​Hello Child Advocates,
Medicaid is the backbone health insurance program for kids in North Carolina, providing guaranteed insurance coverage to over 1.1 million children including youth in foster care, children with disabilities, and children from low-income families. While there are currently intense federal threats to the viability of Medicaid, the state of North Carolina is also undergoing its own Medicaid transformation process with a transition to a managed care system. NC Child has consistently stated that any plan to move to a managed care system should include a plan to close the health insurance coverage gap for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. This will go a long way in helping children live in healthier and more economically secure families. Earlier this year, Gov. Roy Cooper proposed a plan that would expand Medicaid for North Carolina’s working poor and just last month a Republican proposal promoting a version of expansion was also introduced in the NC General Assembly. Bi-partisan support is truly growing.
Speak Out to Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap: NC DHHS Holding New Public Hearings on Medicaid Reform
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is now collecting input on Medicaid Reform. This public comment process is a critical opportunity for advocates and consumers to elevate the need for North Carolina to close the coverage gap as well as speak out on other key issues related to Medicaid coverage for children. DHHS is holding four in-person public hearings in May starting on Monday, May 1st.

• Greensboro: Monday, May 1st, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Guilford County DHHS Building, 1203 Maple St., Rooms 122 and 123
• Greenville: Wednesday, May 10th, 3:00-5:00 p.m.Greenville Convention Center, 303 Greenville Blvd. SW, Emerald Ballroom
• Asheville: Friday, May 12th, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Asheville-Buncombe Technical College, 340 Victoria Road, Ferguson Auditorium
• Raleigh: Tuesday, May 16th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.McKimmon Conference & Training Center, 1101 Gorman St.

 
We encourage you to attend a hearing and speak out in favor of closing the coverage gap or other important topics related to children’s Medicaid coverage.
Please let us know if you are planning on attending one of the forums!
See https://www.ncdhhs.gov/how-submit-comments for guidelines related to the submission of written comments and speaker guidelines for public hearings. (Basically, sign-ups to speak will begin about 45 minutes prior to the start of the hearing at each location, people will be able to sign up for 2-minute slots.)
Please help spread the word! Thank you for all you do for children and families.

Contact UsNC Child
3101 Poplarwood Court
Suite 300
Raleigh, North Carolina 27604
919-834-6623
admin@ncchild.org


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn ​​​​​

Community Health Workers LISTENING SESSIONS across the state (Promotoras de Salud are encouraged to attend; there will be interpretation services –Spanish-English & others as needed--for all of the sessions).

​Welcome to the first edition of the North Carolina Community Health Worker Initiative News! We hope this quarterly newsletter will provide opportunities for you to learn about activities across the state and connect with others who share common goals. We will feature opportunities such as conferences, grants, and trainings as well as highlight the local CHW program accomplishments.

We would like to hear from you!  Please send information about upcoming opportunities, recommendations for program highlights and feedback on the newsletter to Tish Singletary at tish.singletary@dhhs.nc.gov.
 
North Carolina Community Health Worker Summit
Over 140 stakeholders attended the North Carolina Community Health (CHW) Summit on November 10, 2016 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. Participants provided feedback on the North Carolina CHW Initiative Stakeholder Recommendations for training and certifying CHWs during this daylong event. Feedback included topics such as liability and safety, use of common terminology, funding and cost as well as education requirements.

Items of Interest 
 American Diabetes Association 2017 Standards of Care

The Community Health Worker Consensus (C3) Project is a multi-state effort to advance consensus in the CHW field across the US. To get regular updates on the C3 Project, 

sign up for thei C3 Project Newsletter

In This Issue
North Carolina Community Health Worker Summit

Upcoming Opportunities

NC CHW Regional Listening Sessions

NC CHW Initiative Selected for ASTHO Opportunity
 
 

Upcoming Opportunities
 
MARK YOUR CALENDAR

NCONA Annual Conference
Navigating Palliative Care in Health Systems and the Community
June 23, 2017
8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
The Friday Center
Chapel Hill, NC

Topics include palliative care, the strategic roles of patient navigators,engaging communities to understand palliative care, hospice and end of life care, navigating financial burdens across the continuum  and enhancing quality of care for health care systems and communities. An agenda and registration are forthcoming.

