Archive for category: HPC News

By Christopher W. Woodward, LAC, Substance Abuse Specialist

September is National Recovery Month. The aim of this month is to increase awareness and understanding of mental and substance use disorders and celebrate the people who recover.

I was talking to one of our client’s this morning over the telehealth application, and the client was about to turn the calendar on a year sober. First let me celebrate all the hard work that it takes to gain that level of sober living. Knowing where you want to go is easy, taking the steps to get there is where the difficulty is.

Not one of us truly enjoys change. Some of us endure it and some fight and push against it as hard as we can until the point of exhaustion. To gain a year without any substances as the client has—is no small thing. The client noted that he/she was very excited about this new year of being sober. The client had been resilient, was on the short end of relationship, money, housing and in jail for a good portion of the previous year. The client had persevered down the road and met his/her goal, now it was time to set a new goal. Hopefully the following strategies can help in making these new goals no matter the length of your recovery.

Walk the Path

Many times, when clients get to this point, the point of being a year sober and clean, part of me wants to say, “It gets harder from here.” Or “Now the tough work starts.” Most people will take that as a negative however, my point is that we have established positive patterns, changed in our lives our motives and in our methods.

Now we must keep doing it. Now we have to make that daily commitment and find new changes, deeper changes to solidify the recovery process. Long term recovery sometimes can feel like a false peak. Sometimes we think we have climbed the mountain, completed the task, only to get to the top and see that there is a valley and another mountain in our way to get to the actual mountain peak that we wanted to climb in the first place. That is where our resilient nature is our best friend.

We exhale, we sometimes swear, we can complain, we can survey the next steps and then we keep walking.

Take Constant Inventory

Occasionally we need to look around and consider the people, the places and our efforts. When we ask ourselves about the people that we are walking with, do they have the same goal in mind? Are they willing to take the next peak or are they satisfied with sitting here in the sun?

Finding people who push us and the pace, can help us get over the next hill and find the energy to build consistent gains. Another inventory we need to take is what are the places that we are walking in to? Am I triggered by my environment at work or at home? What does my social medial intake look like? Am I using it as a positive to push my recovery or am I slowly allowing negativity back into my thoughts and being activated by the situations of others? Also ask, do we need to make some changes in our daily efforts?

Walking in the cool of the day might be a welcome change to toiling in the sun to gain a few more steps, knowing that rest sometimes is better than pushing ourselves to the limit. Sometimes balancing our efforts with rest can make all the difference in the world.

Keep the Pace

Remember the tortoise and the hare? The hare jumps out of the gate quick and ahead of the race. The hare moves though the turns and down the path with reckless abandon, confident that the win is just around the next corner. He builds a lead and then finds himself distracted with his own speed and meaning to embarrass the tortoise took a nap on the path. Eventually losing sight of the end goal. He was caught sleeping and did not have the speed to overtake the lumbering tortoise.

The tortoise, however, was up for the challenge. He is the one if you read Aesop’s version who challenged the hare to the race. The tortoise found his pace, a pace that he could maintain for the entire race. He went about his business knowing that he would end the race. He passed the hare asleep on the road and built such a lead that the speed of the hare could not overtake him.

The tortoise made the finish line the most important part of the race. Hopefully, if we find our pace, we can do the same.

If we walk the path, take constant inventory and keep our pace we can find ourselves climbing each hill of our recovery and overall life in a successful manner. The way that we walk the path of recovery is sometimes as important as the daily goals that we have for our recovery. Remember it is not always about where we came from, it is more about where we are going that defines our life.

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) and the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) are partnering to bring access to primary and preventative health care, chronic disease management, mental health services and more to district students and their siblings. A school-based health clinic will open at Shawnee Mission West High School, 8800 W. 85th St., Overland Park, Kan. on Thursday, Sept. 2, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will serve all SMSD students and their siblings, three to 20 years old. An open house/ribbon cutting is planned for later this fall.

Specialized Pediatric-Focused Care

According to Amy Falk, HPC’s CEO, the clinic, which will be open on Thursdays during the school year, will offer specialized pediatric-focused care to treat most health conditions that affect children and adolescents. “We basically function as a doctor’s office but in a school building. Services are available in person or virtual, and walk-ins will be accommodated if the schedule permits. The primary goal is to provide easy, immediate access to quality and affordable health care.”

Services will include physical exams, sports physicals, immunizations, including COVID vaccines, COVID testing, age-appropriate health screenings, preventive education, referrals to specialty services, sick visits, management of acute and chronic problems and mental health services. Free Medicaid and Marketplace insurance enrollment will also be available. Dental care including screenings, fluorides and restorative care will be added in the future.

