Click here for additional 2009 health observances.
The MPCA Communications Update is a weekly e-bulletin intended to keep MPCA members updated on issues important to Community Health Centers. Please feel free to forward this to interested individuals, or they may request to be added to the distribution list by registering here. Information from outside organizations does not represent an endorsement by MPCA, and opinions expressed by outside authors are not necessarily official positions or policies of MPCA.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) held seven town hall meetings across Michigan this week (many of which were attended by Community Health Center representatives and one that was hosted by MPCA) to discuss the process and policy highlights of health care reform, and to hear from constituents, especially those who work with the uninsured and underserved. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is a key player in health care reform, Senator Stabenow has a big impact on legislation that is being drafted. Click here to read Senator Stabenow’s position on health care reform. Now that Congress has agreed to keep the price tag for health care reform around $1 trillion, the Senate Finance Committee is reworking its legislation, which in its original form cost $1.6 trillion. To provide Michigan residents the opportunity to weigh in on the health reform discussion, Senator Stabenow has launched a Health Care Peoples’ Lobby. By signing up, you will receive updates from Senator Stabenow on health care issues, and you can share your story so the Senator can help her colleagues understand the urgency of this situation for families and businesses in Michigan. Her web site also includes a comprehensive Health Care Reform Online Resource Center, complete with links to draft bills, Senate Finance Committee Roundtable materials, option papers, and resources from the White House.
Other Interesting News Related to Reform - New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 43.8 million Americans had no health insurance in 2008, approximately 2.8 million more than in 1997. - The Washington Times (6/30) featured an article on the presence of a Dingell universal health care bill over the last 27 sessions of Congress, first introduced by Congressman John Dingell’s father who served in the U.S. House during World War II. The senior Dingell represented the same Michigan district that his son now represents. Rep. Dingell (junior) met with community health providers at Western Wayne Family Health Centers in Inkster on Monday to discuss health reform – read more.
Please Ask your Members of Congress to Sign the Health Center Resolution Sen. Debbie Stabenow is still the only Member of the Michigan Congressional delegation to sign the concurrent resolution showing support for preserving, strengthening, and expanding Health Centers in health care reform. Please contact Sen. Carl Levin and your U.S. Representative to ask them to sign S. Con. Res. 25 (in the Senate) and H. Con. Res. 144 (in the House). Call NACHC’s advocacy hotline at 1.866.456.3949 to connect with Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and your U.S. Representative, or click here to send an e-mail.
National Health Center Week Just 38 Days Away
Hopefully your Health Center is making plans for how it will celebrate National Health Center Week. Just three Michigan events are listed on the Health Center Week web site. Please share your event details with Dana Hughes and she'll post them for you. Need ideas for how to celebrate? The web site includes a long list of events that Health Centers have held in the past.
HHS Rescinds Three Controversial Medicaid Regulations
HHS announced this week that it has rescinded three controversial Medicaid regulations implemented under the Bush Administration: elimination of reimbursement for school-based administrative and transportation costs; limited outpatient hospital and clinic service benefit for Medicaid; and restriction of beneficiary access to case management services. CMS also plans to delay until June 20, 2010, parts of a regulation that clarified limitations on health care-related tax programs.
FDA Seeking Public Input on Tobacco Regulation
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking public input on implementation of its new authority over tobacco products in the U.S. The FDA is inviting the public to share views on topics such as product content, advertising, and marketing. Click herefor information on how to share your opinions.
