Archives for October 2021
Complex Care Management
Complex Care Management
Follow along for our ongoing Complex Care Management project updates.
MOST RECENT UPDATES
Over the next several months, the clinical and population health teams will work with our consulting team. Health Management Associates was hired to create a program for HealthPoint patients. They will offer additional support to clinical teams, when they see fit. Health Management Associates will help ensure our patients receive the care that meets their specific health needs. This program will begin at the BCS, Hearne, and Caldwell clinics for now. Then, by the middle of 2022, expansion to other clinics will begin.
Our goal: Create a care management team that will provide further focused care for HealthPoint patients. Specifically those with complex chronic conditions, thus supporting their continued well-being.
- Time of clinic impact: January 2022
- Affected Clinics: Caldwell, Hearne, and BCS will be initial pilot sites. Eventually, HealthPoint plans to expand this program to all clinics.
What is Complex Care Management?
Above all, Complex Care Management (CCM) effectively assists patients and their caregivers. It helps to manage medical conditions and co-occurring psychosocial factors. CCM will be deployed to patients with serious medical needs. Specifically those who often experience a high number of hospitalizations or emergency room visits. The goal of CCM is to improve the patient’s health status and reduce the need for hospital care.
Be sure to check out more content from our friends at the Center for Excellence in Primary Care.
Diabetic Retinal Screening
Diabetic Retinal Screening
MOST RECENT UPDATE
Since you were here last, we have updates on our Diabetic Retinal Screening Project:
Finally, the wait is over! By mid-December, the BCS, Madisonville, Caldwell, and Navasota Clinics will receive retinal screening cameras. Soon, staff will screen diabetic patients for diabetic retinopathy with these newly installed cameras. Before this rollout, Chief Operations Officer, Cas Perez, and the project management team are working with managers to coordinate delivery, installation, and training. Final dates TBD. STAY TUNED!
Original Project Outline
Our goal: Develop a process for diabetic HealthPoint patients to receive retinal scans to screen for diabetic retinopathy. Screening for diabetic retinopathy is a common practice. In fact, providers can screen patients with a handheld or desktop camera. With this in mind, retinal cameras were purchased and allocated to clinics where patients will soon get screened during their visit.
- Time of clinic impact: December 2021
- Affected Clinics: BCS, Navasota, Madisonville, and Caldwell
Here are a few symptoms to look for from our friends at Mayo Clinic
Symptoms
To begin with, you might not have symptoms in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy. Then, as the condition progresses, you might develop:
- Spots or dark strings floating in your vision (floaters)
- Blurred vision
- Fluctuating vision
- Dark or empty areas in your vision
- Finally, Vision loss
Health Information Exchange
Health Information Exchange (HIE)
A Partnership with Greater Houston HealthConnect
In short, our goal was to provide greater continuity of care for our patients who may not exclusively come to HealthPoint clinics. For this reason, HealthPoint has joined the Greater Houston Healthconnect (GHHC) Health Information Exchange (HIE). This will allow our organization to access medication records of participating healthcare facilities in their network, like CHI St. Joseph. Of course, the patient must first consented to participate in the program.
Original Goals:
- Time of clinic impact: 9/27/2021 (front desk consent process)
- Affected Clinics: All Sites
MOST RECENT UPDATE: Health Information Exchange
Front Desk Consent
The HIE program through Greater Houston HealthConnect rolled out at the end of September. This project focused on the front-end process of getting patient consent for enrolling in the information exchange, which allows our organization to access the medical records of enrolled patients seen at participating healthcare facilities, like CHI. However, when this program launched, many of our front desk teams ran into problems with eCW logging them out when they attempted to enroll patients. Our Support and Development team has been working to get these issues resolved so we can resume patient enrollment as quickly as possible.
Back to all projects.
Texas A&M Partnership – TEACH Grant
TEACH Behavioral Health Partnership
TEACH grant partnership is a game changer increasing mental health care access for the youth of the Brazos Valley.
MOST RECENT UPDATE:
At the beginning of October, the Behavioral Health team launched a new counseling program. Teams at our ABC and Memorial Clinics have likely already met our student counselors with the Texas A&M Behavioral Health TEACH program. These counselors are available to help both sites offer additional counseling services to patients of any age. As a result, staff can help facilitate this care with a warm hand-off from any team member. The patients will then have the option to schedule appointments with the student counselors if the counselor sees fit.
