Not displaying correctly? View this email in your web browser... Miss an issue? View the archives...
NCHN eNews
April 10, 2012
This issue's highlights:

Let us know what's going on with your network
» Send your news

NCHN NEWS

MEMBER BLURBS

PARTNER BLURBS

UPCOMING EVENTS

NATIONAL NEWS

FUNDING

NCHN NEWS FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

2012 Network Leader Salary and Benefit Survey

The Program Development Committee announces that the NCHN 2012 Network Leader Salary and Benefit Survey will begin this week.  NCHN conducts the survey every two years. This is the only national level salary survey targeted to Network Leaders.  We encourage all NCHN members to participate in the survey.  NCHN has been tracking trends and provides comparative date from 2006 in the Survey Summary.  NCHN members that participate in the survey will receive a free copy of the survey results as a membership benefit.  Please watch your inbox  for details on how to participate in the survey.

2012 NCHN Awards

On Monday, April 16, 2012, NCHN will announce the recipients of 2012 NCHN Awards at the 4th NCHN Annual Awards Luncheon to be held during the annual conference in Denver. The categories include Outstanding Network Leader of the Year, Outstanding Health Network of the Year, Outstanding New & Emerging Network Leader of the Year, and the 2012 Friend of NCHN.

The Awards Committee received excellent nominations and looks forward to recognizing the recipients next week. For more information about categories and past award winners, visit the Awards page.


» TOP


      from trickyriddles.com

A man was at a bar feeling poor he sees a rich man take 50's out his pocket to pay the cashier.The poor man says to the rich man "I know all the songs known to man." The rich man laughed and said,"I bet you all the money in my pocket that you can't sing a song with my daughter's name in it, Sarah Lee Greyson." The poor man went home rich and the rich man went home poor. What song did the man sing?

» VIEW THE ANSWER

Notice of Annual Membership Meeting

Note: If you did not receive the notice of the meeting in your inbox, please contact Rebecca.  All proxies must be returned to Rebecca by 4:00 PM ET on Thursday, April 12, 2012. 

April 3, 2012

TO THE NCHN VOTING MEMBERS:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Voting Members of the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association (NCHN) will take place at 8:30 a.m. local time on April 16, 2012, at The Curtis in the Peek A Boo (Room) in conjunction with the Association’s 18th Annual Conference – Health Networks of the Future -  All Together Now, in Denver, Colorado.. Voting Members, as defined in Article III of the Company’s Bylaws, shall be entitled to cast one vote each, in person or by proxy, on all matters properly coming before the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting shall be: 

  1. To elect directors, pursuant to action of the Board of Directors on March 19, 2012 to continue the number of directors for 2012-2013 at eleven (11) with the election of five  (5) directors in Class B to serve until the 2015 Annual Meeting of Voting Members; and
  2. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting and any adjournments thereof. 

Only Voting Members of record at the close of business on April 3, 2012, are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and any adjournment thereof.

Eligible voting members will receive an email on or about April 3th with details about the Annual Membership meeting, the agenda for the Annual Membership Meeting, and a proxy to vote your membership interest if you are unable to send an authorized representative to attend this meeting.  While we do hope that you will have a representative present, if not, to assure your representation we urge you to complete the proxy form and return it to the Secretary of the Association, for receipt before the meeting.  Your vote will be cast as indicated on the proxy regarding approval of the recommended slate of directors.  Unless you indicate otherwise, your proxy will be voted at the discretion of the proxy upon any other issues that may properly come before the meeting and any adjournment.  Members attending the meeting may revoke their proxies and vote in person. If you have questions about the upcoming Annual Membership Meeting, please contact Rebecca Davis by email at rdavis@nchn.org

FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Tara Cramer
Association Secretary
National Cooperative of Health Networks Association (NCHN)

Upcoming NCHN Calls & Events

Program Development Committee Call
Tuesday, April 10 @ 1:00 PM ET

2012 NCHN Annual Conference
April 15 - 18, 2012 in Denver, CO

NCHN Annual Membership Meeting
Monday, April 16 @ 8:30 AM in Denver, CO

Board of Directors Meeting
Monday, April 16 @ 9:00 AM in Denver, CO

4th Annual Awards Luncheon
Monday, April 16 in Denver, CO

Online Evaluation for 2012 Conference
opens April 19
closed May 4

2012 Annual Conference Planning Committee Close-out Call
Tuesday, May 8 @ 2:00 PM ET

» VIEW THE NCHN CALENDAR

» TOP

MEMBER BLURBS  

HCC Receives Rural Health Outreach Grant

April 7, 2012 - HCC of Rural Missouri has received notification that they have been awarded a Rural Health Outreach Grant from HRSA. This will fund telemedicine, as well as outreach and education services for the uninsured diabetic/depressive patients in the area.  

