of 145 South Street to go along with our mammography screening, bone density and the dental department.
Clinical Operations Update 
Re-certification of CPR completed successfully for 77 staff members
Every year SCCHC holds in-house CPR classes for its clinical staff and any non-clinical staff interested in being trained. Certification is required for licensed providers and it is strongly recommended for all clinical support staff, for example, nurse aides, medical assistants and dental assistants. We are pleased to report that at the conclusion of 6 classes held over a 3-week period, 77 staff members received their certification/re-certification, which represents a 100% completion rate! This is an important quality measure, but more importantly, this means that in a "Code Blue" (medical emergency) situation, any of our trained staff would be able to initiate the emergency response and administer CPR if necessary - not only at work but also outside of work when with families and/or in public.
 
The CPR course offering was also part of South Cove's Emergency Preparedness (EP) plan. Thanks to a grant received from the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers for the purpose of "enhancing community health center emergency preparedness", we were able to offer on-site CPR training free of charge to the staff and achieve this impressive CPR certification rate.
 
This project is coordinated every year by Mary Jo Majors, the Director of Clinical Operations and Nursing, and Julie Chou, Administrative Assistant.
 
Pediatrics Department in Quincy achieved an outstanding result for its vaccine management program
 
On September 29, 2015, the Quincy Pediatrics underwent a compliance site visit conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The VFC Program is a component of the MDPH Immunization Program, with which SCCHC has a contract to receive vaccines and therefore is subject to the compliance review.  
 
The criteria for the review included staff training, documentation, inventory maintenance, vaccine administration, storage and handling. The reviewer found the program to be in compliance in all areas with only one minor recommendation in the Follow-Up Plan. It is a team effort to run the VFC program, which is an integral part our Pediatric services at both Washington Street and Quincy clinics. A big thank you goes out to all Pediatric providers and the nursing staff who coordinate and maintain the program on a daily basis.
 
Note: the compliance site review is bi-annually. The Pediatrics Department at the Washington Street clinic has not been surveyed as of yet this year.
 
Seasonal flu vaccinations planned for staff, patients and the community
 
This year's flu season began in September and the clinics have seen a steady increase in daily activity since then as we started to administer the expected thousands of vaccines to staff and patients. At the same time, mini-flu clinics are also planned to offer the flu vaccine to other organizations in the area.
 
As a healthcare organization, we stress the importance of people receiving the seasonal flu vaccine to have an added protection not just for themselves but also others around them. SCCHC takes its responsibility seriously to educate our patients and the public on flu prevention & treatment, and strongly urges anyone eligible to get a flu shot.

China Health and Family Planning Commission Officials Visit South Cove
South Cove held seminar on community health center model in the USA 
On September 24, 2015, South Cove had the pleasure of hosting a group of senior health officials from China. It was an annual training program for the China National Health and Family Planning Commission (formerly Ministry of Health) senior staff members. The delegation was led by Yu Xuejun, the Director General of the Commission, and included 20+ high ranking officials, many of whom were deputy director generals and division chiefs from regional offices in major cities such as Tianjin and Chongqing. The Harvard School of Public Health was the main host and through mutual connections, it asked South Cove to give an overview on the community health center model in the US and what it means to be a federally qualified/funded health center (FQHC).
 
The 90-minute seminar consisted of presentations given by Eugene Welch, Executive Director and Dr. Rong Guan, Co-Medical Director followed by a Q&A session. The presentation, titled "Community Health Center, the Center of Our Health Care System" gave a brief introduction to the healthcare system in the US, specifically in Massachusetts and FQHCs before delving into details about South Cove.  In his presentation, Dr. Guan shared his experience as a primary care doctor in the US as well as his views on why community health centers work and why they are important. Speaking from the perspective of a healthcare organization administrator, Eugene talked about the challenges of running a community health center and South Cove's success not only as a quality healthcare provider to the underserved but also an employer that retains quality licensed providers.
 
Though interpretation was required for the most part, the group actively participated in the Q&A session posing a wide range of questions from federal funds, types of insurances (payers), to the more sensitive topics such as health center revenue & budgeting and provider salary. There was plenty exchange of information and discussion that helped facilitate an interactive learning experience for the group. It is our hope that the group left South Cove more knowledgeable about community health centers in the US and that they acquired something that they could apply to their work in China.      