UNITY Conference
August  6-9, 2017
Hilton Anatole Hotel 
Dallas, TX
 

Come participate in the largest national conference of and for CHWs. Registration is forth coming. To stay abreast of this event visit the Center for Sustainable Health Outreach.

CHW Summit
November 3, 2017
Atlanta, GA
 
The CHW Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) is tentatively planning a CHW Summit the day before the annual APHA conference. More information to come.

 
NC CHW Initiative Recommendations Regional Listening Session
 
The NC Community Health Worker Steering Committee is seeking feedback on draft recommendations on the core competencies and a process for certifying CHWs. We need to hear from CHWs, CHW Employers, Health Care Providers and Faith-based Organizations. You are welcome to attend one or more of the following sessions; however, preregistration is required.     REGISTER HERE 
 
Date
Location
Time

Chowan County Agricultural Center
730 N. Granville St., Ste. A
Edenton, NC 27932
 April 24, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

Richmond Community College
Cole Auditorium
1042 W. Hamlet Ave.
Hamlet, NC 28345
May 2, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

Lincoln County Senior Center
514 S. Academy St.
Lincolnton, NC 28092
May 9, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

Wilkes County Agricultural Center
416 Executive Dr.
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
May 16, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

Duplin County Agriculture Center
May 23, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

Area L AHEC
Rocky Mount, NC
June 5, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

YMCA at Mission Pardee Health Campus
Arden, NC
June 14, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm

First Presbyterian Church
Tartan Hall
26 Church St.
Franklin, NC 28734
June 20, 2017
5:30pm-8:30pm


North Carolina Selected for ASTHO Opportunity

The North Carolina CHW Initiative has been selected along with Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada and Oklahoma to participate in the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Community Health Worker Learning Community. Through this technical assistance opportunity participants will share perspectives on the use of multidisciplinary teams to to promote workforce development and the coordination of care across the spectrum of care.   
 
Additionally, each state will receive customized assistance from national experts on issues related to certification, training, strategic planning, coalition building, evaluation and evaluation. The initiative began in January and will end August 2017.

DHHS DPH Chronic Disease and Injury Section, 1915 Mail Service Center,5505 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, NC 27699-1915


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn ​​​​

I’ve attached our 2016 brochure which is still correct, except for the income guideline “table”.  The new income guidelines are below--- a family of 4 making $51,912 or slightly more may qualify.  Let me know if you need me to present to any of your staff/family gatherings.
Atentamente,
Norma
​
EFFECTIVE APRIL 2017
Family Size         Health Check/Medicaid- Children*         NC Health Choice
                              0-5 yrs. old        6-20 yrs. old                6-18 yrs. old
2                          $2,842                 $1,800                             $2,856
3                          $3,574                  $2,264                             $3,591
4                          $4,305                  $2,727                             $4,326
5                          $5,037                 $ 3,190                             $5,061
6 or more          add $732**        add $464**                    add $735**
                                        **for each additional child
*Children may receive Medicaid at 19- 20 but income limits are different.           
 
 
Norma Martí
Health Check (Medicaid for Children)/ NC Health Choice Minority Outreach
Division of Public Health, Children & Youth Branch
NC Department of Health and Human Services
 
919-707-5643    Office
919-870-4880    Fax
Norma.Marti@dhhs.nc.gov
 

5601 Six Forks Road
1928 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC  27609-1928


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn ​​​​

I have attached flyers for a research study we are conducting to assess the impact of stressors associated with being a Latino Immigrant in the research triangle area on behavioral, mental health, and physical health outcomes. As you well know the Latino community is incredibly resilient, so we will be exploring the impact of this as well.  
 
Please share this opportunity with your networks. We are not collecting any social security numbers or tax ID #s from participants and will be compensating them $50 in cash. The data collection will be completed in participants home at their convenience which will take approximately 2 hours.
 
Please let me know if you have any questions.
 
Thank you so much for your time,
Rosa
 
Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, CPH, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor
Duke University School of Nursing
307 Trent Drive, DUMC 3322
Durham, NC  27710
919.613.2634 (Office)
rosa.gonzalez-guarda@duke.edu


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn ​​​

This holiday season it really hit home for me that more people seem to be forgetting best practices for safe driving. I saw a lot of people on their phones, I saw people running red lights, and I saw people who looked like they were generally not paying attention.  People forget that they are hurling a two-ton machine along the road that can actually cause fatal damage if not handled properly!
 
As a public health advocate, I consider driver safety to be just as important as other health issues. And driver safety awareness shouldn’t stop after someone gets their first driver’s license; we should always be monitoring our skills and readiness behind the wheel.
 
The 9 Most Dangerous Things Drivers Do
 
Drugged Driving Prevention: Intervention Techniques to Keep Them Out of the Driver's Seat and Off the Road
 
Age and Driving: Safety Tips and Warning Signs for Older Drivers
 
Transportation Options for Seniors Who Don't Drive
 
Mental Preparation for Driving
 
Safe Driving Practices
 
Thanks for your consideration, and safe travels!
 
Best,
Steve
 
Steve Johnson
Publichealthlibrary.org | steve@publichealthlibrary.org
2885 Sanford Ave SW #35235
Grandville, MI 49418


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn ​

ALPES, along with the ALPES president, Carla Mena, were featured in a newspaper article from La Conexión, se llaman, "Por miedo a ser deportadas mujeres están pariendo sin supervisión médica ni capacitación en sus hogares". 

Raleigh, N.C. 18 abril 2017-Aunque los partos asistidos en casa han existido desde la antigüedad y se siguen realizando en nuestros días, las razones por las que algunas mujeres indocumentadas en Carolina del Norte están dando a luz sin supervisión ni capacitación en sus hogares es motivo de alerta y reflexión para las autoridades locales.  "Por el miedo a ser deportadas si van a un hospital, muchas mujeres están teniendo partos en casa y no solo eso, se están privando y privando a sus hijos de las revisiones médicas que les corresponden", comenta en entrevista para La Conexión, Carla Mena, Presidenta de la Alianza Latina Pro Educación en Salud (ALPES).

Cómo afecta el miedo a la deportación?
SALUD:
"El miedo a que la información personal sea compartida con autoridades de inmigración es otro de los factores por los que los padres de familia están retirando a sus hijos de programas como Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)" de acuerdo a lo que señala Mena. "Un representante de WIC nos ha compartido en una sesión informativa que por miedo y desinformación algunas personas piden que saquen a sus hijos del programa, a pesar de que sus hijos tienen derecho a ello por ser ciudadanos".
- See more at: http://www.laconexionusa.com/noticias/20170419_7044301919.asp#sthash.EdWRGidg.dpuf


Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn 

ALPES invites you to our next meeting which will be held on Monday, April 10, 2017 at 5:15 PM!  We hope to see you there!

​Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn

Come out to the Free Food Giveaway on Saturday, April 8th, May 13th & June 10th at 9:00 AM!
Where: Wake Chapel Church Life Enrichment Center 3805 Tarheel Club Road, Raleigh, NC
Sponsored by Wake Chapel Church and The Food Bank of NC.

Alianza Latina Pro-Educación en Salud
email: alpesnc@gmail.com
website: www.alpesnc.org   ​
Follow us on: Facebook - Twitter - Google+ - LinkedIn

Posted: 30 Mar 2017 06:34 AM PDT
Water isn’t magic, but it can help you stay hydrated (and improve brain functioning), control calories, energize muscles, and help your skin and kidneys.
But Latino kids don’t drink enough water.
In fact, Latino kids drink less plain water and more sugary drinks than their white peers as early as age 6 months, according to a research review by Salud America!, a national Latino childhood obesity prevention network based at UT Health San Antonio.
That’s why we at SaludToday are spotlighting heroes who work hard to push water for Latino kids and families!
Praxina Guerra: 5th-Grader Gets Hydration Station in SchoolSan Antonio fifth-grader Praxina Guerra and her mentor, Cathy Lopez, are true Salud Heroes when it comes to creating a healthy school environment.