Hawaii Primary Care Association

TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITIES IN NEED BY ADVOCATING FOR, EXPANDING ACCESS TO, AND SUSTAINING HIGH QUALITY CARE THROUGH THE STATEWIDE NETWORK OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS.

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE - THE OBJECTIVE OF THE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TTA) COMPONENT OF THE HPCA IS TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT, TIMELY, AND RELEVANT SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS (CHC) IN THEIR ONGOING EFFORTS TO ATTAIN EXCELLENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR HEALTHCARE DELIVERY SYSTEM. TO KEEP HPCA'S TTA SUPPORT RELEVANT, WE STRIVE TO CONDUCT TTA ASSESSMENTS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS WITH ALL MEMBER CHCS. THE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS ARE USED TO REVISE THE HPCA'S TTA WORKPLAN TO ASSURE THAT TTA SERVICES PROVIDED ARE ALIGNED WITH CHCS NEEDS AND REMAIN RELEVANT. TTA ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE MEASURED AND TRACKED IN TWO MAIN WAYS: (1) THROUGH DATA COLLECTED BY THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION'S (HRSA) UNIFORM DATA SYSTEM (UDS), AND (2) BY EVALUATION PROCESSES EMBEDDED INTO OUR WORKPLAN ACTIVITIES. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE HPCA'S TTA EFFORTS. ALTHOUGH THESE COUNTS CROSS OVER INTO THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, IT PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF THE NUMBER OF TTA EVENTS AND INTERACTIONS HPCA STAFF HAVE PROJECT MANAGED. - 107 TTA SESSIONS - 963 CHC STAFF PARTICIPATED IN HPCA SPONSORED TRAININGS - 270 CHC STAFF RECEIVED DIRECT SUPPORT - 256 HPCA ACADEMY USERS, RECEIVING 134 HOURS OF ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING - RESTARTED PEER LEARNING TEAMS

COMMUNICATIONS AND POLICY- THE OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AND POLICY COMPONENT OF THE HAWAII PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION (HPCA) IS DEMONSTRATING THE VALUE OF HAWAII'S COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS (CHC) AND THE HPCA IN IMPROVING HEALTH EQUITY FOR HAWAII'S VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND BRINGING TO LIGHT THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL FACTORS ON INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH. A MAJOR STRATEGY WE CONTINUE TO EMPLOY TO THIS END IS THE FOSTERING AND SUSTAINING OF STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH HEALTHCARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH STAKEHOLDERS EXTERNAL TO MEMBERSHIP. WE ARE CONSISTENTLY AND INTENTIONALLY INVESTING TIME AND EFFORT TO SOLIDIFY AND STRENGTHEN OUR SUCCESS IN THIS AREA. THE FOLLOWING ARE MAJOR PARTNERSHIPS HPCA HAS SUCCESSFULLY NURTURED AND STRENGTHENED DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - SCHOOL HEALTH - PEDIATRIC BEHAVIORAL HEALTH - CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION - COMMUNICABLE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - SCHOOL HEALTH HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES - MEDICAID PROGRAMMING JOHN A. BURNS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE - GERIATRIC WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM HAWAII HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE - DATA INTEROPERABILITY AZARA - POPULATION HEALTH TOOLS ALASKA PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION - WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ALOHACARE - CLINICAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT CANCER RESEARCH CENTER OF HAWAII - CANCER RESEARCH AND PREVENTION NATIONAL ACADEMY OF CHRONIC DISEASE DIRECTORS/CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION - NATIONAL DIABETES PREVENTION PROGRAM

