Get Ready for National Health Center Week 2021!

National Health Center week is about a week away, it is celebrated this year from August 8- August 14. We are excited to share some of the highlights of the action packed week all about how much we appreciate our FQHCs.

Before we start talking about National Health Center Week, feel free to read this fact sheet to be sure you are fully informed about health centers, their purpose, and their impact! 

The theme for this year's National Health Center Week is: 

The Chemistry of Strong Communities!

This graphic highlights the importance of many elements coming together to help a Community Health Center be successful! If you love this theme, you can purchase merchandise if you desire.

There are many different events held during NHCW all across our state. You can access the full list of those Ohio events here. 

NHCW is all about showing our appreciation for our Health Center workers. You can celebrate at home with this self care tool kit that provides guided ways to care for yourself! 

Advocacy is a key part in the success of our FQHCs. Please visit this page to find out how you can show your support by building your civic engagement capacity! 

For more information and to learn about OACHC's scholarship program visit: https://www.ohiochc.org/page/nhcw

How to Access CEU's on Your ohiochc.org Member Profile

In an effort to better inform our members, we are providing a step-by-step guide for how to access your CEU's (Continuing Education Units) in an OACHC member profile. Please reference back to this blog post as needed.

First step: Sign in at the top, right hand side of the page on https://www.ohiochc.org/

After you are signed in, select "My Profile"

Once you are in your member profile, in the upper right hand corner, select "Welcome, (YOUR NAME)". From the drop down menu, select "Account + Settings"- shown in highlight below.

From here, you will select "Professional Development" on the left hand side- shown in highlight below. 

Finally, you can toggle between "Certifications/ Programs" and "Journal Entries" to view or search for your CEU's!

We hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to events@ohiochc.org and we will be happy to assist you further. 

Be Sun Smart

 

Invest in Your Assets with Sunscreen!

    While we are in the midst of the dog days of summer, we would like to remind you to apply your sunscreen! July is UV awareness month. Don't forget to apply (and re-apply) sunscreen if you are going to be outdoors or near windows. Sunscreen and effective sun protection habits can protect you from painful burns in the short-term and skin cancers (the most common type of cancer in the U.S) in the long-term. UV Rays effect more than just the skin, here is a break down of what parts of your body are most affected and what you can do to prevent this:

Head: Sun hats, baseball caps, or scarves

Eyes: Sun glasses or other forms of eye protection

Skin: Sunscreen, SPF clothing, or umbrellas

Provided below is a helpful infographic on a guide to proper sunscreen usage:

Infographic Provided by American Academy of Dermatology Association

By taking the proper precautions, you can still enjoy the summer heat with family and friends. If you are having any problems after being in the sun, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider.

Additional Resources:

• Sun Safety Toolkit
• Sunscreen Guide
• Sunscreen Absorption-evaluated by FDA
• Sun Safety CDC 

Moving the Needle: Push is on to Get Vaccine to Medicaid Members

 

Getting the Vaccine to Medicaid Members

    

By Doreen Cutway
Marketing Communications
Paramount Advantage 

Recently, Gov. Mike DeWine laid down the challenge to all of Ohio’s Medicaid Managed Care Plans: Get more Medicaid members vaccinated. The gap between the vaccination rate of the general public and that of Medicaid recipients as of May 24 was unacceptable: 45% of Ohioans overall vs. just 24% of Medicaid members.

 Even though the vaccine is free to everyone, our Medicaid members face other barriers such as lack of transportation, inflexible work schedules and no ability to make appointments online. Having more Ohioans vaccinated is the key to returning to a pre-pandemic normal, so we’re working with partner providers and pharmacists to wipe out those barriers, one by one.

Providers offering on-the-spot vaccinations to patients who are in their offices for other reasons is very effective, but we heard from you that many providers can’t meet the necessary patient volume and also use valuable office space to observe the patients for 15 minutes as CDC guidelines dictate. It also is a challenge to adjust providers’ workflows to administer the vaccines. Our solution: Through Aug. 15, we’ll pay providers $100 per vaccination instead of the standard $38.

That should make it possible for providers to accommodate the extra work as well as the lower patient volume made necessary by the waiting period.

A working group consisting of representatives from Aetna, Buckeye Health Plan, CareSource, Molina Healthcare, Paramount Advantage and UnitedHealthcare meets regularly to iron out the details and logistics of this and other expanded vaccination efforts.

Of course, we couldn’t be successful without the work of our health care partners: the physicians who are altering their operations to offer those shots; the nurses who are staffing the many public vaccination events we’re planning; and the pharmacists who are making their stores another vaccination opportunity.

All of us in health care have important roles to play in spreading the vaccine and stopping the virus. We’re proud to harness the creativity and commitment of the health plans to meeting this unique challenge.

Never Fool Around with Fireworks!

July is National Fireworks Safety Month

The 4th of July weekend is upon us and we hope that you make it a safe one! While we are all anxious to celebrate with sparklers, bonfires, and even fireworks; we are here to remind you of the safety precautions that need to be taken. It is best to leave fireworks to the professionals and check your local listing to watch displays in your community. Please use extreme caution for yourself, family, and friends to have a safe and fun holiday weekend! 

National Fire Prevention Association Infographic:

Additional Firework Safety Resources

• Firework- Related Injuries and Deaths Spiked During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Fireworks Eye Injury Safety Quiz
• Firework Safety Video from CPSC
• National Fire Protection Association Fireworks Safety Tips