Violence in America: The Wider Conversation By Eugene Steuerle In the aftermath of Newtown and, by one estimate, 25 mass shootings since 2006, the country is engaged in an intense fight over assault-like weapons and the right of Americans to carry them. While I consider it downright stupid and outright dangerous to allow people to buy, sell, and carry around the equivalent of small machine guns—imagine how safe you would feel if all your loony neighbors touted one around—I wish we were … [Read more...]
Free Tuition – IHI Open School
April 29, 2013 by
ACU will award up to 20 scholarships to members to attend the IHI Open School for Health Professions online courses free for one year. The IHI Open School is an inter-professional educational community focused on health care improvement. Courses address topics such as quality improvement, patient safety, teamwork, leadership, and patient-centered care (view courses and certificates here). Courses are open to health professionals in nursing, health administration, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, … [Read more...]
Clinicians Can Affect Change on Gun Violence
April 5, 2013 by
Dr. Ricky Choi says that hearing and being a part of his patients’ powerful stores has moved him to speak out gun violence. In this interview he reflects on the power of storytelling and how he uses social media, particularly Twitter and blogs, to be heard. “Clinicians under recognize the amount of influence and power that they have,” said Choi, “whether it be on the individual patient level or engaging city councilman, local legislators, state and even at the national level; we have the … [Read more...]
ACU Announces Health IT Award Winners
March 18, 2013 by
ACU’s first ever Health IT for the Underserved Awards showcased talent, innovation and perseverance on behalf of underserved communities. The awards were presented at the Health IT and the Underserved Conference held in Poughkeepsie, NY on March 7 - 8, 2013. Casey Davis was recognized with the User from the Field Award for developing a health education website with materials in American Sign Language for the deaf and hard of hearing community, www.DeafMD.org. Mary Zalasny, CEO of Finger … [Read more...]
Feedback on ACU Health IT Conference
March 18, 2013 by
Participants were enthusiastic about ACU’s conference on Health IT and the Underserved: Transform the Way You Think about Change, held in Poughkeepsie, NY, March 7 -8, and many left inspired with new ideas. Here's what some of them had to say: Eric Brosius, Vice President of Technology Service, Hudson River Healthcare: “I have been very impressed with the breakout sessions … the privacy and security session yesterday was very interesting. It was extremely informative, and a lot of other … [Read more...]
Clinicians and Gun Violence: What to know and what to do
March 15, 2013 by
Clinicians and Gun Violence: What to know and what to do By Annie Savarese, MD On December 14, 2012, twenty children and their teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary. In January of this year, there were forty-three fatal shootings in Chicago. In the United States, gun violence is responsible for over 30,000 deaths and over 70,000 injuries every year. On average, 282 people are shot daily and 50 of them are children or teenagers. How have the medical and political communities … [Read more...]
Randy Hall: Dedicated Advocate for the Underserved
March 14, 2013 by
On Friday, March 8, 2013 ACU recognized Emerson 'Randy' Hall for his dedicated service as an advocate for the underserved. Randy served as an ACU board member from 2008 – 2012. He has made significant contributions to health care for the underserved in the areas of HIV/AIDs, depression and mental health services, diabetes, smoking and access to care, to new only a few. He has been involved in patient advocacy and worked with more than 70 national societies and consumer groups. The … [Read more...]
Health Information Exchange Resources from the National Rural Health Resource Center
March 13, 2013 by
Health information exchanges (HIE) allow the electronic sharing of health-related information among organizations. Exchanging information electronically is the basis for many efforts to improve health care quality and safety. The National Rural Health Resource Center, an exhibitor at ACU's Health IT and the Underserved Conference, has a set of practical health information exchange (HIE) resources. See HIE Toolkit. Here’s a list of individual tools and corresponding links: Forming or … [Read more...]
Policy Brief on Medicaid Expansion
February 4, 2013 by
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council has developed a very reader-friendly four-page policy brief on Medicaid expansion. We encourage you to use it in your advocacy efforts, particularly in those states reluctant to expand their Medicaid programs. The Affordable Care Act gives states for the very first time the option to provide coverage for the lowest income adults in their States, without regard to disability, parental status or most other categorical limitations. Download Medicaid … [Read more...]
Using Big Data to Solve Autism and Other Mysteries
January 30, 2013 by
By Eugene Steuerle Summary: Many associate electronic health records (EHRs) with better transmission of information from one hospital, doctor, or other health care provider to the next. But for many of us, the real promise of EHRs is the potential for faster, more thorough, and more comprehensive public health research on the causes and possible cures for disease, malignancies, and chronic health conditions, outbreaks of new health problems, and local or regional stories of failure or success. … [Read more...]
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