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THI Board Retreat
August 7
Austin TX
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2008 Kick-Off Meeting
June 20-21, 2008
Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center 2008 Workgroup Meetings
Austin TX
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Long Term Care Summit
Dec 7-9, 2008
Austin, TX
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Greetings!
Several years ago as we became aware of the incredible advances being made in genetics. THI began to look for a way to get ourselves positioned on this issue for the future. Some day when a child is born, genetic testing will be sophisticated enough that we will know of problems that will occur with that child in the future. Therefore, we will be able to avoid acute and chronic conditions by addressing these issues proactively and preventively. Just as we look back on the practice of using leeches to reduce high fever as barbaric, future generations will look back on certain current surgery techniques as equally barbaric.
The opportunity for THI to get involved with genetics presented itself when the Michigan Public Health Institute recommended to THI that we apply for a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to fund regional collaborative centers whose missions are to address the infrastructure needs of genetic and newborn screening service programs. We won the grant award and started the Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center (MSGRCC) last June, 2007. This newsletter focuses on the accomplishments of THI and our numerous partners.
We hope you will not only find it interesting but that you will have ideas, other potential partners, and resources that may share our interest and commitment to making a difference in genetic applications.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Camille D. Miller
President/CEO
Texas Health Institute |
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Mountain States Regional Collaborative Center |
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Texas Health Institute administers a grant that supports a multi-state regional collaborative effort to provide infrastructure for genetics programs. The regional collaborative center (RCC) is designed to assist states in building capacity for genetic and newborn screening programs and activities which improve early identification of genetic disorders in infants, and ensure quality care to individuals and their families.
Our Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center (MSGRCC) is one of seven regional collaborative centers serving the nation. MSGRCC is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Genetic Services Branch. Our Mountain States region includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
MSGRCC Vision To collaborate to ensure that individuals with heritable disorders and their families have access to quality care and appropriate genetic expertise and information in the context of a medial home.
About MSGRCC
The Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center includes more than 400 individuals from eight states in the Rocky Mountain West. MSGRCC is comprised of physicians, nurses, laboratory professionals, genetic counselors, public health workers, and consumer advocates from university medical schools, genetic laboratories, hospitals, state and local health departments, medical societies, genetic support groups as well as organizations and individuals that have an interest in genetics.
The Issue
Birth rates in the Mountain States region are higher than in other United States regions with more than 600,000 births occurring annually within the Mountain States region. 3 to 5% of these births are complicated by a genetic condition leaving as many as 18,000 infants and their families in the region in need of genetic services each year.
The resources to serve individuals and families requiring genetic services are limited, especially in a region with great population and geographic diversity. Coordination and collaboration among all people concerned with genetics services helps to maximize the use of scarce resources.
Year I MSGRCC Accomplishments
During the first year of the grant, MSGRCC undertook a restructuring of its infrastructure and review of its focus. A significant effort throughout the year was made to recruit leadership and representation from all 8 states in the region and while the effort is ongoing, participants are proud to list among first year accomplishments:
· MSGRCC has established representation from every state of professionals, broad-based experts, physicians, public health and representatives of underserved populations.
· An Advisory Council has been established and will meet in person June 21, in Austin.
· Workgroups and leadership in Newborn Screening, Public Health and Consumer Advocacy have been established and are active with multiple projects.
· MSGRCC has initiated the Quality Improvement Partnership as an interregional body and has recruited members from all 7 of the national regions.
· Mid-year meetings of workgroups were conducted to obtain feedback and record program activities.
· MSGRCC has increased participation by a number of states and has enhanced the participation of consumers in MSGRCC workgroups, projects, and activities.
· Project outreach to involve community stakeholders in health discussions is yielding important results, particularly within the Socio-Cultural Diversity projects.
· In anticipation of increased funding in June 2008, MSGRCC conducted a RFP process yielding 17 proposals for funding. These have been evaluated and ranked against the National Coordinating Center's evaluation domains and are ready when new funds become available.
· MSGRCC is a regular participant in National Coordinating Center for the Genetics and Newborn Screening Regional Collaborative Groups discussions and contributes its experiences through national workgroups, conversations and other collaborative projects and efforts.
MSGRCC funded project work includes the following:
Newborn Screening Outcomes Project
Project Lead: Dr. Janet Thomas, CO
Laboratory Quality Assurance Project
Project Lead: Dr. Marzia Pasquali, UT
Socio-Cultural Diversity Project
African American and Hispanic Populations
Project Lead: Dr. Kathryn Hassell, CO
Socio-Cultural Diversity Project
Native American Populations
Project Lead: Dr. Murray Brilliant, AZ
Genetics Policy and Education Project
Project Lead: Liza Creel, TX
Consumer Advocacy Workgroup
Co-Chairs: Rod Slaght, CO & Joe Martinec, TX
Public Health Workgroup
Chair: Lynn Martinez, UT
Newborn Screening Committee Workgroup
Co-Chairs: Jeff Botkin, UT & Rebecca Anderson, UT
Quality Improvement Partnership
Co-Chairs: Marc S. Williams, UT & Janet Williams, UT For membership lists and mission of each workgroup and for details of the work of each project visit the THI managed MSGRCC website at http://www.msgrcc.org
The Commons Conference Center University of Texas at Austin 10100 Burnet Road Austin, Texas June 20-21, 2008 There is no registration fee. We do need you to register so we can adequately prepare.
For more information on the Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center, projects and efforts, please visit www.msgrcc.org or contact Liza Creel at 512-279-3906.
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On the road with thi |
May 5 - 6th, Community Collaboratives Meeting
The Mental Health Transformation Community Collaboratives met Monday, May 5th to discuss community priorities for mental health transformation sustainability; contracting, invoicing, and payment issues; clarification on the "Voices and Choices for Leadership in Transformation" courses; and to prepare for the Transformation Work
Group (TWG) meeting.
Attending were: Cheryl Cooper, Bexar County Safety Net Community Collaborative; Gilbert Gonzales, Bexar County; Amy Guthrie, Bexar County; Martin Ornelas, Coastal Bend Rural Health Partnership; Rhonda Davis, Dallas County Project Transform; Dan Salas, Dallas County Project Transform; Ron Trusler, LEAF; Kay Brotherton, LEAF; Anne Bondeson, Nacogdoches County Mental Health Collaborative; Patsy Thomas, Tarrant County Transformation Project; Annie Burwell, Williamson County Mental Health Task Force; Maria Murillo, DSHS Contract Manager; and THI staffers Camille D. Miller, Klaus Madsen, Susan Griffin, Valarie Garza, Priscilla Van Noy and Amanda Conway.
On May 6th, Shannon Calhoun, THI IT Consultant, provided an overview of the Health Risk Assessment Tool (HRAT) Pilot for the Community Collaborative Leadership group. Vince Fonseca, MD, of the Texas Department of State Health Services assisted with this presentation.
May 6th, Mental Health Transformation Workgroup Meeting (TWG)
Ben Delgado, Associate Commissioner and Interim Mental Health Transformation Project Director provided and update on the SAMHSA Cross-site Evaluation Visit planned for, June 12-13, 2008; the Project Director hiring process; and Planned Projects for Carry-over Funds.
Valarie Garza, MHT Consumer Coordinator, provided an update on the Consumer Voice Trainings; Consumer Network meetings; and proposed consumer activities utilizing carry-over funds.
THI President Selected to Communities Joined In Action Board
Olympia, WA - Communities Joined in Action (CJA), a national organization whose mission is to "Mobilize and assist community health collaboratives to assure better health for all people at less cost", has elected new officers and six new board members. CJA works to assist communities across the nation who are developing local solutions to address America's health coverage crisis. (see press release) Elected to one-year terms to lead the national organization were: Chair-elect Vondie M. Woodbury, Director of Community Benefit for Mercy Health Partners and Executive Director of Muskegon Community Health Project in Muskegon, Michigan; Vice-Chair-elect Karen Minyard, Executive Director of the Georgia Health Policy Center in Atlanta, Georgia; Treasurer-elect Tim Cox, Executive Director of Northland Health Alliance in Bismarck, North Dakota; and Secretary-elect Laura J. Brennan, Director of Community Development & Policy, PacificSource Health Plans in Portland, Oregon.
New board members elected at the annual retreat were Connie Brooks, Senior Director of Access Ministries, Ascension Health, St. Louis, Missouri; Steven M. Galen, Executive Director of Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, Silver Spring, Maryland; Cathy V. Maxwell, Executive Director of HealthKey, Tawas City, Michigan; Camille D. Miller, President & CEO of Texas Health Institute, Austin, Texas; James W. Walton, DO, Vice President & Chief Health Equity Officer of Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, Texas; and Rev. Joseph E. Washington, Executive Director of SharedCare, Myrtle Beach, North Carolina.
May 8th, Texas Health Institute Board of Trustees Meeting
THI Board Members from across the state travelled to Austin to conduct their quarterly meeting. The Board, Chaired by Maribess Miller, reviewed THI operations and finances, approved a revised 2008 budget and approved selection of Lockhart, Ashley & Associates to perform the annual audit.
