Share
 
As of Tuesday, September 1, North Dakota and South Dakota are ranked number 2 and 3 in total new COVID-19 cases per population over the last seven days, according to the New York Times COVID-19 database.[*] The pandemic has reached its peak so far in our two states, just as schools are re-opening. We expect that the next month or two will present some of the biggest challenges we have seen to date, and so we want to make sure you are equipped with the right information to understand trends in your communities. 

When the pandemic began, there was a lot of focus on total number of cases and total cases by county. While those numbers served us well at the beginning, continued focus on raw number of cases obscures what is really happening with the pandemic and especially gives a false sense that the pandemic isn’t a problem in rural counties (or states). I want to make the case that we should be looking at per population new cases (7 or 14-day rolling averages) and positivity rate in order to understand trends and hotspots in our states.

Using a per population new case rate enables us to understand where hotspots are emerging. To illustrate this point, the table below ranks the top five counties in North Dakota based on total raw number of cases, per population cases, and per population NEW cases.
When we only focus on total cases, COVID-19 looks like an urban problem, with the three largest counties that contain Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks topping the list. When you switch to a per population look, you can see the counties that have actually been hardest hit through the course of the pandemic, with two predominantly Native American counties topping the list (Benson and Sioux). Finally, when you focus on cases in the last seven days, you see where hotspots are emerging with Grand Forks (home of the University of North Dakota) and several far western counties ranking most highly.

Here are the same statistics for South Dakota:
The South Dakota numbers show that our current hotspots are driven by our two largest university counties (Clay and Brookings) and by continued cases in the Black Hills, potentially tied to the Sturgis Bike Rally (Meade and Lawrence). While Minnehaha (Sioux Falls) has dominated the headlines, particularly because it had the earliest outbreak, it is currently ranked 26th among South Dakota counties in new cases per population over the last seven days. Buffalo county also represents an interesting case. It has been the hardest hit county in the state through the pandemic, but after having a significant outbreak over the summer, they have brought their cases extremely low and had a few recent weeks with no cases at all. What can we learn from these communities?

We are also tracking the positivity rate, which is a measure of the positive tests divided by the total tests. The positivity rate is important because the number of positive cases could be impacted by the number of tests – with a high number of tests resulting in a high number of positives. But if the positive cases are going up at the same time that the positivity rate is increasing, you know you have a real problem. If the positivity rate goes above 10 percent or higher, then it becomes more likely that a state is undercounting its cases and that people may be having difficulty getting tested. In South Dakota, the current seven-day average positivity rate is 16.5%, which is concerning. South Dakota’s cumulative positivity rate throughout the pandemic has been 8.2%. In North Dakota, the 14-day rolling average positivity rate is 4.7%. North Dakota’s positivity rate has been climbing since late June when it was less than one percent. When positivity rate is considered alongside per population new cases, we can surmise that South Dakota probably currently has more cases per population than North Dakota even though South Dakota’s confirmed positives are slightly lower.

Finally, school has started, and there is a range of new resources and links about cases in schools. The South Dakota Department of Health said that they will update cases in schools each Monday here. There have been a total of 195 cases in K-12 and 552 cases in post-secondary schools with the weekly breakdown below.
For information about specific colleges in SD:
·       University of South Dakota https://www.usd.edu/covid19/covid-19-dashboard
·       South Dakota State University https://www.sdstate.edu/covid-19/covid-19-dashboard
·       Dakota State University https://dsu.edu/emergency-alerts/covid-19-numbers.html
·       South Dakota Mines https://www.sdsmt.edu/covid-19/
·       Black Hills State University https://www.bhsu.edu/About-BHSU/Safety/COVID-19/COVID-Cases
·       Northern State University https://www.northern.edu/coronavirus

We are not aware at this time that ND is reporting K-12 cases. The North Dakota Department of Health is reporting cases by age. The link for cases across the North Dakota University System can be found here: https://cts.ndus.edu/coronavirus/.

As you know, these numbers are changing every day. For national and comparative data, you can check out the New York Times or Johns Hopkins databases. They are populated with official state and national statistics. The Department of Health in each state also has data that is being updated daily. Here is the link for North Dakota, and here is the link for South Dakota.
* Note: As of Thursday, September 3, South Dakota climbed the rankings to become the number one state in the country in new COVID-19 cases in the last 7 days. North Dakota fell to number 3 after South Dakota and Iowa.
 
Dashboard
 
CHAD will be publishing weekly data representing the number of positive COVID-19 tests for the current week as compared to the previous week, the cumulative number of cases diagnosed, current and cumulative hospitalizations, the percent of health center visits compared to the determined baseline, and the percent of visits that are being done virtually. This data will be compiled for North Dakota and South Dakota each week. This week’s data covers the week beginning Thursday, August 27 to Wednesday, September 2.
 
CHCs in the Community!
 
 
Local country/rock music band, Slamabama, shared about a recent experience at Family Healthcare on their web show, Happy Sunday. At the end of the clip, they shared a video highlighting the important work Family Healthcare is doing in homeless health services.
The Horizon De Smet CHC team made a special appearance in the Old Settlers Day Parade in August.
 
The Horizon Faith CHC team invited the community to "Be Our Guest" in the Faith Stock Show Parade in August.
CHAD joined Falls Community Health, the City of Sioux Falls, and other community partners at a press conference announcing a significant donation to the Link Community Triage Center.
 
 
HHS Awards $345,809 in Dakotas to Support Health Center Quality Improvement
 
Exciting news for community health centers in the Dakotas! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $117 million in quality improvement awards to 1,318 community health centers across the country. Every health center in the Dakotas received an award in recognition of the quality care they provide. Health centers will use these funds to continue to improve quality, efficiency, and the effectiveness of health care delivery in the communities they serve. 

Horizon Health Care: $111,762
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
  • Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition
Family HealthCare: $58,476
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
  • Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition
Spectra Health: $51,269
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
  • Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition
Falls Community Health: $44,289
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition
Northland Community Health Centers: $24,122
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
Community Health Center of the Black Hills: $21,703
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
Community Health Service, Inc.: $15,188
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
Coal Country Community Health Center: $10,750
  • Improving Quality of Care Award – Clinical Quality Improvers
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 
Rural Health Care, Inc.: $8,250
  • Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality Award 

Click
here to read the news release issued by HHS. Congratulations to our health centers for receiving this prestigious recognition. Great work!

 
 
Patient Centered Medical Home Distinction Key to Success
 
Congratulations to Falls Community Health, Family Healthcare, Horizon Health Care, and Spectra Health on maintaining their patient-centered medical home (PCMH) designation in 2019! By achieving and maintaining a PCMH designation, the practice is stating that they are committed to improving the quality of care, improving the patient experience, and utilizing a team-based approach to patient care. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) is also showing they value health centers’ efforts at becoming a PCMH by rewarding those who have attained the designation. In this unprecedented time, one thing health centers can control is committing to becoming a PCMH, showing the community that they value and are doing everything they can to promote the health of those they serve.
 
Federal COVID-19 Funding Update
 
On Tuesday, September 1, the White House indicated they are ready to start negotiating with the House of Representatives on another COVID-19 relief package. Negotiations have been stalled since August 7. The HEALS Act passed the Senate in June and included $1 trillion dollars in coronavirus relief. This legislation is supported by the president. The House passed the HEROES Act in May, which proposed an additional $3 trillion in COVID-19 relief spending and did not have the backing of the White House.
 
340B Updates Affecting Community Health Centers
 
There have been several developments regarding 340B in recent months, both from pharmaceutical companies and the White House, that could add up to a threat to the program. These developments include:

  • On July 1, drug manufacturer Eli Lilly posted a notice on the HRSA webpage stating that they will no longer allow certain dosages of Cialis, if purchased by a 340B provider at the 340B price, to be delivered to contract pharmacies.
  • In early July, drug manufacturer Merck sent a letter to all 340B providers requesting them to submit data every two weeks about every Merck drug that was dispensed by a contract pharmacy. Merck stated that there would be much more severe consequences if 340B providers refused to submit this data.
  • On July 24, the president issued an executive order (EO) instructing HRSA–to the extent allowable by statute–refuse to provide 330 grant funds to health centers who charge low-income patients more than the 340B price for insulin or EpiPens.
  • On July 27, drug manufacturer Sanofi sent a letter to all 340B providers requesting that they submit the same data as Merck (except for Sanofi), and stating explicitly that if a 340B provider did not comply, they would refuse to permit any Sanofi drugs to be shipped to its contract pharmacies.
  • Bausch Health has begun implementing a "direct distribution" structure, which requires 340B providers to purchase certain drugs directly from Bausch’s preferred wholesaler if they want to receive the 340B price.

The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) has been closely following 340B issues, and they released a 340B toolkit this summer to outline their strategy for tracking the issue. Click here for the NACHC toolkit.

NACHC is circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter in the United States House of Representatives regarding the EO. The letter is addressed to HHS officials, asking that the July 24 EO entitled "Access to Affordable Life-saving Medications" either not be enforced or rescinded to not impact health centers. A copy of the letter can be found here, and the deadline to sign on is Friday, September 4. The mission of community health centers has always been to provide low-income patients with access to affordable medications and other medical services. By law, regulation, and mission, every penny that health centers save through 340B discounts is used either to make medication affordable for low-income patients or to support other activities that expand access to care. We encourage you to contact your members of Congress about this issue today. CHAD staff will be supporting this effort by reaching out to each of our members of Congress to share with them the importance of the 340B program to health center patients and the ongoing commitment of health centers to ensure that patients receive medications at discounted prices.

 
South Dakota CARES Act Funding Deadline Looms
 
South Dakota received $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act funding earlier this year as part of the COVID-19 relief packages passed by Congress. Of that $1.25 billion, South Dakota has spent $100 million replenishing the state’s unemployment fund and $200 million for cities and counties. The state of South Dakota currently has $900 million left to spend by December 31, 2020. Governor Kristi Noem is asking for an extension of that deadline to allow the state more time to spend down the funds. The South Dakota legislature does not meet until January, and Governor Noem is requesting the extension to allow the legislature time to weigh in on the spending. Another possible alternative is a special session of the legislature sometime between now and the end of the year. The executive board of the South Dakota legislature met on August 31 and laid the groundwork for a potential special session. The executive board voted to allow the five policy committees of the legislature to hold hearings later this month and gather input on the effects of COVID-19 and send recommendations to the Interim Committee on Appropriations. Click here to read more about their plans.
 
Integrating HIE Services to Improve Care: Horizon Health Care
 
Cross-posted with permission from South Dakota Health Link. Lightly edited for length and clarity.

Horizon Health Care is a community health center (CHC) with a network of 32 sites in 22 communities across South Dakota. They serve underserved patients from the northwest to the southeast parts of South Dakota and provide them with primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care. Because of Horizon’s broad geographic footprint, they work with many hospitals and health systems to address patient care needs. Horizon Health Care has been a member of South Dakota Health Link since 2014, having originally started with just access to clinical information in our point of care exchange (PCE). They expanded their use of Health Link and implemented event notifications, Notify, in 2016. Notify allows health care professionals the opportunity to engage with patients after admission, discharge, or transfer to/ from another health care organization.

Before the implementation of Notify, Horizon Health Care found receiving access to timely information on patients who were admitted/discharged from the emergency department and inpatient setting was a challenge. It was not consistent, accurate, or timely due to geography and the manual process that had been in place. Since the implementation of Notify, Horizon has been able to engage with patients across its network after emergency department visits, and inpatient admits and discharges. "Notify has been the only way we are able to receive reliable emergency and inpatient admit/discharge information for our patient population. This brings us a single source of information from several health care systems," noted Lindsey Karlson, director of quality improvement for Horizon Health Care. 

Over time, Horizon Health Care has adjusted how they utilize Notify to fit their workflow best. At first, Notify allowed them to engage with their Medicaid health home patients. Now, expanded use has allowed them to engage with patients who have been seen within the last six months. Additionally, they are exploring more potential options to use the Notify tools to assist in other areas of their operations.  

With patient numbers well into the thousands, adding medical records staff to receive notifications has helped with patient follow up and the ability to capture more data. Horizon also has access to the PCE, which is included as a link within Notify and makes it easier to see pertinent clinical information. The PCE contains clinical data, such as lab or other diagnostic results, transcribed documents such as discharge summaries, along with medication history and robust demographic information from across the Health Link network. Prior to utilizing PCE, calls would be made to other facilities requesting records or other information and then wait for a callback or fax, which may be delayed by hours or days. With access to PCE, Horizon can view, print, or download information such as discharge summaries and eliminate the phone calls and waiting time for those records.

For more information about how Horizon Health Care has integrated the use of Health Link services into their workflow, or to find out more about Health Link, please click here.
 
Registration Available for 2020 Immunize South Dakota Virtual Conference – September 23
 
2020 has been a significant year for spotlighting the importance of immunizations, from the South Dakota legislative session to the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. Join other health care professionals as we hear a state epidemiology update and discuss the state’s approach to House Bill 1235, "An act to revise provisions regarding immunizations."

This virtual conference is intended to promote immunizations throughout the state of South Dakota by supporting health care providers through education and community outreach resources. Sessions will address vaccine advocacy, influencing and educating policymakers, the status of a COVID-19 vaccine, and motivational action planning (MAP). Click here to view the agenda. Click here to register. The early bird discount ends September 4.
 
Health Center COVID-19 Survey Data Trends
Each week, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) requests information from community health centers across the country to track the impact of COVID-19 on capacity, operations, patients, and staff. The data is used to plan for training and technical assistance, funding, and additional resources. A few highlights from the latest report, dated August 21, include:

Patient Testing
  • 100% of health centers in North Dakota and South Dakota have COVID-19 testing capacity.
  • ND reported 75% of COVID-19 test results are returned in 2-3 days with the balance returned in 4-5 days. SD reported a quarter of the test results are returned in under an hour, a quarter in 24 hours, and the balance returned in 2-3 days.
  • Both states reported an increase in the total number of tests performed. Since reporting began on April 3, ND reported a total of 3,208 patients tested with SD reporting 4,100 patients tested for COVID-19.
  • Of the patients tested, 21.65% were racial/ethnic minorities in ND (16.4% of the population were racial/ethnic minorities), and 24.1% in SD (18.6% of the statewide population are racial/ethnic minorities). ND health centers reported 26.7% of the total positive cases identified as being of racial and/or ethnic minority, with SD reporting 25.86%.

Operations


Weekly visits compared to pre-COVID-19 visits in ND decreased to 72.5% and 62.5% in SD. ND reported a decrease in the number of visits conducted virtually from 23.75% to 20.00%. SD decreased from 6.67% to 3.75%.
 
Great Plains Health Data Network Request for Proposal Deadline September 18
 
The Great Plains Health Data Network (GPHDN) is looking for a vendor to assist health centers with finding a solution that will aggregate data, including medical, dental, and behavioral. GPHDN was developed through the Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) program funded by the Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA). The GPHDN is a collaboration between the Wyoming Primary Care Association and CHAD and brings together 11 health centers across the Dakotas and Wyoming, serving 70 sites. The GPHDN represents the majority of the health centers operating in the three states. A copy of the vendor request for proposal (RFP) can be found on the CHAD website.
 
Call for Applications: Teledentistry Learning Collaborative
 
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) is accepting applications from interested health centers to participate in a teledentistry learning collaborative funded through NNOHA’s cooperative agreement with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The learning collaborative will take place virtually from October 2020 to April 2021. The goal of the teledentistry learning collaborative is to increase access to oral health services by using more efficient practice systems, patient engagement, provider recruitment/retention, and clinical improvements.

If accepted, health centers will take part in four 60-minute webinars with NNOHA and the other participating health centers to review and share strategies for using synchronous teledentistry beyond traditional emergency triage. At least two team members are required to participate in these webinars.


To apply, complete the online application by 10:00 am MT/ 11:00 am CT on September 18. More information regarding this opportunity is available in the PDF application available for download here.
 
Patients First: SDOH and PRAPARE Webinar Series Kicks Off October 1
 
The Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) is a national effort to enable health centers to collect the data needed to better understand and act on their patients’ social determinants of health (SDOH), transform care delivery, improve health outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs. As the most widely used social risk screening tool among health centers, PRAPARE outlines critical domains that impact individuals’ risk of morbidity and mortality, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this kickoff training, presented by the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), participants will receive an orientation to the PRAPARE Academy and readiness assessments. The speakers will share tips, tools, and tricks for beginning and sustaining data collection on SDOH.

This program is intended for health center care teams from both clinical and non-clinical perspectives, especially those staff investing time and resources on SDOH screening. Leadership and management are encouraged to attend and gain a better understanding of why a multidisciplinary care team approach is necessary to implement a successful and sustainable social risk screening protocol across the health center.

Click here to register for the kickoff training.
Click here to register for the entire learning collaborative series.
Click here for detailed information on each session.
 
Funding Available to Implement Cancer Prevention and Control Efforts
 
The South Dakota Department of Health is soliciting applications that support the 2021-2025 South Dakota Cancer Plan, focusing on evidence-based intervention implementation, and promote cancer prevention, early detection, or cancer survivorship efforts in South Dakota. Due to the impacts COVID-19 has had on cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and survivorship efforts in SD, priority consideration will be provided to applicants that propose the implementation of innovative, evidence-based strategies to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on cancer prevention and control efforts.

Applicants may request up to $20,000. The cancer programs anticipate funding four or five applicants. Eligible applicants include organizations not limited to federally qualified healthcare centers, health plans, health care clinics, health care systems, cancer treatment centers, health care professional organizations, Indian Health Service, non-profits, quality improvement organizations, school-based health care clinics, tribal health centers, universities, coalitions, and worksites that have the capacity to implement the required interventions. The project period January 1 - December 31, 2021.

Staff will be available to answer questions, review grant applications, and provide recommendations for revisions until 4:00 pm MT/ 5:00 pm CT on October 30. Applications are due via electronic submission to lexi.pugsley@state.sd.us by 4:00 pm MT/ 5:00 pm CT on Wednesday, November 4. Visit cancersd.com to download the full instructions and application.
 
NACHC Community Health Institute & Expo Held Virtually
 
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) held its annual Community Health Institute & Expo this week, dubbing the virtual event as "CHI@Home, 2020 and Beyond: Sustaining the Health Center Mission for the Future." The event began with a community health center board member boot camp on Sunday, August 30. The main event kicked off on Monday, August 31, with tracks on health center governance, health center essentials, public policy, advocacy, and innovation and transformation. In addition to updates from NACHC leadership, attendees also heard from Jim Macrae, associate administrator of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, and Luis Padilla, associate administrator of the Bureau of Health Workforce. Click the links to view the slides that accompany presentations from Mr. Macrae and Dr. Padilla.
 
 
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
 
Suicide is a real problem in North Dakota and South Dakota, which rank 12th and 7th respectively in suicide rates when compared with other states. These stats are useful, but they are void of telling the story of personal heartbreak that family members of those who die by suicide feel. Without context, it is hard to imagine the scope.

Every day, the United States loses about 123 people to suicide. This is the equivalent of having a full American jetliner crash every single day and leaving no survivors. Imagine if this happened. Imagine how we would respond as citizens. The news of this happening would commandeer our newspaper headlines, we would be contacting our congressional representatives, and no doubt the Federal Aviation Administration would be in front of Congress to explain why this is happening. 

But it’s different with suicide. We do not behave like this is a national crisis that requires an urgent response from each one of us. We do not demand answers and action. Instead, we quite often place the burden on the person who may be feeling suicidal to make the first move and tell someone, without also training people how to recognize suicide warning signs and become comfortable asking someone if they are considering suicide.

One reason we fail to act regarding suicide is that many see this as a deeply personal issue that requires family or friends to intervene, not a community. Whereas, in the airplane scenario, everyone feels equally vulnerable if they or a loved one needs to fly. For whatever reason, we feel justified to step forward on behalf of those 123 people who died in a jetliner crash because we fear it could be us. We feel saddened and, more importantly, we feel it could be avoided and that something can be done to stop it.

Something can be done to stop suicide. If we, as a society, would believe and behave like it is our role to get involved, a lot of lives could be saved. If we would act on behalf of the 123 people who died by suicide because they can no longer speak for themselves.

There are several good trainings that people can attend that will help people identify a suicide crisis and feel confident that they would know how to respond. Examples are QPR (question, persuade, refer) and mental health first aid (MHFA).
 
September is National Recovery Month
 
National recovery month (NRM) is an observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. Now in its 31st year, NRM observance celebrates the millions of Americans who are in recovery from mental health and substance use disorders, reminding us that treatment is effective and that people can and do recover. It also serves to help reduce the stigma and misconceptions that cloud public understanding of mental health and substance use disorders, potentially discouraging others from seeking help.

The 2020 theme is Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections. For more information and promotional materials, visit recoverymonth.gov.
 
Webinars & Meetings
Find these and other events on the CHAD website.

South Dakota Department of Health COVID-19 Update

The South Dakota Department of Health hosts a weekly COVID-19 webinar for health care facilities, medical providers, laboratorians, long-term care facilities, EMS providers, and other health professionals.

Thursdays in August (reoccurring)
10:00 am MT/ 11:00 am CT
For weekly call-in information, please join the listserv here. Find archived calls and slides here.

Great Plains Regional FluFIT Webinar

The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board and the American Cancer Society, along with partnering organizations, will be hosting a webinar on colorectal cancer FluFIT screening initiatives across the great plains region. This interactive webinar will provide a FluFIT toolkit overview, FluFIT initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tribal FluFIT implementations, additional resources, and a brief question and answer period.

Thursday, September 10
10:00 am MT/ 11:00 am CT
Register here.

Health Center Leadership: A Webinar Series from NACHC and SkillPath
Register now for one or more sessions in the series!

Today’s health centers need leaders who can handle any situation that comes their way. The ability to influence, communicate, and make thoughtful, effective decisions while supporting their teams are key attributes every leader must possess. New managers and supervisors face a difficult challenge in learning to do all this while managing a new workload and focusing on the health centers’ most precious resource—people.

This four-part webinar series provides the essential skills and tools needed to be an effective leader and not just "the boss." Participants will learn how to motivate employees and how to manage relationships. They will also learn the keys to effective communication, become a listening leader, and how to develop a culture ripe for curiosity and innovation.

Session 1: Excelling in Your Role as a Health Center Leader: Being a Leader vs. Being a Boss
This session will help build a skills toolkit filled with qualities like vision, creativity, innovation, collaboration, and teamwork.

Thursday, September 10
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.

Session 2: Excelling in Your Role as a Health Center Leader: Communicate Like a Leader
This session will help participants identify where communication breakdowns occur and what can be done to remove barriers to effective communication. Speakers will discuss the skills identified for successful leaders and work on how to create a team culture of listening.

Thursday, September 17
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.

Session 3: Excelling in Your Role as a Health Center Leader: Leading Curiosity, Creativity and Innovation
In this session, participants will discover ways to encourage curiosity, creativity and innovation, and discuss how culture affects the engagement, creativity and innovation of teams.

Thursday, September 24
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.

Session 4: Excelling in Your Role as a Health Center Leader: Applying Workplace Emotional Intelligence Tools
This session will help participants develop their capacity to understand and manage emotions, the impact of emotional intelligence on team dynamics, and how to create an atmosphere to motivate employees and create a happier workplace.

Thursday, September 24
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.
Today with Macrae: Health Center Program Updates  

Join Jim Macrae for updates on COVID-19 and other topics, such as the multi-year transformation effort to advance community health. Missed recent Today with Macrae calls? Recordings and transcripts are posted on the Bureau of Primary Health Care’s Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Resources for Health Centers webpage as soon as possible after each call. Save the dates for future Today with Macrae updates on September 29 and October 29.

Thursday, September 17
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT  
Join the webinar on the day of the session.

CCHN/CHAMPS Health Equity Learning Series
Submitted by CHAMPS

The four-part 2020 Health Equity Learning Series hosted by the Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN)/Community Health Association of Mountain/Plains States (CHAMPS) is designed to introduce all levels of staff to the community health center movement’s position and continued efforts in the journey towards a more equitable and just health system. Participants will come away from the series with a greater understanding of organizational and personal positions in this work, as well as a few strategies to assist in moving the work forward. This series is free for all Region VIII health centers.

Tuesdays, September 22, and October 13
12:00-1:15 pm MT/ 1:00-2:15 pm CT
For more information and to register, click here.

UDS Mapper Webinars

The UDS Mapper is a collaboration between the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and is part of the HealthLandscape online mapping platform. These webinars are open to the public and free of charge.

UDS Mapper Advanced Topics: New Features in the UDS Mapper
Attend this session to learn about recent updates to the UDS Mapper, including new data and enhanced functionalities. The webinar is geared toward users who are familiar with the UDS Mapper.

Thursday, September 17
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.

UDS Mapper Special Topics: Food Insecurity and Opportunities for Health Centers
This special topic webinar will focus on examining the relationship between health center service areas and food insecurity. During this session, speakers will highlight how to use the UDS Mapper, including a new functionality allowing users to add area-level data to analyze food insecurity in a community. The webinar is geared toward users who are familiar with the UDS Mapper.

Wednesday, September 23
12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT
Register here.
CHAD Network Team Meetings

Tuesday, September 8 at 1:00 pm MT/ 2:00 pm CT – Communications & Marketing Network Team
Friday, September 18 at 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT – Behavioral Health Work Group
Tuesday, September 22 at 11:00 am MT/ 12:00 pm CT – Great Plains Health Data Network Leadership
Tuesday, September 29 at 12:00 pm MT/ 1:00 pm CT – O & E Network Team


Email Marketing by ActiveCampaign