Original Article
Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center-Telebehavioral Care has been awarded a $1.6Milion grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to help expand mental health services for children in the Brazos Valley. This 4-year Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Grant represents the beginning of an ongoing partnership. It allocates trainees to embed at for the most part at ABC and Memorial clinics. In fact HealthPoint will be one of 3 partner organizations with training psychologists in integrated behavioral health care and tele-behavioral care.
Each site will have two part-time psychology trainees available for either a morning or afternoon shift. The psychology trainees will function as informal coordinators in patient triage, including:
- Treat with brief interventions
- Refer the patient for counseling to a HealthPoint behavioral health provider
- Consulting directly with the Primary Care Provider (PCP)
- Coordinating with the HealthPoint Behavioral Health Service Coordinator on helping the patient find outside referrals
If circumstances warrant, the trainee could then see the patient at no cost to the patient or HealthPoint. In addition, through a video call, they could provide consultation to the PCP for any of HealthPoint’s other 12 outlying clinics. Indeed, this is a much-needed service for patients at HealthPoint. “Having worked for 24 years as a practicing pediatric psychologist, I understand the utility of how behavioral health can help children and adolescents. About 50% of problems confronting pediatricians and family practitioners involve behavior, development, and learning. Psychologists are in a great position to be helpful with these kinds of referrals,” said HealthPoint Director of Behavioral Health, William Rae, Ph.D. E
What does TEACH stand for?
Telehealth for the Expansion of Adolescent and Child Healthcare
Who are the TEACH grant mental health trainees?
Meet the four advanced psychology doctoral students who as a result of this grant will be bringing their expertise to provide integrated behavioral health care and consultation to PCPs at HealthPoint. To begin with, they will office out of the Memorial and ABC clinics. Our goal is to eventually expand services to the BCS clinic and other HealthPoint clinics in 2022.
Katie Console is a fifth-year student in the Counseling Doctoral program at Texas A&M University. She grew up in Louisiana and is bilingual in English and Spanish. She hopes to work as a psychologist in an interdisciplinary medical setting one day. Lastly, Katie has two cats and loves to cook.
Abby Sharer is a fourth-year student in Texas A&M’s Counseling Psychology program. She speaks English and Spanish and hopes to work as a bilingual psychologist after graduation. Finally, Abby enjoys working out, reading, and spending time with her one-eyed cat named Willow.
Kaylee Jackson is a fourth-year student in the Counseling Psychology program at Texas A&M. She is a native Texan and Aggie football fan. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and watching movies with her partner and three dogs. Also, Kaylee hopes to work in integrated behavioral healthcare settings after graduation.
Sherine Presley is a fourth-year School Psychology doctoral student at Texas A&M University. She is a native Floridian who enjoys going to the beach and practicing yoga. Sherine would like to work with children and families within an academic medical center.
Together with the rest HealthPoint Team, please welcome Katie, Abby, Kaylee, and Sherine!
Book an appointment with your PCP to request a referral today!
Project Management Team
HealthPoint’s Ongoing Projects
HealthPoint has a continued dedication to providing the best care in the Brazos Valley. For this reason, we constantly look for ways to improve. Our goal is to be the best place for patients to receive care, the best place for providers to practice medicine, and the best place for employees to work. While some of our ongoing projects are patient-facing. Others focus on things like streamlining workflows to increase efficiency. And a renewed focus on employee health, well-being, and retention have led our Senior Leadership Team to dedicate resources to target burnout specifically. You can check out what we are currently working on below, then click on the project title for more information:
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H8F Grant
Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) was awarded more than $6 billion from the American Rescue Plan to fund Community Health Centers nationwide. Soon thereafter, Community Health Centers were given 60 days to develop a plan to utilize these funds. The plans needed to support activities designed to respond to and eventually recover from the global pandemic. Because of this funding, HealthPoint will have the opportunity to expand operational capacity and improve our processes over the next two years.
