New Healing Hands Explores Wound Care for Patients Experiencing Homelessness

Learn Best Practices and Considerations for Wound Care in the National HCH Council’s latest Healing Hands. People without homes often have wounds resulting from injuries, burns, frostbite, and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes. These wounds can be challenging to treat in patients with inadequate access to health care and housing. This new issue emphasizes the holistic nature of wound care; provides perspectives from health centers, medical respite facilities, and outreach teams; and explores how community partnerships can facilitate wound care. Designed by and for homeless health care professionals, Healing Hands helps learners understand and apply practical information from the field. CME credits are available for reading the issue and successfully completing the post-test.

New Study Demonstrates Greater Need for Medical-Legal Partnerships for Homeless Populations

The National HCH Council has conducted a national study surveying organizations serving homeless populations, citing a significant need for civil legal aid for people without homes. Published in the American Journal of Public Health, “Civil Legal Services and Medical-Legal Partnerships Needed by the Homeless Population: A National Survey” finds that practitioners recognize a need for civil legal aid and its relationship to health for unstably housed individuals, who face many legal issues which can prevent access to necessary health care. Council Interim Executive Director Darlene Jenkins, DrPH, co-authored the study, which features guidance from Jack Tsai, PhD, of the Yale School of Medicine and Ellen Lawton, JD, from the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. View the article abstract in AJPH.

Nominations Open for Council Awards and Steering Committees

The Council is seeking nominations for worthy individuals to be honored at our 2017 National HCH Conference, as well as for members to join the Steering Committees of our membership groups. If you know someone who would qualify for one of the four awards to be presented at HCH2017—such as our Philip W. Brickner National Leadership Award or Karen Rotondo Award for Outstanding Service—please submit a nomination. You can also nominate yourself or a colleague to become a Steering Committee member for the Council’s HCH Clinicians’ Network, National Consumer Advisory Board, or Respite Care Providers’ Network. All nominations are due March 24.

HCH2017 Consumer Subsidy Applications Are Open

Seeking to engage consumers in all aspects of our work, the National HCH Council is offering a limited number of consumer subsidies to cover the cost of attending our 2017 National HCH Conference. If you have previously or are now experiencing homelessness and have used services at a Health Care for the Homeless site, please consider applying for a subsidy: these funds will cover your registration, lodging, a meal stipend, and partial travel expenses. When consumers attend HCH2017, they will learn, network, and build leadership skills to make their voices heard throughout HCH. Apply by March 24 to secure a spot for yourself, or share this opportunity with a consumer you know!

View Our Archived Webinar on Medication-Assisted Treatment, Federal Policy Changes, and the HCH Community

If you missed our recent webinar on medication-assisted treatment (MAT), you can now view video and slides from the presentation. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 expanded buprenorphine prescribing rights to nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and changes to federal regulations have increased patient limits. Complementing our recent policy brief, this webinar examined these policy changes and the HCH community, challenges and opportunities to expanding buprenorphine prescriber rights, and how to maximize MAT services in HCH settings. Learn more in this archived webinar featuring perspectives from SAMHSA, as well as a panel of HCH providers from two states.

Share Your Medicaid Story

“Patients interviewed on what they would have done universally say, 'I would have died–and will die without it' ... I want to scream from the hills that Medicaid isn’t broken; why in the world would anyone want to change it?” That’s what Medicaid means to Annie Nicol, FNP, PA, Director of Homeless Services at California’s Petaluma Health Center. In her experience, the Affordable Care Act “has been a blessing and opened the doors to better health for the hundreds of patients I have seen.” What does Medicaid mean to you? In 2017, the Council is advocating to preserve Medicaid, and we need your stories—like Annie’s—to help make that possible. Please share your story with us to help ensure that policymakers understand just how important Medicaid is as a means for preventing and ending homelessness.

Lipstick Donations Available to Organizational Members: Happy Valentine’s Day!

While supplies last, the Council is offering high-quality Noyah lipsticks to our Organizational Members. The Council is grateful for our partnership with Noyah, a manufacturer of natural cosmetic products that values corporate responsibility. Available in a variety of shades, these lipsticks are cased in sustainably-grown bamboo tubes and make great tokens of appreciation for clients and staff. We offer this gift for free but ask you to help cover the cost of shipping. Contact Michael Durham, Membership and Development Coordinator, for details.

New Resources on Homelessness and the Opioid Crisis Available for Health Centers

Health centers and communities can find guidance to aid their local responses to the opioid crisis as it affects people without homes in a new resource guide from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The United States is in the midst of a growing opioid epidemic, and for people without homes, the effects of that crisis can be particularly devastating. USICH’s guide offers a variety of resources and strategies to strengthen local responses to this epidemic.