HCAN 2023 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

ADVANCE

the

HEALTH CENTER MOVEMENT

Health Center Association of Nebraska (402) 932-3389 www.hcanebraska.org

3929 S 147th St STE 100A Omaha, NE 68144

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Welcome to our 2023 Annual Report

Health Center Association of Nebraska (HCAN) is Nebraska’s nonprofit Primary Care Association, representing the state’s seven Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), also known as community health centers.

For more information, visit hcanebraska.org.

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Table of Contents Board Chair’s Report

4

Who We Are

5

Who We Serve

6

Patient Centered Care

7

Building Bridges to Better Health

8

2023 Annual Conference

9

Advancing Workforce

10

Nebraska’s Health Centers

12

Advocate for Patients

19

2024 on the Horizon

20

Collective Impact

21

2023 Sponsors

22

HCAN CEO Report

23

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Board Chair’s Report Nebraska’s health centers experienced continued growth in 2023, exceeding 116,000 patients served across nearly 395,000 patient visits. Our health centers serve the diverse needs of their patients through community-based, culturally appropriate, compassionate care, ensuring everyone who walks through a health center door is welcome. Health centers continue to be an economic driver in the state, contributing $276 million to Nebraska’s economy, employing Brad Meyer, HCAN Board Chair & CEO of Bluestem Health

over 1,000 Nebraskans, and saving Nebraska’s health care system $197.5 million annually.

Collectively, health centers comprise one of the largest systems of primary health care in our state; providing integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health services, with supportive wrap-around services, under one roof.

Nebraska’s health centers now provide care across 85 service locations, including mobile medical and dental services, and school-based clinics. Health centers continue their innovative leadership in providing high-quality care across the state. Across the 1,400 health centers in our country, Nebraska’s health centers rank number one in clinical quality outcomes.

Patient care does not begin and end with the health center visit. Nebraska’s health centers educate and assist with enrollment in medical and economic assistance programs, host farmers’ markets during the summer, provide access to legal services, and offer transportation assistance to ensure patients can make it to their appointments. Health centers are leaders in caring for the whole patient.

As we look to 2024, HCAN’s role as a guide and resource for Nebraska’s health centers is more vital than ever. Using our collective voice to elevate the needs of health centers’ and communities’ needs is more important than ever. It has been my honor to serve as the HCAN Board Chair for the last two years, and I look forward to continued partnership among all of our health centers as we expand access to crucial health care and support services for all Nebraskans.

HCAN Board of Directors Brad Meyer, Board Chair, Bluestem Health Tami Smith, Vice Chair, Heartland Health Center Kathy Nordby, Secretary/Treasurer, Midtown Health Center Dr. Gage Stermensky, Community Action Health Center Kenny McMorris, Charles Drew Health Center, Inc. Andrea Skolkin, OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc. Terri Ford-Wolfgram, Good Neighbor Community Health Center Joel Dougherty, All Care Health Center (Associate Member) Mari Kaptain-Dahlen, Siouxland Community Health Center (Associate Member)

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Who We Are Our Mission: To Advance the Health Center Movement Our Vision: Access, health and well-being for ALL Our Values: • Accountable to Outcomes • Trusted Thought Leader

• Health Equity Champions • Intentionally Create Change

What We Do: Health Center Association of Nebraska (HCAN) is dedicated to expanding and enhancing access to quality, community-responsive care at Nebraska’s health centers.

HCAN leads training and technical assistance for Nebraska’s community health centers while providing advocacy and education for the patients within their communities.

Promote

Build

HCAN promotes healthcare workforce

HCAN helps health centers to build

development, recruitment and retention

healthy and resilient communities by

so that staff are positioned as key

collaborating with healthcare providers,

contributors to the health and well-

local businesses, and other community

being of communities.

organizations.

Our Commitment HCAN is committed to building a culture that celebrates diversity and strives for equity.

We are dedicated to combatting the public health impact of systemic inequities and racial injustice through advocacy, education, and training.

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Who We Serve 116,280 patients served in 63 counties at over 85 sites

Bluestem Health

Heartland Health Center

1021 North 27th St | Lincoln, NE 68503

2116 W Faidley Ave Suite 2100 | Grand Island, NE 68803

Ph. 402.476.1455 | www.bluestemlincoln.com

Ph. 308.382.4297 | www.heartlandhealthcenter.org

6 service delivery locations

15 service delivery locations

Charles Drew Health Center, Inc.

Midtown Health Center

2915 Grant St | Omaha, NE 68111

302 West Phillip Avenue | Norfolk, NE 68701

Ph. 402.451.3553 | www.charlesdrew.com

Ph. 402.371.8000 | www.midtownhealthne.org

16 service delivery locations

19 service delivery locations

Community Action Health Center

OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.

975 Crescent Dr | Gering, NE 69341

4920 South 30th St | Omaha, NE 68107

Ph. 308.632.2540 | www.capwn.org

Ph. 402.734.4110 | www.oneworldomaha.org

3 service delivery locations

22 service delivery locations

Good Neighbor Community Health Center 4321 41st Avenue | Columbus, NE 68602 Ph. 402.562.7500 | www.ecdhd.ne.gov 5 service delivery locations

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Patient Centered Care 116,280

Patients Served at Health Centers

394,394

Total Visits at Health Centers

36,933

Children Served at Health Centers

96,936

Medical Patients at Health Centers

24,993

Dental Patients at Health Centers

11,712

Behavioral Health Patients at Health Centers

33,526

Patients best served in a language other than English

6,789

Patients who experience homelessness

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Building Bridges to Better Health 2023 Year in Review

69

Medical Assistants certified through HCAN’s MA Apprenticeship

1,063

Total attendees at HCAN trainings

by Outreach and 49,300 Assists Enrollment staff

230

Health Center jobs posted to the HCAN Careers webpage

Dental Kits HCAN received 5,000 dental kits that were distributed to all of the health centers. Each kit contained age-specific dental cleaning items and educational content from the DHHS Office of Oral Health and UNMC College of Dentistry. pictured: Bluestem Health Dental Team

Assister Fall Training HCAN hosted its annual Assister Fall Training in October, at the UNO Campus. A total of 53 assisters attended the two-day event, both in-person and virtually, to prepare for Open Enrollment which started on November 1st, 2023. pictured: Certified Assisters

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2023 Annual Conference HCAN hosted its 2023 Annual Conference in September in Omaha with the theme “Revolutionizing Healthcare Delivery and Improving Health Outcomes.”

Attendees were joined by 44 exhibitors and 15 speakers to collaborate, learn, innovate, and share fresh perspectives. Thank you to all those that attended!

Save-the-date for HCAN’s 2024 Annual Conference in Lincoln on Sept. 19th!

HCAN’s 2023 Exceptional Patient Care Award is awarded to a health center staff member who exemplifies outstanding service and commitment to improving the health and well-being of their patients and communities and demonstrate exceptional contributions to the Community Health Center Movement through their service, leadership, and dedication to the health center mission.

In 2023, HCAN introduced the Lifetime Community Health Advocate Award. This award is awarded to a health center staff member who has demonstrated exceptional dedication, commitment, and contributions to promoting and improving the health and well-being of their community throughout a lifetime. Congratulations to this year’s HCAN Award Winners!

2023 Exceptional Patient Care Award Winners •

Korayma Delgadillo de Santiago, Health Assistant - OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.

•

Monica Schmucker, APRN – Heartland Health Center

•

Dr. Wes Meyer, Pediatrician - OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.

2023 Lifetime Community Health Advocate Award •

John Carrington, Physician’s Assistant/ Primary Care Director – Community Action Health Center

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Advancing Workforce A strong and resilient workforce is an essential investment to expand access to care. HCAN is working to grow the health center workforce through skill development, collaborative partnerships, and innovative models for expanded capacity.

MEDICAL ASSISTANT APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM HCAN’s Medical Assistant (MA) Apprenticeship provides current healthcare employees with hands-on training, career advancement, and the opportunity for higher wages, all while earning their national Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification. This Department of Laborapproved apprenticeship combines on-the job skills training with an on-site mentor and online self-paced learning, which makes it accessible to non-traditional students for whom a traditional community college program is not practical. In addition to ongoing program management and expansion efforts, HCAN is striving to increase accessibility of this apprenticeship to a broader audience (e.g. refugee and immigrant communities, non-English learners). As of the end of 2023, 69 total apprentices have graduated with the CCMA certification. The newest cohort has 31 new apprentices that started on January 1st, 2024.

PROJECT ACCESS

Community health centers are at the center of providing high quality, affordable health care to Nebraska’s underserved populations in urban and rural communities across the state. The ability for FQHCs to create additional capacity to ensure access to services, especially in rural areas of the state, however, is limited by a shortage of providers, difficulty recruiting providers, and limited options for follow-up care through Medicaid. In direct response to these challenges, HCAN and the Centene Foundation have established Project Access, with initial seed money of $1 million from the Centene Foundation and an additional $500,000 from the Creighton Community Collaborative. Project Access consists of the following four main components: •

Establishment of a Recruitment Assistance Fund to assist FQHCs in offering competitive compensation to recruit employees

•

Clinic Optimization Funds to enhance patient access

•

Increasing capacity to serve underserved populations

•

Workforce Development Initiatives that include ensuring a pipeline of future healthcare workers

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NEBRASKA TELEBEHAVIORAL HEALTH NETWORK Rural Nebraska has a severe shortage of behavioral health services exacerbated by workforce scarcity. The Nebraska FQHC Telebehavioral Health Network seeks to address this shortage through an advanced model of care that maximizes workforce capacity and expands access to care in rural communities.

In July 2023, HCAN was awarded ARPA Funding from the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) to improve access to telebehavioral health services within rural FQHCs. The goal of the network is to enhance access to behavioral health services in rural Nebraska through a shared off-site, multidisciplinary team of telebehavioral health staff and providers. The project is a collaboration between HCAN, the Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center (gpTRAC), and four rural Nebraska FQHCs.

HCAN CAREER CENTER At the end of 2023, HCAN redesigned our career center to make it easier to see all health center jobs in one place. The new career center interfaces with 3RNet, a job search tool for health professionals seeking careers in rural and underserved communities. Job postings are updated weekly to maintain an accurate representation of current openings. 123 total positions were posted on the new career center since its launch in Q4 of 2023, and we look forward to seeing that number grow in 2024. Our goal with HCAN’s online career center is to increase the visibility of open health center positions and student rotation opportunities.

ON-DEMAND RESOURCES HCAN developed and produced a series of short educational videos as ondemand resources to aid new hire orientation and annual health center training needs. The eight videos include topics like: Community Health Center 101, Health Center Compliance, Best Practices for Front Desk Staff, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Health Center Movement. All on demand resources are now available via HCAN’s website and YouTube channel. Several health centers have since reported that they are planning to incorporate these videos in to their existing orientation processes. HCAN aims to continue to work alongside health center HR departments to grow this centralized resource.

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Bluestem Health Lincoln, NE (402) 476-1455 bluestemlincoln.com

21,116

Patients Served

63,406

Patient Visits

19,907

Medical Patients

Kreshel Clinic 3100 N 14th St Lincoln, NE 68521

2,509

Dental Patients

Health 360 Clinic 2301 O St Lincoln, NE 68510

4,461

Patients best served in a language other than English

1,320

Patients who experience homelessness

Locations Main Clinic 1021 N 27th St. Lincoln, NE 68503 Thompson Clinic Bryan Health West 2222 S 16th St STE 435 Lincoln, NE 68502

% of Uninsured Patients

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

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Charles Drew Health Center, Inc. Omaha, NE (402) 451-3553 charlesdrew.com Locations Grant Street 2915 Grant Street Omaha, NE 68111 30 Metro 5319 N 30th St Suite A Omaha, NE 68111 Omaha Healthy Start 2912 Manderson Street Omaha, NE 68111 Crown Tower 5904 Henninger Ave Omaha, NE 68104 Florence Tower 5100 Florence Boulevard Omaha, NE 68110 Evans Tower 3600 N 24th St Omaha, NE 68110 Jackson Tower 600 South 27th St Omaha, NE 68105 Teen & Young Adult Health Center at Benson 5920 Maple St Omaha, NE 68104

% of Uninsured Patients

12,594

Patients Served

37,712

Patient Visits

9,200

Medical Patients

3,481

Dental Patients

2,113

Patients best served in a language other than English

2,233

Patients who experience homelessness

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

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Community Action Health Center Gering, NE • Chadron, NE (308) 632-2540 capwn.org

Locations Main Office 3350 10th St Gering, NE 69341 Health Center 975 Crescent Drive Gering, NE 69341 Chadron Dental Clinic 221 Chadron Ave Chadron, NE 69337

