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Authors Posts by Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

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0 1984

CMS’ Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) Maternal and Infant Health Initiative (MIHI) Value-Based Payment (VBP) team is hosting a national webinar on Thursday, May 17, 2018, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET about using VBP strategies to incentivize change in maternal and infant health care delivery models.

During this webinar, participants will learn about VBP and contractual approaches that incentivize the use of innovative maternal and infant health care delivery models within Medicaid and CHIP. The speakers will also describe the considerations for implementing VBP approaches to finance care delivery models that improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Finally, presenters from Ohio and New York will describe the opportunities and challenges they faced when aligning maternal and infant health care delivery models with VBP approaches.

To register for this webinar, please visit this link.

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Today, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an informational bulletin that discusses the importance of state Medicaid and CHIP programs properly implementing their pediatric dental periodicity schedules in order to ensure children’s access to critical dental coverage. In particular, two dimensions are discussed. First, states should ensure that fee schedules and payment policies are aligned with periodicity schedules. Second, the periodicity schedule should be treated as a “floor” for coverage of dental services, not a “ceiling.” The informational bulletin can also be accessed on this Medicaid.gov web page.

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We are asking everyone to share this link to the action alert urging our legislators to provide a 3% increase in funding for the Early Intervention Birth to Three program. The House and Senate leadership are currently preparing the 2018/19 budget. We need to encourage our local legislators to communicate to their leadership the need to address this critical funding for Early Intervention, especially considering there have been no rate increases in 8 years.

Our providers are truly struggling to retain therapists as they compete with higher paying hospitals. They are also challenged to find therapists to provide Early Intervention services to children in more rural areas of the state. Please feel free to broadly share this action alert.

Thank you to our partners at The Arc of PA for sharing this very important information!

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This statewide conference, scheduled for Wednesday, May 2 – Friday, May 4, 2018 in State College will examine responding to a crisis in the community, with a focus on trauma informed interventions. Topics will include grief, vicarious trauma, working with individuals with autism and other disabilities, LGBTQ, and lessons learned from those who have experienced or responded to a community crisis. The overall goal of the conference is to provide insight into community crisis response; it will also be an opportunity for people to interact with individuals they may not otherwise have contact with, unless a community crisis arises. View the conference agenda here. If you would like to register or have any questions, please follow this link.

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Thank you to our friends at Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) for sharing this very important announcement and opportunity with us!

House Bill 2133 was introduced at the same time that a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Caucus was created, with over two dozen members signing on in support as co-sponsors. The legislators will work together to learn more about challenges that these caregivers face and collaborate on legislation that will help. The House is now out of session until the week of April 9. The bill could move as early as that week!
What’s Next

Show your support for the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program by signing your organization onto PPC’s sign-on letter here.

PPC is working to collect the names of organizations who support HB 2133 and will be sending a joint letter to the House to express our support.

If you support HB 2133, please have your organization sign on to the letter here.

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Dr. Renee Turchi was recognized today by her fellow pediatricians and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as the Pennsylvania Pediatrician of the Year for 2017. Dr. Turchi serves as Medical Director of The Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and Director of the Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative. For more than a decade, Dr. Turchi has collaborated with RCPA staff and members to advance collaborative and integrated mental health and pediatric care for children and adolescents. She has worked with RCPA staff, families, and other stakeholders in statewide efforts to improve the care and treatment of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, children in foster and kinship care, and children with mental health conditions related to their complex health care needs in Pediatric Medical Homes across the state. RCPA is pleased to offer our congratulations to Dr. Turchi, a friend to RCPA, and champion for children with complex physical and mental health care needs!

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is in the process of reviewing state regulations for inpatient levels of care. The services included in the review are: private psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units in hospitals, extended acute care (EACs), residential treatment facilities for adults (RTF-As), and residential treatment facilities for youth under 21 (PRTF).

There is interest in involving individuals and stakeholders in the process. A variety of surveys have been developed in order to get input from individuals who may not have the opportunity to participate on statewide work groups and planning meetings. The surveys below are for the following groups:

Thank you in advance for circulating the surveys to the groups listed above. If you have any questions or concerns related to the surveys, please contact Sherry Peters.

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Lynn Kovich, Deputy Secretary at OMHSAS, held a budget briefing webinar for stakeholders. Topics included state mental health facilities, Community/Hospital Integration Projects Program (CHIPPs) / Southeast Integration Projects Program (SIPPs) summary, regulations overview, 1115 Waiver, Community HealthChoices (CHC), and more. Please see the PowerPoint presentation for details; thank you.

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The Children’s Division is interested in increasing the level of participation with Attachment Based Family Therapy (ABFT) training. ABFT is an evidence-based therapy with demonstrated positive outcomes for adolescent suicide prevention.

Drexel University (Suzanne Levy and Guy Diamond) has agreed to offer the DAY ONE prerequisite training via webinar on Wednesday, March 14. Day One is a mandatory training day for those who plan to practice the ABFT principles. After completing the Day One webinar event, you will be prepared to participate in the trainings offered on March 20 and March 21 (Day 2 and Day 3).

We received feedback that travel and lodging costs associated with the original Day One in-person event was an issue; therefore, we are fortunate to offer this webinar option to members and non-members. Please consider taking advantage of the opportunity. Please contact Robena Spangler with any questions.

Registration information is as follows: 

Day One Webinar Important Information – Please Review Before March 14

  1. Schedule
  2. Slide handouts for Day 1 presentation
  3. Book Flyer
  4. Therapist Certification Process
  5. Instructions for CEUs
  6. Instructions for logging onto Zoom

Thank you for your interest!

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New two-part guidelines have been published online by the American Academy of Pediatrics in Pediatrics. The guidelines were developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Canadian Pediatric Society, and psychiatric associations from both countries.

Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care: Practice Preparation, Identification, Assessment, and Initial Management

Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care Treatment and Ongoing Management

Updated guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of depression in adolescents now endorse universal yearly screening from 12 years of age onward. The new guidelines suggest that for a teenager presenting with a mild depression, physicians should consider a period of “active support and monitoring” before initiating evidence-based treatment with medication and psychotherapy. Only if symptoms persist should treatment be initiated. Rachel Zuckerbrot, MD, lead author of the Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care, notes that “We know that more than 50% of cases of adolescent depression do not get identified, and even fewer get treated. Since pediatricians and primary care providers are at the front line, seeing these kids either for a well visit, school physicals, camp physicals, sports physicals, or just for common illnesses, they are in a really good position to identify depression as well as manage and treat it.”

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