August 24, 2017
Sentinel Network findings from the spring survey include:
- Registered nurses and medical assistants were among occupations with exceptionally long vacancies in all regions of Washington.
- Rural employers reported difficulty recruiting multiple occupations.
- More training in the use of electronic health records and health information technology, as well as customer service skills, is needed in many settings.
- High turnover rates in behavioral/mental health facilities are increasing workforce demand.
Read the full announcement.
The Health Care Authority (HCA) is seeking provider participation in its annual value-based payment survey. The survey will assist HCA in tracking progress toward the statewide goal of paying for value-based care, rather than paying for volume of care. Further, this survey will provide valuable insight into the challenges providers face when considering adopting new payment arrangements and inform HCA’s efforts to support the provider community.
Read full announcement.
All
nine Accountable Communities of Health (ACH) submitted applications and data
sharing agreements for Phase 2 certification under Initiative 1 of the Medicaid
Transformation Demonstration. Phase 2 certification signifies that ACHs are
capable of serving as the regional leaders, and the single point of performance accountability for transformation projects.
The
applications are under review and will be posted to the HCA website in
September. Successful scores will earn each ACH up to $5 million to continue
designing and planning their regional health transformation efforts. The next
important milestone for ACHs will be in November, when their Project Plans are
due to the state.
To learn more, visit the Healthier Washington ACH web page.
Myers
& Stauffer will take on the role of independent assessor to review and
score ACH project plans, and assess ACH progress as they implement their
projects.
The
Athena Group LLC has
signed on as project manager to provide HCA staff with technical assistance and
subject matter expertise, and deliver project management tools and solutions
that support the achievement of project milestones.
To
learn more, visit the Healthier Washington Medicaid Transformation web page.
Stable housing puts recovery in reach
For Thomas May, depression robbed him of the will to live. It had already taken his home and his livelihood. Although he tried to get better, he became caught in a cycle of brief recovery and relapse. But by this point he was struggling with homelessness and substance use. He suffered through four suicide attempts.
Thomas says the key to getting his life back was getting access to housing. “Once I had that housing, my life changed. Then I could focus on my recovery,” Thomas said.
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