Excerpted from the Abstract:

The ultimate long-term goals include improving access to education and health care outcomes for people diagnosed with diabetes and/or depression in the three-county area, expanding methods of providing health care information and education as well as intervention using Telemedicine for diabetes and depression, increasing knowledge levels about using Telemedicine to support primary and specialty health care with providers, patients and consumers, improving health outcomes of patients with diabetes and/or depression and creating a sustainable program which will continue and expand services and broaden to include other chronic illnesses. This will be accomplished through the Expand methods of providing health care information and education as well as intervention using Telemedicine for diabetes and depression; Increase knowledge levels about using Telemedicine to support primary and specialty health care with providers, patients and consumers; Improve health outcomes of patients with diabetes and/or depression; Sustain the program beyond grant period to continue and expand services and broaden to include other chronic illnesses. We will reach 700 uninsured patients over three years.

Congratulations to HCC of Rural Missouri and Toniann Richard, Director. If your network has received an award, please email Christy at csullenberger@nchn.org to share your news.

» TOP

PARTNER BLURBS  

NRHA announces 2012 Rural Health Award recipients

April 4, 2012 (Rural Health Voices) - NRHA is proud to announce its 2012 Rural Health Award recipients. The organizations and individuals will be honored April 19 during the 35th Annual Rural Health Conference, which will attract more than 900 rural health professionals and students to Denver.

“We’re proud of this year’s winners,” says Alan Morgan, NRHA CEO. “They have each already made tremendous strides to advance rural health care, and we’re confident they will continue to help improve the lives of rural Americans.”

And the winners are…

» CONTINUE READING

» TOP

UPCOMING EVENTS  

2012 Monthly Rural Health Care Conference Call
Universal Service Administrative Company

Conference Call: April 12, 2012 @ 2:00 PM ET

Program applicants and service providers can raise issues of concern or seek clarification on program rules during monthly outreach conference calls. The discussion of agenda items is followed by a general question and answer period.

» MORE INFORMATION

Building It from the Ground Up: A Conversation with State Health Insurance Exchange Leaders
State Reforum

Webinar: April 12, 2012 @ 2:30 PM ET

States electing to establish exchanges have entered a new phase: they are working to convene their governing bodies, tackle initial policy issues, and a few have hired full-time executive directors. These directors come from a variety of backgrounds, but have one thing in common: they have all stepped into the fast-paced world of ACA implementation to help build an exchange from the ground up, all by the 2013 deadline.

» MORE INFORMATION

Improving Children’s Health through Federal Collaboration: Communities Working Together for Better Health
The Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, Region VIII

Webinar: April 12, 2012 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM ET

This session will highlight projects where communities are working collaboratively with local, state and federal stakeholders to create healthier environments where children can live, learn and play. These community-based projects and programs focus on geographically, politically, demographically, and/or socially defined areas. Learn about resources available for project assistance, funding, outreach, training, education, and capacity-building.

» MORE INFORMATION

NRHA Annual Rural Health Conference
National Rural Health Association

April 17 - 20, 2012
Denver, CO

NRHA's Annual Rural Health Conference is the nation's largest rural health conference, created for all of those with an interest in rural health care, including rural health practitioners, hospital administrators, clinic directors and lay health workers, social workers, state and federal health employees, academics, community members and more.

» MORE INFORMATION

Building Medical Home Neighborhoods through Community-Based Teams: Lessons and Updates from Three States with Emerging Programs
National Academy for State Health Policy

Webinar: April 18, 2012 @ 2:30 PM ET

Community-based teams can help medical home providers offer primary care that is coordinated, whole-person oriented, and integrated with local community resources.  Nine states are now making payments to community-based practice support teams, and others are exploring possibilities for launching teams in the near future.  Webcast attendees will hear from program leaders in Alabama, Michigan, and Minnesota about why they are enhancing their medical home programs with community-based teams.  The speakers will also discuss program financing and how teams can help link medical homes to medical neighborhoods, especially to care for complex Medicaid enrollees. 

» MORE INFORMATION

Engaging Hired Farmworkers in Agricultural Health Research
AgriSafe Network

Webinar: April 18, 2012 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM CT

Presenter: Maria Stoecklin-Marios, PhD, MPH, MICASA Study Project Manager, Center for Health & the Environment, University of California, Davis

» MORE INFORMATION

» TOP

NATIONAL NEWS  

Rural docs to get mental health info online
by Rick Ruggles

April 9, 2012 (Omaha.com) - Rural primary care physicians are do-it-all docs. Sometimes there's nobody else to rely on. So when a patient comes in with depression, they have to be ready to recognize it and treat it. "You know a little bit about a lot of diagnoses," said Dr. Michael Zaruba, a primary care physician in Auburn, Neb. "You're kind of a jack of all trades, master of none. ... That's kind of the nature of rural medicine."

A University of Nebraska Medical Center behavioral health team has put together a one-hour online lesson for primary care doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, social workers and others who see and care for adolescent patients with depression. The UNMC team soon will add online sessions on adult depression and geriatric depression.

