Mo HealthNet Monthly-March Edition

Happy March, everyone!

Daylight saving time is March 12th and it is my least favorite holiday because we lose an hour of sleep. But, I do like looking forward to the Spring weather and the trees and plants coming to life.

March is also Engage 2.0 time, so if you’re a supervisor, you need to complete the Engage 2.0’s. I know it seems like we should have all month, but the deadline is really March 23rd. Let’s try to have all of ours done by March 17th.

Here is a link to MO CRED. It is a new “digital badging” opportunity. Check it out!

Did you know? There are just over 70,000 enrolled providers with MHD. By far, the largest category is physician, with about 28,000. One of our newest enrolled provider types is chiropractor, and we have 406 enrolled now.

I want to thank many of you for joining on the WebEx highlighting our efforts around Maternal Health! We have a lot of good efforts underway and as we make progress, we’ll hold another WebEx to update you.

Don’t forget that you can go to the intranet and sign up for the Medicaid 101 series, too. It’s about time for us to survey everyone and see what topics you’d like for the next series. Be thinking about that! Upcoming Training - MHD (mo.gov). You can also sign up for BIS-EDW and other trainings at this link.

Do you know where the safety policies are? They’re on the intranet as well at this link.

Did you know? March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. On this day we remember victims of the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa in 1960. 

Many of us know the saying about March- “In like a lion, out like a lamb.”  Where does that come from? I am not sure anyone knows for sure. It showed up in a book by Thomas Fuller in 1732.  Some believe it’s because of the stars (Leo and Aries.)  But Aries is a ram, so I don’t know about that. Some believe it’s biblical in nature as the New Testament uses the term Lion of Judah to represent Jesus. Regardless, let’s hope for a pleasant month! (But review those safety procedures for bad weather- just in case.)

Thank you for all you do every day, and don’t forget: “Together we will build a best-in-class Medicaid program that addresses the needs of Missouri’s most vulnerable in a way that is financially sustainable."

                                                                                                     -Jessie

The following is a shout out to Elizabeth Sissom in Pharmacy from DHSS regarding her presentation at the School Health Nurse Conference on February 27th. 

"Josh, thank you so much for supporting Elizabeth’s presentation at the Coordinated School Health Conference yesterday.  Elizabeth, thank you for taking to time to prepare the presentation and you did such a great job of presenting and engaging the audience.  There were a little over 40 participants. With 200 attendees that is a great percentage of folks interested in SMART therapy. And it was end of day!! I will continue to see that information is shared with school nurses across the state. Thanks again for your great presentation Elizabeth." Awesome work, Elizabeth!

The following is a shout out to Roxanna Halderman in Clinical Services from Ms. Shannon Simmons with United Health Care Provider Operations. 

"Ms. Halderman has provided me with invaluable insight, saving me from countless hours of painstaking research on several occasions.  Ms. Halderman has been an amazing liaison for me, by not only teaching me how to navigate around your website to find information on my own, when that failed, she has proven herself to be a wealth of knowledge.  She has been a saving grace for me in my new role and has helped me ensure that we are able to compliantly meet the needs of your providers and get them paid in an accurate and more timely manner.  I know that translates into both of our companies serving your membership better down the road, which is the ultimate goal." Keep up the great work, Roxanna!

Meet Stacey Hale.

Stacey is a Benefit Program Senior Specialist in the Constituent Services Unit for the last 9 months, but with DSS for a total of 5 years. In her unit Stacey handles address changes in MEDES and FAMIS and State Fair Hearings for Participants. Stacey's favorite thing about working with MHD are the wonderful people and environment. "The environment is laid back and relaxed which to me are conductive to production. My team is also filled with helpful, great people that will go out of their way to help and to make work fun. My direct supervisors are big inspirations as they are always positive and supportive. Also, the ability to move up with MHD is an inspiration. My biggest accomplishment would be gaining the appreciation of my team, along with receiving the Professional Leadership Development Award. For the PLDA I took advantage of an Effective Communicator Conference hosted by Manager Tools. This helped me understand the difference between communication styles and help effectively communicate with all the different communication styles." "MHD's Leadership Team is filled with professional, relaxed, expectant, helpful, respectful, and appreciative people. I believe this is why MHD is such an excellent place to work and such extraordinary people to work with."  

William (Bill) Lehman started in the Constituent Services Unit as the State Fair Hearings Liaison. Bill comes to MHD from MMAC, he also worked at FSD for a number of years. We are very pleased he has joined our team.    Bill is originally from Los Angeles, CA but currently lives in Holts Summit with his blue heeler, Sapphire. His hobbies include music and yard work. Soon he will be moving his daughter into College of the Ozarks. 

Welcome to MHD, Bill!

Jamie Angel joins us at MHD as a Benefit Program Senior Specialist in the Information Services Unit. She previously worked for the City of California, where she resides with her husband of 8 years, Erick, and their two children Lennox (4) and Apollo (18 months.) Jamie has her Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Business Administration. She loves to read and tries reading at least 50 books per year! A fun fact about Jamie is her birthday is on St. Patrick's Day.

Welcome to MHD, Jamie!

St. Patrick's Day Facts

• The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in America.
• It wasn't until 1798 that the color green became officially associated with St. Patrick's Day, it was previously blue.
• The New York City St. Patrick's Day parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.
• Chicago began its annual tradition of turning the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day in 1962. They use over 40 pounds of green vegetable dye.

Read more fun facts and trivia here.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 drop green gel food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

For Garnish:

• Whipped cream 
• 1 tablespoon green sprinkles
• 2 maraschino cherries

Instructions

• In a blender, combine vanilla ice cream, milk, and food coloring. Blend until smooth.

• Pour the milkshake mixture evenly between two glasses.
• Top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry. Straws encouraged but not required.