Important note: CME credits are not available for the archived recordings of these webinars.
Preparing and Responding to Natural Disasters: Health Care for the Homeless Perspectives
Wednesday, February 28: 11 a.m. CT
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With recent natural disasters striking major metropolitan areas, the need for preparedness and response discussions has drastically increased. Preparing our health centers, our staff, and our consumers is vital for safety and recovery. Join us as we explore disaster preparedness and response for health centers treating people experiencing homelessness from multiple angles. We will share disaster preparedness plans from an administrative and operations perspective, challenges and success in planning and response, lessons learned following Hurricane Harvey, hear stories of involuntary evacuation for Hurricane Irma, and learn useful strategies to proactively engage and prepare consumers for natural disasters.
Speakers: Frances Isbell, MA, CEO, Health Care for the Homeless Houston, Houston, TX; David Peery, JD, Grant Writer, Camillus Health Concern, Miami, FL
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Tips and Techniques to Support Residents Adapting to the Smoking Ban in Public Housing
Wednesday, February 28: 2 p.m. CT
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In November 2016, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a final rule requiring local public housing agencies (PHAs) to adopt smoke-free policies for federally-owned housing by July 2018. Smoke-free housing aligns with HUD’s mission to provide safe, decent and sanitary housing for the most vulnerable populations across the country and improve the health outcomes of residents of public housing. This webinar will focus on strategies to support residents adapt to the smoking ban in public housing and highlight resources for both public housing authorities and health centers to engage residents in smoking cessation programming.
Speakers: Robin Senss, Director of Supportive Services and Special Programs; Xavier Cachon, Americorp VISTA, Housing Authority of Chester County, Chester, PA; Elizabeth Byrne, MA, Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist, Treatment Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA
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Understanding the Health Impacts of Weather on People Experiencing Homelessness: Using Research to Inform Healthy Public Policy
Thursday, March 1: 11 a.m. CT
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People experiencing homelessness are vulnerable to the adverse health impacts of weather, and these impacts may worsen with climate change. This study was conducted to inform healthy public policy and service planning considerations to better protect the health of people experiencing homelessness during extreme weather. The webinar will provide an overview of the work and how research has informed healthy public policy in this area.
Speaker: Kate Bassil, PhD, Associate Director, Healthy Public Policy Directorate, Toronto Public Health, Toronto, Ontario
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San Diego Hepatitis A Outbreak: An HCH Health Center’s Involvement in Disaster Response
Thursday, March 1: 2 p.m. CT
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Infographic (PDF)
In 2017, an unprecedented outbreak of Hepatitis A occurred in the County of San Diego. Individuals experiencing homelessness and/or those using illicit drugs were primarily affected. Of the 577 individuals confirmed to have Hepatitis A, 20 (4%) died and 396 (69%) were hospitalized. The epicenter of the outbreak was the downtown, which is where Father Joe’s Villages (a large homeless services agency with an embedded HCH Health Center) is located. This talk will focus on the causes of the outbreak, the response to the outbreak, and what HCH Health Centers can learn about disaster response.
Speaker: Jeffrey Norris, MD, Medical Director, Father Joe’s Villages, San Diego, CA
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The Aftermath of Disaster: Addressing Trauma with Mental Health First Aid
Wednesday, March 7: 11 a.m. CT
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Tragedy hits a community. An entire community, an encampment, or group of people experience an intense psychological trauma accompanied by loss of home, safety, or security. At a time when people need to figure out their future, their brains often struggle to regain safety and shift out of survival mode. In the moment HCH providers play a critical role in helping those in their community find physical and psychological safety and start to plan their recovery. In this webinar, we will explore how providers can utilize mental health first aid to help those traumatized by a disaster find resiliency and the ability to start rebuilding their lives.
Speaker: Matt Bennett, MBA, MA, Speaker, Trainer, and Author of Connecting Paradigms, Denver, CO
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Making the Connection: Improving the Relationship Between Shelters and Health Centers
Wednesday, March 7: 2 p.m. CT
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With a multitude of case management obligations, constant staff turnover, and an important emphasis on housing first – it can be difficult for emergency shelter staff to prioritize the health care of their clients. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s TennCare Shelter Enrollment Project has developed ways of reaching out to emergency shelters and bridging the gap between shelter and clinic for both staff and residents. From regional trainings to Medicaid enrollment – learn effective strategies to strengthen your relationship with those who provide direct service to the homeless community in your region.
Speaker: Cindy Manginelli, BS, TennCare Shelter Enrollment Project Coordinator, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Nashville, TN
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Public Health Preparedness for Health Centers: Navigating the Preparedness Landscape
Thursday, March 8: 11 a.m. CT
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The United States healthcare delivery system includes a variety of community-based healthcare centers and clinics that provide primary care and other services to vulnerable patients. These healthcare organizations can be a resource for patients during a pandemic or outbreak and provide support to the mainstream healthcare system (e.g., hospitals, public health departments). With the substantial growth of health centers, the range of patient populations reached, and the breadth of services provided, health centers must be prepared to respond in the event of an emergency. The CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule establishes consistent emergency preparedness requirements for health care providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid. This webinar will provide an overview of the value in leveraging health centers in emergencies, discuss preliminary lessons learned from implementation of the CMS rule and highlight opportunities for additional training.
Presented by the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium in partnership with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
Speakers: Alex Lipovtsev, Assistant Director, Emergency Management Program, Community Health Care Association of New York State; Tina Wright, Emergency Management & Public Information Program Manager, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; Mary Harkins-Schwarz, Evaluation Specialist, Public Health Management Corporation; Moderator: Kristine Gonella, Director, Training and Technical Assistance, National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
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One HCH Center’s Framework for a Safe and Healthy Environment
Thursday, March 8: 2 p.m. CT
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Value Based Decision Making Outline (PDF)
AHCH Framework for a Healthy and Safe Campus Environment (PDF)
By design, HCH organizations are committed to engaging and serving the most vulnerable populations in unconventional settings, through innovative mechanisms. As such, the work is laden with tensions: welcoming while ensuring safety, empathy with boundaries and rules, and being trauma-informed with both clients and staff. Based on the experience of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., this training will provide a conceptual framework for safety at HCH sites, some actionable essential elements for creating such an environment, indicators and substantiating data for measuring safety, and examples of the philosophical and values challenges for decision making around safety.
Speaker: Jennifer L. Metzler, MPH, Executive Director, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., Albuquerque, NM
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Webinar: View on YouTube.