Dr. Rong Guan (2nd L), Eugene Welch (3rd L) pose with some members of the delegation following the conclusion of the seminar
South Cove in the Community 
Meeting with MA DPH Commissioner Bharel
July 10, 2015

From L to R: Mai Du, Anh Vu Sawyer, Commissioner Monica Bharel, Chien-Chi Huang, Tam Nguyen and Gouri Banerjee

Picture courtesy of Chien-Chi Huang, AWFH

Mai Du of SCCHC Board and the Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition, Anh Vu Sawyer of the South East Asian Coalition, Tam Nguyen of Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing, Gouri Banerjee of Saheli Boston and Chien-Chi Huang of Asian Women for Health had a meeting with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Commissioner Monica Bharel. The goal of the group and of the meeting was to bring to Commissioner Bharel's attention Asian health disparities, the need for disaggregated data, and the various community-based health initiatives to address the disparities.
 
Mai expressed her concern over the lack of any or clear data on APIAs (Asian & Pacific Islander American) on all health issues, as for the most part, the state has a "dash" for data on APIAs due to insufficient sample. The group encouraged MDPH to consider research and collection of data that can meaningfully reflect the conditions of APIAs' health status. Mai mentioned the possibility of using South Cove as a resource to tap into the wealth of data on Asian American health issues amassed through the health center's electronic medical records if there was an interest to learn more about APIAs' health data in the future.

Wollaston Senior Center Elder Awareness Community Fair
September 18, 2015
South Cove booth at the fair
South Cove Quincy staff Angela Ng (Member Services), Mr. Qi Liang Hu (volunteer from SCSEP - Senior Community Service Employment Program) and Fiona Yang (Social Services) were at the Eighth Elder Awareness Community Fair on Friday Sept 18, 2015. The trio gave out information about South Cove Quincy clinics, answered questions and passed out reusable bags to all that visited.  South Cove is committed to serving the Asian elder community, by working with a number of senior health plan providers, we hope to offer services that can be tailored to their needs.

BCNC Oak Street Fair
September 26, 2015
From L to R: Bethar Wong, Zhanglin Kong and Pamela Lee at the fair
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center hosted its 30th Annual Oak Street Fair on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School playground plaza. A long time sponsor of this event, South Cove was again in the hustle and bustle of it all represented by Pamela Lee of Admin, Bethar Wong and Zhanglin Kong of WIC/Nutrition. The South Cove table featured a wealth of information and giveaways for children including tooth brushes, toothpastes and dental floss courtesy of dental supplier Henry Schein as well as children's books and WIC placemats.

Quincy Mayoral & City Council At-Large Forum
October 7, 2015
Through funding made available by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and in collaboration with QARI, BCNC of Quincy, ACDC and the Chinese Progressive Association, South Cove sponsored and participated in the first ever mayoral and city council at-large forum in Quincy targeting the Asian American voters where candidates discussed and debated on issues pertaining to this particular voter population. South Cove has partnered with community organizations in both Quincy and Boston to promote voter registration and awareness. This forum is our latest effort in educating potential voters on the importance of participating in the election in order to have a voice on issues and policies that may affect them.
South Cove Quincy Staff at the forum
Margaret Cheung, site manager of the Holmes Street Clinic, along with several South Cove Quincy staff members attended the forum.

About Us
About South Cove Community Health Center:
Founded in 1972, South Cove is dedicated to improving the health and well being of all medically underserved in Massachusetts with a special focus on Asian Americans. This mission is accomplished by providing high quality, community-based health care and health promotion programs which are accessible, linguistically and culturally competent for these populations.

Services:
Adult Medicine (成人科) Bone Density (骨質篩檢) Ob/Gyn (婦科) Mammography (X光乳房攝影篩檢) Pediatrics (兒科)
Podiatry (足科) Neurology (神經科) Dentistry (牙科) Optometry (眼科) Member Services (會員服務) Nutrition/WIC (營養科/奶卷) Family Planning (家庭計劃) 340B Pharmacy (藥房) Early Intervention (幼兒培育組) Behavioral Health (行為健康科) Brighton/Allston After-School Enrichment Program (課餘活動中心)

Clinic Locations:
885 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
Tel: 617-482-7555
145 South Street, Boston, MA 02111
Tel: 617-521-6730
435 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA 02171
Tel: 617-318-3300
88 Holmes Street, Quincy, MA 02171
Tel: 617-318-3200
 
Brighton/Allston After-School Enrichment Program:

640 Washington Street, Brighton, MA 02135

Tel: 617-787-1087

Website: