CHAD Connection

CHAD recently wrapped up a successful three-part webinar series aimed at increasing Well-Child Visits, Adult Annual Wellness Visits, and Medicare Annual Wellness Visits. This initiative was a collaborative effort between CHAD’s clinical quality and marketing teams and utilized valuable input from the Clinical Advisory Committee. Presenters included Lisa Thorp from Quality Health Associates, Josh Brock from Family Health in Idaho, and Dr. Shawnda Shroeder from the University of North Dakota Department of Indigenous Health.

The series emphasized the pivotal role that preventive visits play in driving quality improvement across health centers. By ensuring patients come in for their annual and well-child visits, care teams are better positioned to identify and close gaps in care, deliver timely preventive screenings, and manage chronic conditions more effectively.

We’re excited to announce the launch of a new webpage designed specifically to support Native American consumers navigating health insurance options: Health Insurance Basics for Native Americans.

Enrolled Tribal members face unique eligibility criteria when it comes to health insurance, which can make understanding and accessing benefits more complex. That’s why we created this centralized hub—to give Tribal members and advocates a clear, reliable place to start before reaching out for personalized assistance with a Navigator. Here, you’ll learn information about:

When Native Americans can apply for insurance;
What documents are needed to confirm their Tribal status;
Using Indian Health Services (IHS) with health insurance;
The difference between Medicaid and Marketplace for Native Americans; and
A list of our Native American health center partners!

Registration is now open for the Region VIII series, Identifying and Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking Series: A Comprehensive Approach for Healthcare Professionals. This free four-part virtual series is a joint effort between Community Health Association of Mountain/Plains States (CHAMPS), Association for Utah Community Health (AUCH), Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN), Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD), Montana Primary Care Association (MPCA), and Wyoming Primary Care Association (WYPCA).

This series will equip health care staff with the knowledge and tools needed to recognize signs of IPV/HT, implement effective screening practices, and strengthen partnerships with community resources. This series is a valuable opportunity for providers, care teams, and administrators to strengthen their response to IPV and HT within the health care setting.

Sessions will be held online from 1:00 – 2:00 pm CT | 12:00 – 1:00 pm MT on the following dates: May 19, June 16, August 21, and September 18.

As the demand for health care services continues to rise, workforce shortages have become a critical concern in the industry. This makes it essential to understand the role of the medical assistant in a high-functioning care team. The session will provide attendees with valuable insights into the role of medical assistants in different care team models, which can help health centers identify opportunities to address the workforce shortage while ensuring quality care delivery. The speaker will share key competencies and best practices for training and retaining medical assistants.

This session is beneficial for nurses, nurse managers, operations staff, human resources staff, and others involved in the care team models.

On March 25, the North Dakota Senate passed a bill to protect the 340B program from contract pharmacy restrictions in North Dakota by a vote of 41 yeas and 4 nays with 2 absent. This meant the bill passed both chambers. On April 4, Governor Armstrong signed the bill into law, and it will be effective August 1, 2025. This is great news for health centers and patients who struggle to afford medications.

To see how your legislators voted on the bill, click here and then on the vote count under Roll Call.

While the bill passed without any reporting requirements, lawmakers later used a different, unrelated, bill as a vehicle to add a legislative study on 340B reporting requirements. This passed both chambers and, pending signature by the governor, will be studied in the interim session.

Thank you to Dr. Aaron Garman, medical director at Coal Country Community Health Center (CCCHC); Alyssa Wolden, pharmacy director at CCCHC; and Margaret Asheim, CEO at Family HealthCare for providing testimony at the hearings. Thank you to all those who participated in contacting legislators and helping to raise the profile of health centers in North Dakota. Stay tuned for more information about implementation of the new 340B law.

Pre-Conference

Project Management for Non-Project Managers

June 3 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Have you ever found yourself leading a project without formal training? Whether you’re a volunteer, "volun-told," or an accidental project manager, this interactive pre-conference workshop is designed just for you!

Join Steve Bourgois for a hands-on, no-jargon introduction to project management tailored for community health center teams. Learn the essential tools and techniques to confidently plan, execute, and manage projects. Bring an idea and leave with a structured project plan that is ready to implement.

Through engaging activities, real-world applications, and practical templates, you’ll gain tips, tricks, and strategies to simplify project management and ensure success from start to finish. Whether tackling a minor initiative or a more significant undertaking, this session will empower you to think like a project manager, stay organized, and drive results!

DRVS Dashboards

Are you ready to take your DRVS expertise from 101 to 201 and dive headfirst into Dashboards? Custom dashboards are one of the most complex tools in DRVS, yet they deliver a wealth of potential related to tracking, evaluation, and communication. Join Azara for a dashboard deep dive as the experts walk through how to create an effective and visually compelling dashboard to tell your organization’s story. Azara welcomes participants to ask any questions you have on dashboards in your registration. This webinar is recommended for team members interested in meaningfully visualizing their data. This might include clinical quality, population health, care management/coordination, c-suite, users with Admin privileges, among others.

Thursday, May 8

1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT

Preparing for UDS 2025: CQMs, Table Changes, UDS+, Oh My!

It might feel "too soon" to be talking UDS 2025, but as you know, February will be here before you know it! In this webinar, Azara will review key 2025 UDS CQMs and DRVS applicable table changes. They will also provide UDS+ updates, review the fundamentals of data hygiene, and discuss how DRVS can support your UDS success. UDS planning occurs year-round and should never be just a "January 1st" project. Get ahead of your validation and data capture needs to ensure you are in great shape this year. Please submit any questions you have on the 2025 updates with your registration.

Thursday, May 15

1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT