March is a great time to show our appreciation for our Dental staff!

Celebrate

We Have Much to Celebrate at HPC in March!

National Dentist Day, March 6

National Dentist Day was created as a day to say thank you and show your appreciation for your dentist. It is celebrated annually on March 6.

Do you know?

  •  As of 2023 there are approximately 202,300 dentists who are professionally active in the United States. There are approximately 2,100 active dentists in Kansas, of which approximately 280 are specialists.
  • The education and training of dentists typically includes four years of college, four years of dental school and two to three years of residency training if a specialty is chosen.
  • There are two different, but equivalent degrees dentists may earn: Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD).
  • In the United States, 12 specialties are recognized by the American Dental Association.
  1. Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
  2. Pedodontics
  3. Periodontics
  4. Prosthodontics
  5. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  6. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
  7. Endodontics
  8. Public Health Dentistry
  9. Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
  10. Dental Anesthesiology
  11. Oral Medicine
  12. Orofacial Pain

Special thanks to our dentist, Nader Rastgoftar, DDS, for providing top notch patient care!

Staff Recognition March 2024

National Dental Assistant Week, March 3-9

“Dental Assistants –100 Years of Supporting Oral Health” is the theme for 2024 and acknowledges the importance of dentistry’s role in health care and the contributions of dental assistants.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2022, there are more than 371,000 dental assistants in the United States. In Kansas, there are approximately 3,000 dental assistants.

Dental assistants wear many hats in a dental clinic! They greet patients, review medical histories, take X-rays, perform dental charting during the dentist exam, assist the dentist chairside during procedures, polish teeth, review post-operative instructions and schedule patients.

In Kansas, dental assistants are not required to be certified. However, the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) is the nationally recognized certification organization for dental assistants. Certification is a source of pride for dental assistants and provides professional advantage and potentially greater earning power.

Thank you to our HPC dental assistants Stephanie Rojas, Enid Sierra and Rachell Perez!

Health Partnership earns Community Health Quality Recognition

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) is proud to announce that it has received three Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) Awards from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Care Program. This is a significant accomplishment, and we’re so proud of our staff!

CHQR badges recognize health centers, like HPC, that have made notable quality improvement achievements in the areas of access, quality, health equity, health information technology and COVID-19 public health emergency response for the most recent Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting period.

HRSA 2023 Award HRSA 2023 Award NCQA Practice

Recognition badges received by HPC include:

  • Silver Award Health Center Quality Leader, which is in recognition of ranking among the top 20 percent of health centers nationally for the best overall clinical performance!
  • Advancing HIT for Quality
  • Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH)

We appreciate our team’s commitment to providing quality, primary health care services to the communities we serve. Each team member plays a key role, and when those collective skills, expertise and passion are brought together, our mission is realized. At HPC, we are all about improving health and impacting lives!

HRSA 2023 Award

 

Making sure your New Year’s Resolution sticks

Thao LeBy Thao Le, MSN, APRN, PMHN-BC, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner for Health Partnership Clinic

With every new year comes new resolutions. Whether it’s getting in shape, traveling more, or quitting smoking, every new year gives us an opportunity to turn the page and start fresh. While coming up with a New Year’s resolution can be difficult, it can sometimes be just as difficult to maintain the resolution over a period of time. This is known as a New Year’s resolution “slump,” and according to a 2022 study by Planet Fitness, it takes an individual a mere average of 41 days to give up on their resolution.

Fortunately, there are tips to help make sure your resolution sticks:

  • Set “SMART” goals
  • Stick to just picking one goal to prevent feeling overwhelmed
  • Write out a detailed plan
  • Stay motivated by tracking progress
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for support from friends and family
  • Give habits time to make them stick
  • Reward yourself

2024 New Year Tips

In the United States, improving fitness is the most popular New Year’s resolution for the year 2024, while improving mental health was the most popular resolution the year 2023.

Recently, Health Partnership received a $5,000 grant to improve the health and wellbeing of its employees. Health Partnership thought what better time than the new year to launch “Putting the Health in Health Partnership,” a six-week program that will not only offer employees an opportunity to improve their mind, body, and spirit but assistance in achieving their New Years resolutions.

The program will involve:

  • 2024 New Year TipsYoga – Yoga classes for beginners to de-stress and improve strength, balance and flexibility.
  • Decompression Baskets – Playdoh, adult coloring books, colored pencils and puzzle booklets will be provided at each clinic to decompress and stimulate the brain.
  • Wellness Challenge – Each staff member will receive a weekly checklist that includes a list of healthy activities to accomplish. After six weeks, participants will be entered into a drawing to win a prize.
  • Chair Massages – Chair massages will be available to staff in Week six to reduce stress and tension.
  • Healthy Snacks – six weeks of healthy snacks to get the day started on the right foot.

The wellness of Health Partnership Clinic depends on the wellness of its employees. Employee well-being affects job performance and patient care. When staff are physically and mentally healthy, improved decision-making follows. Together, let’s start off the new year with a bang!

Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic!

By Debbie Sparks, Development and Marketing Manager

Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic!As another year draws to an end, we would like to say THANK YOU to our patients who have entrusted us with their care. We are grateful to all the patients who choose HPC for their healthcare needs. It is an honor to serve our patients and their families.

To our partners and supporters, THANK YOU for helping us live our mission to provide quality, affordable and accessible health care to those who need our help the most. We are proud to serve the people of Johnson, Franklin and Miami Counties.

To our staff, we say THANK YOU for their tireless dedication and commitment to making a difference in the lives of our patients.

From everyone at Health Partnership Clinic, we wish our partners, donors and community a very Happy Holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

HPC will observe the following holiday schedule:

Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) CLOSED
Monday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day) CLOSED

Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic! Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic!

Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic! Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic!

Happy Holidays from Health Partnership Clinic!

 

National Handwashing Awareness Week – December 5-11

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Personal hygiene begins and ends with our hands.

Healthy hands are happy hands so be sure to keep hands clean to prevent viruses from spreading. It’s one of those everyday precautions besides covering your coughs and sneezes and avoiding close contact when you are feeling unwell.

At Health Partnership Clinic, we follow several proactive steps to ensure the safety of our staff and patients. On the top of the list is frequent handwashing. At home, it is equally important. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides several useful tips and reminders to keep you and your family healthy.

Remember, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick—that goes for COVID, the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and colds!

According to the CDC, handwashing can prevent one in three diarrhea-related illnesses and one in five infections, including the flu.

How Germs Spread

Washing hands can keep you healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from one person to the next. Germs can spread from other people or surfaces when you:

  • Touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Prepare or eat food and drinks with unwashed hands
  • Touch a contaminated surface or objects
  • Blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into hands and then touch other people’s hands or common objects

Did you know… A typical human sneeze exits the body at about 200 miles per hour and emits around 40,000 droplets into the air. Wow!

Key Times to Wash Hands

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs:

  • Before, during, and after preparing food
  • Before eating food
  • Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea
  • Before and after treating a cut or wound
  • After using the toilet

Did you know… The CDC reports that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women washed their hands after using a public restroom. Yuck!

  • After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
  • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
  • After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
  • After handling pet food or pet treats
  • After touching garbage

It is also recommended that you should clean hands:

  • After you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens, etc.
  • Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that’s how germs enter our bodies.

Follow Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way

Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals and clinics.

Follow these five steps every time.

  1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
  2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
  3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
  4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
  5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60 percent alcohol by looking at the product label. Remember to keep hand sanitizer out of reach of young children and supervise their use. Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizer can cause alcohol poisoning.

Get the whole family involved in handwashing. HPC has developed an easy-to-follow tip sheet for children. Check it out.

National Handwashing Awareness Week – December 5-11 National Handwashing Awareness Week – December 5-11

HPC Celebrates Nurse Practitioner Week, Nov. 12-18

Kelly KreislerPost by Kelly Kreisler, MD, MPH, FAAP, Chief Health Officer and Pediatrician

Meet your Nurse Practitioner!

At Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) our Nurse Practitioners play key roles. They provide a full range of medical care from pediatric to geriatric and some specialty services. We greatly appreciate their quality of care and service to our patients.

What is a Nurse Practitioner?

A nurse practitioner is an RN who begins with a bachelor’s degree in nursing (RN-BSN). He or she then obtains a master’s degree, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) or doctoral level, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Nurse practitioners may practice in broad areas including primary care, acute care and specialty care services, practicing either independently or in collaboration with a physician. Your primary care provider may be a nurse practitioner.

What does a Nurse Practitioner do?

Primary Care nurse practitioners see patients in offices or Urgent Care settings, perform routine check-ups and investigate symptoms to diagnose and treat illnesses. Their work varies from wellness visits to managing chronic complex illnesses. They order and interpret lab tests, x-rays and the full range of other diagnostic tests. From your history and test results, they form a treatment plan. Some nurse practitioners perform procedures such as biopsies, suturing of lacerations and fracture care to name a few.

What is the education and training needed to become a Nurse Practitioner?

All nurse practitioners complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program and a Master of Science in Nursing (APRN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. Each nurse practitioner has to successfully pass a certification exam to begin practice.

Do Nurse Practitioners specialize, or do they all practice Primary Care?

About three-fourths of nurse practitioners work in Primary Care but there are many other specialties that can be pursued. These include Psychiatry and Mental Health, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Nurse Midwife and Women’s Health.

At HPC our nurse practitioners play key roles specializing in primary care, psychiatric services and women’s health. We also employ nurse practitioners who are specially trained in medication assisted treatment of substance abuse.

HPC Nurse Practitioners

We are so grateful for our NPs at HPC. Thank you Tony Anno, DNP, ACNP-BC, APRN; Eva Clark, MSN, APRN, WHNP-BC; Edward Karanja, MSN, APRN, FNP-C; Thao Le, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC; Jennifer Miller, FNP-BC; Jessica Nichols, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC; Inessa Sergeyeva, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC; Whitney Venegoni, APRN, FNP-C; and Patti West, DNP, APRN.

Please take time to thank our Nurse Practitioners for all they do for our patients. Happy Nurse Practitioner Week!

Clinic honors staff and patient veterans and those currently serving

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

As Veterans Day nears, Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) reflects on the proud men and women who have served in the U.S. military. We salute and thank them for their bravery and service. It’s also a time to pay tribute to our own. Staff members submitted names of family members who have served or are currently serving. A flier has been designed with those names and will be shared.

HPC is recognizing Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, by sending thank you cards to our 54 veteran patients and to staff family members. The Olathe clinic, 407 S. Clairborne Rd., Olathe, Kan., will provide resources and flag pins (on a first come first serve basis) from Monday, Nov. 6-Friday, Nov. 10. Resources and pins will be available at all sites.

On Friday, Nov. 10, veterans are invited to stop by for refreshments at the Olathe location.

Veterans Day

Click here for more information about HPC staff and family members who have served or are serving in our nation’s armed forces.

Did you know?

Veterans Day - Saturday, Nov. 11Veterans Day, a federal holiday, is meant to honor all veterans of the uniformed services who served or are still serving during times of peace as well as war.

Veterans Day has its origins at the end of World War I when at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the fighting ended with the signing of an armistice.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day, Nov. 11. The day is also known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations. Wilson’s proclamation stated:

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

Congress officially passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

“Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and, whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations ….”

The resolution also encouraged the display of the U.S. flag on all government buildings and urged appropriate ceremonies.

A congressional act, approved May 13, 1938, made Nov. 11, a federal holiday. In 1954, Congress — at the urging of veterans’ organizations — changed the name to Veterans Day to honor service members who had served in all the nation’s wars.

HPC Celebrates Medical Assistants Week Oct. 16-20

Mindy BeckwithBy Mindy Beckwith, MSN, RN, Clinic Director and Risk Manager

Medical assisting is an allied health profession where health professionals function as members of the healthcare delivery team and perform administrative and clinical assistance. With their unique versatility, medical assistants (MAs) are proving to be the allied health professional of choice for this decade and beyond. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assisting is one of the Nation’s faster than average growing careers.

Our MAs at Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) are multiskilled health professionals who perform a wide range of administrative and clinical tasks with skill, dedication and loyalty. All the MAs at HPC are cross trained and are an asset to our patients and providers with their vast knowledge of ambulatory care.

They make a substantial contribution to the quality of health by promoting and maintaining collaborative and meaningful interactions between patients and providers while being vital members of the team. MAs are the first point of contact for patients and relatives when visiting their healthcare provider. A significant part of the MA’s daily routine revolves around supporting the healthcare team and patients by participating in quality, value-based care initiatives.

We have MAs who are our subject matter experts in Pediatrics, Women’s Health and Primary Care working with doctors and nurse practitioners who provide care to infants, children, teens and adults.

