|
Advocacy News WV Health Care Reform Update: The Roadmap to Health, is now available on-line here. Kenneth Thorpe, Ph. D. of Emory University presented the final report to members of Select Committee D of the WV Legislature during January interims. The recommendations are the result of seven months of work by four committees established in the areas of Administrative Simplification, Health Information Technology and Chronic Care, Health Care System Redesign, and Wellness and Prevention. Recommended legislation will be considered at February interims. SCHIP Reauthorization: Congress is set to pass the SCHIP reauthorization bill. On January 14, the House passed its bill by more than a two-to-one margin, and the Senate bill is now being considered. Key provisions of the bill include: coverage of approximately 4 million additional uninsured children through a 61cent increase in the federal tobacco tax; new tools for states to reach uninsured children; an improved benefit package for dental and mental health care; and extension of federal support for SCHIP through 2013. School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and the New Congress: There are great opportunities for SBHCs with the new administration and Congress. WVSBHA is partnering with NASBHC on several policy priorities including SCHIP reimbursement for SBHCs, and re-introducing the federal authorization legislation for SBHCs. There is also an opportunity in education policy since Arne Duncan, head of the Department of Education, is a champion of SBHCs and community schools. For an overview of the President’s policy agenda, visit www.whitehouse.gov/agenda. SBHCs Be Counted! The national census is the only tool that provides data for school-based health centers and is critical for our efforts to gain more attention and support for SBHCs from Congress and funders. Your help is requested to ensure WV has a 100% participation rate. Please visit www.nasbhc.org/census to fill out your survey by March 2, 2009. For more information, e-mail Eileen Barker, WVSBHA co-coordinator at ewbarker@suddenlink.net or Alicia Newell, NASBHC contact, at anewell@nasbhc.org. Congratulations! To the staff at Jefferson Health and Wellness Center on their dedication and open house held on January 26, 2009. Operated by the Ritchie County Primary Care Association, the wellness center provides medical services to students at Jefferson Elementary and surrounding schools in Wood County. Congrats also to Brenda Barron, program director at the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care as she transitions to a new position as field director with USAction. 2009 WV YouTube Youth Forum Contest! The 2009 WV YouTube Youth Forum Contest provides an opportunity for children and youth to present questions to WV’s lawmakers. From entries across the state, five winning video questions will be responded to by panel of legislators as part of Children’s Day the Legislature, March 19 at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston. Cash awards of $25 will be given to winners and to their teachers if the entry is part of a classroom project. Contest registration forms and directions for uploading videos are available at www.wvyouthforum.org. The deadline for submission of videos is March 11, 2009. Exciting Opportunity for Youth Ages 11 to 15! The Oregon Center for Applied Science has created a fun and educational computer program to help adolescents ages 11 to 15 learn about and prevent depression. Adapted from an empirically validated intervention, the Blues Blaster program includes six CBT modules, interactive and educational games, and additional content related to youth depression. Youth who participate in this research study will be compensated up to $120 for their time. Organizations providing recruitment assistance will receive free access to this evidence based program after it has been evaluated. To get additional information about the Blues Blaster project, please call 1-866-822-0226 or email bluesblaster@orcasinc.com. This project is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. News to Use HIPAA / FERPA: Department of Education (DOE) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued a Joint Guidance on Privacy Protection for Student Health Records regarding how the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) relate to one another and how they apply to the privacy of student records maintained by schools. Click here for more information and to access the PDF file. School-Based Health Center Start-Up Tool: Developed with support from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati (HFGC), The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) Road Map to Success (Road Map) is a tool to help you during the early stages of considering a SBHC through the first two years of operation. The Road Map is like having the trunk of your car filled with resources, tools, policies and procedures, samples, and links that will make your trip a little easier. A webinar on this dynamic new tool will be held on January 28, 2009. To register please send an email to Tiffany Clarke at tclarke@nasbhc.org with the webinar title in the subject line or call (202) 638-5872. R.J. Reynolds Preps Dissolvable Tobacco: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco will dive deeper into the smokeless category next year by nationally distributing Camel Snus and introducing in test markets dissolvable alternatives to cigarettes called Camel Sticks, Camel Orbs and Camel Strips. For the full article click here. Bright Futures Guidelines: The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released Bright Futures Guidelines online. Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents --Third Edition provides information to help provide better health care, save time, and keep up with changes in families, communities, and society that impact infant, child, and adolescent health. The guidelines and reference information are available here. New Asthma Resources: The West Virginia Asthma Education and Prevention Program (AEPP) is a program whose mission is to improve the lives of the more than 47,000 West Virginian children with asthma. It has educational materials that contain the latest guidelines set forth by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma; expert local Adult and Pediatric Pulmonogists who work closely with AEPP and provide educational support; and the recently updated AEPP website as a utilization tool that provides access to other services. Upcoming Learning and Networking OpportunitiesSecond Annual Worth Our Care Legislative Reception and Child Welfare Symposium on Youth in Transition will be held February 24, 10:00-3:30 pm (Symposium) and Reception from 5:00-7:00 at Charleston Town Center. Social Work, Counseling, Addiction and Nursing CEU’s will be provided. The Fourth Annual WV Immunization Network Award and Recognition Banquet will be held February 25, 6:00 pm at the Charleston Marriot and will feature Michelle Hannah, founder of the Celebrate Life Foundation. For more information, please call the Center for Rural Health Development at 397-4071. The American Lung Association of WV will be hosting a facilitator training for ALA’s adult asthma management program, Breathe Well, Live Well on Thursday, March 12, 2009 in Charleston, WV. There are scholarships available that will cover the $300 training fee. If you are interested in this training, please contact Jessica Isner at your earliest convenience for the appropriate application form. The American Lung Association of West Virginia is offering The Freedom from Smoking facilitator training on February 26-27 at the Days Inn in Flatwoods. To register, please call Freedom From Smoking® Program Specialist, Kelli Caseman at the American Lung Association of West Virginia at 304-342-6600 or 1-800-586-4872. The Annual Children’s Policy Forum, sponsored by Prevent Child Abuse WV, will be held March 18, 2009 in Charleston, prior to Children’s Day at the Legislature. Stay tuned for more details! Diabetes Course: The Ultimate One-Day Diabetes Course will be offered in WV in Charleston on March 23, 2009 and in Morgantown on March 24, 2009. This course and the medication book noted in the course brochure comes highly recommended by Marie Gravely, RD, LD, CDE Rural Health Coordinator for Marshall University Center for Rural Health. The cost is $169. For more information visit http://www.pesihealthcare.com. The West Virginia School-Based Health Assembly Annual Meeting will be held April 23, 2009, 1:00-3:00 at Coonskin Park in Charleston. Make plans to join us for this special “reunion” event celebrating our past, present and future! 2009 Spring CE Conference for Social Workers, sponsored by the WV Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, will be held April 29-May 1, 2009 at the Charleston Civic Center. This will be the 25th Conference! For additional details, visit: www.naswwv.org. Asthma Educator Preparation Course to be offered in WV: The West Virginia Asthma Education and Prevention Program (AEPP) are providing the Asthma Educator Preparation Course on May 14th-15th in Charleston, WV. A nominal fee of approximately $200 will be required to attend this course. CEU's will be offered with completion of the course. At this time, AEPP wants feedback from all who are interested in attending this program to become a certified asthma educator (AE-C). Please send reply emails to Cynthia Keenly, WV Asthma Program - Asthma Coordinator at cynthiakeely@wvdhhr.org if you are interested in attending or have questions. The 2009 School Health Service Conference for School Nurse and SBHC Workshop will be held June 9-10 in Charleston and will be sponsored by the WV Department of Education Office of Health Schools and the School Health Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center at Marshall University. Please save the date! Those working and caring for children/youth at risk of out-of-home care can find numerous continuing education workshops and conferences across West Virginia, from partners in many fields by visiting WV’s System of Care site here.
Healthy Kids Healthy Communities Call for Proposals
New Funding For Children’s Oral Health in WV
Request for Proposals: 14th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health Volunteers Wanted: Volunteer professionals are needed for Mission of Mercy for uninsured adults June 26 and 27, 2009 at Hedgeville High School in Berkeley County to provide mini- educational offerings while people wait in lines. For more information contact Kathy Lloyd at 304 582-1736 or sweens1205@msn.com. |