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Projects funded by the H8F Grant include (but are not limited to):
- Health Information Exchange (HIE)
- Diabetic Retinal Screening Software Integration
- Telehealth Partnership with Caldwell ISD
- Complex Care Management Program
- Updated phone systems
- AccuVax
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Health Information Exchange (HIE) with Greater Houston HealthConnect
Our goal: HealthPoint has joined the Greater Houston Healthconnect (GHHC) Health Information Exchange (HIE), which allows our organization to access the medical records of participating healthcare facilities, like CHI St. Joseph. Provided that the patient first consented to participate in the program.
UPDATE: We have successfully launched this at BCS and have gotten patients enrolled with no errors from the interface. S&D and the Training Team will determine a rollout schedule to other sites.
- Time of clinic impact: 9/27/2021 (front desk consent process)
- Affected Clinics: All Sites
- 12/21 Update: When this program launched, many of our front desk teams ran into problems with eCW logging them out when they attempted to enroll patients. Our IT team is working hard to get these issues resolved so that we can resume patient enrollment as quickly as possible.
then we have up is Diabetic retinal screening.
Diabetic Retinal Screening
Our goal: The overall goal of this project is to develop a process where HealthPoint patients who are diagnosed with diabetes can receive retinal scans to screen for diabetic retinopathy. Screening for diabetic retinopathy is a common practice. In fact, providers can do it with a handheld or desktop camera. With this in mind, retinal cameras were purchased and allocated to clinics where patients will soon get screened during their visit.
UPDATE: We have scheduled the training for Navasota and Caldwell for the beginning of February and once that is complete, all staff will be trained at the pilot sites. Medical records has received training on how to receive and attach the incoming reports so that providers can receive the results in a timely manner.
Install and training will be launching in December:
- BCS Training: 12/15-16/2021
- Caldwell Training: 12/17/2021
- Navasota Training: 12/14/2021
- Time of clinic impact: December 2021
- Affected Clinics: BCS, Navasota, and Caldwell
- Madisonville has been removed from this list for the time being
- 12/21 Update: By mid-December, the BCS, Caldwell, and Navasota clinics will be receiving retinal screening cameras that will be used to assess diabetic patients to screen for diabetic retinopathy. The BCS clinic will be getting two of these cameras since they have a larger diabetic patient population.
Soon we will be in Caldwell!
Caldwell ISD Telehealth
Our goal: This new telehealth program will allow Caldwell ISD students to see a HealthPoint provider without leaving school. Moreover, parents would have the option to attend the appointment virtually. Thus they would not have to leave work.
UPDATE: Phased rollout will begin at Caldwell Intermediate School on February 7th. Expansion timelines will be determined at a later date but we are hopeful for a mid-march go-live at the next site in March.
- Time of clinic impact: N/A
- Time of Rollout to CISD: December 2021
- Affected Clinics: N/A
- 12/21 Update: Phased rollout will begin at Caldwell Elementary in January 2022 and soon expand to the other campuses.
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Complex Care Management
Our goal: Create a care management team that will provide further focused care for HealthPoint patients. Specifically those with complex chronic conditions, thus supporting their continued well-being.
UPDATE: Over the next several months, clinical and population health teams will work with hired consultants, Health Management Associates. Together they will create a complex care management program for HealthPoint patients.
- Time of clinic impact: January 2022
- Affected Clinics: Caldwell, Hearne, and BCS will be initial pilot sites. Eventually, HealthPoint plans to expand this program to all clinics.
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Call Queues
UPDATE: The IT team is making their way to each clinic site to train and install the new call queue system through the front desk Mitel phone system. This new system will allow patients to be placed on a queue that the front desk team can manage. The goal is to make incoming calls easier to manage for front desk teams, and act as a “call center” type of system.
Our goal: The goal is to make incoming calls easier to manage for front desk teams, and act as a “call center” type of system.
- The IT team will be making their way to each clinic site to train and install the new call queue system through the front desk Mitel phone system. This new system will allow patients to be placed on a queue that the front desk team can then manage.
- First clinic install date is 12/9/2021 at Bryan Dental
This project together with the next one are going well!
AccuVax
Our goal: Better manage vaccine inventory and reduce workload for clinical staff.
