On July 11, the Danville Regional Foundation will release the Dan River Region’s first Health Equity Report. The report will display data on the Dan River Region’s health outcomes determined by access to physical, economic, and social opportunities. The Report will be unveiled accompanied by speaker Natalie S. Burke, President and CEO of CommonHealth ACTION. The Event, Why Place Matters: Unveiling the Dan River Region’s First Health Equity Report, will be presented by the Danville Regional Foundation Speaker Series in partnership with The Health Collaborative.

The Event will be held on July 11 at 7:30 AM at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.  The breakfast is free and open to the public. Register by visiting the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce at http://www.dpchamber.org/events/details/id/280/category/chamber-events/drf-speaker-series-unveiling-the-health- or by calling the Chamber at 434.836.6990.

IPHI’s HEAL Cities & Towns staff will take part in the Maryland Municipal League’s 2017 annual conference in Ocean City, MD, June 25-28^th. HEAL will exhibit at the conference and also provide a mobile learning experience that will teach conference attendees how to hold a walking meeting, present a session describing how healthy eating and active living policies and practices can promote senior health, host a reception for HEAL Cities and Towns representatives, and, along with the MML President, present awards and certificates to HEAL Cities and Towns to recognize their HEAL accomplishments.

Follow the HEAL Cities & Town’s Campaign on Twitter to receive updates from the conference. For more information on the MML and annual conference, visit the MML website.

 

On May 12, 2017 IPHI co-hosted a CHW forum with DC Primary Care Association. CHWs, stakeholders, and CHW employers in DC heard from several speakers about CHW sustainability in DC.

The meeting featured presentations by DCPCA on CHWs and the Affordable Care Act, a presentation by the Massachusetts Health Department on CHW Certification and on a new Health Home model called “My Health GPS” that integrates CHWs as part of certain clinical teams in DC. In addition, several DC-based CHWs provided first-hand accounts of how their meaningful work impact lives every day. These presentations and speakers all contributed to achieving the following 3 aims for the Forum:

• Build awareness of the impact of the potential changes to the ACA on DC Medicaid and Medicare patients.
• Reinforce the role of CHWs in facilitating access to care and effective utilization of care among Medicaid and Medicare patients.
• Identify potential policies and strategies to sustain CHWs within a transitioning care environment.

 

The Institute for Public Health Innovation and the Virginia Association of Health Plans are holding a meeting prior to the start of the Population Health Summit to discuss the role of the CHW in Virginia’s health systems. This breakfast meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 from 9AM – 11AM at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Discussion and presentations at this meeting will focus on the following objectives: Increase awareness and understanding about the role of the CHW; Identify benefits of CHWs to support population health in a transitioning health landscape; Learn from health care and hospital systems leading the effort to integrate CHW; and Discuss strategies to finance and sustain CHWs in health care settings.

Register here: 2017 Breakfast Meeting Registration

Registration for this event ends March 22, 2017.

The event is possible with funding from Community Foundation of Richmond, Danville Regional Foundation, PATH Foundation, Potomac Health Foundation, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Williamsburg Health Foundation, The National Network for Public Health Institutes, Consumer Health Foundation, and Community Foundation for the National Capital Region.

The Institute for Public Health Innovation, with support from the National Network of Public Health Institutes, will host a forum on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 from 8:30 AM-4:30 PM EST titled, “A Forum on Community Health Workers and Population Health in Virginia: A convening of leaders to discuss the progress of the CHW workforce to advance Virginia’s health, reduce cost, and improve quality” at the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

When effectively integrated into health and social service systems and teams, CHWs have been proven to improve health outcomes, reduce costs and enhance the quality of health services. This Forum convenes leaders that impact population health to strengthen efforts to integrate CHWs to improve access to care and health equity.

Sessions throughout the day will enable attendees to: Increase awareness and understanding about the role of the CHW; Learn about national opportunities and efforts to finance and grow the workforce; Reflect on the work of the CHW Advisory Group and CHW Association over the past year and identify a clear vision for next steps for CHW workforce development; Review best practices to involve community health workers in clinical and community-based practices.

Attendees will include community health workers and their beneficiaries, and representatives from the health care delivery, legislative and policy, research and academic, community-based, public health, and social service sectors.

Register here: 2017 Forum Registration

Registration for this event ends March 22, 2017.

 

The event is possible with funding from Community Foundation of Richmond, Danville Regional Foundation, PATH Foundation, Potomac Health Foundation, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Williamsburg Health Foundation, The National Network for Public Health Institutes, Consumer Health Foundation, and Community Foundation for the National Capital Region.

On January 30^th, IPHI hosted the first Community Health Worker (CHW) Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, VA. Thirty participants from around the state attended the event and met with 20 legislators or their staff. Using pre-scripted talking points, they spent 10-15 minutes talking about CHWs’ work and how critical they are to improving health care quality, improving health and eliminating health disparities, and reducing healthcare costs.

They also specifically asked for support for Senate Bill 1557, submitted by Senator George Barker, for the Virginia Department of Health to be recognized as a Working Group to move forward efforts including certifying CHWs, supporting policies, and increasing the sustainability of CHWs through payment systems for CHWs as a part of an integrated health care team. While the Bill ultimately didn’t pass, this was an extremely successful day and raised much needed awareness for CHWs and the important work they do. We hope next year’s event will be bigger and better!!

On Thursday, January 26th IPHI will hold an open meeting in Richmond, VA to discuss providing support for anticipated state legislation that would legalize syringe access in Virginia.

Syringe exchange and other syringe access and harm reduction programs help curb the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, and can serve as critical access points to health screening, drug treatment, overdose prevention, medical care and other support services for populations facing many health and safety risks. Growing attention to addiction and the surge in opioid overdose in Virginia and across the country may provide a new level of awareness that can finally enable legal support in Virginia.

The purpose of this meeting will be to identify a core group of organizations and individuals willing to assist in educating elected officials and to serve as a collective resource as we move forward toward implementation of syringe access.