HRSA Hosting HIT/EHR Telehealth Workshop
HRSA’s Office of Health Information Technology is hosting regional HIT/EHR and Telehealth workshops to provide Health Centers with tools to assist in their selection and implementation of EHRs. A workshop will be held August 11-12 at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for HRSA-funded grantees from regions II, IV, and V that are planning to implement an EHR in 6-12 months or recently implemented EHR, and are part of a new or existing network or considering joining a network. More information
Medicaid Adult Benefit Eliminated July 1 As of July 1, Michigan adult Medicaid beneficiaries have nothing left but a toothbrush to maintain their oral health. Per Executive Order 2009-22, state funding for Medicaid optional benefits, including dental services, was eliminated. As the state legislature continues to work on the FY 2010 budget, it is vital that we all continue to appeal to Governor Granholm and State Representatives and Senators for reinstatement of this vital program that hundreds of thousands of Michigan adults rely on. Click here for more information about contacting your elected officials, or meeting with them while they’re home in district for the July 4 recess. MPCA in collaboration with the Michigan Oral Health Coalition, Michigan Dental Association, and other partners is hosting a Legislative Day on Wednesday, July 15. Advocates are encouraged to schedule visits with their State Senator and Representative following a 1 pm briefing at the Michigan Dental Association, which is just a block from the Capitol. Watch for more information coming next week.
Michigan Health Centers Receive Over $23 million for Capital Improvement
While visiting a Community Health Center in Washington, DC, on June 29 First Lady Michelle Obama announced the release of $851 million in Capital Improvement Program (CIP) grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This funding will enable Community Health Centers to serve more patients as the result of construction, renovation, and the purchase of health information technology systems and other equipment. Twenty-nine Michigan Community Health Centers will receive a total of $23,680,995. Read more. This has received much press coverage across the country and the state, such as in Kaiser Health News (6/30), The Bay City Times (6/30), Battle Creek Enquirer (6/30), Jackson Citizen Patriot(6/30). Technical Assistance Conference Call: To answer questions about the terms and conditions of CIP funding, HRSA is holding a CIP Post-Award TA conference call on July 7 at 4-5:30 pm ET. Click here for call-in information (scroll down to the section titled “Awarded Recovery Act Grants.” Replays will be available. If you have questions you would like addressed on the call, e-mail them to bphcrecovery@hrsa.gov.
MPCA Hosting Workforce Webinar Series
MPCA is hosting a four-part series of free workforce webinars in July and August. Starting a Search, Lead Generation, Site Visits and Follow-Up, and Closing the Deal and Beyond are the titles of the individual webinars scheduled for July 14, July 22, July 29, and August 5, respectively. Susan Sanford, an expert health care consultant in health care workforce development, will lead the sessions. Click here for more information and to register.
This workshop, which is free to Michigan Community Health Center staff, will focus on the impact of tobacco use and proven strategies to assist patients in successful treatment. Tools and resources designed specifically for use in Community Health Centers will be shared. The date is July 29, and the location is MPCA in Lansing. Click here for more information and to register.
Michigan, Detroit Lead U.S. In Population Loss
According to 2008 population estimates released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau, Michigan suffered the worst population drop among the other states and Detroit experienced the largest population drop of any city in the country. Read more
Not All Migrant Farmworker Camps to be Inspected This Summer
Due to Executive Order budget cuts, 125 of the state’s 810 large migrant farmworker camps will not be inspected this summer by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Instead, producers who own those camps will be responsible for making sure they meet health and safety licensing requirements. Read more
Michigan Improves in Giving Infants a Right Start
According to the annual Right Start in Michigan report released this week by Kids Count, Michigan has improved in six of eight areas related to infant health. Among the highlights, teen births and repeat teen births declined by more than a quarter, and smoking by pregnant women dropped by more than one-third. Two areas of concern are the rate of non-marital births and the percent of low birth weight babies, both of which worsened. Read more
MDCH Seeking Public Comment on Maternal & Child Health Block Grant Application
The Bureau of Family, Maternal and Child Health is inviting comments on the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant 2010 Application and 2008 Annual Report. The application includes a plan for services to pregnant women, mothers, children, and children with special health care needs for the period October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010, and a report on activities and performance measures for 2008. Comments may be submitted by July 13, 2009, to oganc@michigan.gov or to: Michigan Department of Community Health, Bureau of Family, Maternal and Child Health, 201 Townsend Street, 6th Floor, Lansing, MI 48913.