UPDATE: All clinic sites have received their Accuvax units and trainings have been completed for Accuvax superusers and admin users as of 1/27.
The new automated vaccine storage/inventory management system, AccuVax, will be rolling out starting November 1st. By the end of November, every clinic will have these units delivered and installed, and all staff members will have received training from either Ruth, Jackie, or our AccuVax contact, Joe Ellis. Onsite vaccine coordinators and clinic managers have been sent additional information on a separate online training session to learn how to use the web portal version of the AccuVax system.
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- Final training date: 11/30/2021 with Madisonville team
- Final web portal training date: 12/01/2021 (For onsite vaccine coordinators and clinic managers only)
- 12/21 Update: Memorial, ABC, BCS, and Trinity have received their new AccuVax units and have gone through training to begin using them. Unfortunately, there were shipping delays with the on units for the remaining clinic sites (Caldwell, Somerville, Hempstead, Navasota, Franklin, Hearne, Rockdale, Centerville, and Madisonville). An updated rollout schedule will be sent to clinic managers as soon as we receive shipping notice. Onsite vaccine coordinators and clinic managers will participate in an online training session to learn how to use the web portal version of the AccuVax system upon arrival.
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Additional Ongoing HealthPoint Projects
In addition to the projects funded under the HRSA H8F grant, HealthPoint has partnered with Texas A&M and others to expand our capacity further and improve the patient experience.
Specifically, those include:
- Texas A&M TEACH Program
- Nurse-Family Partnership Program
Nevertheless, moving on
Texas A&M TEACH Program
Our goal: This new program will allow Texas A&M psychology students to provide immediate, onsite behavioral health counseling services to our patients.
UPDATE: The program is in place at Memorial and ABC currently.
- Time of clinic impact: 10/04/2021
- Affected Clinics: Memorial and ABC
- Check out Texas A&M’s TEACH page here.
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Nurse-Family Partnership Program
Our goal: Together with the Texas A&M College of Nursing, The Prenatal Clinic, and the TAMU Family Medicine Residency Program, HealthPoint will soon be part of a Nurse-Family Partnership program. In short, this program aims to help first-time mothers in the Brazos Valley throughout their pregnancy and the first two years post-partum.
UPDATE: The Nurse Family Partnership is currently operating within Memorial and ABC clinics. Discussions surrounding the promotion of this program to more patients is in progress, as well as a possible push towards including the rest of the Brazos Valley in this program.
- Time of clinic impact: January 2022
- Affected Clinics: BCS, ABC, and Memorial
In the same way, moving on.
Medication Management
UPDATE: Training was completed with Franklin in January.
Recently, a few members of the Caldwell Clinic team took part in a training with Ruth Alaniz, HealthPoint’s Infection Prevention & Control Supervisor. This early October training was the launch of a pilot a process for managing private stock medication inventory. This medication management program will roll out organization-wide in December.
In conclusion, thank you for your interest in our ongoing HealthPoint projects. HealthPoint seeks to provide evidence-based healthcare utilizing a patient-empowered team approach to achieve individual wellness for all Greater Brazos Valley community members. We do this through a comprehensive approach to your medical needs, including medical, behavioral health, and dental services.
To learn about these projects in greater detail, click the links above or email our Marketing Department.
National Emergency & Acute Care Nurse’s Day
National Emergency & Acute Care Nurse’s Day
National Emergency & Acute Care Nurse’s Day on the second Wednesday in October recognizes the dedication of ER & acute care nurses across the nation and it takes place during Emergency Nurses Week. Today we thank our acute care nurses for their hard work, dedication, service, and commitment. Please enjoy the following feature on Brenda Clarke, FNP-C who practices at our Memorial Clinic.
Acute Care Nurse, Brenda Clarke, FNP-C
Clarke came to work at HealthPoint because she wanted to make a difference in patient’s lives. She accomplishes this goal by practicing evidenced based care and prides herself on providing a welcoming place in HealthPoint’s acute care clinic. There, patients receive convenient evaluation and treatment of their ailments and enjoy extended hours including Saturdays. Clarke said, “Many patients use our clinic as first stop for emergent reasons: asthma, uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, and other things like, cold/flu, rashes, cough, and congestion.” Since March of 2020, Brenda has also overseen and administered COVID-19 tests to those in need.
