SEARHC - President's Message

Update for January 23, 2010

Health reform (and IHCIA) on hold after the Massachusetts election. Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) may be stalled with the national debate on health reform. Earlier this week, Republican Scott Brown upset Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat held for 47 years by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. This election result has thrown the health reform legislation into a state of turmoil, and we are waiting to see what will happen. A health reform bill seemed to be just days away before the election, with only reconciliation needed between the House and Senate bills including the reauthorization of the IHCIA. But now there's a possibility that health reform may take a few steps back while Congress decides how to proceed. We could end up with a reconciliation bill similar to what has already passed, the bills could be scaled back, or the bills could be rewritten from scratch and reintroduced to Congress (and that might put reauthorization of the IHCIA back at risk). As you may remember, reauthorization of the IHCIA had passed the Senate in recent years and languished in the House during the election season. We will keep you updated on the events related to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Reauthorization.

Alexis Brandenburg, FNP, hired at Jessie Jim Health Center. We have hired Alexis Brandenburg as a family nurse practitioner and CHAP supervisor at the Jessie Norma Jim Health Center in Angoon. Alexis comes to SEARHC after 30 years of nursing in Montana. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Hyden, Ky., and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont. She is board-certified by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and has experience in critical care and emergency room nursing.

Dr. William Beutel, MD, MPH, hired in Sitka. Dr. William Beutel has joined the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital medical staff as a general surgeon. He earned his Medical Doctorate and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Illinois in Chicago. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., and a Master of Science degree in biology from Occidental College in Los Angeles. He is board-certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgeons and he comes to SEARHC after 23 years in private practice in the Charlotte, N.C., area.

Dr. L. Stewart Massad speaks to SEARHC staff about cervical cancer screening. Dr. L. Stewart Massad, current attending physician with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, gave a professional development lecture on Monday, Jan. 18, to 45 SEARHC staff from Sitka, Juneau, Klawock, Haines and Angoon. Dr. Massad's presentation was on "Understanding the New ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening." The presentation was sponsored by the SEARHC WISEWOMAN Women&aps;s Health Program and the Alaska Breast and Cervical Health Partnership. Dr. Massad is a well-known expert on cervical cancer screening and the presentation was timely since the new guidelines were released in December. By the way, January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and the SEARHC WISEWOMAN Women's Health Program has been running radio and newspaper ads about the link between secondhand smoke and an increased risk of cervical cancer for women.

Update to CCTHITA Executive Committee. On Thursday morning, we provided an update on our operations to the Executive Committee of the Central Council of Tlingít and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. We provided updated information on our joint efforts in suicide prevention, the addition of a Community Family Service Worker in Juneau, recent news on a site for the Hoonah Health Center, health reform and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and the 2010 Census. We appreciate the ongoing opportunity to provide operational update.

SEARHC Behavioral Health Prevention program honored by state. The SEARHC Behavioral Health Prevention program was recognized by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services for going above and beyond the project goals of its Comprehensive Behavioral Health Prevention and Early Intervention Services grant. The program was honored “for meeting or exceeding the Department’s expectations in demonstrating successful outcomes to Alaskans."

Haa Toowóo Náakw Hít offers group therapy. The SEARHC Haa Toowóo Náakw Hít outpatient behavioral health clinic in Sitka this week began offering group therapy for SEARHC clients. This week the clinic started offering an interpersonal process group and hopes to start an adult body image group in the next couple of weeks. A SEARHC provider or program should make referrals to the clinic, and then the clinic will contact the client for an intake assessment and group-screening interview. The clinic hopes to add more types of groups as needed, and is excited about this expanded opportunity to offer more diverse therapeutic possibilities so we can address the various needs and concerns of our clients. For more information, contact psychologist RD Boardman, PhD, at the clinic.

Ethel Lund Medical Center appointment reminder calls. The SEARHC Ethel Lund Medical Center, Juneau Behavioral Health Clinic and Front Street Clinic in December began using the automated TeleVox phone call system to remind patients of appointments. TeleVox is part of our contract with SCI Schedule Maximizer, the new scheduling system in Juneau that is part of the system transformation process. The new TeleVox system automates our reminder calls to be sure that all patients receive a reminder call, which helps to reduce our no-show rates. TeleVox has caused some confusion in households when more than one family member has an appointment on the same day. The system does not indicate the name of the patient because of confidentiality. For appointments made more than two weeks in advance, we are sending reminder letters that include the patient's name.

Injury Prevention visits elder homes in Haines, Klukwan. Jennifer Young of the SEARHC Injury Prevention program has been in Haines and Klukwan this past week doing home inspections for elders. She is looking for elder slip and fall hazards, and she's making sure homes have working smoke detectors. In recent months Jennifer has visited Klawock, Craig, Kake and Angoon, and she hopes to set up a visit for Hoonah in the near future.

SEARHC, other tribal groups, promote 2010 Census. SEARHC partnered with the Central Council of Tlingít and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA), Tlingít and Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to send out a press release this week encouraging our tribal members to participate in the 2010 Census. Counting starts in Noorvik, Alaska, the last week of January, and census workers are expected to be in Southeast Alaska communities in April. Many people in larger communities will receive a 10-question census form in the mail in mid-March. The census is important because many tribal programs receive federal funding that uses a funding formula that includes census population data. If our count isn't accurate we might not have enough funding to provide adequate services, if we receive funding at all. For more information, go to http://www.searhc.org/2010census/.

Revenue Cycle staff meets with patients over past-due notices. SEARHC Revenue Cycle Director, Joan Carr, has been using our Polycom videoconferencing system this week to talk with patients in Haines about their past-due notices. The patients seem to be appreciating this extra contact.

Flu Prevention reminder. Southeast Alaska residents can help prevent the spread of flu by washing their hands frequently with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (especially after coughing or sneezing). Other ways to prevent the spread of flu include coughing into sleeves or a tissue instead of coughing into hands, staying home from work or school when sick with flu-like symptoms (don't go back to work or school until at least one full day has passed without a fever, with no fever-reducing medication), and using sanitary wipes to wipe down high-traffic surfaces such as computer keyboards, stair railings, doorknobs, telephones and light switches.

Updated information on the flu can be found online at http://www.pandemicflu.alaska.gov (state site), or at http://www.flu.gov/ or http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ (national sites). SEARHC also has information posted about H1N1 flu at http://www.searhc.org/h1n1/. 

Just a reminder. . . SEARHC frequently brings in traveling medical specialists to hold specialty clinics at its various facilities, saving you the expense and inconvenience of flying to Anchorage or Seattle for services not available in Southeast. Some SEARHC medical providers who work at larger facilities make regular trips to our village clinics to provide specialty services that aren't normally available in those communities. All specialty clinics, except for medical field trips and specified dental clinics, must be referred through a SEARHC provider. Links to our upcoming specialty clinic schedules are at http://www.searhc.org/common/pages/specialtyclinics/index.php.

Regards,
Roald.

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