Medical Home for Students

“Our goal is to serve as a medical home for students and offer an additional access point to primary care,” says Wael S. Mourad, MD, MHCM, FAAFP, HPC’s Chief Health Officer. “Beyond a focus on primary health care, it’s important we meet the social and emotional needs of children and adolescents to help them reach their individual potential. Initially, the clinic will be staffed by a provider (either a physician or nurse practitioner), a medical assistant and a mental health clinician.”

“Health Partnership is well aligned with the major concern of schools: academic achievement. We know from studies that meeting the physical and mental health needs of children and adolescents increases their readiness for learning, prevents them from missing time in class and enhances opportunities for lifetime success. Through our integrated services we are able to more fully address the spectrum of problems students bring to primary care.”

Breaking Down Barriers

Shelby Rebeck, MSN, BSN, RN, Health Services Coordinator for Shawnee Mission School District says, “The idea is to break down barriers to health care. Barriers for many of our students include low income, lack of knowledge, lack of transportation and parents’/guardians’ inability to take time away from hourly jobs. Health Partnership provides a tremendous opportunity for our students to receive critical health care so that they can be successful in school.”

“The Shawnee Mission School District and Health Partnership Clinic are an example of how two organizations can come together to help improve the lives of children,” says Steve Loe, Principal of Shawnee Mission West High School. “The school-based health clinic will greatly expand the resources of our school nurse and social worker and helps support our goal to have every student succeed.”

Insurance

Most insurance plans are accepted, including KanCare/Medicaid. As a community health center, HPC offers a sliding-fee discount program which is based on income and household size. Fees are waived for students experiencing homelessness. The center will be housed in existing space at the school.

For more information about Health Partnership Clinic, or to schedule a medical appointment, Shawnee Mission School District parents should call 913-648-2266.

 

By Debbie Sparks, Development and Marketing Manager

Since 1991, National Receptionist Day has been celebrated on the second Wednesday of May, this year falling on Wednesday, May 12. HPC would like to take this opportunity to recognize our Patient Services Representatives (PSRs) who fill the role of receptionist and so much more!

According to Billie Reese-Turner, Director of Billing and Patient Services, this past year working during the pandemic has been quite challenging, but our PSRs have risen to the occasion.

“We have had a constant shortage of staff with many having to quarantine due to personal exposure or exposure to a close family member. We are taking extra steps sanitizing, and our protocols change and evolve continuously to ensure the safety of our staff and patients,” Billie says.

“One remarkable thing is that through it all, we have seen patient satisfaction increase and a decrease in abandoned calls,” Billie adds. “The teamwork and collaboration between billing staff and PSR’s working together for all locations has been exceptional.”

Thank you to our wonderful team of PSRs: Ally Blume, Jean Cast-Martin, Joseph Delgado-Ramirez, Dania Guzman, Claudia Islas, Daniela Palacios, Maria Pena, Kristina Stubbs, Cecilia Yarick and Veronica Flores Manager of Patient Services.

The PSRs are part of the Revenue Cycle Management team and work closely with Mayra Bocanegra, Billing Coordinator; Iveth Alvarado, Enrollment Specialist; Michel Ramirez, Patient Account Coordinator; Billie Reese-Turner, Director of Billing and Patient Services and Diana Zamora, Financial Aid Coordinator.

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Your best protection from COVID-19 will be a combination of getting a COVID-19 vaccine, wearing a mask, staying at least six feet away from others, avoiding crowds, and washing your hands often. No one tool alone is going to stop the pandemic.

The good news is that Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) is providing no cost COVID-19 vaccines to Miami and Franklin County residents on Saturday, March 27, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The vaccines will be offered at HPC’s clinics in Paola and Ottawa. The clinics are located at 1604 Industrial Park Dr., Paola, KS 66071 and 107 S. Main St., Ottawa, KS 66067.

Appointments are required.

To schedule an appointment, call 913-276-7012. Callers should leave their name, date of birth and contact information slowly and clearly. HPC staff will contact callers to schedule an appointment.

At the Saturday vaccine clinics, adults 18 and older in Phase 1-4 will be vaccinated. Remember, pre-registration is required to determine eligibility by calling 913-276-7012. Participants should bring a government-issued I.D. card, insurance card and proof of address.

For Phase eligibility, refer to the graphic below. Viewers are invited to download and share the vaccination flier with their friends, neighbors and family living in Miami and Franklin counties.

Download the Vaccination Flier (English | Spanish)

Phase Eligibility