Will Humble Professional Development, Wills Blog

Professional Development Opportunity: AZ Institute for Healthcare Leadership

Healthcare leaders throughout Arizona can to become better leaders through the Arizona Institute for Healthcare Leadership program. The program formerly known as the Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Leader Association’s Emerging Healthcare Leader Program has been developing healthcare leaders since 2006.

The Arizona Institute for Healthcare Leadership (AIHL) program provides high potential midlevel to senior level leaders within not for profit, for profit and government hospitals and healthcare organizations the necessary skills to become exceptional leaders. Participants have richly diverse backgrounds from many clinical and nonclinical aspects of healthcare including: IT, nursing, ambulatory care, rehab, pharmacy, physician practices, telemedicine, quality, finance, human resources, case management and more.

Fifty percent of the leaders graduating from the Arizona Institute for Healthcare Leadership in the past three years have been promoted, several to Chief Executive Officer. As the pace of change in healthcare accelerates and current leadership is promoted or leaves, these graduates will take their place. Arizona healthcare organizations with an eye to the future have been sending top talent to the AIHL program for over a decade. AIHL develops healthcare professionals with leadership skills including emotional intelligence, communication and the ability to deal with change; all needed to grow their career to the next level.

“Through this experience I became more aware of my emotional intelligence and its impact on the success of the organization, being a senior leader. I also learned to handle my inner Gremlin better as a female, minority leader. In addition, I learned so much from my peers in the program, their similar struggles and successes made me feel I am not and my organization is not alone working through the immense and unprecedented challenges of healthcare and generational leadership transitions.”

A 2016 graduate

“The content of this course has proven very valuable. It helped me to become more cognizant of how emotional intelligence influences my approach to the work, and the positions I pursue.  It provided tools and resources that are helpful in dealing with situations ranging from normal every day events, navigating an organization through crisis situations, and managing a multi-generational workforce. The ability to apply what I learned in this program to real-time, real-world scenarios led to my getting a promotion to a larger, more complex organization.  I strongly encourage participation in this program.”

A 2015 graduate

The full fee is $5,500, participants can save $250 by being an association member and another $250 by applying by Sept. 20 bringing the cost down to $5,000. With the class time, executive coaching, outside reading and project the average person will spend 10-20 hours a month, not including travel for the session each month.

Applications are being accepted now for the 2019 cohort (which runs from January – October 2019. Deadline to apply is 11/16/18.

Program overview and applications are available at www.RisingStarsLLC.com/AIHL For more information contact Joanne Schlosser at [email protected] or call 480-840-6024. 

Will Humble Behavioral Health, Professional Development, Wills Blog

Behavioral Health Advocacy Training Institute: Apply Now

The Eric Gilbertson Advocacy Institute for Behavioral Health (aka Institute) is designed for service recipients/participants, family members, Board Members, and individuals concerned about quality behavioral health in Arizona.  The goal of the training is to provide you a comprehensive overview of the Arizona behavioral health system and to assist participants in becoming effective advocates for those receiving behavioral health services.

The Institute provides information, training, and resources to participants on behavioral health issues at the individual, provider, and system level. The Institute will provide participants with opportunities to meet and talk with leaders and advocates in the Arizona behavioral health system.  As a participant, you’ll have an opportunity to meet and unite with others who have a similar interest in creating a powerful voice on important issues. You’ll also learn how various state agencies are responsible for the delivery of behavioral health services and how the legislative process works at the state and national levels to impact behavioral health policy. 

The Training Institute will cover the History of the Disability Movement and the Role of ADHS, ADES, AHCCCS, ADOE, the Courts & Corrections, the Role of the Regional Behavioral Health Authorities (RBHAs) & Complete Care Contractors Community Supports State & Federal Policy Legislative Process Organizing for Change.  The Application deadline is August 15.  For more information visit http://azabc.org/eg_institute/

Will Humble Oral Health, Wills Blog

Families USA Issue Brief: Adult Dental Services

States have great latitude to determine the scope of dental benefits they cover for adults through their Medicaid programs. Some states cover comprehensive benefits, others cover emergency dental care and some none (AZ provides emergency coverage up to $1000 per year for all adults and comprehensive coverage for kids).  This variation in coverage matters. Without adequate dental coverage, people face barriers to getting care they need to stay healthy.