Clarke’s Education & Professional Background
Clarke has been a practicing RN since 1977. She obtained her master’s degree focusing on education 1981. After completing this coursework she worked in the Medical ICU, then in hospital staff development and also became a PRN nurse at a local hospital. Clarke realized her dream of teaching when she took a position as a professor for Associate Degree of Nursing and Bachelor of Science Nursing students. She worked part-time with the Houston Community College, UT Health Science Center in Houston, and Blinn College in Bryan. Before joining HealthPoint in 2013, Clarke worked as school nurse for 10 years at College Station ISD. She loved being a school nurse but left to pursue further clinical experience and finish her Post Master’s Certificate as Family Nurse Practitioner.
Clarke is excited about the upcoming program HealthPoint has planned with Caldwell ISD. She said, “I look forward to being a part of the school nurse initiative with Caldwell ISD, and would love to be part of the expansion to College Station ISD if we are able to achieve that.”
Emergency Room & Acute Care Nurses, THANK YOU!
Emergency room and acute care nurses are the first people we see when we have an accident or a medical emergency. They work hard to put us at ease and eliminate pain, discomfort, and provide guidance for recovery. As many doctor’s offices and clinics transitioned away from seeing sick patients in person during the height of COVID-19 Clarke and staff saw record numbers of patients. Clarke encourages patients to see their primary care providers when they are able. She knows she and her team fill a unique need in our communities. “Acute Care’s Walk in Clinic is a wonderful resource for fast, convenient and efficient care when our patients cannot get scheduled with their primary care provider” Clarke said.
Today we encourage you to let your favorite Emergency & Acute Care Nurses know just how important they are to you and all of us. Thank you for helping keep our hospitals running smoothly.
Patient Centered Medical Home – BCS Clinic
BCS Clinic Recognized for Second Year as Patient-Centered Medical Home 
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognized our BCS Clinic as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) for the second year in a row.
Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition
“NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology, and coordinated care focused on patients,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane.” This recognition shows that HealthPoint’s BCS Clinic has the tools, systems, and resources to provide its patients with the proper care at the right time.”
What This Means for Patients
- Together with the NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home program, the input of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and others are considered.
- It assesses whether clinician practices are functioning as medical homes and recognize them for these efforts.
- The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication, and patient involvement.
Who is the National Committee for Quality Assurance?
The National Committee for Quality Assurance points the way to health care that science says works. Above all, they study how well health plans and doctors provide scientifically recommended care. Most importantly, they dedicate their time to identifying organizations that make your health care better. NCQA’s work has saved thousands of lives. They have helped millions of people stay healthy and subsequently saved the country billions of dollars. Before the formation of the NCQA, health care operated in the “dark.” In 1990, they achieved their status as a non-profit. To summarize, they are dedicated to “turning on the lights” in the health care industry.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization that improves health care quality
The National Committee for Quality Assurance accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. Additionally, they manage the evolution of HEDIS®. Moreover, this performance measurement tool gets used by more than 90 percent of the nation’s health plans. NCQA uses measurement, transparency, and accountability to highlight top performers in their fields and drive improvement. Since the early 1990’s they have measured and accredited health plans, their website says the following, “Since 2008, our mission has brought us closer to where care is delivered. We’ve grown to measure the quality of medical providers and practices. Most of our employees work on HEDIS and our Accreditation, Certification, and Recognition programs. Government and private sector clients hire us through contracts and grants to help them measure and improve quality.” A Board of Directors governs their actions, including employers, consumers, health plans, quality experts, and representatives from organized medicine.
Why a Patient-Centered Medical Home is Important
The patient-centered medical home is a model of care that puts patients at the forefront. Research shows that PCMHs improve quality and the patient experience and increase staff satisfaction—while reducing health care costs. As a result, PCMHs build better relationships between patients and their clinical care teams. Practices that earn recognition have committed to continuous quality improvement and a patient-centered approach to care.
How BCS Clinic is Different
While these characteristics are not unique to PCMHs, having them in one clinic ensures the best care for you and your family.
