Under her leadership, ACU has become known for its work on access to care, language, culture and literacy, and the primary care workforce. Westpheling shared, “I always envisioned ACU to be an organization where all of my former students, preceptors, and professional colleagues working on the front lines in primary care and public health could find a national home.  A nutritionist by training, I have been an advocate for the team approach to health care. ACU is all about sharing one’s knowledge and skills, with trust and respect, for the benefit of the patient in the community. I want to thank the ACU board, staff, and members who have supported me in my various roles here at ACU and for teaching me so much about health care on the front lines. It has been and will continue to be my honor and privilege to tell your stories.”

ACU Board President Katherine Brieger praised Westpheling, saying, “Kathie has been a tireless advocate for ACU and its members. She has mentored  numerous health professionals who have built careers serving the poor and underserved. We will miss her enthusiasm for this work but know that she will continue to advise the board on matters related to ACU and our mission.”

Kathie previously worked for the American Medical Student Association from 1985-1996. Although stepping down from the day-to-day running of ACU, she will continue to consult on issues including the primary care workforce and health information technology, while spending more time with her husband Paul.

In lieu of gifts, Kathie has requested donations to ACU in support of the ACU internship program which focuses on public policy and advocacy. If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution, please donate here.

Clinicians with great ideas for community health programs have a new source to look to for small grants to get them off the ground. ACU member Dr. Rishi Manchanda, a co-founder of HBFunder (http://www.hbfunder.org/) says, “Like many frontline providers, we have seen how hard it can be to get funding for small projects that can have a big impact on social determinants of health and healthcare for vulnerable populations.”

HBFunder connects donors with people in healthcare and community nonprofits with great ideas for improving the health of patients and neighborhoods. Projects already online range from a community garden that brings healthy food to downtown LA residents to a project that trains community health workers to help indigenous populations in Mexico.

Innovators simply post their projects on HBfunder.org, set a fundraising goal and share the project with supporters through social media. Dr. Manchanda says, “We invite anyone with a project that helps improve local social determinants of health to raise extra funds with HBFunder. We are particularly interested in projects that represent clinic-community partnerships.”

Eugene Steuerle, an Institute fellow and the Richard B. Fisher Chair at the nonpartisan Urban Institute. Steuerle is also a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury.

Violence in America: The Wider Conversation

In the aftermath of Newtown and, by one estimate, 25 mass shootings since 2006, the country is engaged in an intense fight over assault-like weapons and the right of Americans to carry them. While I consider it downright stupid and outright dangerous to allow people to buy, sell, and carry around the equivalent of small machine guns—imagine how safe you would feel if all your loony neighbors touted one around—I wish we were engaged in a much wider and thoughtful discussion over violence in America and how to reduce it.

By almost all measures, not just mass shootings, our murder rate is among the highest for so-called developed nations. We also put a lot of people in jail; regardless of how much or how little prison deters repeat offenders, that’s not the mark of a peaceful society. My fear in the current debate is that our focus has become so narrow that even the best congressional bill will only modestly reduce the violence around us.

Thoughtful discussions can occur. At a recent Urban Institute conference, DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier enraptured the audience with her command over homicide and other crime statistics, her understanding of what community qualities lower crime, and her constant effort to prevent, not simply solve, crime by engaging police on the ground, social welfare agencies, and others in preemptive efforts.

When we have these types of discussions, it becomes clear that there is no one solution to violence because there’s no one simple cause. Smart police work, early intervention in violent households, neighborhood integration, family counseling, safer gun triggers, mental health efforts, reduced availability of weapons, social norms and pressures, and granting mass murderers less of the media attention they seek all play an important role. Reducing violence requires movement on all fronts, so that vicious cycles become replaced by virtuous cycles, where one positive step multiplies upward the gains from other positive steps.

But, once again, we’ve managed to turn an opportunity to confront broad issues of how to build a better—in this case, safer—society into a narrow political battle where victory will be defined mainly by whether the National Rifle Association gets its way. Advancing societies like ours should aspire higher.

Reprinted with permission from The Government We Deserve, a periodic column on public policy by Eugene Steuerle, an Institute fellow and the Richard B. Fisher Chair at the nonpartisan Urban Institute. Steuerle is also a former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury. The opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its sponsors.

Note to Editors: Publication of this column is encouraged and permission is hereby granted, provided that the author is properly cited. To link to the blog positing or make comments, visit http://blog.governmentwedeserve.org/category/shorts/.

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Quick Links

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Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has a listserv that provides timely, authoritative information about the EHR incentive programs, including attestations,  incentive payments, and Meaningful use criteria and updates.

Health IT Blogs

Health IT Buzz is a blog about health information technology (health IT). The best part of the blog is that it presents a vast and varied field of respondents from small rural practices, to FQHC’s to health care consultants and educators.

