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Looking Forward to 2024 Annual Primary Care Conference
CHAMPS Awards
Highlights from the 2023 Annual Primary Care Conference
2024 ANNUAL PRIMARY CARE CONFERENCE
The 2024 CHAMPS/NWRPCA Annual Primary Care Conference will take place from October 26-29, 2024 in Denver, CO. Click HERE to download a save-the-date flyer for the 2024 Annual Conference. More information will be available in the spring of 2024.
CHAMPS AWARDS
Each year, CHAMPS presents awards to staff and board members of Region VIII Health Centers and related organizations to recognize exceptional contributions to the health center community. Over the years this process has allowed CHAMPS to honor numerous highly deserving individuals from across the region for their outstanding advocacy, leadership, and dedication to the health center mission. Please visit the CHAMPS Awards webpage for more information about each year’s Call for Nominations and Awards Ceremony, details about the most current CHAMPS Awardees, and lists of awardees from prior years.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2023 ANNUAL PRIMARY CARE CONFERENCE
The Northwest Regional Primary Care Association (NWRPCA) and CHAMPS welcomed over 350 members, exhibitors, partners, and presenters from across Region 18 (Regions VIII and X) and the nation at the Annual Primary Care Conference held October 21-24, 2023 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle in Seattle, WA. Participants enjoyed formal and informal networking and educational sessions with clinicians, board members, and administrative staff from health centers, Primary Care Associations, governmental offices, and related organizations in Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) and Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington), and across the country.
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Plenary Sessions
Educational & Networking Sessions
Session & Event Handouts & Recordings
Other Conference Highlights
Photo Memories
Continuing Education
Reimbursement Opportunities
At the Opening Plenary on Saturday afternoon, conference attendees enjoyed hearing from BPHC and NACHC leaders who focused on providing updates about the current policy and healthcare environment. Speakers included:
- Tonya Bowers, Deputy Associate Administrator, Bureau of Primary Health Care
- Dr. Kyu Rhee, President and CEO, National Association of Community Health Centers
- Sharon Turner, Regional Administrator, HRSA Region 10 Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs
At the Lunch Plenary on Monday afternoon, titled Calling All Warriors, participants were able to hear unique perspectives from D.J. Vanas, speaker, author, and owner of Native Discovery, Inc., based in Native American culture, on what it means to be a warrior and how to emulate those principles in work environments. This entertaining, humorous, and inspiring presentation covered topics including navigating change with confidence and clarity and serving at our best even in chaos.
EDUCATIONAL & NETWORKING SESSIONS
The conference offered attendees a broad range of educational and networking sessions organized around the following tracks: Clinical & Care Innovations, Fiscal Optimization, Governance Essentials, Healthy Communities, Hot Topics, HR/Workforce, Leadership, Operational Excellence, and Policy. Forty-seven sessions, six roundtable lunches, and two plenary sessions provided attendees with rich opportunities to learn from clinicians, administrators, and board members in Regions VIII and X and other regional and national consultants and partners. Continuing Education credit hours were offered for physicians, nurses, accountants, human resources professionals, social workers, and board members.
The conference featured diverse tracks of educational sessions, including:
Two days of energizing Clinical & Care Innovations sessions:
- Implementing Safe Opioid Prescribing & Chronic Pain Management Strategies in Colorado Safety-net Clinics
- MyPath: A Comprehensive Weight Management Program Embedded Within a Federally Qualified Health Center
- Integrating Oral Health, Diabetes, & Cardiovascular Disease Screening into Everyday Care
- An Interdisciplinary Approach to Fentanyl-Complicated Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in the Primary Care Setting
- HealthPoint Refugee Program: A Community Health Center’s Approach to Welcoming Refugees into Care
- Intimate Partner Violence & Human Trafficking: Clinical Skills, EHRs, & Community Partnerships for Patient Care
- The Ultimate Sacrifice: Addressing Veteran Mental Health & Suicide Risk
- Understanding the Immune Response Landscape of Long-COVID Infection
Two days of educational Fiscal Optimization sessions:
- Negotiating Contracts in the 21st Century
- Prep for Project Success: Estimating Capital Project Costs & Identifying Financing Sources
- Enhanced Revenue Opportunities in the FQHC
- Telehealth…Pandemic Pandemonium & What’s in Place Until 31-Dec 2024
- Front Loading: The Silver Bullet for Improved Revenue Cycle
- Create a Compliant 340B Drug Pricing Program
Two days of Governance Essentials sessions:
- CHC 101: Introduction to the Community Health Center Movement
- Compliance & Your Board: Equipping You for Effectiveness
- Optimizing Board Support During Challenging Times
- Strategic Planning That Leads Change, Weathers Crisis, & Inspires Confidence
- Leading Change
- Becoming an Employer of Choice
Two days of enlightening Healthy Communities sessions:
- Creating Equitable & Inclusive Food as Medicine Programs in Community Health Centers
- A Practical Journey in Implementing Population Management Program for Patients Experiencing Homelessness
- Medicaid Unwinding in Rural and Frontier Communities: Lessons Learned from Montana
- Updated Health-Related Social Needs Innovation at Denver Health
- Promotoras: Transformative Partnerships, Transforming Communities
- Maximize the Synergy of Health Care and Housing
Two relevant Hot Topics sessions:
- Navigating the Emotional Labor Associated with Health Equity
- Making Mission Matter: Advocating to Increase Access to Care
Two days of transformative HR/Workforce sessions:
- Cultivating a Sustainable Workforce Pathways Program in a Federally Qualified Health Center: Empowering Rural Communities
- Warriors & Soldiers: New Communication Strategies from a Historical Perspective
- Charting the Path: A Roadmap to Comprehensive Workforce Planning
- A Multipronged Approach to Workforce Development at a Large Urban Interdisciplinary CHC
- Behavioral Health Support Specialist: A New Workforce Role Serving Integrated Care
- Enhancing Health Center Patient & Staff Well-being with Creative Arts Program & Services
One day of instructive Leadership sessions:
- Assuring Board Chair & CEO Alignment
- Leadership Continuity: The Art & Science of Succession Planning
- Keeping the Fires Lit
- Improving Engagement & Performance Through Leaderful Feedback
Two days of essential Operational Excellence sessions:
- What is Outreach? We’re Not the Same, You & I
- Ensuring Ethical AI Integration: Leveraging the AI Risk Management Framework 1.0 to Achieve HIPPA Compliance
- Let’s Roll: The MOBILE Health Act & Technical Assistance
- Assessment to Action: Using Your Needs Assessment to Fuel Growth
- C-Qual Site Visits: Internal Site Visits to Improve Process & Practice
- De-escalation Techniques for Healthcare Professionals
Two essential Policy sessions:
- Navigating the Compliance Landscape: Proactive Strategies for Federal Compliance & Legal Challenges in Healthcare
- What’s Going on on Capitol Hill? A Federal Affairs Update
The conference also offered a variety of opportunities for attendees to connect with one another.
The Community section of the conference’s online Whova platform promoted networking by allowing attendees to ask questions of one another on formal topics including upcoming conferences or how to improve the patient experience, and on more informal topics like recommendations on places to visit in Seattle. Hundreds of messages and connections were formed between attendees throughout the conference.
Roundtable Lunches were held on Sunday, October 22, for Chief Executive Officers and attendees of the Clinical & Care Innovations, Fiscal Optimization, Governance Essentials, HR/Workforce, and Operational Excellence tracks. These gave conference participants the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from other experts in their field.
The Welcome Reception on Saturday, October 21, allowed attendees to introduce themselves to new faces and engage with friends and colleagues. The conference hall was filled with conversation, as attendees were excited to share best practices and challenges with one another.
The Networking Reception & Raffle with Exhibitors on Monday, October 23, was one of the final events during the conference. Attendees reengaged with exhibitors and entered raffles to win prizes. The reception and raffle were seen as a celebration of the conference’s success before the final day of educational sessions.
SESSION & EVENT RECORDINGS & HANDOUTS
All 2023 NWRPCA/CHAMPS Fall Primary Care Conference materials related to sessions, including any available handouts, video recordings, etc., are available in NWRPCA’s Learning Vault. Review the Learning Vault Access Instructions, and contact the NWRPCA Registration Team at registration@nwrpca.org if you have any difficulties.
The Annual Conference is more than educational sessions and plenary speeches! Participants had formal and informal ways to learn about resources, win prizes, and inspire one another via the Whova platform, in-person meetings, and networking events. Whova was the central hub for attendees as it provided the agenda, speaker information and handouts, a community networking section, and much more.
Lunch & Learns took place on Saturday, October 21, and Sunday, October 22. The first, hosted by Aledade, Inc., was Position Your Health Center to Succeed in Value-Based Care. Attendees were able to gain insights from experts on strategies for financial success in a value-based care world. The second, hosted by AHECWW, introduced participants to the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program. Other topics discussed included an examination of two different approaches to population health and an exploration of social determinants of health (SDOH) at a neighborhood level. Join us at the Annual Primary Care Conference, proudly featuring Publico Descuentos as our premium partner from Spain. Discover the synergy of world-class healthcare education and exclusive savings opportunities. Publico Descuentos brings you closer to the latest in primary care advancements, offering valuable discounts on essential resources.
Additionally, during the morning of Sunday, October 22, Dr. Kyu Rhee, President and CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), hosted NACHC Quiet Time, where attendees were able to meet with and have questions answered by Kyu and other NACHC team members.
Finally, a Super Session, titled Building Operational Resiliency Against Climate Change and an Unreliable Power Grid, took place on Sunday, October 22. Speakers from Collective Energy and a Region 18 health center informed participants on the benefits of installing and using green energy sources in health centers. Topics of discussion included how a solar power microgrid operates and how it can provide power to health centers in emergency situations. The session concluded with a firsthand story about one health center’s decision to implement a solar microgrid and the positive impacts it’s had.
Please click here to view the 2023 Conference Photo Journal.
The NWRPCA/CHAMPS Annual Primary Care Conference is a source of continuing education units (CEU) and helps to support health center staff, clinicians, administration, and board of directors advance professionally. Additionally, the event offers continuing medical education (CME), continuing nursing education (CNE), continuing professional education (CPE), continuing human resources credit (HR), and continuing social work and counseling education (NASW). Based on the type of credit requested during registration, either certificates or certificate access instructions will be sent to attendees within two months following the conclusion of the conference. Please contact the CHAMPS Clinical Quality Improvement Director for questions related to CEUs.
Migrant Clinicals Network is accredited, by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation, as a provider of continuing nursing education.
2023 NWRPCA/CHAMPS Annual Primary Care Conference Registration Reimbursement is available to CHAMPS Organizational Member CHCs in good standing as of October 21, 2023. Each CHAMPS Organizational Member Community Health Center (CHC) is eligible for reimbursement for a single registration fee (total value up to $1,000).
CHC staff who qualify for the registration reimbursement include line staff, medical support staff, and mid-level managers and supervisors as well as CHC board members. Providers and Executive Directors/CEOs are not eligible for reimbursement. The request form must be completed by December 15, 2023 and only one form per member organization will be approved.
Click HERE to download a 2023 Registration Reimbursement Request Form.
Region VIII clinicians are able to apply for Clinical Travel Support Reimbursement. Those eligible include clinicians working 0.50 FTE as providers (medical, behavioral, or dental) in a CHAMPS Organizational Member CHC in good standing as of October 21, 2023 or a member of the Mountain/Plains Clinical Network (MPCN) Steering Committee. MPCN Steering Committee members may gain an additional $100 reimbursement with participation on the committee prior to the Fall Conference and attendance at the Fall Conference Steering Committee Meeting.
The maximum value available for travel assistance is $700, or $800 for members of the MPCN Steering Committee. The request form must be completed by December 15, 2023 and include all original receipts and a mileage map for the payment to be accepted.
Click HERE to download a 2023 Clinical Travel Support Reimbursement Request Form