Ready to spend some time outside, now that the weather is warming up? Learn how to keep your kids sun safe.

Most of us Midwesterners have been bundled up all winter. A day at the park or zoo can provide kids the kind of intermittent sun exposure that leads to sunburn.

The amount of sunburn your children get now, before they turn 18, increases their risk for skin cancer, particularly melanoma.

Did you know that only onesevere sunburn in childhood can more than double the chances of skin cancer developing in adulthood?  With every sunburn comes a decrease in the skin’s natural ability to protect itself and an exponentially higher likelihood that skin disease will occur later in life.

Keep your kids burn-free this spring:

1. Make sure your sun safety practices are age appropriate.
2. Choose the right sunscreen.
3. Find the right sunglasses.
4. Pick the safest time and the place.
5. Skip the tanning bed!

You can help our Indy community be sun smart too.

• Teach your kids a fun sun safety game to play with their friends!
• Help your child’s school be sunwise. Learn about guidelines for school programs that strive to prevent skin cancer.
• Babies, with their delicate skin, are particularly vulnerable sun exposure. Each year, HealthNet Health Promotions offers Baby Be Sun Smart, a sun education program for mothers of newborns. This year, we will be distributing sun safety kits to HealthNet moms of babies between 0-3 months at well-baby visits. Moms receive a bilingual sun safety education flyer, a hand-made baby bonnet, and a small bottle of sunscreen.

Want to help a mom who can’t afford sunscreen for her baby? A donation of $75 to HealthNet Health Promotions will provide sunscreen for 75 sun safety kits.  Thanks for making a difference in our community!

Under HR 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the “sequester” – or across-the-board cut for all government programs – was delayed for two months, setting the new deadline for March 1,  less than three weeks away!

The impact of the sequester on health centers in Indianapolis and across the country will be significant.  

If the sequester is not delayed or replaced, the Health Centers Program will face a cut of $115 million, which means that approximately 900,000 patients will lose access to care at a Health Center – both existing and potential new patients, the National Association of Community Health Centers reports.

Virtually all existing health centers could expect to see the impact on their federal health center grants. These potential cuts will curb the growth of the Health Center program by limiting expansion to meet the needs of the newly insured. These cuts will also jeopardize the stability of current health centers by reducing annual funding for the program.

Failure to avert the sequester will have an immediate impact on health centers’ ability to serve the patients in our community.

It is critical that Congress find a way to avert the sequester to ensure that health centers have the continued ability to serve patients in need, improve health outcomes and reduce health care expenditures.

We know that federal spending is going to be cut; the question is how it will be done and what programs will suffer the most.

If you want to have any influence on those decisions, you need to act NOW by calling and emailing your Members of Congress.  They need to hear from YOU and as many other advocates like you as possible to make sure they get the message that they need to protect health centers and the patients they serve!

EMAIL your Members of Congress TODAY to let them know what’s at stake for your health center and the patients it serves if they fail to stop the sequester immediately.

The relationship between parent and child can be the primary source of health in a young person’s life — and a powerful motivator for adults to build more health into their own lives. That’s why we’ve chosen “Helping Families Thrive” for this month’s theme.

For more than 44 years, HealthNet’s caregivers have helped families throughout Indianapolis and central Indiana thrive by building healthier lifestyle habits. We know that small steps lead to big changes. With a balanced approach, even the busiest families can discover ways to eat healthier, live well and feel better.

Throughout October, we’ll offer resources, tips and tools to support parents and families in their efforts to practice the art and science of healthy living. From kid-friendly nutrition, safety and exercise tips, to educational play ideas, to how to give moms-to-be and babies a healthy start, to nurturing strong parent-child relationships, our doctors, therapists, social workers, midwives, nurses and outreach staff have lots of practical tips to share!
 
We invite you to join the growing community of parents and kids who are working and playing their way toward a healthier tomorrow!

How you can directly help…

If you remember nothing else, please let it be that HealthNet very much needs your help! In order to expand our reach, we need support from people like you who crave to help their community.

If you like what you read in October, we are asking that you please consider forwarding these messages, links, tweets and Facebook posts to friends, family members, and work colleagues. By providing a little education and an easy way to get involved, we believe we can bring new awareness to our cause — especially with your encouragement!

It is common knowledge that HOPES & DREAMS are rumbling desires waiting to burst from the hearts of every one of us to form as a pleasant reality in our lives.

These desires that lay within our hearts are not there for us alone, but also for the others we love and care for as well.  We are human, and we are all always HOPING for a better way and DREAMING for more, more, more.

Self-proclaimed realists feel that things like HOPES & DREAMS are what fairy tales are made of, but often fail to understand they are all that some people have in their lives to hold on to.

The fact is, not everyone is the same! There are people living without the luxuries that most have and take for granted in their day to day lives like an education, family support and guidance, the ability to work, or the ability to just socialize. I’m sure there are not enough fingers and toes to count the reasons or critical areas people are found to be less fortunate, but I do know several cling to their HOPES & DREAMS just to survive.

Without help from the HealthNet staff many people would not know how to even take the first step to fulfilling their own HOPES & DREAMS.

For instance, a family of four with two children who spent a majority of their childhood with an absent father due to his decade-long addiction to pain medicine. Their father lived in the same home with them, but was emotionally unavailable to them. Their fragile hearts and innocent minds needed what was missing from a strong father figure.

If it were not for the attentive care of the Behavioral Health team and the BIBs & Healthy Families staff, the children’s HOPES & DREAMS of ever having a happy family with a drug-free father would not be a reality today. Today this family is still working diligently to build on what they’ve lacked for so long, but continue to do so with loving hearts, and open minds.

HOPES & DREAMS can take many forms — some are external, material things and others are intrinsic and character-based — but none are more or less important than another.

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What are your biggest hopes and dreams for YOUR family today?

Well…..it is that time of the year….already! August is here and the kids are heading back to school.

It is hard to believe, because it feels like summer just started. But, as I checked my Facebook page this last week, several of my friends who are teachers are preparing to go back to work, others are posting pictures of their little ones’ first day of kindergarten, and (while I hate to admit it) some of my friends are getting ready to send their oldest off to college!

As I drove into work this morning, I began to reflect upon this time of year and what it means to me. For me, fall and the beginning of a school year, brings back wonderful memories of wearing my new “back-to-school” outfit, reuniting with old friends and the anticipation of making new ones, new teachers, new beginnings, new classes….it always felt like a “fresh start.” This time of year also takes me back to my college days and the feelings of freedom and independence – like the world was in my hands and the hopes and dreams for my future were endless.

I began thinking about HealthNet’s five school-based clinics and what our staff and providers must be thinking this time of year. How are the children we serve feeling? Are they up-to-date on their immunizations? Do they need help with taking their asthma medication? Many of the children that HealthNet’s school-based clinics serve do not have the same luxuries that I did as a child. Many come from broken homes or no home at all and many are suffering from medical and social needs.

Our staff is there to help these children begin the school year healthy….because being healthy is the foundation to learning and every child deserves to have hopes and dreams for their future.

Last year, our school-based clinics helped more than 3,000 students receive health care and health education services. As you prepare to go back to work as a teacher….or send your little one off to kindergarten….or drop your oldest off at college, please take a moment to consider making a donation to HealthNet’s school-based clinics.

A gift of $25 helps provide a change of clothing to a child who gets sick at school, and a $50 gift would provide students with a personal hygiene kit that is filled with items they may not have at home.

We are dedicated to ensuring that health becomes a bridge, not a barrier to learning. Help us build that bridge!

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What hopes and dreams are your kids looking forward to this school year? Share your comments! 

In the spirit of the Olympics, we will be talking about hopes and dreams throughout August – for ourselves, our neighbors, our communities and our city.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world, and life is hard for most people most of the time — particularly for the families we serve.

We all get stuck in moments. And, we all need to be reminded that we aren’t alone in the places we feel stuck. The fears, pains and struggles our patients face are very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

 Our health care providers see it happen, in lives changing as people get the help they need.  People sitting across from a therapist for the first time, or seeing a doctor for a condition that has been a nagging concern for years. People making decisions to lead healthier lives, in spite of rock hard circumstances.

We want to say that it’s worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it’s possible to change.

What you can expect…

- We will be holding conversations every Monday on Twitter, sharing favorite quotes, questions, and tips for reaching your personal goals and dreams. Lots of info will be shared throughout the entire day.  Look for the hashtag #moxiemonday and TUNE IN!

- We will feature blogs throughout the month from patients and staff who have amazing stories to share about life struggles and long sought-after goals that have become realities.

- Keep a lookout on our Facebook page for FACING FEARS FRIDAY! A giveaway will occur each Friday for those who participate.  Details, again, will be found on our Facebook page the day of the giveaways.

- Want us to keep you updated via email?? We will be sending out eBlasts every week to remind everyone what is going on and how to participate.  Sign up for our eBlasts now by clicking here to receive the Hopes & Dreams emails.

How you can directly help…

If you remember nothing else, please let it be that HealthNet very much needs your help! In order to expand our reach, we need support from people like you who crave to help their community.

If you like what you read in August, we are asking that you please consider forwarding these messages, links, tweets and Facebook posts to friends, family members, and work colleagues. By providing a little education and an easy way to get involved, we believe we can bring new awareness to our cause — especially with your encouragement.

Right now in Marion County, one in 17 of us lives in poverty. It’s a place where every day is hard. And, there is never enough. These families don’t want a hand out. They want a way out.

For the past 44 years, HealthNet has provided wrap-around services to help families do just that. And with your continued help, we can accomplish even more.

The behavioral health department is invested in our community kiddos!  The therapists in each facility provide services for children as well as adults.  We are very fortunate to have Dr. Jim Jones, child psychologist, at PACC and the department is in the process of hiring another child psychologist.  I am thrilled to announce that we have also developed play therapy rooms at three of our centers to specifically meet the needs of our smallest patients.

The behavioral health department also includes a pediatric psychiatrist and a pediatric psychiatric nurse practitioner.  All staff work closely with the pediatricians in the centers to meet the needs of the child and family as a whole.

In addition to these resources, the behavioral health folks have the pleasure of consulting with the social workers in the centers as well as with BIBS and Healthy Families to get a full picture of the family’s needs and strengths.  Our BIBS and Healthy Families staff work tirelessly to improve the lives of these families and in turn, improve communities.

As you can see, HealthNet truly provides a network of care that reaches each corner of a child’s life.   It’s exciting, fun, and rewarding to see our littlest patients grow and flourish.

I often hear from my adult patients that they first came to HealthNet as pediatric patients.  They feel that HealthNet is home and are excited to continue from their pediatric care to adult primary care to OB care and then begin bringing their children to our clinic.  After meeting a patient for the first time, I often ask if they remember how to get back to the lobby after an appointment.  More often than not, I get the response,

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years.  I know this building like the back of my hand!”

It’s encouraging when patients are so satisfied with their service at HealthNet they are happy to introduce their children and grandchildren into our caring community!

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Do you #GiveACareAbout Kids?? Check out our page on the blog by clicking here.
Have any questions about our BIBs/Healthy Families Program? Comment below. Or tweet us – @GiveACareIndy.

Nearly 900,000 people die each year from causes that can be prevented. For the first time, American children may live shorter lives than their parents. Nearly 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese. More than 50 million Americans do not have health insurance.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. With your help, we can make America the healthiest nation – and Indy one of its healthiest communities — in one generation.

In honor of National Public Health Week this week, please join us and watch this video by the American Public Health Association and share it with people you care about.

Catching preventable illnesses and incidents before they develop is the key to improving our nation’s health. There are so many small steps we can take to begin leading healthier lives; sometimes it just takes a little motivation. We CAN work to encourage more people in Indianapolis to take preventive measures to help improve their lives. Little steps can lead to big changes.

One step you can take today to make our nation – and Indy – a healthier place to live is to advocate for the Community Health Center near you.

Community Health Centers like ours play a central role in improving public health – by providing access to affordable, preventive care close to home. They serve as the health care homes for over 20 million people in the United States.  BUT! There are still 60 million Americans, even those WITH insurance, who do not have regular access to health care.

JOIN US!

From now until April 29th, we are collecting petition signatures to show our legislators local support for community health centers.  As Indiana’s largest federally qualified health center and the health care home for over 50,000 Hoosiers, we MUST express our support for the importance for an increase in funding for the Health Centers program.

You can sign the petition online by going to our Facebook page – ADVOCACY - that talks all about the petition & gives live updates from our Twitter feed!

The past few weeks, we have been asking health center patients, community supporters, and YOU (our online community) to sign a petition supporting community health center expansion and continued funding for Medicaid.

(You can believe our reaction when seeing this article now, can’t you?)

If you want to get a good take on the who, what, when, where, why and how of community health centers, then the article titled – “Community Health Centers: The Challenge of Growing to Meet the Need for Primary Care in Medically Underserved Communities” is a great start.

