Volunteer Views from Community HealthCorps Members Anne Blair & Whitney Vedella (Community of Hope)
DC Primary Care Association, March 30, 2009

Anne and Whitney both became HealthCorps members for similar reasons. They wanted to continue their careers in the health field, and possibly even at a community-based health center. Being HealthCorps members allows them to see many different roles in health care, but also the workings of a community health center. They also became members to hopefully make a difference in people's lives. Their project at Community of Hope is focused on diabetes and educating patients on this disease. They have been organizing and creating materials to use for diabetes education and have done some teaching with newly diagnosed patients. So far, the patients and community have been given a great deal of information about diabetes through health center bulletin boards, pamphlets, and teaching. Anne and Whitney hope that community members are healthier people because of it, but there is always progress to be made. They have definitely learned a good deal about diabetes and the patients in the health center and how much they care about their health. In addition, they're learning about their individual strengths in that can be used in certain situations. For more info about DCPCA's Community HealthCorps program, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's director of Community Health Access Programs, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 237.

Groundbreaking roundup: special guests
Bread for the City and DC Primary Care Association, March 25, 2009

Bread for the City broke ground today on its new medical clinic. The new facility will nearly triple the community health center's capacity for providing primary health care to uninsured and underinsured DC residents. More than half of the expansion's projected $6.6 million cost was funded by DCPCA as part of its Medical Homes DC Capital Projects initiative, which is funded by the DC government. "This groundbreaking expansion is a dream for Bread for the City," said George Jones, executive director of Bread for the City, at the gathering of over 100 attendees. "Bread for the City is a one-stop shop in a city that has the highest poverty rate," Sharon Baskerville, CEO of DCPCA, said. "The DC government invested $51 million into our health centers, and has committed to continue." "Bread for the City helps people for whom there is a constant recession," said Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Norton thanked Bread for the City for expanding, and for what the health center does for those who need it most. "The District's health outcomes are not acceptable," remarked Councilmember David A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Health. Catania told the attendees that the DC government invested money from the Tobacco Settlement Fund into DCPCA's Capital Projects initiative. "The District has been a good partner," said Catania, who pledged that the DC government will deliver on its promises. "Bread for the City has been serving people all over the city – not just in Ward 2," Alex Padro, ANC2C commissioner told the crowd. "This project is important to the revitalization of the Shaw neighborhood," he continued. Michael Blue, a patient at Bread for the City, shared his experiences at the health center. "At Bread for the City, it's standing room only -- and there's a long line of people waiting to get in. Bread for the City is an oasis," said Blue. "How they do it in this small building is amazing." Construction is set to begin in May, and completion is projected for Spring 2010. For more info, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's director of Capital Projects, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 204. Also visit: Medical Homes DC and Capital Projects.

Meet Community HealthCorps Members, Victoria Trinh and Lucy Sullivan
DC Primary Care Association, March 20, 2009

Victoria Trinh became a HealthCorps member after graduating from Virginia Tech in order to gain more experience in health care and education. Victoria received her degree in health education and is currently considering going into nursing. Given her previous experiences working with at-risk youth populations, Victoria's HealthCorps placement site is currently with DCPCA's Adolescent Wellness Institute. Lucy Sullivan is another HealthCorps member placed at AWI. Lucy decided to become an Americorps member after receiving a degree in psychology and completing a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program. She intends to pursue medicine, specializing in psychiatry and serving the mental health needs of underserved populations. In order to gain experience before applying to medical schools, and to better understand the community and culture of the medically underserved, she turned to the HealthCorps program. Victoria and Lucy's project at AWI consists of health and wellness education for youth from the ages of 14 to 21. They'll also be recruiting new mentors and participants for next year's program, as well as developing evaluation tools to access the project's needs. This program benefits the community by empowering youth to better themselves and their environment through a focus on health. AWI provides the tools and resources to build future community leaders. Through this Americorps program, these Community HealthCorps members will gain the experiences they need to further their education in the health care field. For more info, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's Director of Community Health Access Programs, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 237.

Our nation's capital is facing an HIV/AIDS epidemic
By Tiffany Tate, Samson on Black Entertainment Television News Brief, Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Summary: "We have to get people tested. But before tested, we have to get people to think about 'Wow, in all likelihood, if I live in DC, I could get this disease. And so, what do I really have to seriously look at to prevent it?'," DCPCA CEO Sharon Baskerville said.

