Here’s Why You Should Care that CHAD Has a New Strategic Plan

Check out CHAD’s 2024-2026 strategic plan!

Wait! Is that a groan? You think strategic plans are boring? Just useless exercises that collect dust on a shelf?

How can I convince you that this one is worth checking out?

Did you know it was developed during a two-day retreat with health center CEOs? At CHAD, it is really important to us that our priorities reflect what is actually happening at health centers, so strategic planning is this sacred time for us where we aim to really listen and to recalibrate our goals to align with the needs and challenges expressed by our members. We see our role as “listening and leading.” That means, we want to be looking over the horizon and helping health centers identify best practices and prepare for the future, but we also can’t lead unless we are actively listening to understand whether ideas and solutions are the right fit for the problems at hand.

Perhaps it would be helpful if I shared some of the themes the health center CEOs highlighted.

The dominant theme was workforce. Recruitment and retention at health centers have always been challenging because we often work in places where it is hard to recruit providers or with populations where we need staff and providers who are the right fit. We are non-profits with limited resources, so it is difficult to recruit staff from other health care settings or to retain staff when they are offered highly competitive salaries and bonuses. The pandemic exacerbated these concerns. We now have both a supply AND a distribution problem in the Dakotas, so new responses are needed. (You can check out the strategies we are planning here!)

Health centers also noted that they have built a model of care focused on quality and whole person care. Our health care market still lacks incentives for things like helping patients become healthier, supporting them in managing complex care plans, and helping them address socio-economic barriers to care. Collectively, we want to build a policy and payment environment that rewards and resources high-value care.

The health centers also expressed an interest in continuing to work together to build quality improvement skills that promote health equity, support the data infrastructure needed to drive improvement, and to collectively promote internal and external systems to address social drivers of health. The board also wants CHAD to remain a great place to work and become a best-in-class training organization.

Phew! Have I convinced you to check out our plans? In any case, we look forward to engaging members and partners over the next few years in making this collection of dreams and goals a reality.

CHAD CEO Shelly Ten Napel shares the importance of CMS ratings with South Dakota News Watch.  

Jennie Cornell from Northland Health Center explains the key elements of a balanced life on ND Today.

Healthline Center Shelby Kommes was awarded the Spirit of Volunteerism Award.  

Register today for the CHAD/GPHDN Annual Conference - IMPACT: The Power of Health Centers.  The pre-conference sessions will be held on May 14, with the annual conference on May 15-16. Registration will close on May 5.

This annual event invites leaders like you from community health centers across Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota to come together.

Conference agendas and registration information can be found on the CHAD website. Register today!

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced $3 million in matching grant funding for the Statewide Health Strategies Grant program.

The program, funded by the state Legislature and House Bill 1004, aims to improve health outcomes across the state and empower communities to identify and address local health priorities.

This matching grant program requires applicants to secure funds independently, which will then be matched by the Statewide Health Strategies Grant, subject to the approval and terms. To learn more about the grant and the submission and review process, visit here. Applications are due May 20, 2024

ACU is has announced the creation of the ACU National Center for Workforce Development & Training (National Center). ACU’s National Center offers comprehensive training, technical assistance, and consultation in all aspects of health care workforce development—from shaping pathways to recruit a more resilient, diverse, and multifaceted workforce to advancing psychological safety and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion for retention and resilience.

Uniting ACU’s 28 years of experience supporting clinicians and organizations caring for underserved communities with the nationally recognized expertise of staff in our numerous workforce initiatives, the National Center is the leading authority on healthcare workforce development. It also serves as the hub for a variety of ongoing ACU workforce initiatives, including the (STAR²) Center, the Bureau of Primary Health Care Well-Being Technical Assistance program, and the NHSC Empowerment Initiative: Advancing Clinician Wellness and Health Equity.

May is designated as Hepatitis Awareness Month in the United States. Throughout the month, agencies and offices across the federal government as well as state and local partners work to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination for hepatitis A and hepatitis B, testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the availability of effective care and curative treatment, and the serious health consequences resulting from undiagnosed and untreated viral hepatitis. The month-long observance includes Hepatitis Testing Day on May 19th. These observances are important opportunities to raise widespread awareness of viral hepatitis and its impact in the U.S. and expand our coordinated national efforts to improve the health of the estimated 862,000 people living with hepatitis B and 2.4 million people living with hepatitis C.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver often caused by a virus. In the United States, the most common types of viral hepatitis are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. While each can produce similar symptoms, each hepatitis virus affects the liver differently, has different routes of transmission and infection, and typically affects different populations.

Fortunately, effective vaccines are available to help prevent hepatitis A and hepatitis B, and there is treatment for hepatitis B. Although no vaccine is available for hepatitis C, treatment can cure infection from the virus. Learn more about the different viral hepatitis types and The Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to Elimination that provides a framework to control the viral hepatitis epidemics and eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat in the United States by 2030.

Front Desk Training Series

CHAD recently completed a series of trainings for front desk and patient registration staff.  Front Desk Rx: A Prescription for Exceptional Patient Experiences focused on four topics essential to front desk personnel.

Session 1 – Front Desk Rx: De-escalate and Communicate

Session 2 – Front Desk Rx: Connecting to Coverage

Session 3 – Front Desk Rx: Creating Inclusive Environments for LGBTQ+ Patients

Session 4 – Front Desk Rx: Scheduling for Success

Find the recordings and presentations for each of these sessions in the Past Event Resources section of the CHAD website.

Listening Session on Medicare Advantage: Understanding the Health Center Experience

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a Request for Information (RFI) on Medicare Advantage (MA) to gather more data on the growing program. To provide robust comments, NACHC's Regulatory Affairs Team is hosting this listening session to hear directly from you about how your health center, PCA, or HCCN interacts with MA plans and learn about your experiences. Elevate the health center voice and advocate for positive changes in the MA space. Comments are due May 29, 2024.

Register here