Blog – Page 9 – Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Grief and the Holidays

DW Admin on December 11, 2018

Parties, food, Christmas movies, and music are some of the many ways people celebrate the holiday season. In addition, there is shopping and decorating going on everywhere. It is impossible to steer away from the festivities around us.

For many, the holidays are a joyful time of the year. For others, the season is a difficult one. Some people are in a season of grief. They have experienced the loss of a loved one, close friend, or an animal companion.

Grief can be overwhelming for some, especially when many traditions were created with loved ones who are no longer here. Traditions like making tamales or baking cookies together, going light riding through town, attending Christmas musicals, and the list goes on. These reminders can trigger specific memories, causing deep sadness for grievers.

Celina Gonzalez, a behavioral health counselor at Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Dixon Health & Wellness Center, said it’s important to try and honor the memory of a loved one who has passed away, as part of the grieving and healing process. You can also decide what traditions you’d like to keep or create new ones in honor of your loved one.

“When you honor a loved one, it helps bring comfort. You can do this in many ways. You can make an ornament that reflects their personality, plant a tree, visit the cemetery with flowers, or prepare their favorite dish,” said Gonzalez. “It’s about celebrating them in your own way.”

She also said it’s OK to skip the holidays, if you don’t feel up to it.

“You don’t have to go to the parties or get into the holiday spirit. It’s normal to feel sad, and often times depressed, for a season. Give yourself permission to grieve because what your feeling is real,” she said. “Also, there’s no timeframe for grieving. Everyone is different and should grieve for as long as needed.”

Gonzalez said there are also other types of losses causing people to feel blue during the holidays. They include the loss of a job, home, finances, relationship (divorce), dream, and health. These losses can make it extremely difficult for individuals to feel like celebrating.

If you or someone you know has recently experienced a loss, Gonzalez shares a few things you can do to help get through the season.

Draw from your inner strength to work through the healing.
Go for a walk, it will help clear your thoughts. And, don’t forget to breathe.
Talk with someone who understands your loss. Perhaps make an appointment to see a grief counselor.
Join a grief support group. It will help connect you with others experiencing similar losses.
Get plenty of rest and drink lots of water. This will help keep you healthy.

Gonzalez said it’s important to reach out to family, friends, or a professional counselor, if you are feeling overwhelmed with grief. But most of all, give yourself the gift of allowing yourself to work through the pain and grief, and construct a new connection with the deceased.

Methodist Healthcare Ministries is dedicated to creating access to healthcare for the uninsured through direct services, community partnerships, and strategic grant-making in 74 counties across South Texas. Guided by its mission of "Serving Humanity to Honor God," the organization’s vision is to be the leader for improving wellness of the least served. The mission also includes Methodist Healthcare Ministries' one-half ownership of the Methodist Healthcare System, the largest healthcare system in South Texas, which creates a unique avenue to ensure that it continues to be a benefit to the community by providing quality care to all and charitable care when needed. For more information, visit www.mhm.org.

An Introduction to Health Equity – Part 1

DW Admin on December 10, 2018

The vision of Methodist Healthcare Ministries is “to be the leader for improving wellness of the least served." In that spirit, Methodist Healthcare Ministries strives to promote a sense of health equity across the 74 counties we serve and to reduce health disparities, while improving overall population health by focusing our efforts on the most vulnerable populations. We recognize that disease management and direct services alone cannot, and ultimately will not, transform individual or community health in our service area. They may improve wellness for a period of time, but they do not create lasting change, especially not on a community level.

To support transformational change in the communities we serve, we need continued learning about, implementation of, and shared commitment to health equity. Toward that end, this post kicks off a three-part series introducing health equity language, practical recommendations and tools for healthcare professionals, as well as strategic considerations for healthcare organizations.

For starters, equity is not the same as equality. Pursuing equality means focusing on a final goal of equal or equitable services for all people. As depicted in the image below, equality assumes that one size fits all, that we can all reach the same destination of living at the highest level of health if we simply receive an opportunity to do so (i.e., consistent access to clinical care). Equity, by contrast, is far more ambitious and much more specific to the differences between groups and reasons for those differences.

Visualizing Health Equity: One Size Does Not Fit All

As defined by Healthy People 2020, health equity is the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people.” Beyond levelling the playing field to make it fair and equitable for all people, health equity requires righting historic and ongoing wrongs, and correcting the generational impact of biased policies and norms that have favored some groups over others. These policies and norms include slavery, forced migration, redlining, wage discrimination, and mass incarceration.

FOR FURTHER LEARNING: Watch this 76 second video about the difference between health equity and health equality

These and other social processes have created significant health disparities between different population groups. For example, in the United States, life expectancy from birth varies greatly in urban areas; residents in lower-income neighborhoods of color often live 10-20 years less than residents in higher-income, predominantly white neighborhoods of the same city.

FOR FURTHER LEARNING: Does where you live affect how long you live? Enter your zip code to compare life expectancy in your community to life expectancy in your county, state, and the United States

In Corpus Christi, Texas, when mapped by census tract, this disparity ranges from a life expectancy of 69.6 years in the Hilcrest area to 85.2 years on the south side. A similar gap exists for San Antonio, as demonstrated by the map below:

Alternatively, obesity rates offer another obvious example of health disparities. Latinx individuals are more likely than whites to develop obesity; furthermore, the prevalence of Latinx obesity is higher for women than men and decreases by increasing levels of educational attainment.

It is important to note that while disparities reflect historical and contemporary injustices in a society, they also offer a measurable means of demonstrating progress toward achieving health equity. From the American Medical Association to the Surgeon General of the United States, healthcare organizations are being exhorted to prioritize the elimination of disparities as a means to improve overall health outcomes and strive toward equity.

The next post in this series will dig deeper into specific disparities, offering a few practical recommendations for pursuing health equity in everyday healthcare practice.

Tim Barr is the Collective Impact Strategy Manager for Methodist Healthcare Ministries. He supports, develops, and facilitates collaborative efforts in South Texas. Tim is also a member of the Climate Equity workgroup for the City of San Antonio’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.

To see part 2 of this blog series, click here.

To see part 3 of this blog series, click here.

References

Braveman, P. A., Cubbin, C., Egerter, S., Williams, D. R., & Pamuk, E. (2010). Socioeconomic Disparities in Health in the United States: What the Patterns Tell Us. American Journal of Public Health, 100(S1), S186-S196. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.166082

Braveman, P. A., Kumanyika, S., Fielding, J., LaVeist, T., Borrell , L. N., Manderscheid, R., & Troutman, A. (2011). Health Disparities and Health Equity: The Issue is Justice. American Journal of Public Health, 101(S1), S149-S155. doi:https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300062

Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Disparities. Retrieved from Healthy People 2020: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Disparities

Lopez, E. B., & Yamashita, T. (2018). The relationship of education and acculturation with vigorous intensity leisure time physical activity by gender in Latinos. Ethnicity & Health, 23(7), 797-812. doi:10.1080/13557858.2017.1294664

Murphy, S. L., Xu, J., Kochanek, K. D., Curtin, S. C., & Arias, E. (2017). National Vital Statistics Reports, Deaths: Final Data for 2015. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_06.pdf

VCU. (2016, September 26). Mapping Life Expectancy. Retrieved from Center on Society and Health: https://societyhealth.vcu.edu/work/the-projects/mapping-life-expectancy.html

Coastal Bend Day of Giving is Nov. 13

DW Admin on November 13, 2018

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is proud to give a shout out to our funded partners in Texas’ Coastal Bend, as they participate in the 10th Annual Coastal Bend Day of Giving, a one-day charitable challenge, beginning at midnight on Nov. 13.

Partners like Rural Economic Assistance League (REAL, Inc.) benefit from the challenge. For 46 years, REAL has been on the forefront of providing critical health and quality of life assistance to communities in rural South Texas. 2018 is REAL’s first year participating in Coastal Bend Day of Giving. “We know that without the services we provide in rural areas, people would suffer from isolation and an inability to access services,” says REAL Director Martín Ornelas. “People call us because they need assistance. We’re the life link for them to continue having a fulfilling life.” From August 31, 2017 to September 1, 2018, REAL’s public transportation service provided 250,000 trips to senior citizens, people with disabilities and people who need a ride to appointments or other daily life needs.

For just 24 hours, area non-profits receive individual donations from the community, boosted by matching funds from the Coastal Bend Community Foundation. Those 24 hours go by fast, but the impact is long-lasting.

Other Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. partners who are participating in the 2018 Coastal Bend Day of Giving:

Amistad Community Health Center
Corpus Christi Metro Ministries
Family Counseling Service
Mission 911
Timon’s Ministries
Wesley Community Center

Schedule your donation and learn more about how Coastal Bend Day of Giving helps our funded partners continue to serve South Texas.

Welcome New President & CEO, Jaime Wesolowski

DW Admin on October 30, 2018

Monday, Oct. 1 was a truly momentous day in the life of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. We celebrated the grand opening of our Dixon Health & Wellness Center and dedicated the building in honor of its namesake, Bishop Ernest T. Dixon, Jr. We were joined by partners, community and civic leaders, stakeholders and members of the faith community to reflect on Bishop Dixon’s legacy and celebrate all the center will do in furthering his life’s work. The importance of the day was punctuated by the introduction of our new President & CEO, Jaime Wesolowski,

Pictured Left to Right: Kevin C. Moriarty, former president & CEO; Marc Raney, interim CEO; and Jaime Wesolowski, current president and chief executive officer of Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

whose first official act was to welcome the community into the center along with two very special guests: Kevin C. Moriarty, who served as Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ first president and CEO for more than 20 years, and Marc Raney, who most recently served as interim CEO since Kevin’s retirement last year. Methodist Healthcare Ministries is extraordinarily fortunate and blessed to have had such wonderful testaments to servant leadership guide the organization since our inception. I have no doubt Kevin and Marc will provide Jaime invaluable support and encouragement as he helps the organization continue to grow and thrive.