Where to Learn More

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) – the healthcare industry’s membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. The website resources include topics and tools, professional development opportunities including the online e-learning academy, and Health IT news releases.

AHRQ National Resource Center for Health IT – provides information on IT tools, knowledge library, funding opportunities, technical assistance and event calendar.

HRSA Health IT Adoption Toolbox – designed for health centers as well as other safety net and ambulatory care providers; organized by stages of considering, planning, executing, and evaluating the implementation of health IT. Includes publicly available resources as well as resources developed by HRSA explicitly for this Toolbox.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) website spotlights policy, funding opportunities, standards and certifications, and tools for implementation and optimization of health IT.

The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) – a not-for-profit operating foundation whose mission is devoted exclusively to support and benefit the work of community health centers (CHCs) nationally. This website includes Technology in Focus, a collection of columns addressing the unique issues of Health IT specific to CHCs.

ACU Webinars

Demystifying Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records,

This webinar provides an overview of the Meaningful Use (MU) of certified Electronic Health Record technology as a means of supporting quality, safety, and efficiency in health care while reducing health disparities. Presenters include a clinician user, an industry expert, and a Federal representative of the Office of Health IT Adoption. Also provided are links to many federal and local resources to support EHR adoption.

Ready, Set, Go. The Road to Meaningful Use of EHRs

This webinar addresses key strategies for successful adoption and utilization of electronic health records, including workforce development, financial support and federal incentives, provider and consumer education, and communication infrastructure to meet the meaningful use requirements of the 2009 ARRA HITECH ACT. Highlighting best practice examples of successful adaptations and implementations serving homeless communities and fostering peer to peer support are integral parts of this presentation.

A Structural Framework for Meaningful Use of EHR in the HCH Setting

This webinar highlights the key foundational elements identified by health care for the homeless grantees for successful implementation of meaningful use of electronic health records. A HRSA representative  provides an update of the tools and resources available to support HCH grantees in health information technology and quality.

ACU Columns

Health Information Technology: Addressing Health Disparity by Improving Quality, Increasing Access, and Developing Workforce* Ricardo Custodio, MD, MPH, Anna M. Gard, MSN, FNP-BC, Garth Graham, MD, MPH

*Reprinted with permission from Meharry Medical College, the copyright holder for the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

An electronic health record that includes documentation of demographics, including race and ethnicity, risk factor assessments, and evidence-based preventive and chronic disease management decision support, enables clinicians to more effectively manage the complex health care needs of vulnerable populations. Health IT can assist in promoting patient self-management and self-empowerment through available cultural and linguistically appropriate patient information, improved communication with clinical staff, and support outreach efforts which lead to improved health outcomes and reduction in health disparities.

Many of the resources are available in both English and Spanish, and some in other languages, including Chinese. Also included are a variety of multimedia tools such as videos and interactive web sites. There are even links to asthma-related training courses where continuing education credits are available.

Table of Contents

Clinical Education and Training

• Spirometry

Clinical Guidelines, Policy Briefs, and Asthma Reports

• Clinical Guidelines
• Policy Briefs
• Asthma Reports 

Clinical Tool Kits

• Asthma Action Plan

Mobile Technology and Asthma

Partners and Programs 

Patient Education and Self-Management Materials

• Multimedia

Schools and Asthma

Smoking Cessation and Tobacco Resources

ACU is pleased to make available eight patient education flyers on living with diabetes newly translated into Haitian Creole (also known as HC or Kreyol). The flyers are written in simple, plain language for low literacy audiences. Clinicians can download and print them on demand. The flyers are also available in English and Spanish.

More than one million people living in North America speak Haitian Creole. In the US, large Haitian communities are found in New York, Boston, Miami, New Orleans, parts of New Jersey, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, DC and Atlanta.  Since the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, immigration from Haiti to the United States has increased.

In a study published in the journal Diabetes Care, the authors found that patients with diabetes of Haitian descent had worse glycemic control than African American or non-Hispanic white patients. They recommended interventions to improve diabetes control among Haitians. Numerous ACU members have also expressed interest in low-literacy diabetes materials in Haitian Creole.

Checking the Sugar in Your Blood if You Have Diabetes
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Understanding Pills You Take for Your Diabetes
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Diabetes and a More Active Lifestyle               
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Healthy Eating and Diabetes
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Blood Sugar Too High or Too Low?
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Can I Get Diabetes?
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Insulin and Diabetes
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

Diabetes and Your Mood
-Download & Print
Creole / English / Spanish

 

 

 

 

 

This series was originally developed in partnership with Home Diagnostics, now known as Nipro Diagnostics. Translating the flyers into Haitian Creole was made possible with the support of Nipro Diagnostics. ACU is grateful to Ingrid LaFleur, a Howard University Pharmacy Student and native Haitian Creole speaker, who helped with the project.