» CONTINUE READING

Home Based Primary Care: A Signature VA Program Targeting Veterans with Complex Chronic Conditions
by Nancy Maher, PhD, Program Analyst, VHA Office of Rural Health

April 7, 2012 (The Rural Connection Newsletter) - The Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program, an initiative begun by the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) in the late 1990s, provides comprehensive, longitudinal primary care by an interdisciplinary provider team in the homes of Veterans with complex, chronic, disabling conditions. The goal of the program is to reduce hospitalizations, control costs and to allow frail, medically complex, patients to continue to live at home. This program is available at 140 VA Medical Centers and at 53 Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Nationally, there are just over 59,000 Veterans enrolled in this program. The average age of the HBPC enrollee is 76.5 years. Most enrollees have multiple chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and dementia, however, HBPC is not restricted by age as a substantial number of enrollees have an underlying neurological deficit such as multiple sclerosis.

In order to address the needs of this aging population, the Office of Rural Health (ORH ) has, for four years, supported the expansion of HBPC to serve rural Veterans. Typically operating out of rural CBOCs, HBPC teams provided primary care to nearly 22,000 rural Veterans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. In FY12, ORH will expend nearly $43 million supporting this effort in an additional 50 rural areas of the country. In FY13, ORH will continue to support rural HBPC expansion.

» CONTINUE READING

Patching our primary care system
by Sarah Kliff

April 3, 2012 (The Washington Post) - The United States is facing a serious primary care shortage: By one projection, we’re expected to be short by nearly 29,000 primary care physicians by 2015. In discussions of how to address that, one policy solution tends to come up a lot: Allow a wider range of lower-paid medical professionals to provide the basic, primary care often offered by doctors. It’s a seeming win-win, as more primary care gets provided at lower costs.

Take, for example, nurse practitioners. Their average salaries are less than half that of physicians. They’re trained to provide direct primary care, and numerous studies have shown that they can deliver high-quality medicine.

» CONTINUE READING

RELATED
Where America needs doctors, in one map (April 6, 2012, The Washington Post)

Obama administration diverts $500M to IRS to implement healthcare reform law

April 9, 2012 (The Hill) - The Obama administration is quietly diverting roughly $500 million to the IRS to help implement the president’s healthcare law.

The money is only part of the IRS’s total implementation spending, and it is being provided outside the normal appropriations process. The tax agency is responsible for several key provisions of the new law, including the unpopular individual mandate.

» CONTINUE READING

ICD-10 Would be Delayed One Year Under HHS Proposal
by Andrea Kraynak

April 9, 2012 (HealthLeaders Media) - Click here to find out more! HHS released a proposed rule Monday announcing a one-year delay of the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS. If finalized, ICD-10 would become effective October 1, 2014. "Many provider groups have expressed serious concerns about their ability to meet the Oct. 1, 2013, compliance date.

The proposed change in the compliance date for ICD-10 would give providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition to these new code sets," according to an April 9 press release.

» CONTINUE READING

What Went Wrong With The Supreme Court And The Health Law?
by Aayesha Siddiqui

April 6, 2012 (CommonHealth: Reform and Reality) - Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding, among other topics, the individual mandate provision of Affordable Care Act. There were protests outside the court and extensive media coverage — much of it predicting that the mandate, and possibly the entire law, will be overturned. On Wednesday, the Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights Department at Boston University School of Public Health posed the question many of us had been asking ourselves: “The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act: What Went Wrong?”

A panel of three legal scholars from the department – George Annas, Wendy Mariner and Leonard Glantz — reflected on last week’s Supreme Court proceedings and explained what they believed the arguments were really addressing. Through the link below, you can listen to the remarks from all three professors as well as the subsequent question and answer session.

» CONTINUE READING

» TOP

FUNDING  

US Department of Labor's OSHA Seeks Applications for $1.2 Million in Susan Harwood Safety and Health Training Grants

April 9, 2012 (RAConline.org) - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is soliciting applications under the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to fund training for workers and employers in recognizing workplace hazards and control measures, and understanding their rights and responsibilities. A total of $1.2 million is available to nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations; employer associations; labor unions; joint labor/management associations; and colleges and universities.

"The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers and employers are fully aware of health and safety hazards, and how they can be prevented," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The programs funded by these grants will supply hard-to-reach workers, small businesses and those in high-hazard industries with the knowledge and tools they need to support safe and healthful workplaces."

Two types of safety and health training grants will be awarded through this announcement: targeted topic training grants, and training and educational materials development grants.

Applications are due by May 17, 2012.

» MORE INFORMATION

» TOP

NCHN Logo National Cooperative of Health Networks
Contact Us | About Us | www.NCHN.org
To learn more about membership and to join, go to http://www.nchn.org/join.php
or contact Christy Sullenberger at csullenberger@nchn.org