While the role of CEO at Methodist Healthcare Ministries is new to Jaime, he is certainly not new to the organization or the healthcare community in South Texas. For the last 11 years, Jaime served as the President and Chief Executive Officer at the Methodist Healthcare System, which Methodist Healthcare Ministries co-owns with HCA Healthcare. As President & CEO of Methodist Healthcare System, Jaime was responsible for a network of nine acute care facilities serving Bexar and 26 surrounding counties. Under his direction, the System earned state and national recognition for its quality improvement, patient safety and satisfaction efforts—including winning the Texas Award for Performance Excellence in 2014, demonstrating the highest level of quality in the state of Texas.

Jaime is also known in our community as a champion for cancer prevention and research and has been a passionate supporter the American Cancer Society and other cancer-related organizations. He is Chair of the American Cancer Society’s South Texas Area board of directors and was recently appointed as Chair to the newly created South Region Advisory Cabinet, covering eight states from Arizona through Alabama. We are proud of Jaime’s continued advocacy in the community and are glad to support him in those important efforts.

In addition to the usual routines of a chief executive officer and executing the board’s strategy for community health, Jaime’s role at Methodist Healthcare Ministries will include overseeing the local governance and the quality and charitable activities of the Methodist Healthcare System. Jaime brings a wealth of experience and expertise that uniquely positions him to advance this critical element of our mission. He will no doubt bring tremendous value to our partnership with HCA Healthcare as well as the 90+ partnerships Methodist Healthcare Ministries has enjoyed for over 20 years with Federally Qualified Health Centers, safety net clinics, and other providers and advocates that increase access to care for low-income, uninsured families across South Texas.

In scripture, Peter asks that “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms,” (1 Peter 4:10); it is apropos for Jaime as he was a wonderful steward of Methodist Healthcare System. We on the board of directors have the greatest faith that Jaime will advance Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ mission and vision to become the leader for improving wellness of the least served to new heights.

It is my pleasure and great joy to welcome Jaime to the organization on behalf of the board of directors.

A Culture of Quality

DW Admin on October 27, 2018

As a not-for-profit, healthcare organization, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is committed to pursuing the highest level of quality in the care it provides to low-income, uninsured patients and clients. With a service area of 74 counties across South Texas, and multiple methods in which the organization accomplishes its mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God,” ensuring that there is fingerprint of quality across the organization is a mission-critical responsibility. Below is a Q&A with Amanda Orahoske, quality assurance manager, that expounds upon Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ culture of quality.

What is Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Commitment to Quality, and why does that commitment matter to a healthcare organization?

Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Commitment to Quality is modeled after a very important publication by the Institute for Medicine, titled Crossing the Quality Chasm. Outlined within that publication are six key areas that healthcare organizations should focus on to close the gap in quality: Safety, Effectiveness, Patient-Centeredness, Timeliness, Efficiency and Equity. What we’ve done at Methodist Healthcare Ministries is develop a Commitment to Quality pledge that every employee signs upon joining the organization. We continuously reinforce that pledge through ongoing training, seminars, and by incorporating that commitment into our performance evaluation criteria.

As a not-for-profit healthcare organization, we focus on each of the key areas identified above as a way to help us provide better care for the patients and clients we serve. They direct us to realize our vision to be the leader for improving wellness of the least served. To that end, Methodist Healthcare Ministries became a Passport Member of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) earlier this year, which provides our team members with access to a wealth of training opportunities and resources that reinforce the importance of the six key quality focus areas.

How does Methodist Healthcare Ministries pursue and achieve its Commitment to Quality?

By constantly striving to move forward. For the past four years, we have slowly implemented a quality-based culture change that our team members know as “PDSA,” which stands for Plan, Do, Study, Act. PDSA comes from an Institute of Healthcare Improvement model called the Model for Improvement. Each year, Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ team members use personal improvement worksheets that follow the PDSA framework with the goal of improving the quality of their processes, and thereby improving the quality of the service we provide to low-income, uninsured families throughout South Texas.

Throughout this quality journey, the Quality and Business Intelligence team has also recognized the importance of obtaining professional certification through the National Association of Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), as Certified Professionals in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). To that end, three of the members of our quality team have obtained their CPHQ certification: Dawn Wilder, our director of quality, safety & compliance; Amanda Orahoske, quality assurance manager; and Rosanna Vallin, quality assurance specialist.

By receiving this certification, our team has joined about 10,000 other CPHQs and, in the words of NAHQ, are deemed “healthcare quality professionals” that work in a healthcare setting to enhance care delivery, optimize value, and improve outcomes by leading activities in one or more of the following core quality functions:

Patient Safety
Regulatory and Accreditation
Quality Review and Accountability
Performance and Process Improvement
Health Data Analytics
Population Health and Care Transitions

How do you see Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ culture of quality growing?

The Quality and Business Intelligence team is using a four-tiered approach to evaluate where our organization and team members currently stand in becoming more quality-centric in our activities by measuring Exposure, Education, Engagement, and Empowerment. We actively review each of those measures and adjust activities to help everyone in the organization reach Empowerment, where they are actively taking quality-focused actions and using data to help improve their actions every day. At the Empowerement level, our employees are naturally saying “Let’s improve this” and asking “How can we measure what we did and the impact we made?”

We are also expanding our data analytics reach with the implementation of Tableau, an advanced data visualization software tool. Tableau helps us make more informed decisions and guides us on improvement projects throughout the organization. This software tool allows our leadership, providers, and staff clearly visualize data in a new way. This is an exciting time for Methodist Healthcare Ministries because not only will we be looking at patient outcomes, but also the upstream factors (social determinants of health and population health trends) that impact patient wellness. By instilling a culture of quality that constantly looks to make evidence-based decisions that improve quality standards across the organization, we are continuing to ensure that our patients receive the highest level of compassionate care when they turn to Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

An intern’s call to engage in the fight against opioid addiction

DW Admin on August 30, 2018

Three years ago, if anyone had used the word ‘epidemic,’ it would not have occurred to me to preface it with the word ‘opioid.’ It is a bit disturbing to hear and read news reports on the extent to which opioids have affected families across the United States. Just recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 42,000 people died in 2016 due to opioid overdose and nearly 40 percent of those deaths involved a prescription opioid. Although Texas is currently posting a lower overdose death rate than the national average, overdose deaths in our Lone Star State are on the increase, going from 1.5 to 4.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016. Bringing it closer to home, four of the country’s 25 worst cities for opioid use rates are in Texas: Texarkana (#10), Amarillo (#13), Odessa (#15) and Longview (#17). As a healthcare policy intern in the Policy & Advocacy Department at Methodist Healthcare Ministries, I am interested in learning more about what types of initiatives, both local and statewide, are being mobilized to get ahead of this epidemic.

To better understand the systems in place to support communities affected by opioids, I first looked at the ways Methodist Healthcare Ministries combats opioid use. Two strategic pillars became clear very quickly — the first being strategic grantmaking. Guided by its vision to be the leader for improving wellness of the least served, Methodist Healthcare Ministries provides grants to numerous community stakeholders across South Texas in five categories — one of which is Social Services & Behavioral Health. In 2018, Methodist Healthcare Ministries allocated nearly $7.7 million for Social Services & Behavioral Health programs which includes counseling and recovery services that are important in treating opioid addiction. The second approach Methodist Healthcare Ministries employs to combat opioid addition is through its Community Counselors, stationed throughout South Texas, who provide direct access to behavioral health services.

I then turned my attention to statewide initiatives. What I found made me feel hopeful that state policymakers have acknowledged the urgency of the crisis and are working diligently towards a solution. Within the last couple of years, Texas has developed targeted initiatives and partnered with various community stakeholders to tackle opioid addiction. In 2017, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) received $27.4 million in Federal State Targeted Opioid Response grants to create the Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) Grant. The two-year grant aims at increasing outreach and general education regarding opioid treatment and training, hoping to reduce opioid related deaths and overdoses in Texas. HHSC plans to expand opioid prevention and treatment services through its existing partners and the recruitment of new providers to expand networks, all with the assistance of Local Mental Health and Behavioral Health Authorities and university partners.

In 2015, the Texas Legislature created the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force to investigate high maternal mortality trends in Texas and revealed new data showing that drug overdose was the leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths between 2012-2015, with 37 out of the 64 drug overdose maternal deaths in that period being due to an opioid. Connecting an opioid overdose as the cause of death for a young pregnant mom is something that leaves you a bit unsettled and sad. Two young lives are lost to the world before they had a chance to start. The Task Force points to existing programs aimed at preventing and treating opioid use in pregnant women as a key intervention strategy. To prepare lawmakers for the 2019 legislative session, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (San Antonio) took action in October 2017 to create the House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse, directing the committee to study both the impact of addiction and effectiveness of the programs and treatment options and develop concrete principles and action items. Two of the 13 members of the Select Committee represent districts within Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ service area.

Closer to the place I’ve called home for the past five years, I’ve learned that Bexar County leads the state in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and has the third-highest per-capita rate of overdose deaths in Texas, as reported by the Rivard Report. In the summer of 2017, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg created the Bexar County Joint Opioid Task Force to decrease the overall deaths due to opioids. Members of this task force — including experts in public health, medical and pharmaceutical professionals, first responders, educators and policy makers — will develop strategies to address the opioid crisis in a comprehensive manner with an aim to decrease the number of opioid deaths in Bexar County. The proposed strategies will include: increasing the use of overdose reversal drugs by first responders; improving provider training on evidence-based practices; increasing access and awareness of treatment options; and increasing public knowledge regarding the increase use and disposal of opioids.

My review of recent national and state reports on the impact of opioid addiction on our Texas families leaves me concerned, but even more importantly, it’s made me informed and aware. This epidemic has no boundaries, and shows no sign of slowing down. A recent Vital Signs report from the CDC reported that there has been a 30 percent increase in emergency department visits due to opioid overdose between July 2016 and September 2017 – a reminder that we need to engage and we need to do it now.

For my part, I look to join my Policy & Advocacy team in learning how Methodist Healthcare Ministries can continue to assist state efforts and how we can increase awareness of the problem in our communities. Our department will be following state and local policy initiatives over the legislative interim in preparation for the state’s 86^th Legislative Session, scheduled to convene on January 8, 2019. Together we can ensure that Texas families are empowered to overcome this epidemic and future generations will have the tools to battle similar struggles.

For those suffering from opioid use, it is important to identify community resources that are available to treat their addiction as soon as possible. The Center for Healthcare Services and the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Awareness provides services for opioid addiction in Bexar County. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) also provide helplines for those seeking help for opioid addiction. SAMHSA provides a treament finder of Opioid Treatment Programs throughout Texas. These programs offer counseling and medication assisted treatments for opioid addiction.

Coffee with Cassandra: Opportunities for professional development

DW Admin on July 18, 2018

Before you start your workday, enjoy your morning coffee with brew from Methodist Healthcare Ministries. This is your daily dose of stories that speak to the heart of our organization, paired with your favorite cup of joe!

As a growing organization of 400 plus team members, we place a high priority on providing them with opportunities to develop themselves professionally. Guided by our organizational learning and development team, Methodist Healthcare Ministries has created an outstanding culture of learning because we believe in the value of our team members continuously developing new ways to serve their communities.

For this Coffee with Cassandra, I had the chance to sit down with our staff development specialist, Camille Mendoza. She supports our team members through various professional development initiatives. She describes how providing professional development for our team members can create a larger impact for our patients and clients.

Legislative Interim Update, July

DW Admin on July 13, 2018

During the 85^th legislative session, Methodist Healthcare Ministries tracked roughly 1,400 bills, supported over 500 bills, and worked to assist the passage of 224 laws that affect access to health care for Texas families. Keep up to date on how those laws are being effectively implemented and funded as intended through our legislative updates.

Interim Updates

Methodist Healthcare Ministries Announces Selection of New President and CEO
Health care stakeholders advocate for improving state’s Medicaid managed care system
Survey shows health care is a priority for Texans
Governor Abbott address mental health screenings after recent school shooting
Texas opens applications for First Responder Mental Health Grant Program
Healthy Futures of Texas achieves victory in class action
Federal funding for opioid response programs available for rural communities

Upcoming Meetings & Events

Health Care Policy News

View our 2017 Legislative Agenda

Advocacy

Policy

Research

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State Updates

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. Announces the Appointment of New President and CEO, Jaime Wesolowski
The Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. board of directors has selected Jaime Wesolowski as the organization’s next president and chief executive officer. Wesolowski, a healthcare executive with three decades of leadership experience, currently serves as president and CEO of the Methodist Healthcare System — the largest provider of health care in South and Central Texas. Read more.

Healthcare stakeholders advocate for improving state’s Medicaid managed care system
Seventeen Texas organizations, including Methodist Healthcare Ministries, signed on to a letter to state lawmakers this week, asking for their help in addressing serious concerns with access to quality healthcare under the state’s Medicaid managed care system. The current system relies on private and non-profit insurance companies to coordinate health care for children, people with disabilities, seniors, and others enrolled in the state’s Medicaid system.

The Dallas Morning News recent investigative reporting series – Pain & Profit – shed a critical light on the state’s Medicaid Managed Care System, and its failure to provide adequate care for the system’s most vulnerable patients. The powerful testimonies in the report shared stories of hardships faced by Texans when the system failed to deliver care. As a result of these news reports, members of the Texas House Human Services Committee came together in mid-June to take testimony from state health care agencies, contracted managed care organizations as well as those families impacted in the news report. Similar testimony continued at a separate Joint Hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article II and Committee on General Investigation and Ethics. Lawmakers will focus on addressing these issues for the upcoming 86^th Legislative Session.

Survey shows health care is a priority for Texans
The Henry J Kaiser Foundation (KFF) released a report this month, highlighting the health policy priorities of Texan residents. Texas is one of the 17 states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and it continues to have the largest uninsured population in the nation. KFF partnered with the Episcopal Health Foundation and obtained survey results from nearly 1,400 Texas.

Survey results showed that health care is a priority for Texans with over half reporting that the state legislature should increase spending on services and programs. The KFF report noted that roughly two thirds of survey respondents believe state government is not doing enough to ensure low-income adults can get health care. The same percentage of individuals believe the state should expand the Medicaid program. The survey stated 70% of Texans report some connection to the Medicaid program and a majority believe that the program is working well for low-income individuals. Future KFF surveys will focus on Texans’ experience with health care affordability and access.

Governor Abbott address mental health screenings after recent school shooting
Mental health screenings in schools have become a serious topic since the recent Santa Fe ISD shooting. Governor Greg Abbott recently released recommendations for addressing school safety and stated that the Telemedicine Wellness, Intervention, Triage, and Referral Project (TWITR) could be an ideal model for the whole state. TWITR, initially funded through a grant program in the Governors’ Criminal Justice Division, is organized by The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and has provided mental health screenings to ten West Texas school districts. They plan to expand the program to an addition five school districts in the near future.

A new report highlights that since its inception, the project has triaged nearly 215 students via Telemedicine with the TTUHSC psychiatry department. The program had 25 students removed from school, 44 students placed in alternative schools and 38 students sent to a hospital due to their mental health. All the students were screened for multiple behavioral health concerns such as depression, anxiety and violent thoughts. Billy Philips, Executive Vice President for rural and community health at TTUHSC, stated that the project has been able to fill gaps in the lack of access to care in West Texas. Methodist Healthcare Ministries will monitor the Legislature’s implementation of the recommendations and continue to work with partners to address school mental health issues.

Texas opens applications for First Responder Mental Health Grant Program.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office has established the First Responder Mental Health Resiliency Program which provides direct services to peace officers and other first responder agencies across the state. The program focuses on providing mental health services in a confidential and specialized method supported by trusted research, Funded projects under this fund source are expected to implement services that reduce stress for officers and first responders, improve coping strategies, and increase overall morale. Proposals are due on July 3, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. CST.

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Federal Updates

Healthy Futures of Texas achieves victory in class action
The U.S. District Court in D.C ruled in favor of Healthy Futures of Texas and 61 other organizations in a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.

In the summer of 2017, HHS defunded the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, nearly two years earlier than expected. The program has seen numerous successes in creating medically accurate and age appropriate programs to prevent teen pregnancy across the nation and led to the creation of multiple studies that have been successful in both rural and urban communities.

The ruling this past June held that HHS’s early termination of the program was unlawful and ordered the federal agency to reinstate the grant program for all 62 class members. With this victory, Healthy Futures of Texas and other organizations can continue to provide services essential to prevent teen pregnancy.

Federal funding for opioid response programs available for rural communitiesThe Federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released a notice of funding now available for opioid response programs. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Planning (RCORP) initiative for Fiscal Year 2018, will award 75 grants to rural communities. Successful awardees will receive approximately $200,000 for one year to develop plans to implement opioid use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery interventions designed to reduce opioid overdoses in rural communities. Interested organizations can find more information here. Applications are due by July 30, 2018.

Upcoming Meetings & Events

July 21: Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System: Addressing the Challenges (San Antonio)
Aug 9: Hospital Payment Advisory Committee
Aug 17: Medical Care Advisory Committee
Aug 21: Bexar County Opioid Task Force (San Antonio)
Sep 15: UTRGV School of Medicine Research Symposium (McAllen)
Sep 27-29: The Texas Tribune Festival (Austin)

Health Care Policy News

Children's Health
Texans Care for Children: Report highlights strategies to prevent teen pregnancy in foster care and support pregnant and parenting teens in foster care.

2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book Released: Report looks at child well-being using indicators across four domains – health, education, economic well-being and family and community

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A few words from your Wesley Nurse: God’s garden

DW Admin on May 25, 2018

What a beautiful spring we’ve had. I am blessed to have a firsthand view of God’s garden along the country roads I take to work. When I arrive at the church, I am greeted by God’s beautiful handiwork: the lovingly cultivated field of poppies, an assortment of bright, sunny-colored flowers, and the serene beauty of the tranquil prayer garden tended by a few of our dedicated congregation members. We’ve been fortunate that the rains came in at just the right amount so that wildflowers that normally await their turn to bloom are all clamoring for attention at once. What a sight to behold! But of course, to have this beauty, we must endure some adversity – thunderous storms, power outages and flooding. That’s springtime in Texas!

Like the ebb and flow of nature, human existence similarly goes through ups and downs. Although God gave us the beautiful gifts of forgiveness and unconditional love through His Son, sometimes we must go through some adversity and trials to see and appreciate the beauty of it all. We need the ‘watering’ of God’s love, and His word to thrive and carry us through rough times.

As a Faith Community Nurse for Methodist Healthcare Ministries (located at First United Methodist Church, Luling), I give new patients a brief spiritual assessment containing these three statements:

I find comfort in my faith or spiritual beliefs.
Difficult times have strengthened my faith or spiritual beliefs.
Even during difficult times, I know that things will be OK.

This helps me learn how to best approach a patient’s visit and get a sense of their spirituality.

Typically, most of my patients, as dire as their situations are, still respond that they do have faith. Which is why I was heartbroken when I recently met a new homeless patient that had lost his. He told me he used to attend church, but for a long time now he has felt “like gum on the bottom of God’s shoes.” He didn’t think God cared about him anymore. For me, that’s where the ‘faith’ in Faith Community Nurse kicked in. We talked for some time. Given his circumstance, it was easy to understand why this man felt abandoned. Together, we talked about God’s love and forgiveness — that no matter what may have happened in our past, we’re fortunate to have the forgiveness of a loving Father.

