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Covering Indian Country – February 2019

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent this bulletin at 02/07/2019 06:48 PM EST

February 2019

Spotlight: ANTHC's Walk-in Clinic

Waiting in the emergency room to be seen for a cold or a sprained ankle can take a long time, and it can cost health care systems more than seeing patients in other settings. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) has come up with another option on the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) campus—a walk-in clinic.

The ANMC Walk-in Clinic has been open for 1 year, and the number of patients it sees continues to grow, said Cindy Wilson, ANTHC's director of multi-specialty clinics.

A woman talks to another woman sitting at a desk at the Alaska Native Medical Center.

The ANMC Walk-in Clinic serves patients with non-emergency health needs.

The Walk-in Clinic primarily serves patients who live in villages outside the Anchorage Service Unit, but who are visiting Anchorage. The clinic helps people who need immediate, non-emergency care for things like colds and coughs, sprains and strains, sinus and ear infections, and medication refills.

"I think the ANMC Walk-in Clinic is an excellent example of trying to keep health care costs down, as well as offering an alternative to utilizing the ER, in a more congenial atmosphere, which increases patient satisfaction. It also lowers the load on the emergency room."

— Cindy Wilson, RN, MPH, MSN; Director of Multi-Specialty Clinics, ANTHC

In its first year, the Walk-in Clinic saw almost 7,800 patients. Its clientele has steadily grown as more people hear from friends and family about what the clinic offers. A key benefit of the clinic is generally shorter wait times than the emergency room. Wilson said, on average, people wait 12 minutes to get into a room and another 12 minutes to see a provider. The average time from when a patient arrives to when they are discharged is 54 minutes. Wilson said the goal is to always keep that time under 60 minutes.

Patients at the Walk-in Clinic are covered by a variety of insurance and funding sources, including Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and Indian Health Service. The clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

February: Children's Dental Health

Share this ad in your newsletter or on your website. Other sizes are available on CMS's Outreach and Education Resources page.

Public service announcements

Share these informational audio clips and videos on your local radio station, website, and Facebook page.

Soundcloud Audio
English Lakota Navajo Ojibwe Yupik Zuni

Youtube Video
English Lakota Navajo Ojibwe Yupik Zuni

Tweet it

Keep your kid's smile healthy with #dental health options under Medicaid or CHIP.

Video

#Nativehealth

Flyers and fact sheets

Download these files or order copies of these resources on the Tribal Products Ordering Page. Please allow 2 weeks for your order to be completed.

My Health: Dental Care for Children (PDF, 952 KB, 2 pp) provides information to help parents stay a step ahead of their children's dental health.
My Health: Dental Care for Adults (PDF, 326 KB, 2 pp) runs through dental coverage options for adults and the importance of preventive dental visits for oral health.
The brochure, CHIP, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Health Insurance Marketplace at a Glance, (PDF, 999 KB, 2 pp) reviews health coverage options and benefits, including children's dental coverage under CHIP, specific to American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Additional resources

Showing our hearts some love

February is American Heart Month, an ideal time to show our hearts some love.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people. According to a recently published article in the Journal of Diabetes Research (PDF, 825 KB, 8 pages), the risk for heart disease in AI/AN populations is worsened by high rates of diabetes, obesity, and smoking.

Heart with an arrow through it.

Help reduce the risk for heart disease by sharing the following tips.

Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Drink more water and fewer sugary drinks, such as fruit juice, soda, and sweet tea.
Grill or bake food, rather than frying it, and go easy on the salt (PDF, 304 KB, 2 pp).
Have your blood pressure checked regularly.
Incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity into your routine on as many days as possible. (If needed, break those 30 minutes into 3 sessions of 10 minutes each.)
Enroll in a stop smoking program, which is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and plans purchased on the Health Insurance Marketplace.

The EveryONE Project: Advancing health equity for all

The EveryONE Project has released a comprehensive toolkit to address social determinants of health (SDOH). Aimed at family physicians, the toolkit is divided into three sections:

leadership to create a culture of health equity and a team-based approach,
assessment and action to identify needs and address challenges, and
community collaboration and advocacy to address causes of health inequities.

Advancing health equity through family medicine:
(1) practice leadership for health equity
(2) assessment and action
(3) community collaboration and advocacy

Toolkit users will have access to resources such as a neighborhood navigator to identify local social services and a social needs patient action plan (PDF, 230 KB, 2 pp).

Increasing AI/AN representation in health professions

Mentoring, support programs, and culturally appropriate recruitment efforts are needed to increase American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) representation in health professions.

According to the most recent data available from the Campaign for Action, the number of new AI/AN registered nurses declined between 2013 and 2017.

And there was no significant growth in the number of AI/AN people applying to or entering medical school from 2006–2018, according to the comprehensive report, Reshaping the Journey: American Indians and Alaska Natives in Medicine (PDF, 4.8 MB, 78 pp) from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIC).

Cover page from the report titled Reshaping the Journey: American Indians and Alaska Natives in Medicine.

Through the report, the AAMC and AAIC recommend strategies to create a health care workforce that is more inclusive of Native voices and that is better prepared to address health disparities. The report urges medical schools and teaching hospitals to step up their efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate qualified AI/AN students. It also showcases medical schools that have successfully increased their AI/AN student populations and integrated AI/AN-focused programs.

"Native Voices" exhibit available online

Check out the National Library of Medicine's online exhibit, "Native Voices: Native Peoples' Concepts of Health and Illness," which highlights a diverse array of health-related perspectives and practices among American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

Watch video interviews with health professionals, community leaders, and traditional healers working to improve Native people's health.
Click through an interactive timeline that focuses on tribal communities' health before and after colonization.
Access additional resources geared toward Native students considering health science careers and health professionals interested in working with Native communities.

National Tribal Public Health Summit: Call for proposals and award nominations

Proposal submission deadline: February 11, 2019

Award nominations deadline: February 15, 2019

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is requesting proposals for its 10th annual National Tribal Public Health Summit, to be held May 13–15, 2019, in Albuquerque, NM. View the proposal details.

NIHB also invites nominations for 3 Native Public Health Innovation Awards, which will be presented at the summit. View the award nomination criteria.

Calendar of Events

12th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Summit

February 26–27, 2019

Washington, DC

This Medicaid Managed Care Summit will address challenges that many managed care and state Medicaid programs face today. Topics include dual eligibility, social determinants of health, managed care contracting, risk adjustment, value-based purchasing, fraud, and the opioid epidemic. Attend in person or online through the live webcast.

CMS ITU Outreach and Education Training

February 27–28, 2019

San Diego, CA

The target audience for this CMS ITU training is business office staff, benefits coordinators, patient registration staff, medical records staff, and purchased/referred care services staff. Topics include CMS Tribal Affairs updates, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, state-administered programs, Social Security, and Veterans Affairs.

Upcoming ITU Outreach and Education Trainings:

March 12 in Gallup, NM
March 20 in Denver, CO
April 3 in Seattle, WA
April 23 in Albuquerque, NM
May 14 in Tulsa, OK
May 14 in Kansas City, MO
May 30 in Bemidji, MN
June 4 in Sacramento, CA
June 18 in Billings, MT
August 14 in Norwich, CT

Circle of Harmony HIV/AIDS Wellness Conference

March 26–28, 2019

Albuquerque, NM

Sponsored by the Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board, this 14th annual conference addresses issues related to prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among Native Americans.

American Indian Disability Summit

March 29, 2019

Phoenix, AZ

The 15th annual American Indian Disability Summit provides interaction, networking, education, and support for American Indians with disabilities and their families in rural and urban tribal communities. The summit will be held at the Desert Willow Conference Center.

NICWA Protecting Our Children Conference

March 31–April 3, 2019

Albuquerque, NM

The National Indian Child Welfare Act (NICWA) Conference focuses on Native child advocacy issues. The intended audience for this conference includes child social service providers; legal professionals; advocates for children; and tribal, state, and federal leaders.

Tribal Public Health Conference 2019

April 9–11, 2019

Tulsa, OK

The Southern Plains Tribal Health Board and the 7th Generation Conference are hosting the Tribal Public Health Conference with the theme, "Strength In Community, Power In Connection." Tribal elders, tribal partners, health care providers and administrators, and public health professionals from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas are encouraged to attend.

7th Annual CRCAIH Summit

April 30, 2019

Sioux Falls, SD

This year's Collaborative Research Center for American Indian Health (CRCAIH) Summit will focus on youth. Its theme is, "Nurturing the Future of Native Youth Through Research." The intended audience includes health researchers, tribal leadership, health care providers, and social services workers.

NIHB's 10th Annual National Tribal Public Health Summit

May 13–15, 2019

Albuquerque, NM

Sponsored by the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), the Tribal Public Health Summit attracts

public health professionals, elected leaders, advocates, researchers, and community-based service providers.

2019 AI/AN National Behavioral Health Conference

May 15–17, 2019

Albuquerque, NM

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is hosting the American Indian and Alaska Native National Behavioral Health Conference with the theme, "Preserving Wisdom, Promoting Innovation." The intended audience includes behavioral health experts, public health professionals, federal employees, advocates, researchers, and community-based providers.

Contact Us

Do you have news to share? Send it to coveringic@kauffmaninc.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.

About the Newsletter

Covering Indian Country is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Tribal Affairs to share resources, success stories, and best practices with the people who connect tribal communities to health coverage.

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