% of Uninsured Patients

6,976

Patients Served

27,801

Patient Visits

3,393

Medical Patients

2,833

Dental Patients

1,102

Patients best served in a language other than English

45

Patients who experience homelessness

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

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Good Neighbor Community Health Center Columbus, NE • Fremont, NE (402) 562-7500 ecdhd.ne.gov

Locations Good Neighbor Community Health Center / East Central District Health Department 4321 41st Ave Columbus, NE 68602 Fremont Clinic 2740 N Clarkson St Fremont, NE 68025

% of Uninsured Patients

10,054

Patients Served

30,662

Patient Visits

7,524

Medical Patients

2,580

Dental Patients

4,400

Patients best served in a language other than English

185

Patients who experience homelessness

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

Heartland Health Center

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Grand Island, NE • Ravenna, NE (308) 382-4297 heartlandhealthcenter.org

Locations Main Location 2116 W Faidley Ave STE 2100 Grand Island, NE 68803 Quick Care Clinic 423 W 4th St Grand Island, NE 68803 Ravenna Clinic 104 W Seneca St Ravenna, NE 68869

% of Uninsured Patients

7,297

Patients Served

23,345

Patient Visits

5,640

Medical Patients

2,257

Dental Patients

2,820

Patients best served in a language other than English

569

Patients who experience homelessness

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

Midtown Health Center

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Norfolk, NE • Madison, NE West Point, NE (402) 371-8000 midtownhealthne.org

8,176

Patients Served

Norfolk Clinic 302 W Phillip Ave Norfolk, NE 68701

29,017

Patient Visits

Norfolk Xpress Clinic 210 S 3rd St Norfolk, NE 68701

6,449

Medical Patients

1,783

Dental Patients

1,470

Patients best served in a language other than English

844

Patients who experience homelessness

Locations

Madison Clinic 222 Main St Madison, NE 68748 West Point Clinic 303 Plaza Drive West Point, NE 68788

% of Uninsured Patients

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.

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Omaha, NE • Plattsmouth, NE (402) 734-4110 oneworldomaha.org Locations Main Location Livestock Exchange Building 4910, 4920, 4930 S 30th St Omaha, NE 68107 Bellevue 2207 Georgia Ave Bellevue, NE 68005 Northwest Omaha 4229 N 90th St Omaha, NE 68134 West Omaha 4101 S 120th St Omaha, NE 68137 Plattsmouth 122 S 6th St Plattsmouth, NE 68048 Teen & Young Adult - South 4310 S 24th St Omaha, NE 68107 Teen & Young Adult - West 2520 S 130th Ave Omaha, NE 68144 OneWorld Pediatric Dental Clinic 5310 S 84th St Omaha, NE 68127

% of Uninsured Patients

50,067

Patients Served

180,451

Patient Visits

44,823

Medical Patients

9,550

Dental Patients

17,160

Patients best served in a language other than English

1,593

Patients who experience homelessness

% of Patients Who Identify as an Ethnic/ Racial Minority

% of Medicaid/ CHIP Patients

% of Low Income Patients

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Advocate for Patients HCAN plays a vital role in educating our federal, state, and local policy makers about community health centers. We advocate for health access and coverage and set legislative priorities and policies that promote access to quality, equitable healthcare.

We focus on issues that directly impact our patients, such as food security, housing, and economic assistance. HCAN and individual health centers provided written or oral Testimony and Letters of Support/Opposition on 14 Bills, including the following:

Health Center Funding

LB 108 Invest $20 Million in the Health Center Innovation Fund

Medicaid

LB 419

Medicaid

LB 62

LB 88

Provide Medicaid coverage for translation and interpretation services

Social Drivers of Health

Eliminates the SNAP eligibility ban for persons convicted of a drug felony

Require submission of a Medicaid state plan amendment to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months

Medicaid

LB 326

LB 84

Provide 12-month continuous eligibility for children enrolled in Medicaid

Social Drivers of Health

Extend enhanced SNAP benefits to October 1st, 2025

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2024 on the Horizon RISING STAR: SUPERVISORY EXCELLENCE PROGRAM HCAN is excited to partner with Huron to offer a custom leadership course to our health centers in 2024. The primary audience for this program is new mid-level team leads, managers, and supervisors across medical, dental, behavioral health, and administrative departments. In this course, new health center leaders will connect with their peers across the state to learn the foundations necessary to succeed in a leadership role, including delegation, conflict management, and coaching. This course is fully online, combining both asynchronous modules that introduce key leadership skills and live facilitated Zoom sessions focused on application. HCAN will welcome up to 30 Rising Stars into our initial cohort for a February 2024 launch.