Moving forward for him will be challenging. It’ll also be a work in progress building his trust. But I felt hopeful and uplifted when we parted ways and I reached out to shake his hand. Instead, he hugged me like his life depended on it. He was so thankful we’d gotten to talk.

Our meeting and conversation must have meant a lot to him because the next day when I called him, a friend of his answered and thanked me profusely for taking the time with him that I did. I felt happy that I made a difference. I felt I was the vessel being used to ‘water’ his soul, and I believe in time, he will blossom again.

Until next time, be well and be blessed.

Caring Servant: Dayanara

DW Admin on May 23, 2018

Methodist Healthcare Ministries is composed of diverse team members all working together with one common goal: "Serving Humanity to Honor God." Guided by our core values — integrity, making a difference, teamwork, compassion and spirituality — each one of our team members plays an important role in creating access to health care for low-income, uninsured patients and clients. Throughout the year, we feature the stories of team members who have been nominated by co-workers for how they exemplify these qualities in our Caring Servant spotlight.

This month’s Caring Servant spotlight shines brightly on one of our parenting programs coordinators, Dayanara Santiago Quiñones, who demonstrated our core value of ‘making a difference’ when she stepped in to save the life of her client. Below is her story.

“Dayanara is committed to serving others. On multiple occasions, she has gone above and beyond to assist those in her Meld Special Needs class — a parenting group designed for parents and guardians of children living with a range of illnesses and disabilities.

During a recent group session, Dayanara witnessed one of the parents in her class suddenly choking on an apple. Having just completed her CPR and first aid recertification the week before, she sprang into action. After quickly verifying that the client was indeed choking and needed help, Dayanara immediately began first aid by giving back blows and performing the Heimlich maneuver. All the while she was concerned that the client had recently fallen and suffered a broken rib, but knew she had to take action and help. Within moments, the client spat out the piece of apple she was choking on and was fine thanks to Dayanara’s help.”

Dayanara's ability to quickly assess the situation, act, and avoid what could have been a detrimental situation helped save a life. Her actions that day, and every day are a testament to her desire to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of those she serves.

It’s because of team members such as Dayanara that our organization truly carries out its mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God.”

Get to know more of our Caring Servants on YouTube.

Legislative Interim Update, May 22

DW Admin on May 22, 2018

Interim Updates

More women being served in Texas women’s health programs
Members appointed to Judicial Commission on Mental Health
Task Force of Border Health Officials identifies health issues
Federal administration proposes $7B reduction in CHIP
Laredo health care community collaborates on immunization policies
CMS releases new report on Marketplace enrollments

Upcoming Meetings & Events

Health Care Policy News

View our 2017 Legislative Agenda

Advocacy

Policy

Research

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Interim Updates

More women being served in Texas women’s health programs
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) released a report highlighting the increasing number of women enrolled in Texas Health Programs, including the Healthy Texas Women program and the Family Planning Program. These programs provide a wide range of services to eligible individuals such as STD screening, mammograms, contraception coverage and much more. HHSC reports 122,406 clients were served in Healthy Texas Women in 2017, an increase from 70,366 clients in 2016. The Family Planning Program also saw an increase of 58,586 clients from 2016 to 2017. However, HHSC states that these enrollment numbers cannot be compared to the number of women accessing services prior to the massive budget cuts in 2011, due to changes in program eligibility and benefits.

HHSC notes that the Family Planning Program and the Healthy Texas Women program are projected to save millions of dollars on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The report comes at a time when Texas is waiting to receive more than $400 million in federal funding over five years to fund the Healthy Texas Women program, which would further improve health outcomes. These programs play a critical role in increasing access to women’s health services, which is a legislative priority for Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Members appointed to Judicial Commission on Mental Health
Thirty-one newly appointed members of the Judicial Commission on Mental Health convened their first meeting earlier this month at the Texas Law Center in Austin. Created under the direction of the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the statewide Commission is charged with developing a plan that recommends best practices in the administration of civil and criminal justice for individuals with mental illness. The Commission will also develop an outreach campaign to create awareness of its mission and organize a Judicial Summit on Mental Health in the fall of 2018.

Recognizing the importance of input from a broad spectrum of individuals involved in mental health, the Courts also called for the creation of a Collaborative Council, to provide the Commission with additional expertise and guidance. Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Director of Governmental Affairs, Chris Yanas, was chosen as a member of the Collaborative Council and will take part in scheduled meetings throughout the remainder of 2018. The Commission will wrap up its work with a report of recommendations to members of the 86^th Legislature.