To better understand the consequences of insufficient dental coverage, Families USA conducted a survey of states that cover emergency-only dental services.  In the issue brief Families USA found:

  • States that cover emergency dental services generally cover some services to address severe pain including extractions. But most don’t provide restorative care nor cleanings that would address underlying disease.
  • In some states, Medicaid managed care plans provide plan-specific “value added” benefits.
  • State Medicaid programs pay for hospital emergency department visits when appropriate dental services are not available.
  • More comprehensive benefits and fewer prior authorization requirements would encourage provider participation.
  • Low-income seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid and Medicare for health coverage are among those affected by the lack of dental coverage.

The Families USA Issue Brief concludes that emergency-only dental coverage is a start, but states should invest in comprehensive Medicaid dental coverage for adults if they want to effectively keep their populations healthier and reduce other health care costs. Here’s the full the full issue brief.

Will Humble Behavioral Health, Prevention, Wills Blog

Substance Abuse Prevention Needs Assessment

AHCCCS is conducting a Statewide Substance Abuse Prevention Needs Assessment to better understand what prevention activities are going on and what the prevention needs in our communities are and about the experiences of folks who work or volunteer in substance abuse prevention. 

If you fit the bill, it would be great if you could take 10 minutes to support this important effort by taking this Arizona Substance Use Prevention Workforce Survey. 

Will Humble Affordable Care Act, Disease Control, Immigration Policy, Medicaid, Wills Blog

Immigration Status, Public Benefits, Health & Access to Care: A Primer

With all the attention on immigration status and its intersection with public benefits and access to health care- I thought I’d take a crack at summarizing these issues for our membership.  Here goes:

Noncitizens make up about 7%  percent of the US population. It’s not surprising that they’re more likely to be low-income and uninsured than citizens- in part because of the opportunity limitations. In fact, 71% of undocumented adult noncitizens are uninsured.  By and large, many of them rely on Federally Qualified Health Centers for their primary care and other healthcare- in part because FQHCs have sliding fee scale service fees and serve immigrants regardless of their immigration status.

Medicaid generally limits eligibility for immigrants to qualified immigrants with refugee status or veterans and people lawfully present in the US for 5 years or more.  State Medicaid programs can elect to provide coverage to legally present immigrants before the 5-year waiting period ends (Arizona does not).

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (often referred to as PRWORA or welfare reform) is the federal law that created Medicaid’s “qualified immigrant” standard.

Other federal safety net programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) also apply the five-year waiting period for legally present immigrants.

States can get matching funds from Medicaid (CMS) when they choose to provide Medicaid coverage to legally present immigrants who are children or pregnant women before the end of the 5-year waiting period.  33 states have elected to cover lawfully residing immigrant children, and 25 states cover legally present pregnant women (Arizona does not).

The Affordable Care Act made it possible for the legally present immigrants who are ineligible for Medicaid due to being in the five-year waiting period to qualify for commercial coverage and subsidies on the Federal health insurance marketplace.

Immigrants eligible for Medicaid or employer-sponsored insurance face several coverage and service barriers.  As I mentioned in a blog a few weeks ago immigration officials consider the likelihood of individuals and families becoming a “public charge,” which can result in denied admission to the US or status as a lawful permanent resident.

Fear that using safety net services will mean that they’ll be considered a public charge contributes to some families of mixed immigration status avoiding use of services like TANF, Medicaid, SNAP etc.  Some eligible immigrants avoid services because they think family members will become involved in immigration enforcement actions.

Research findings by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that changes in healthcare use and decreased participation in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program because of this immigration policy.

Anyway, it’s a complicated system but I hope this makes it a little clearer.

Will Humble Immigration Policy, Prevention, Wills Blog

2020 Census Citizenship Question Open for Public Comment

2020 Census Citizenship Question Open to Public Comment

You can weigh in on a controversial decision by federal officials to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. 

Several lawsuits have been filed challenging this late and untested addition to the decennial questionnaire. In the views of many, the addition of a citizenship question would suppress response rates in immigrant communities, increase costs to taxpayers in administering the census, and lead to misallocation of government resources in ways that hurt businesses, communities, governments, and nonprofits. A question on citizenship, in short, could lead to an unfair, inaccurate, and incomplete count of every person in America.

You can go directly to the Census Bureau comment form or submit prepared comments using the Census Counts website.  The public comment period closes August 7.

Will Humble Uncategorized, Wills Blog

AzHHA Thoughtful Life Conversations

The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) has made their Thoughtful Life Conversations one of their priority programs this year.  It’s an affiliation of healthcare leaders, providers and community representatives with a shared commitment and a sense of accountability to improving end of life care for Arizonians.   