Board Member Tim Von Dohlen discussed THI plans for a Long Term Care Summit, December 7th-9th.
Board Members, Os Chrisman, Carol Clark, Jimmy Helm, Hardy Loe, Camille D. Miller, Dayland Parsons, George Roberts, Charlotte Scott, Dana Sellers, Kathy Tiernan (representing Dr. Ben Raimer), Tim Von Dohlen and Board Member Emeritus, Os Chrisman were in attendance and participated in strategic discussions.
A lunch presentation of segments of the film Unnatural Causes evoked a discussion of the inequities in the U.S. healthcare system and the effects upon low-income populations. The board agreed to spend the THI Board Retreat Meeting scheduled for August 7th, to address how THI can redirect our efforts to address social determinants of health.
The next THI Board Retreat is scheduled for August 7th, in Austin, Texas.
May 14-16th, NNPHI Conference, New Orleans, LA
THI staff travelled to New Orleans to attend the National Network of Public Health Institutes Conference (NNPHI), Unlocking Hidden Potential for Health Policy Reform. The conference marked the end of Camille D. Miller's year as Chair of NNPHI, though she will continue to serve on the board of this organization and support the development and sustainability of the public health institute movement across the country. NNPHI now has 27 members in 24 states.
Klaus Madsen, THI Vice President of Programs participated in a panel presentation at NNPHI, From the Frontlines, and highlighted Texas Health Institute's CDC-funded jail re-entry project in Dallas County. Madsen described the project methodology and outcomes during the presentation.
Madsen and THI Program Manager, Liza Creel, later facilitated a roundtable discussion: "Jail Re-entry in Dallas: Achieving Public Health Goals through System Based Partnership and Leadership."
Over the last year, THI has worked with Parkland Health & Hospital System, the county health department, city and county law enforcement and non-governmental organizations and ex-offenders and their families to develop solutions to improve the health of individuals that enter the criminal justice system. Through the CDC-funded planning grant, the goal was to identify what proven parts of a community-based program will prepare Dallas County jail inmates for successful re-entry and improve their access to health services after release, improving overall health status of those individuals and all Dallas county residents.
THI used a multi-sector collaborative approach with a broad representation of the major groups in the Dallas community who have a stake in the health of jail inmates. These groups are most qualified to come together to review what is known from experience in other communities as well as from research about the issue, and to bring their own beliefs and experiences into an effort to develop a way to address health problems and improve health services in Dallas County.
From several large community-wide stakeholder meetings involving providers and consumers, THI has facilitated the development of taskforces who are addressing community priorities. The top four issues are employment, housing, healthcare and mental health/substance abuse. The project is ongoing in Dallas County and may serve as a model of other community-based efforts around the state.
Other NNPHI Conference presentations included:
Public Health Institutes Funding Strategies Workshop,
Speaker: Donna Sofaer, Public Health Institute
Health Care Reform Now! What Will It Take to Improve the System?
Keynote Speaker: George Halvorson, Kaiser Foundation
Local and State Forums on Health Transformation- Stories from the Field
Speakers: Joseph Washington, Shared Care; Vondie Woodbury, Muskegon Community Health Project; & Robert St. Peter, Kansas Health Institute
National Initiatives Supporting Health Transformation
Speakers: J. Nick Baird, Healthiest Nation Alliance & Wilhelmine Miller, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
On the Road to Health Equity: Examining the Unnatural Causes of Health Disparities
Speaker: Vincent Lafronza, CommonHealth Action
From the Frontline: Public Health Institutes - Complementing the Public Health System
Speakers:
Mary Pittman, Public Health Institute (CA); Joseph Thompson, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement; & Klaus Madsen, Texas Health Institute
Advancing Health Protection Goals through Shared Leadership: CDC Portfolio Managers Panel
Speakers: Brock Lammont (LA) & Mark Fussel (TX)
Blue Sky- A Framework for Transforming Health
Speaker: Neal Halfon, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities
May 21, THI visits new homeless shelter in Dallas
At the May 21 Jail Re-entry meeting in Dallas, Camille Miller, Klaus Madsen and Board Member Hardy Loe were invited by Mike Faenza, President and CEO of Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance to visit "The Bridge", the new homeless shelter.
Located in south downtown Dallas, the Bridge is a result of a unique public-private partnership to provide multiple services to chronically homeless men, women and children. The City of Dallas funded the property and state of the art facility through a bond program in 2005. Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance spent three years studying the best models around the county to adapt them for Dallas.
Mike Faenza and staff members Rick Davis, Ph.D. and Jay Dunn gave THI a tour of the facility that in addition to providing housing also serves as a hub for services to chronic homeless for several providers including education and employment, the Veterans Administration and Parkland Health and Hospital System. THI's CDC-funded demonstration project that brought county, city and private sector partners together to identify ways to improve jail health services, improve jail re-entry into the community and ultimately eliminate recidivism is beginning to intersect with THI mental health transformation project. Housing / homelessness is a major problem for Texans with mental illnesses.
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| HEART of Montgomery County |
HEART is a community collaborative initiated 5 years ago with a mission to address "access to care". THI, Camille Miller and Klaus Madsen have assisted the Collaborative over the years. This most recent engagement, beginning last year, is designed to assist HEART with strategic planning, board and staff development and sustainability. THI Board member, Dr. Walter Wilkerson, has just become HEART's Board Chairman. Other HEART board members include:
Bill York Ph.D., Vice President; David Hopkins, Secretary; Chris Grice, Treasurer; Thomas Butler Ed.D, Immediate Past Chairman; Agustin Gutierrez, Jr; Catherine Lindahl; Pablo Gomez; James Herrin M.D.; Connie McGinty; Stephen L. McKernan D.O.; Desi Pesina; Jane Reed M.D.; Steve Sanders.
Staff of HEART include: Jeanne M. Knapp, President of Heart of Montgomery County, Inc; David Knapp, Director of Communications; Lindsey Greene-Upshaw, Provider Health Network Coordinator; Kristal Goehring, Program Coordinator for the Teen suicide prevention project and; Susan Phillips, Administrative Assistant.
Camille Miller presented at HEART's board meeting in the Woodlands, May 22, 2008.
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| TALHO appoints Accreditation Steering Committee |
To encourage accountability and quality improvement in public health, a national movement has been underway with strong support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is led by several organizations, including THI's "trade association", the National Network of Public Health Institutes who did initial work with the CDC on Public Health Performance Standards and lately, The Exploring Accreditation Project: which is a voluntary national program for accrediting state and local public health departments.
THI co-chaired the first statewide performance standards assessment in Texas in 2006 and has since then been very interested in working with Texas Association of Local Health Officials (TALHO),Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and other partners to explore how performance standards and ultimately accreditation can be developed and implemented in Texas.
THI was recently asked by Texas Association of Local Health Officials to serve on a new council to explore how public health accreditation can be developed and implemented in Texas. Other organizations on the Public Health Accreditation Council of Texas (PHACT) include:
State Association of City and County Health Officials (SACCHO)
Texas Association of Local Health Officials (TALHO)
Lee Lane, Executive Director
Public Health Training Center (PHTC)
Dr. Richard S. Kurz, Dean, University of North Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health
Texas Health Institute (THI)
Klaus Madsen, Vice President, Programs
Texas Medical Association (TMA)
Gayle Love
Texas Public Health Association (TPHA)
Bobby D. Schmidt, M.Ed., Project Director, Statewide Health Coordinating Council
Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
Mary Soto, Center for Program Coordination, Policy, and Innovation and Dr. Paul K. McGaha, DO, MPH Health Services Region 4 & 5N
Houston Health & Human Services Department Stephen L. Williams, Director
City of Amarillo Department of Public Health Matt Richardson, MPH, Director
City of Laredo Health Department
Hector Gonzalez, MD, MPH
Gregg County Health Department
Michelle Skyrme
Milam County Health Department
Patsy Gaines
The council will have its initial meeting at TALHO headquarters on June 10. We will keep newsletter readers up to date on the progress.
For more information: Contact Klaus Madsen at kmadsen@texashealthinstitute.org |
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About the Texas Health Institute |
Our mission is to provide leadership to improve the health of Texans and their communities through education, research, and health policy development.
Senior Editor: Camille D Miller
Editors: Mitchell Gibbs / Havovi Katki
The Texas Health Institute (THI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on the development of health policy solutions to improve the lives of Texans and their communities. From acting as an honest broker and hosting unbiased health policy forums that facilitate dialogue among policymakers and other healthcare stakeholders, to creating a vision of an improved future healthcare system, THI is a think tank - providing evidence-based policy options and solutions as well as innovative, "outside the box" collaborative options to improve the health of Texans and their communities.
The THI newsletter is a monthly publication of the Texas Health Institute written to update THI board of trustee members and Friends of the Institute.
For e-mail address changes, add or delete requests, please e-mail your request to:
mail to:hkatki@texashealthinstitute.org
If you would prefer to receive this newsletter through the U.S. mail or fax, please e-mail your contact information to:
mail to:hkatki@texashealthinstitute.org
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* Funding for this was made possible (in part) by 5 U79 SM57485-02 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderator do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. | |
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