ENTRY-LEVEL DENTAL ASSISTING CURRICULUM At the end of 2023, HCAN and Nebraska FQHC Dental Leadership vetted and approved an online, interactive didactic curriculum to educate and train entry-level Dental Assistants.

This standardized curriculum was developed by the DALE Foundation, a Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)-affiliated organization. This foundational curriculum supports the efforts of educators and employers as they upskill Dental Assistants in infection control, dental radiography, dental anatomy, and the performance of entry-level functions. The on-the-job training is designed to be completed in 10 weeks. HCAN expects initial trainees to begin in February 2024.

UPSKILLING MEDICAL INTERPRETERS HCAN is excited to partner with the College of Saint Mary to offer their Foundations of Medical Interpreting course to our health centers. This class is fully online and can be completed asynchronously, which is essential to ensure it is accessible for health center staff across the state. The class provides an introduction to interpretation skills for bilingual speakers (Spanish or any other language). Topics include interpretation techniques, terminology, and industry ethics. This class will provide bilingual health center staff with the education needed to support non-English speaking patients while enhancing their professional interpretation skillset.

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Collective Impact Our health centers provide tremendous value and impact to the communities they serve through economic stimulus, savings to the system, and care for all populations. They provide accessible healthcare services, improve public health and reduce healthcare disparities.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS $276.1 M

Total Economic Impact of Current Operations of Nebraska Health Centers

$144.4 M Direct Health Center Spending

1,117

Health Center Jobs in Nebraska

$31.4 M Annual Tax Revenues in Nebraska

SAVINGS TO THE SYSTEM

Lower Costs for Health Center Medicaid Patients

Savings to Medicaid

Savings to the Overall Health System

STATEWIDE IMPACT 369,612

Clinic Visits in Nebraska

24,782

Virtual Visits in Nebraska

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2023 Sponsors PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSORS

GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS

SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS

BRONZE LEVEL SPONSORS

Interested in partnering with HCAN and/or learning more about community health centers?

Please reach out to Jenna Thomsen, HCAN’s Director of Strategy and Development, at info@hcanebraska.org.

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HCAN CEO’s Report Health Center Association of Nebraska’s Mission is to Advance the Health Center Movement. The very core of the health center movement consists of community, equity, access, and compassionate health care that touches the social drivers of health care. Born of the Civil Rights Movement, the health center movement has always understood the link between health care access and overall well-being.

In June of 2023, HCAN’s Board of Directors met to map out a vision for the coming years. Four strategic priorities were identified during that retreat – Advocacy, New Business Amy Behnke, CEO of HCAN

Development, Asset Framing, and Workforce.

Working within this strategic framework, HCAN’s goals are: • Ensuring that health centers are seen, heard and valued as a critical partner in addressing access to primary health care • Implementing innovative strategies and shared opportunities to Nebraska’s health centers to expand services and strengthen the health center infrastructure • Leveraging the collective strength and power of Nebraska’s health centers to build opportunity and change the narrative around the communities we serve • Positioning health centers as the employer of choice through strong recruitment and retention, expansion of pipeline programs, and new opportunities for existing staff to grow in their own careers This strategic vision is bold and cannot be fulfilled without strong partnerships, community engagement, and policy support at the State and Federal level. HCAN is fiercely committed to lifting up the communities served by Nebraska’s health centers, understanding their goals and aspirations, and building opportunities within the health centers for those communities to achieve their goals.

We will continue to advocate for health center funding that addresses the need for new access points and innovative workforce strategies. We must work together to build a health care infrastructure that fosters and supports growing workforce needs, and ensures equitable access to all Nebraskans.

HCAN Staff Amy Behnke, Chief Executive Officer Daphne Calhoun, Office Manager Angela Lindstrom, Director of Communications Shelly Uhing, Director of Finance Jenna Thomsen, Director of Strategy & Development Rachel Heinz, Director of Programs Isela Meza, Navigator Lead Samantha Wall, Health Equity & Access Advisor

2023 Annual Report

ADVANCE

the

HEALTH CENTER MOVEMENT

Health Center Association of Nebraska (402) 932-3389 www.hcanebraska.org

3929 S 147th St STE 100A Omaha, NE 68144