We are very thankful for our MAs at HPC:

HPC Celebrates Medical Assistants Week Oct. 16-20

Kimberly Baird, Carolina Barraza, Porche Green, Maria Head, Sandra Marquez, Traci McIntire, Trevia Robertson and Cinthia Salazar

 

Health Partnership Clinic Now Accepting Appointments for Marketplace Enrollment

Diana ZamoraBy Diana Zamora, Enrollment Specialist and Certified Application Counselor at Health Partnership Clinic

The Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as the “Marketplace” or “exchange”) opens Wednesday, Nov. 1 and will close Monday, Jan. 15. The Marketplace provides health plan shopping and enrollment services through websites, call centers and in-person help.

At Health Partnership Clinic, we offer free, in-person help with the health insurance application.

Open enrollment is from Wednesday, Nov. 1-Monday, Jan. 15.

We are now scheduling appointments by calling 913-730-3653. A certified application counselor is available to help you in English or Spanish.

When you apply for individual and family coverage through the Marketplace, you’ll provide income and household information. You’ll find out if you qualify for:

  • Premium tax credits and other savings that make insurance more affordable
  • Coverage through the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in your state

We’re here to help you renew your health insurance or explore your options! Call us today at 913-730-3653.

Health Partnership Clinic Now Accepting Appointments for Marketplace Enrollment

Connecting with our community – Clinic adds two new providers with diverse backgrounds

Inessa and CarolinaBy Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Though hiring can be challenging, we know that the more we can diversify our provider offerings, the better we can connect with the communities we serve. Among our recent hires, the stories of two are especially compelling, and we are excited to share them here.

Inessa Sergeyeva, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, and Edward Karanja, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, traveled very separate journeys to arrive at Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) early this year. However, they share our mission: to help treat and educate the community’s medically underserved, regardless of their ability to pay. Perhaps improbably, both Inessa and Edward found their way to Kansas—of all places—having immigrated in the 1990s. She came from Moscow; he from Kenya. And while both left home for a better way of life, Inessa had a strong nursing background, Edward had none.

Inessa’s Story

Inessa SergeyevaSpeaking mostly Russian and Ukrainian, Inessa immigrated to the United States in 1994 with her husband and then nine-year-old daughter. Several extended family members had lived in Overland Park since the 1970s, but the newcomers knew few others. Many cousins remained in Moscow and still live there. Though she established a nursing career in Russia, Inessa’s first U.S. job was as a cashier in Kansas City, Mo.

Starting over—and over the next 15 years—Inessa learned English; became a licensed practical nurse; earned an associate degree in nursing; and achieved bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Nursing. In those years and since, she has worked as a registered nurse, adult family nurse and most recently, as a family nurse practitioner. Additionally, she has earned numerous professional certifications.

Working as a family practitioner at HPC’s Olathe clinic, Inessa serves patients of all ages. She is excited to work in community health where she says people need access to healthcare and education, from proper eating habits to a basic understanding of how the human body works. “It’s very rewarding to help someone who needs the help,” Inessa says.

An Overland Park resident, Inessa and her husband have three adult children. She enjoys travel, gardening, yoga and the outdoors.

Edward’s Story

Edward KaranjaUnlike Inessa, Edward spoke English when he immigrated from Kenya in 1997. Excited by early impressions of America from TV, he was eager to join a family member living in the area working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Though he had accounting and transportation industry experience, he still sought professional fulfillment. He began training as a CNA, at the urging of family.

Having received his certification and encouraged by early work in geriatrics and long-term care, Edward proceeded to earn his bachelor’s in nursing and became a registered nurse. “People complimented me on what I was doing, so I decided to advance my career to the highest potential. I got more and more comfortable as I was doing it,” Edward says.

Since 2006 at various facilities, he gained experience in skilled nursing, medical surgery, cardiac care and primary care, and he logged more than 800 hours of clinical training as a family nurse practitioner.

Edward applies his family nursing expertise to patients at HPC’s Olathe clinic. Having moved from Wichita to the Kansas City area in 2017 for a traveling nurse assignment, he lives in Lenexa and enjoys photography and road biking. His daughter, 22, shares his love for learning and is studying elementary education at Iowa State University.

HPC is proud to further help the community through these excellent providers as they continue their personal and professional journeys far from their roots.

New patient appointments are available by calling 913-648-2266.