The two most important findings (both on page 8.) reported in this article are…

•  “Patients receiving a majority of their ambulatory care in CHC settings had 25 percent lower ambulatory care expenditures, and 24 percent lower total annual medical expenditures, compared with patients who receive most of their care in other primary care settings.
• “Economic analyses indicate that, in terms of the employment and the economic activity they generate, health centers produce an 8:1 return on investment”

The second article, titled – “Medicaid and Community Health Centers: the Relationship between Coverage for Adults and Primary Care Capacity in Medically Underserved Communities” – compares the status of community health centers in states with expanded Medicaid coverage to health centers in states with limited coverage.

Three takeaways from this article?

•  “Health centers in expansion states had more patient care sites and saw more patients than health centers in more limited states.”
• “Health centers in expansion states received more total revenue and a greater proportion of revenue from Medicaid than health centers in more limited states.”
• “Health centers in expansion states employ more medical staff, across almost all specialties, than health centers in more limited states.”

But, we can’t just leave you with that.  You could’ve had read that yourself. (and we really appreciate the studies done by those at George Washington University).

From the studies done, health centers ARE cost-effective.  Health centers do save individuals money because of the preventative and wide array of care they receive.  Health centers do have a great economic impact on the neighborhoods where they are located.

Our new People's Health & Dental Center when it was under construction.

But, health centers are more than that.  Health centers are run BY the community.  In case you didn’t read the first article yet, in order to be a Federally Qualified Health Center, you need 51% of your board to be made up of patients from your health center.  In most cases, the entire reason a community health center is built is because community groups see a need in their OWN neighborhood.

So, not only do health centers save the country money, generate money for the community and individuals, but they also take on the personality of the community and are there for the residents in any situation that occurs in their life.

Help to save community health centers.  Sign our petition asking our legislators to not only prevent cuts in funding but increase the appropriated funds for community health centers as well as prevent ANY cuts in Medicaid, the key to strengthening the capacity and operations of community health centers.

(and don’t forget to ask your friends and family to join you in signing! Share this on your Facebook and Twitter pages)

“Medicaid patients go to ERs more often“

In the article, data from a U.S. National Health Interview Survey showed that 16% of Medicaid beneficiaries had one or more barriers to primary care.  It was also found that 40% of Medicaid patients used the emergency room, as compared to 18% of those with private insurance.

There is no doubt that there are barriers to care for Medicaid patients.  Many of these individuals live in medically underserved areas (to learn how medically underserved areas are determined click here), but basically an MUA means that the ratio of primary care doctors per 1,000 people is very low.

Health Centers as an answer.

In a report, just released this week, by the National Association of Community Health Centers another indicator of the barriers faced by Medicaid patients was shown

..at least 25% of U.S. counties in greatest need do not have a health center.

Community health centers are an answer to the complex problem offered in the article posted by WTHR.  “Health centers are required to be open to all residents regardless of ability to pay or insurance status, target medically underserved areas, offer comprehensive primary care services, and be directed by a local patient-majority governing board.”

Not only do health centers eliminate barriers of access for patients no matter what your insurance status, but they have a proven record of reducing the amount of emergency room visits by Medicaid beneficiaries – “Medicaid beneficiaries relying on health centers for usual care in four states are 19% less likely to use the emergency department for unnecessary visits and 11% less likely to be hospitalized compared to beneficiaries relying on other providers.”
(Cost Effectiveness of Care Provided at Health Centers)

Addressing the problem in Indiana.

As Indiana’s largest federally qualified health center, our health centers are the medical home for over 50,000 Hoosiers.  We have posted about the need for health center expansion – here, here and here – and HealthNet has enjoyed the expansion of three health centers in the past year along with the opening of a new center on the Far Eastside of Indy.  But, as noted above, the need for greater access to health care for all residents is increasing.

Health centers do eliminate barriers for patients who need a source of quality primary care, but they also are one of the most cost effective forms of health care available.

• Health centers’ average cost runs a dollar less per patient per day compared to all physician settings ($1.67 vs. $2.64).
• Health centers save the health care system about $24 billion annually

We need your help..

Health center expansion is essential to reduce these barriers as well as costs on the entire health care system.

So for the next month, we will be collecting petition signatures to show local support for community health centers nationwide.  Each signature counts, and if we collect enough, then we will be able to present the petition along with all of the signatures to our legislators when they are home during the first week in May.

1) Sign the petition.
2) Tweet this – “@WTHRcom #medicaid patients go to ER more often except for those who use community health centers! http://bit.ly/GQ0UUG #SaveCHCs”
3) LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with more updates on our Petition Drive!