OHD and Partners Celebrate Minority Health Month

OHD and many community partners marked Minority Health Month in Utah with exciting events.

Health screenings at Somali Community Self-Management Agency

OHD and Somali Community Self-Management Agency continued an ongoing commitment to link uninsured/underinsured individuals with primary care and medical homes.  This partnership, one of OHD’s funded efforts, provides monthly health screenings at the Somali Community offices and at the Olive Pharmacy.

“Screenings are a great way to find out what some of your risk factors are, and a lot of people that may not have gone to the doctor recently or may not have access to a doctor can actually come and get free screenings,” Jake Fitisemanu, OHD.

Ghulam Hasnain, an adviser for Somali Community Self-management Agency, also spoke about the value of that testing.  “If it’s found through testing that they do have those issues, sometimes people don’t know they have those issues, they then are referred to clinics that can help with this sort of financial profile,” he said.

Read more or watch a featured news story about the event on Fox 13 news at http://fox13now.com/2015/04/26/state-health-officials-offer-programs-to-help-minority-populations/

Breakfast hosted at Comunidades Unidas

ComunidadesUnidas also held an event, Utah Latino Health Breakfast, to discuss how to better serve the Latino community.  Discussions included how to collaborate with partners and building trust with clients.  CU organized this unique event in an effort to share and learn from shared challenges and successes.

OHD also presented at the annual Utah Public Health Association conference.  OHD showcased a new video, A Class About CLAS, which is an introduction to the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service Standards or CLAS Standards.  OHD provided attendees with tools and information about how to personalize a program or practice. OHD has created practical tools to help health care workers provide the best services possible to Utah’s diverse communities.  A Class About CLAS and CLAS tools can be found on the OHD website. 

Project Success and Harambee Tobacco & Health Network continued their commitment to services targeting minorities in Northern Utah with a Senior Health Fair at Second Baptist Church in Ogden in celebration of Minority Health Month.  A wonderful day for African American seniors and others included health screenings, information tables, pedicures, door prizes, and lunch.

HHS announces $2,305,900 in Affordable Care Act funding to 4 new community health centers in Utah

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced today approximately $2,305,900 in Affordable Care Act funding to 4 new health center sites in Utah for the delivery of comprehensive primary health care services to the communities that need them most.  These new health centers in Utah are projected to increase access to health care services for nearly 5,101 patients.  Nationally, approximately $101 million was awarded to 164 new health center sites in 33 states and two U.S. Territories to increase access to health care services for nearly 650,000 patients.

“The Affordable Care Act has led to unprecedented increases in access to health insurance.  Part of building on that progress is connecting people to the care they need,” said Secretary Burwell. “Health centers are keystones of the communities they serve in Utah. Today’s awards will enable more individuals and families in Utah to have access to the affordable, quality health care that health centers provide. That includes the preventive and primary care services that will keep them healthy.”

Nationally, this investment announced today will add to the more than 550 new health center sites that have opened in the last four years as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Today, nearly 13 health centers operate more than 44 service delivery sites that provide care to nearly 123,116 patients in Utah.

Health centers have also been critical in helping Utah residents sign up for health insurance through the Marketplace. Since 2013, health centers assisted more than 69,127 Utah residents in their efforts to become insured.

“More people have insurance in the United States than ever before,” said HRSA Acting Administrator Jim Macrae. “Health centers provide an accessible and dependable source of culturally competent primary care for many of the newly insured.”

The recently enacted bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act builds on this progress by extending  mandatory funding for health centers in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
To see a list of award winners, visit www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2015tables/newaccesspoints/.
To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit www.HealthCare.gov.
To learn more about HRSA’s Health Center Program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html.

U of U School of Medicine study suggests moving 2 minutes every hour improves health

 Story from npr.org

We know that sitting all day is hazardous to our health, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, inflammation and atherosclerosis. It all sounds pretty dismal, since many of today's jobs require us to be nearly glued to our computer screens. But a tiny two-minute break may help offset that hazard, researchers say.

People who got up and moved around for at least two minutes every hour had a 33 percent lower risk of dying, according to researchers the University Of Utah School Of Medicine.

"It was fascinating to see the results because the current national focus is on moderate or vigorous activity," says Dr. Srinivasan Beddhu, lead author of the study and a professor of medicine. "To see that light activity had an association with lower mortality is intriguing."
You don't need a starting line to avoid arthritis pain, researchers say. Just put on that pedometer when you get up in the morning.

The researchers looked at data from 3,626 participants in the federal National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), who wore accelerometers to measure the intensity of their activity during the day. They looked at "light" activities, things like walking around the office, up and down a few flights of stairs, even a short walk to get a cup of coffee. Beddhu says: "Our study suggests that even small changes can have a big impact."
People use energy less efficiently as they age. Running seems to help prevent that slowdown.

People who had chronic kidney disease saw a 41 percent lower risk of dying in the time period studied, which was just under three years on average. And those 383 people were also the most sedentary, spending 41 minutes of each hour immobile, compared to 34 minutes in the group as a whole. The study was published Thursday in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

While many of us are getting standing desks to combat the ills of sitting all day, Beddhu says there's not enough evidence to confirm solid benefit from standing all day versus sitting. So he suggests even if you do stand all day you may want to add a spin around the office every hour. Day to day, week to week, it adds up, he says. Varying speed while walking may make the activity much more effective.

If you're awake say, 16 hours a day and you move about two minutes every hour, that adds up to 32 minutes a day. Multiply that by five work days, you end up with 160 minutes per work week of light activity. And if you can do more, even better, says Beddhu. "If you can do five minutes every hour, you can actually end up burning 1,000 additional calories a week." That can decrease fat tissue and help maintain or even lose weight.

As for that two-minute burst of activity satisfying federal guidelines for physical activity, forget it. You still have to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week. This more intense activity has numerous benefits of its own, including strengthening the cardiovascular system.

FREE Community Workshop: Creating Healthy Relationships in Families (English and Spanish)

Healthy Minds, Healthy Families

Saturday, May 9

9:30 am - 3:00 pm

Workshop begin promptly at 9:30 am

Breakfast and Lunch Provided

Intermountain Medical Center

Doty Education Center - Bldg 6

5121 S Cottonwood Street

(West of State Street)

Trax stop- Murray Center

Drawing for $50 gift cards

For more information www.slco.org/diversity  

385.468.7014

Salt Lake County; Making the Active Choice Easier for Tongan Americans

Nearly a quarter of the 60,000 Tongan Americans in the United States live in Salt Lake County, Utah. In the late 2000s, the Utah Health Department found the Pacific Islander population had the highest rates of obesity in the state, and that obesity rates for Tongan Americans specifically were on the rise. 

The Salt Lake City-based National Tongan American Society (NTAS) took action to help Tongans who wanted to improve their health, but couldn’t afford gym memberships, access exercise equipment, or find affordable group activities.

NTAS’ research in 2013 led them to shared use, which occurs when government entities or other organizations open up their recreation facilities for community use. It seemed like a cost-effective way to create opportunities for physical activity. “We didn’t know where to start. Our internet search for ‘shared use’ led us straight to ChangeLab Solutions,” said Fahina Tavake-Pasi, Executive Director of NTAS. 

With ChangeLab Solutions’ help, NTAS developed a shared use agreement to help six churches, five schools, and one community center open up their playgrounds, tennis courts, and gymnasiums. Trained coaches volunteered to teach classes, and NTAS promoted the open locations and programs on billboards and online. Church-hosted Zumba classes have been especially popular among people of all ages and ethnicities; some classes have up to 140 participants!

Read the whole story to learn more about how NTAS made shared use a reality in Salt Lake County. Contact ChangeLab Solutions to learn more about shared use or to receive technical assistance.

ChangeLab Solutions

Attention Health Professionals: Information Regarding the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015

On April 14 , 2015, Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015; the President is expected to sign it shortly.  This law eliminates the negative update of 21% scheduled to take effect as of April 1, 2015, for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.   In addition, provisions allowing for exceptions to the therapy cap, add-on payments for ambulance services, payments for low volume hospitals, and payments for Medicare dependent hospitals that expired on April 1 have been extended.  CMS will immediately begin work to implement these provisions.

In an effort to minimize financial effects on providers, CMS previously instituted a 10-business day processing hold for all impacted claims with dates of service April 1, 2015, and later.  While the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) have been instructed to implement the rates in the legislation, a small volume of claims will be processed at the reduced rate based on the negative update amount.   The MACs will automatically reprocess claims paid at the reduced rate with the new payment rate.  

No action is necessary from providers who have already submitted claims for the impacted dates of service. 

Junior League "Free" Dental Clinic

FREE DENTAL CLINIC

Saturday, April 25

At Horizonte Training Center 

1234 S Main Street, Salt Lake City

From 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Services: Cleanings, Flouride Treatments, Sealants

Limited number of spaces available.

First come, first served. Please arrive early.

This event is provided at no cost by 

Junior League of Salt Lake City and sponsors.

For more information, contact dental@juniorleaguecarefair.org