August 13, 2010
Vol. 4 #27
Michigan Primary Care
Association
Health Policy Committee
Conference Call
Michigan First Credit Union
Health Policy Committee
Conference Call
2010 MPCA Annual Conference
Upcoming State & National
Events
Click here for a list of upcoming events to be held by
other organizations in Michigan and across the country.
The MPCA e-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.
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Michigan
Community Health Centers Celebrate National Health Center Week 2010
What
a National Health Center Week celebration it was across
Michigan this week! A record number of 23 Michigan Community Health
Centers held 43 events such as visits with elected officials, fun walks,
open houses, and health fairs. The creative events were
amazing! Governor Granholm issued a proclamation recognizing the week
in Michigan, and President Obama issued a presidential proclamation…the
first of its kind in many years (read more). Other highlights…HHS
released the FY 2011 New Access Points guidance, the Center for
American Progress released a report showing the economic impact of
Health Centers, NACHC released a fact sheet showing that CHCs are leading
the primary care revolution, MPCA launched an interactive video explaining what a Health
Center is, and National Health Center Week events were showcased by media
outlets across the state.
Information
and registration materials for attending the 2010 MPCA Annual Conference,
“Home Sweet Patient Centered Medical Home”, October 10-12 in Grand Rapids
will be posted on the MPCA web site
today. We encourage you to make the conference web page one of your
favorites and check back for up-to-date information.
MPCA
Sponsoring Back-to-School Enrollment Campaign
Michigan
Primary Care Association, in partnership with the Michigan Cover the
Uninsured Network, is sponsoring a statewide Back-to-School enrollment
campaign to enroll more Michigan children in low-cost and free health
insurance programs. Click here to access
MPCA’s new Back-to-School Enrollment web page, which contains outreach
materials, flyers, brochures, and more. A kickoff webinar will take
place August 16 at 12:15 pm – click here to
register.
Opportunity to Host Community Navigator in Your Health
Center MPCA’s children’s
health insurance outreach and enrollment program is looking for
organizations in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Jackson, Kalamazoo and
Berrien counties to serve as host sites for Community Navigators working to
increase the level of health coverage and access to care for children in
Michigan. Host sites will receive a $5,000.00 stipend for providing basic
services and support from October 2010 to October 2011. If you are
interested in serving as a host site please download the application packet and return it via email
to Phillip Bergquist, pbergquist@mpca.net,
by Wednesday August 25.
The
Michigan Department of Community Health recently released the 2010 edition
of “The Uninsured in Michigan: A Profile”, which describes the demographic
characteristics of the state’s uninsured, as well as those who have
employer-based, public, and individually purchased health insurance
coverage in Michigan based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population
Survey.
The
Michigan Attorney General’s office will hold a community forum on August 18
in Detroit on the proposed sale of Detroit Medical Center to Vanguard
Health Systems. Before the sale can move forward, it must be approved
by Attorney General Mike Cox. Click here for a media advisory and agenda for the
forum. Community members planning to provide comment are encouraged
to arrive early and complete a comment card.
Michigan’s
Medicaid Management Information System called CHAMPS (Community Health
Automated Medicaid Processing System) has exceeded expectations since its
2009 launch. It is the first completely web-based system of its kind
in the U.S., processing millions of claims and encounters totaling $10
billion in payments on an annual basis for both fee-for-service and managed
care recipients.
Scholarship
Opportunity for One Michigan Clinician
The
National Summit of Clinicians for Healthcare Justice is September 23-25, 2010,
in Washington, DC. Michigan Primary Care Association has
contributed $1,000 to help cover the cost to attend this event for a
clinician in Michigan! Click here for more information about the
conference. This opportunity is available to one Michigan
clinician. The deadline for applying for the scholarship is August
18. To express your interest in being considered for the scholarship,
email to acampbell@mpca.net your
name, contact information, and confirmation that you can stay for three
nights to fully participate in the conference activities.
HHS Announces Availability of FY 2011 Health Center
New Access Point Grants
As Health Centers across the country were celebrating National Health
Center Week on Monday, HHS announced the availability of up to $250 million
in grants for New Access Points to support more than 350 new Health Center
service delivery sites in Fiscal Year 2011. Due dates are November 17
(grants.gov) and December 15 (EHB). If you weren’t able to
participate in the “Developing Effective FQHC Programs and Applications”
held in Detroit in June, NACHC is offering the training in Dallas on
September 9-11, and in Denver on September 29-October 1 – go to www.nachc.com
for more information.
U.S.
House Passes State Aid Bill
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved by a
vote of 247-161 a $26 billion state aid bill (the Education Jobs and
Medicaid Assistance Act, HR 1586) that includes a 6-month, $16 billion
extension of enhanced FMAP rates. The bill also includes funding to
hire or rehire teachers. Michigan will receive $698 million ($380
million for the Medicaid fund and $318 million for education).
President Obama signed the bill within hours of the House vote. This
will relieve some of the pressure to cut the state's FY 2011 budget
deficit, which currently stands at $560 million. There is still no
concurrence among the administration and legislative leaders on how much of
the new money to use as it only prolongs the need to deal with the
deficit. However, it may make the possiblity of a budget agreement
easier and earlier.
On
Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the 2009
H1N1 influenza pandemic based on strong indications that influenza,
worldwide, is transitioning toward seasonal patterns of transmission.
However, this doesn’t mean the H1N1 virus has disappeared.
Applications
Being Accepted for 2011 CHC Executive Fellowship Program
The Greater Midwest Association of Primary Health Care has reserved 20 seats
for the 2011 Community Health Center Executive Fellowship program.
This 11-month distance-learning program is designed to equip middle
managers with the skills necessary to advance their careers within the
Community Health Center industry. Registration is now open at www.chcexecfellow.com
through December 1.
HEALTH CENTERS IN THE NEWS
$10
a month insurance policy for Grand Rapids-area families in need (WZZM
13 Online, 8/10/10)
Alcona
Health Center helping combat homeless in Michigan (MPCA Blog)
Hackley
Community Care to open teen health center at Muskegon High School (The
Muskegon Chronicle, 8/8/10)
Hackley
Community Care Center “breaking ground” for local teen health center (MPCA
Blog)
Ground-breaking
is Thursday for $10 million InterCare clinic (The Herald-Palladium,
8/9/10)
Congressman Peters to visit Oakland County Health Center in
honor of National Health Center Week (MPCA Blog)
Community
Health Centers by the numbers (MPCA Blog)
East Jordan Family Health Center celebrating 34th
anniversary during National Health Center Week (MPCA Blog,
8/12/10)
Migrant
and seasonal farmworker health the focus of National Health Center Week
today (MPCA Blog, 8/12/10)
InterCare
Community Health Network celebrates National Health Center Week by breaking
ground for new Benton Harbor Health Center (MPCA Blog, 8/12/10)
Health
Care for the Homeless recognized during National Health Center Week
(MPCA Blog, 8/11/10)
Family
Health Center in Kalamazoo to mark National Health Center Week with visit
by Congressman Upton (MPCA Blog 8/10/10)
Community
Health Centers are vital (Lansing State Journal Op-ed, 8/12/10)
Health
clinic to serve low-income residents (Fox28 WSJV, 8/12/10)
Bay
County health fair provides children with exams, chance to win prizes
(Bay City Times, 8/11/10)
Please
share articles, photos, and stories of your Health Center with Dana Hughes
at dhughes@mpca.net.
Due:
November 17 (grants.gov) December 15 (EHB)
Click here for a list of funding opportunities posted
on the MPCA web site.
Click here for a list of CHC career opportunities
posted on the MPCA web site.
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