The Thoughtful Life Conversations program mission is to empower Arizonans to make known their life wishes and care directives and to equip their healthcare teams with resources to honor them.  Our vision is for Arizonans to have thoughtful life conversations that result in honored healthcare wishes and goals and improved care towards end of life.

Having conversations about serious illness, end of life care, and advanced care planning is important and challenging, even scary and uncomfortable for clinicians to initiate.

To facilitate these kinds of Thoughtful Life Conversations they’re holding several “Communications in Serious Illness” trainings. The trainings are free and space is limited so please be sure and register quickly!  I’ve added the series of training opportunities to our AzPHA Calendar of Events at https://azpha.org/upcoming-events/ or you can visit

Will Humble EMS, Medicaid, Wills Blog

Community Paramedicine Continues to Mature in AZ

Community paramedicine has been a paradigm shift for the use of paramedics in the US- and Arizona has been a national leader.  It’s a new model in which paramedics function outside their usual emergency response & transport roles- delving into the world of primary care.  As the health care world increasingly shifts toward prevention and well care- the system will increasingly demand more folks that can function in a community health (primary care and prevention) role.  Community paramedicine is increasingly being recognized as a promising solution to efficiently increase access to care (especially for underserved populations). 

For example- paramedics could shift from a sole focus on emergency response to things like: 1) providing follow-up care for folks recently discharged from the hospital to prevent unnecessary readmissions; 2) providing community-based support for people with diabetes, asthma, congestive heart failure, or multiple chronic conditions; and/or 3) partnering with community health workers and primary care providers in underserved areas to provide preventive care. 

One component of Community Paramedicine is known as “Treat and Refer” and it has really taken a step forward in the last couple of years in Arizona.  A couple of years ago the initiative was launched under the leadership of AzPHA Members David Harden, Terry Mullins, Dr. Ben Bobrow and others at the ADHS.

It’s called the Arizona Treat and Refer Recognition Program and was developed in partnership with the ADHS Bureau of EMS & Trauma Systems, AHCCCS, and the EMS community. Organizations that earn Treat and Refer recognition implement the program under the direction of their medical director and chief executive.  Once recognized, the EMS Agency can seek reimbursement from AHCCCS for the services they provide.  You can check out the AHCCCS website to learn more about provider registration.

Five EMS agencies have now been recognized as Treat & Refer EMS agencies. The T&R Program establishes a means for recognized EMS agencies demonstrating optimal patient safety and quality of care by matching treatment, transport, and care destination options to the needs of the 9-1-1 patient; and provide recognized EMS agencies the opportunity to seek reimbursement from AHCCCS.

The ADHS Bureau of EMS & Trauma Systems offers a pre-application technical review service to EMS agencies considering applying for recognition. The service includes a comprehensive review of EMS agencies’ education modules, standing orders, patient follow-up process, and performance improvement/quality assurance process.

Will Humble Uncategorized, Wills Blog

Arguments Due Wednesday for November’s Ballot Propositions

Do you feel strongly about any of the upcoming voter initiatives or referendums that will be on the November ballot?  Do you have some solid arguments that could persuade fellow Arizonans to see things your way? 

If so, you’re in luck.  The AZ Secretary of State’s Office has made it easier than ever for you to post an argument for or against any of the measures- but you’ll need to act before Wednesday at midnight. 

Arguments for or against proposed ballot measures for the 2018 General Election can now be submitted electronically through the new Ballot Measure Argument Submission Portal available at https://ballotarguments.az.gov/

The fee is just $75 per argument and can be paid online.  They also dropped the notarization argument that had previously existed.  Your ballot measure argument will be printed in the publicity pamphlet that is mailed out to registered voters. I submitted comments in favor of the Clean Energy Amendment and the Campaign Disclosure Initiative- (on behalf of myself) and the process was simple and straightforward.

Here’s the listing of the 2018 Initiatives, Referenda & Recall Applications.  I’ve summarized the measures that submitted sufficient signatures last week:

The Stop Political Dirty Money Constitutional Amendment PDF establishes voters’ right to know the identity of all major contributors who are trying to influence the outcome of Arizona elections. Contributors will no longer be able to hide by transferring their money through intermediaries. Anyone spending more than $10,000 to oppose or support candidates or ballot measures must disclose everyone who contributed $2,500 or more promptly, publicly and under penalty of perjury.

The Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment PDF requires affected electric utilities to provide at least 50% of their annual retail sales of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. The Amendment defines renewable energy sources to include solar, wind, small-scale hydropower, and other sources that are replaced rapidly by a natural, ongoing process (excluding nuclear or fossil fuel). Distributed renewable energy sources, like rooftop solar, must comprise at least 10% of utilities’ annual retail sales of electricity by 2030. The Amendment allows electric utilities to earn and trade credits to meet these requirements.

The Invest in Education Act PDF increases the classroom site fund by raising the income tax rate by 3.46% on individual incomes over a quarter million dollars (or household incomes over half a million dollars), and by 4.46% on individual incomes over half a million dollars (or household incomes over a million dollars); designates 60% of new funds for teacher salaries and 40% for operations; and adds full day kindergarten and pay raises for student support services personnel as permitted fund uses. 

Save Our Schools PDF asks voters whether to validate a 2017 Bill passed by the Legislature (Chapter 139 SB 1431) that greatly expanded Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (commonly referred to as private school vouchers) and removed the existing ESA enrollment cap, increasing it annually by 0.5% of total public school enrollment through 2022 and capping ESA enrollment in 2023.

The Protect AZ Taxpayers Act PDF would amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit state government, as well as county, municipal and other political subdivision governments and taxing districts, from imposing or increasing any transaction-based taxes, fees, stamp requirements, or assessments on any service performed in Arizona, or on the gross receipts of sales or gross income derived from any service performed in Arizona.

Will Humble Disease Control, Vaccination, Wills Blog

AZ Vaccination Exemptions Continue to Increase

Despite numerous interventions in the last year designed to improve immunization rates among AZ school children- we continue to lose ground.  Last week the ADHS released their latest school reporting data on vaccine exemption rates (medical, personal and religious).  Here’s a 2 page summary of some of the results.  This year’s report covers the 2017-2018 school year (the data was submitted by the schools to the Department in the Fall of ’17). The data show that:

  • Immunization rates have decreased across age groups from 2012 to 2017;

  • Non-medical exemption rates continue to be highest in public charter schools, followed by private and public schools in 2017; and 

  • Non-medical (e.g. personal and religious) exemption rates have increased from 2016: going from 3.9% to 4.3% for pre-school; 4.9% to 5.4% for Kindergarten and 5.1% to 5.4% among 6th graders.

The Arizona Public Health System has done a remarkable job turning the data reported by schools into actionable information.  My favorite is the Personal Belief Exemptions Map.  Parents can also look up the exemption rates in individual schools.  But there are also data for: Arizona Reporting Schools Coverage; County Kindergarten Coverage; County 6th Grade Coverage; County Child Care Coverage; Whooping Cough Immunization Coverage Map; and a Measles Immunization Coverage Map.

 

Interventions to Reduce Vaccine Exemptions

The ADHS has significantly overhauled their vaccine exemption form to better inform parents about the risks that they are taking for their child and for their child’s classmates and the community by choosing not to vaccinate their kid. Other interventions (by the Arizona Partnership for Immunizations) have included working with school administrators to help parents overcome any barriers that might be preventing them from getting their children vaccinated and by reducing “convenience exemptions,” in which parents sign a waiver because they can’t get their children immunized in time to meet school requirements.

I’ve also heard that there is an Immunization Education Course under development by the ADHS that’s designed to serve in lieu of a new exemptions form has been built and piloted at some schools in Maricopa County.

During the 2015 legislative session, Representative Mendez sponsored HB 2466 which would have required all public schools (including charter schools) to maintain a website to post the rates of their pupils’ immunizations against vaccine preventable diseases.  It never even received a committee hearing.  Back in 2012 a Bill that would have required a doctor’s signature to get a personal exemption failed. 

A couple of years ago California eliminated personal exemptions entirely.  While the rate for personal exemptions rose after the personal exemption was eliminated, a study In study in JAMA back in 2017 found that the rate of medical exemptions for immunizations for incoming kindergartners rose the year after California eliminated the personal-belief exemption, but vaccination rates did improve substantially – especially in high income enclaves that had the highest personal exemption rates. 

By the way- last week the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles found that California didn’t violate freedom of religion or the right to an education when it eliminated most exemptions.  The court said that… “Compulsory immunization has long been recognized as the gold standard for preventing the spread of contagious diseases”.  The court said the new law was not discriminatory and was a valid measure to protect public health.

1 … 155 156 157 158 159 … 167