If pictures are worth a thousand words, then personal stories are worth a million. To appeal for reinstatement of the Medicaid adult dental benefit, it is critical that we have patient stories to share with the media and state legislators. While data is important, it is the experiences of real people that really make a difference. To that end, we are looking for dental patients who are willing to share their story with us. If you have stories on-hand, please e-mail them to dhughes@mpca.net. If you have the names and contact information of patients who would be willing to talk about how the Medicaid adult dental benefit has improved their health, or how elimination of the benefit back in 2003 caused their health to deteriorate, we at MPCA would be happy to contact the patients directly. Cherry Street Health Services’ Optometrist Named Young Optometrist of the Year
Lillian Kalaczinski, OD of Cherry Street Health Services (Grand Rapids) was recently named the Young Optometrist of the Year by the American Optometric Association (AOA). She received this award, which is presented annually to doctors of optometry in practice than than 10 years, for helping create the Vision Clinic at Cherry Street Health Services in 2005. According to the AOA, Kalaczinski is the only full-time doctor of optometry at a Community Health Center in Michigan.
Due: Applications will be accepted continuously until funds are expended or September 30, 2010, whichever comes first. The number of sites eligible to receive NHSC Loan Repayment Program practitioners and the number of vacancies per site have been expanded under ARRA funding. Sites with HPSA scores 10 and above have priority for Loan Repayment Program practitioners and increased numbers of NHSC placements. See May 28, 2009, Federal Register Notice here for guidance on the site application process the number of vacancies/site. Clinicians need to register and submit completed applications ASAP, and sites need to have a current NHSC-approved Recruitment & Retention Assistance Application and vacancy list on file or submit the R & R application ASAP. Applicants who have questions about applying are encouraged to participate in a telephone conference call at 2:30-4:30 pm on any of the following dates: July 9, July 30, August 20, September 10, October 1, October 29, November 19, December 10—click here for call-in information.
New Report Highlights Urgent Need for Health Reform in Michigan
On June 22, HHS released a series of new reports on the health care status quo that highlight the urgent need for health reform across the nation. In Michigan, 11% of residents are uninsured and 61% of them are in families with at least one full-time worker. Roughly 6.6 million people in Michigan get health insurance on the job. Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 94% in the state. Read more
Report Suggests Health Workers Infected with H1N1 Didn’t Follow CDC Recommendations
According to a report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (6/19/09), approximately one-half of all health care personnel infected with H1N1 influenza acquired the virus in a health care setting and failed to use all recommended forms of personal protective equipment. Read more
Describes the uninsured, as well as those who have employer-based, public, and individually purchased health insurance coverage in Michigan, in terms of various social, economic, and demographic characteristics.
Looks at 27 of Michigan's Critical Health Indicators and assesses whether Michigan has met, exceeded, or not yet reached the Healthy People 2010 target for each indicator.
AHRQ Report Rates States in Providing Quality Health Care
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released its annual state-by-state report, 2008 State Snapshots, that reviews the quality of care states provide. It rates Michigan’s overall health care quality as strong. In terms of specific care, the state’s preventive measures rated average, acute measures rated very strong, and chronic care measures rated average. Click here to read ratings of Michigan's settings of care, including ambulatory care measures, and clinical areas.
New Presentation Materials Available On MPCA Web Site Presentation materials from two recent trainings hosted by MPCA are now available on the MPCA web site: Pediatric Behavioral Health Integration Project (June 22) and Health & Safety of Housing for Migrant & Seasonal Farmworkers: What Service & Outreach Providers Need to Know (July 1).
Free Tool Available to Bring in New Health Center Volunteers
The United Health Foundation, Capital Link, and VolunteerMatch have partnered to create an exciting opportunity for Health Centers to access volunteers from UnitedHealth Group and other organizations to help facilitate and support the capital and IT investments underway as a result of the Recovery Act. Read more
Obesity in Michigan on the Rise
Michigan ranks ninth in the nation for percent of obese adults (28.8%), and 26th in the nation for obese and overweight children (30.6%). This is according to the 2009 “F as in Fat” report prepared by Trust for America’s Help and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with help from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Read more
Click hereto see all Michigan Community Health Center and MPCA position announcements posted on the MPCA web site. If you have job openings you would like to advertise on MPCA’s web site or in the MPCA Communications Update, e-mail dhughes@mpca.netwith the details or call 517.381.8000 x200.