Task Force of Border Health Officials identifies health issues
The Task Force of Border Health Officials, formed by the passage of SB 1680 by Senator Eddie Lucio, brings focus and attention to the challenges and hardships that the entire border region faces every day. The task force will make recommendations to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) commissioner for short-term and long-term border health improvement plans to enhance public health and create a healthy binational community. Since its inception in December, the task force has identified five key health issues: Border Public Health Infrastructure, Communicable Diseases, Arbovirus, Chronic Diseases, and Maternal and Child Health. Currently, the task force is working on creating issue statements and recommendations, which are due to DSHS by Nov. 1. Members include local health officials from Cameron County, Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, Hidalgo County and Laredo. Methodist Healthcare Ministries will continue to monitor task force meetings and look to develop legislative initiatives based on Task Force recommendations.

Federal administration proposes $7B reduction in CHIP
The federal administration has advanced proposals that look to rescind nearly $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). These changes have been proposed despite a bipartisan agreement earlier this year to extend CHIP funding for 10 years. Another $2 billion of the proposed cuts targets the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund, which is available to states that experience an unexpected surge in enrollment, such as natural disasters or economic downturn. Child advocates argue that these cuts would undermine historically bipartisan agreements designed to use these funds for future investment needs in other programs serving children and vulnerable families. Today, more than 400,000 low-income children in Texas get health insurance through CHIP, which provides for wellness check-ups, screenings and access to a provider for more serious illnesses. Methodist Healthcare Ministries has signed on to a national letter with the American Academy of Pediatrics in opposition to the White House’s proposal, urging members to protect the wellness of children and families.

Laredo health care community collaborates on immunization policies
Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ advocacy partner, The Immunization Partnership, held a stakeholder meeting in Laredo to discuss immunization policies and collaborate on efforts to increase access to vaccinations for Webb County residents. The data noted that Texas is doing better than the national average on most vaccinations, but numbers have exponentially declined within the last several years. There were approximately 50,000 conscientious objections to required vaccines last year, an increase from 2016.

Providers and community leaders addressed the need for collaboration and communication about vaccinations in Laredo and surrounding areas. Clinic providers stated that they are unsure if students are getting vaccinated at school clinics because it is not recorded in an electronic database system and parents do not have proof. School officials and clinical staff stressed the need to input vaccination data on a timely basis. The Laredo community discussed several strategies to educate parents about vaccinations, such as providing training to providers on how to recommend vaccinations. The Immunization Partnership will be hosting a stakeholder meeting in Corpus Christi on May 30. You can register and obtain more information here. Methodist Healthcare Ministries will continue to work with partners to increase access to vaccinations and improve data collection processes at both the state and local level.

CMS releases new report on Marketplace enrollments
In April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their annual report on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollment period for 2018, highlighting the number of families and individuals who signed up for health insurance through the federal marketplace. The data shows that 1.1 million Texans selected a 2018 Marketplace plan, a decrease of 8 percent from 2017. The lower participation number is largely attributed to a cut in enrollment time and reduced funding for outreach and enrollment efforts. Given these obstacles, 8 percent is deemed a modest decrease due to the tireless efforts of in-person assisters, community groups and foundations.

The report also provides county-level enrollment numbers of the 10 most populous counties in Texas. Reductions found in the marketplace varied among Texas counties. Fort Bend and Bexar County saw a 2 percent and 9 percent decrease, respectively, whereas Denton County saw a 17 percent decrease. Supporting access to care through affordable health care coverage is a legislative priority for Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Upcoming Meetings & Events

May 24: House Appropriations Committee Hearing (Austin)
May 30: The Immunization Partnership Stakeholder Meeting (Corpus Christi)
May 30-31: Telehealth at the Crossroads Conference (San Antonio)
May 31: HHSC Executive Council Meeting (Austin)
June 1: Texas Tribune: Austin & the Legislature (Austin)
June 12: Bexar County Opioid Task Force (San Antonio)
June 12: Texas Tribune: A Conversation with Sen. Menendez and Reps. Gutierrez & Minjarez (San Antonio)
Sept 27-29: The Texas Tribune Festival (Austin)

Health Care Policy News

Telemedicine
Kaiser Health News: Telemedicine opening doors to specialty care for inmates

Health Care Systems
The Commonwealth Fund: 2018 Scorecard on state health system performance

Health Care Workforce
CBS DFW: Texas mental health counselors waiting months to be licensed

Child and Maternal Health
Texas Tribune: Panelists say more funding, education and access to care are needed to reduce Texas’ maternal mortality rate

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Coffee with Cassandra: Increasing access to care through grant-making

DW Admin on May 18, 2018

At Methodist Healthcare Ministries, one of the ways we fulfill our mission — “Serving Humanity to Honor God” — is through strategic grant-making. In order to increase access to affordable health care for the least served, we fund organizations who share similar missions across our 74-county service area. Our goal through grant-making is to create measurable impact at the community and regional levels.

For this edition of Coffee with Cassandra, I had the opportunity to talk with Jane Hevezi a senior program officer in our Community Grants department. Jane works with a portfolio of our funded partners to guide them through their grants. She describes how our grant-making structure focuses on building a firm relationship with our Funded Partners to make a difference in South Texas communities.