June 2024 HCH Newsletter
The Connection
In this newsletter:
- Director's Message
- One Southside
- MNCARES Update
- Learning Update
- HCH program team changes
- Congratulations to Certified and Recertified HCH!
- Do you have a Health Equity Story?
- Noteworthy
Director's Message
On May 16, Health Care Homes (HCH) hosted the annual Learning Days Conference, which was a great success. Highlights included a keynote and panel discussion on the interdependence of rural and urban Minnesota, nine workshop sessions, and a facilitated networking event. A huge thank you to our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, and participants!
I also wanted to share that preliminary results from the Health Care Homes Minnesota Care Coordination Effectiveness Study (MNCARES) were presented at Learning Days. There were a number of interesting takeaways, with the promise of further analysis to come. In the coming months, the study team will be sharing results in a variety of ways, so stay tuned for opportunities to learn more. For information on MNCARES, visit the HCH MNCARES webpage.
Have a wonderful summer!
~David
One Southside
An unexpected gift was granted to Southside Community Health Services in the amount of $2.6 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. "I about fell out of my chair," said Ann Cazaban, executive director of Southside Community Health Services, of the $2.6 million gift to her community health center. "We don't get a lot of good surprises like this."
The funding will go towards a planned move to a new location at 1000 East Lake Street in South Minneapolis. This space had previously been a Dollar Store that burned down during the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. The new clinic will contain all their health care services under one roof, including primary care, behavioral health, dental, vision, and MNsure enrollment. Currently, Southside’s medical and behavioral health clinic is co-located in an elementary school building in which the administration states they outgrew many years ago. In this location, Southside can serve about 11,000 patients a year. With this move, they will be able to extend their hours of operation and serve 18,000+ patients annually.
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Southside seeks to provide community centered, compassionate, high quality primary care to underserved people and families in the South Minneapolis community. They have been a certified Health Care Home (HCH) since 2013 and are an active, engaged partner, supporting the HCH program by serving as a HCH committee member, participating in the HCH Learning Collaborative, and sharing their expertise with other clinics by presenting in webinars and in breakout sessions at the annual Learning Days conferences.
The HCH program thanks Southside for sharing their story, and for the work they continue to do to improve health equity in Minnesota. Congratulations on receiving this generous gift!
MNCARES Update
The study team presented at Learning Days in May and attendees provided very useful feedback about key takeaways and interpretation of preliminary findings. Thank you to all those who participated!
During the next few months, final study results will be shared in collaboration with the Health Care Homes program. The goal is to reach care coordinators, patients, administrators, clinicians, and payer partners with information that helps improve care coordination activities.
Additionally, the study team is pleased to share that they will be presenting about MNCARES at the 2024 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo (Oct. 27-30), which will be held in Minneapolis. Details about the upcoming presentation can be found on the APHA 2024 website.
For more information, please go to the HCH MNCARES webpage. Questions? Email the study team at mncares@healthpartners.com.
Learning Update
Learning Together
Health Care Homes offers year-round learning opportunities. Here are some upcoming webinars. Check the Learning webpages for details and links to registration. While you’re there, check out our on-demand e-learning courses. All free and CEU eligible!
- Trends in Mental Health & Levels of Care, July 16 webinar, Noon - 1:00 p.m.
- It’s Not a Health Care Home Without Oral Health, August 13 webinar, Noon – 1:00 p.m.
Learning Days 2024: It's a Wrap!
Thanks to everyone who participated in Health Care Homes Learning Days 2024! Nealy 150 primary care professionals from throughout the state took time out to upgrade their skills and network with peers at this annual day of learning for Health Care Homes and their partner organizations.
Evaluations from the event have been positive and included helpful feedback that we will use to make next year's event even better!
Didn’t get a chance to attend? Visit the Health Care Homes website to access the Conference Program, Presentations and a Gallery featuring graphic recordings from the conference (they’re really cool!). A special thanks to all the Learning Days sponsors and exhibitors for their support.
HCH program team changes
Tina Peters - HCH System Development Supervisor
Tina is stepping into the role of System Development Supervisor. She has been a member of the HCH team for the last 10 years, supporting primary care clinics in the implementation and ongoing quality improvement of the HCH care delivery model. During her tenure in the HCH program, Tina has served as part of a cross-agency integrated team, working with the Department of Human Services on Behavioral Health Home services implementation; jointly managed a rulemaking process to further develop the HCH model that added Level 2 and Level 3 certification; and led recent program efforts to update the HCH benchmarking recertification requirements and support quality improvement in clinics. She is looking forward to contributing to the HCH program in this new capacity and grateful for the teams and HCH partners that make it all possible!
Welcome to your new position Tina!
Carol Bauer - Retiring HCH Learning Manager
Direct from Carol - It's been 10 years since I joined the Health Care Homes team. After retiring mid-July, I'm looking forward to putting down roots in beautiful Red Wing and engaging in activities I love - reading, writing, painting, music, volunteering, and spending time with family and friends. What a blessing to be ending my career with work I loved so much! The time spent with this program has been one of continuous learning and innovation. I've sharpened my skills, exercised creativity, and shared leadership with a remarkable team of people. Best of all, I've had the opportunity to learn with you. Thank you for being such good teachers and learners! Best wishes as you work together to protect, maintain and improve the health of all Minnesotans. Keep on learning!
We wish Carol all the best and hope she enjoys a happy retirement!
Congratulations to Certified and Recertified HCH!
Clinics certifying and recertifying April - June 2024 are listed below. Congratulations to these and other certified clinics working every day to provide better health and better care at lower costs!
For more information regarding HCH certification levels, please go to the Level Progression webpage.
For a complete list of HCH certified clinics, please go to the Find Certified Health Care Homes webpage.
Certification
TruCare Clinic and Urgent Care
- Foundational Level - one clinic
Recertification
Catalyst Medical Clinic
- Foundational Level - two clinics
U of M Academic Health Center
- Level 2 - one clinic
Do you have a Health Equity Story?
Certified Health Care Homes -
Do you have a Health Equity Story that you would like highlighted in the HCH newsletter?
Download the Health Equity Story Form (PDF) and follow instructions for submission.
Noteworthy
- Scholarships are now available to people from diverse communities across Minnesota for CHW Certificate programs starting in Fall 2024. Priority will be given to applications received before July 7. Learn more and apply today at the Minnesota Community Health Worker Alliance website.
- Join the National Kidney Foundation on Wednesday, July 24th, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. CT via Zoom at the launching of Minnesota's roadmap that will guide public health and health care leaders toward increasing the early diagnosis and management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The virtual Summit is open to all stakeholders with the goal of driving large-scale change through cross-sector collaboration and innovation. For more information, go to the Minnesota Ending Disparities in CKD Leadership Summit | National Kidney Foundation website.
- The Colorado Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Action Coalition in partnership with University of Colorado Practice Innovation developed a FREE e-Learning module designed for primary care teams to increase their knowledge and skills related to ADRD. To register and access the e-Learning Module, go to the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Primary Care: Addressing Risk Factors, Early Diagnosis, and Care Planning webpage.
- The Minnesota Department of Health, in collaboration with the Healthy Minnesota Partnership, has published the Minnesota Statewide Health Assessment that provides a snapshot of health in Minnesota. The report focuses on how different factors impact health, including the environment, education, housing, transportation, social circles and more. To read the full assessment, go to The Minnesota Statewide Health Assessment is Now Available webpage.