Workforce Development Boot Camp, Thursday, April 2
DC Primary Care Association, March 16, 2009

As part of its Quality Transformation Series, DCPCA is sponsoring this boot camp for human resources staff who work at member community-based health centers in DC. Participants of this training can expect to learn management development and strategies for managing change and resolving conflict; professional development specific to human resources strategies; staff management, recruitment, and retention strategies; and obtaining tools and resources to enhance efficiency in individual organizations. The goal is to build capacity within each community health center. SHR Associates, Inc. -- an independent health care consultant firm located in Annapolis, MD -- is leading the class, which has a non-clinical focus. No continued education units will be offered. Recommended audience is HR directors or designee(s) from each of DCPCA's member organizations. The training is open to all DCPCA membership organizations. Members of the general public may become members by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA Development and Communications Specialist, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 246. For more info about the DCPCA QTS initiative, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA Performance Improvement Manager, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 243.

Quality Transformation Series Update
DC Primary Care Association, March 13, 2009

DCPCA continues its Quality Transformation Series work to support ten area community health centers (CHCs) and DOH's Community Health Administration to embed Quality Improvement (QI) principles into all areas and functions of their organization. At the end of February, two intensive learning sessions were held when teams received training in subject matter and technical tools required for the project's success, and each team displayed "story boards" which illustrated and celebrated their organization's progress in QI activities. The story boards demonstrated that teams had considerable success in establishing QI principles, and the Leadership Series and Quality Institute learning session presentations were dynamic, interactive, and well received by attendees. The next learning sessions will focus on holding the gains, spreading the excellent QI work that has begun, and embedding QI principles throughout the CHC culture. For more info, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's Medical Homes DC Program Assistant, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 217. The Quality Transformation Series is supported by a generous grant from the CareFirst Foundation.

The Alert is changing...  Have you noticed?
DC Primary Care Association, March 11, 2009

The Daily Local Health Alert has been renamed the DCPCA Health News Alert and that's not all that's changing! DCPCA recently asked representatives of both internal and external audiences for their feedback about the Alert. Everyone valued the Alert because of its current health news content and the Events/Jobs/Resources sections, but also wanted to hear more information about DCPCA's projects, initiatives, and activities. Additionally, we discovered that some subscribers couldn't receive the Alert because it was being caught in their organizations' spam filters. DCPCA also heard from respondents that the Events/Jobs/Resources sections were often overlooked since they were so far down in the e-blast. As a result, the Alert that you receive provides you with a quick overview of the news, and with one easy click, you will land on the DCPCA Health News Alert Web page that contains all the news summaries and hyperlinks to the original articles. The Alert is still a work in progress with more improvements on the way. Look for the Alert to arrive in your in-box every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Policy Team assembles breakdown of ARRA and CHIPRA 2009
DC Primary Care Association, March 9, 2009

DCPCA's Policy Team compiled pertinent information regarding two pieces of legislation that have been recently enacted by President Barack Obama.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 will both have a significant impact on the District of Columbia.  For more info on ARRA and CHIPRA 2009, contact Ms. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA’s Senior Policy Coordinator, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 203.  View Issues & Advocacy for more info on DCPCA's programs.

DCPCA’s Emergency Room Diversion Pilot Project
DC Primary Care Association, March 6, 2009

DCPCA’s Emergency Room Diversion Pilot Project at Providence Hospital is progressing well.  New protocols have been implemented to facilitate the referral process for patients to primary care appointments.  DCPCA staff has been working on a database used for this program to make it more functional in terms of ability to provide accurate and meaningful reports in different forms.  Anecdotally, DCPCA has been able to measure the impact the program has had, and will now have the ability to demonstrate this impact through data.  DCPCA’s goal is to expand the program into different health care settings.  The ER Diversion Pilot Project has been DCPCA’s most successful effort in implementing this type of intervention to increase patient knowledge about the health care system and support patients in accessing health services appropriately.  This program has increased DCPCA’s knowledge about the community, the ER procedures and protocols, and the health care system in general, making it possible to make adjustments to increase the effectiveness of the program.  The success of the ER Diversion Pilot Project will help to make its future expansion possible.  For more info, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's Director of Community Health Access Programs, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 237.

Community HealthCorps Volunteers at DCPCA
DC Primary Care Association, March 4, 2009

Each month, DCPCA hosts a team meeting and mandatory training for the Community HealthCorps volunteers from the AmeriCorps “Prescriptions for Success” curriculum.  Last month, seven HealthCorps volunteers spent the day at DCPCA for a training on Conflict Management and Performance Measures.  The participating community health centers will host some of these trainings in the coming months at their facilities giving the volunteers the opportunity to travel around the District to see different placement sites.  The volunteers are placed at four health centers – Bread for the City, Community of Hope, Family Health and Birth Center, and the Spanish Catholic Center – as well as in DCPCA's Adolescent Wellness Institute program.  Accomplishments in February's training included clarity on the data collection required to accurately track and describe their service time, as well as techniques for managing conflict in both their placement sites and personal life.  For more info, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , DCPCA's Director of Community Health Access Programs, at (202) 638-0252 ext. 237.