SPECIAL PROJECTS - MAUI COUNTY CHC MEDIA CAMPAIGN: DURING THE EARLY AND MORE RECENT SURGES OF THE COVID PANDEMIC, THE MAUI COUNTY CHCS (MALAMA IKE OLA, HANA HEALTH, MOLOKAI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, AND LANAI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER) FELT IT WAS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO LET THEIR COMMUNITIES KNOW THAT THEY WERE ALL STILL FULLY OPERATIONAL AND CONTINUING TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL, DENTAL, BEHAVIORAL, DRUG, VISION, AND OTHER SERVICES TO OVER 18,000 MAUI COUNTY RESIDENTS. THEY WANTED TO ASSURE THEIR COMMUNITIES THAT THEY WERE ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE COVID CRISIS, AND SERVED ANYONE WHETHER THE PERSON HAD PRIVATE INSURANCE, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, OR NO INSURANCE AT ALL. THE MAUI COUNTY CHCS TURNED TO THE HPCA FOR EXPERTISE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO LAUNCH THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN THROUGH A COMBINATION OF COMMUNICATION OUTLETS. THIS PROJECT WAS PAUSED DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE OF THE WANING OF THE MORE RECENT OUTBREAKS. WELLNESS CHALLENGE: CHC AND HPCA STAFF WERE DEALING WITH SIGNIFICANT BURN-OUT AND STRESS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. THIS PROMPTED US TO PARTNER WITH A LOCAL HEALTH INSURER TO SPONSOR A WELLNESS CHALLENGE FOR ANY CHC AND STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IN. WE ENDED UP WITH 119 PARTICIPANTS, MAKING UP 15 TEAMS, FROM A TOTAL OF FIVE CHCS AND THE HPCA. THE AIM WAS FOR TEAMS TO WALK TO FIVE BLUE ZONE CITIES COLLECTIVELY AND VIRTUALLY IN FIVE COUNTRIES OKINAWA, JAPAN, SARDINIA, ITALY, NICOYA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA, LOMA LINDA, UNITED STATES, AND IKARIA ISLAND, GREECE. THE ACTIVITY WAS WELL RECEIVED AND APPRECIATED BY THE TEAMS/PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPETED IN THE CHALLENGE. NATIONAL POLICY ADVISOR: THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO RETAIN STRATEGIC EXPERTISE TO ADVANCE THE ABILITY OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS (CHC) AND PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATIONS (PCA) TO NAVIGATE A RAPIDLY CHANGING AND COMPLEX POLICY AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT. BY WORKING COLLECTIVELY TO RETAIN THIS CAPACITY, IT WAS THE INTENTION OF PCAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO SUPPLEMENT EFFORTS WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS (NACHC) CAPACITY IN THESE CORE AREAS. THIS PROJECT IS INTENDED TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM OVERALL AND TO MAINTAIN A COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO THESE RESOURCES TO PREVENT SPLINTERING AMONG THE STATES AND REGIONS. HPCA WILL CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT IN 2024. LEGAL CONSULTATION: IN LATE 2021, THE HPCA, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HAWAII'S MEDICAID MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATIONS (MCO) AND THE MEDQUEST DIVISION, LAUNCHED A SERIES OF MEETINGS AIMED AT EDUCATING EACH OTHER ON THE PROJECTS EACH ORGANIZATION WAS UNDERTAKING AND EXPLORING AREAS FOR COLLABORATION. THE MEETINGS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT 2022 AND INTO 2023. GIVEN THE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING, THE GROUP FELT IT IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A SET OF GUIDELINES/GUARDRAILS FOR THE MEETING ATTENDEES TO FOLLOW. AS SUCH, WE ENGAGED WITH OUR ATTORNEY TO CREATE THE SET OF GUIDELINES THAT WAS USED IN ALL SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.CHC COMPENSATION & BENEFITS SURVEY: HAWAII'S CHCS ARE CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED WITH WORKFORCE SHORTAGES AND COMPETITION FROM OTHER ENTITIES WITHIN AND OUTSIDE OF THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR. THE PANDEMIC SERVED TO WORSEN THE ALREADY TENUOUS WORKFORCE SITUATION FOR CHCS. TO ASSIST THE CHCS IN THEIR QUEST TO SHORE UP THEIR WORKFORCE AND REMAIN COMPETITIVE, WE ENGAGED WITH THE THIRD PARTY HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT A HAWAII-SPECIFIC CHC COMPENSATION AND BENEFIT SURVEY. THE AGGREGATED, DE-IDENTIFIED RESULTS OF THE SURVEY WERE SHARED WITH THE PARTICIPATING CHCS AS A TOOL IN ASSESSING THEIR SALARY RANGES AND MAKING THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE. WE PLAN TO REDO THE SURVEY SOON.