Sage Advice Newsletter - Summer 2023

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 09/01/2023 11:07 AM CDT

Sage Advice Newsletter

Summer 2023

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In this newsletter...

Update on Mobile Mammography Roundtable
Sage Webinar Series – September 27
Sage Office Hours – October 25
Gearing Up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
CDC Site Visit Recap
Sage Enrollment Form Reminder
What Sage Has Been Up To
Sage FAQs

Update on Mobile Mammography Roundtable

Introducing next steps & workgroups

On May 30, the Sage Program, American Cancer Society, and Masonic Cancer Center hosted a successful roundtable event to discuss ways to increase mobile mammography efforts across the state (for those of you who missed, you can watch a recording on the Sage Screening Program Video page). Since the roundtable, the planning committee has evaluated the suggestions from each of the breakout groups and has decided to create two different workgroups to continue efforts on the most prominent themes. We highly encourage you all to think about which group(s) you would like to join. The two workgroups will be:

Community Workgroup: This subgroup will focus on the community, including education and advocacy to various partners and building trust between medical providers and community members.

Health Care Workgroup: This subgroup will focus on health care providers, including new ideas for providers to work together and workforce development for the mammography field.

Please keep an eye out for a future email with more information. We hope you consider joining us in expanding this important work!

Sage Webinar Series – September 27

Join us for a breast health focused webinar

Join our September 27 Webinar from 12:10-1:00 pm on Breast Health to gear up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Sage will have a guest speaker discuss important breast health topics relevant to clinic staff and patients including most recent screening guidelines, what is breast cancer, how is it diagnosed, how is it treated, what is a mammogram, etc.

If you missed the June webinar on Cancer Screening Quality Improvement (CSQI), you can watch a recording on the Sage videos web page. The CSQI Program provides grant funding to primary care clinics to help support the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) that have been demonstrated to increase breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates within their clinic population.

Register for September Breast Health Webinar

Sage Office Hours – October 25

Join us for our quarterly office hours

Join our October 25 ‘Office Hours’ for a brief Sage Program overview and Q&A Time. Office Hours will be informal with a focus on the Sage Cancer Screening Programs Orientation Checklist and plenty of time for questions. The Sage Office Hours are intended for new clinic staff or clinic staff who need a refresher on the Sage Program.

Register for October Office Hours

Gearing Up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Upcoming Breast Cancer Awareness Month newsletter

Next month, Sage is releasing a special Breast Cancer Awareness Month edition of the newsletter. Keep an eye out! It will include a calendar of events, breast cancer resource toolkits, fact sheets, a survivor story, and information regarding the BCEA Annual Conference and AICAF’s Indigenous Pink Day!

CDC Site Visit Recap

Four CDC staff visit MDH Cancer Control Program

Last week (August 22-24), the MDH Comprehensive Cancer Program was visited by four CDC staff. Our Project Officer, Natalie Gilbert and her supervisor April Vance, as well as, Program Evaluator, Kristy Kenney and Data Manager, Bill Helsel, spent two and a half days with our staff, learning about Sage program specifics and spending time with our partners. Throughout the visit, MDH gave presentations on fiscal management, program data, the Minnesota cancer burden, and Sage service delivery among many others. Additionally, MDH staff coordinated a partner lunch and site visits to several local clinics/organizations. During the partner lunch, CDC staff were able to chat with other MDH Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division staff and several other partners. Also on Tuesday afternoon, April and Natalie traveled to the NorthPoint Clinic and the Lao Center to meet additional partners and tour the facilities. On Wednesday, MDH staff continued presentations before visiting Hennepin Health East Lake clinic where we were able to reconnect with clinic staff and hear updates regarding MDH’s Cancer Screening Quality Improvement work.

Thank you to all of our partners and clinic staff who joined us for lunch and coordinated site visits.

Sage Enrollment Form Reminder

Reviewing completion guidelines

Upon completion of the Sage Screening Program patient visit, the clinic must:

Ensure that individuals who are screened meet criteria for coverage with Sage.
Complete the Visit Summary portion of the Sage Enrollment Form on pg. 4
(Please ensure forms are filled out completely and accurately to prevent claim processing delays.)
Retain a copy of the Sage Enrollment Form.
Email or fax the original document to the Sage Screening Program within 2 weeks of the date of service.

Likewise, the results from imaging services, cervical services, and procedures must be turned in to Sage promptly. This step is essential to ensure Sage will pay for the women’s services and save women from receiving medical bills.

Please note, the Sage Screening Program will not accept forms later than 120 days after the date of the office visit/service.

What Sage Has Been Up To

Screening events and health fairs

Red Lake Community Health Day

Sage was proud to exhibit at the Red Lake Nation Community Health Day on July 28. The event had a great turnout, and included a Hike for Health, exhibit hall, community feast, youth games, and prizes. Staff spoke with roughly 100 individuals about the Sage Program, which is offered at the PHS Indian Hospital in Red Lake.

Bois Forte Screening Event & Wellness Day

The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa held a four-day mobile mammography event and wellness day for tribal members August 22-25 in Nett Lake and Tower. Essentia Health brought their mobile mammography unit and screened 70 women. Prizes were also given out at the screening event, thanks to contributions from the Breast Cancer Education Association (BCEA) and Bois Forte Tribal Clinics. The Wellness Day was coordinated by BCEA and Bois Forte Tribal Clinics, with funding from the Randy Shaver Cancer Research & Community Fund and Bois Forte. Sage was happy to assist partners during the mobile screening event and attend the wellness day.

MN State Fair Kare 11 Booth with the Breast Cancer Education Association

Sage had a wonderful time at the State Fair with the Breast Cancer Education Association. BCEA was lucky enough to have a table in the Kare 11 HealthFair 11 building. Volunteers from Sage and BCEA were able to connect with thousands of fair goers from August 27-29, offering freebies and information regarding mammogram screening guidelines and general breast education.

Many Faces Conference

The 18^th Annual Many Faces of Community Health Conference took place August 10-11 in Bloomington. The two-day event was filled with remarkable presentations from healthcare providers and public health professionals, including the MDH Commissioner Dr. Brook Cunningham. Sage exhibited at the conference, providing program information to important partners.