Health News

HRMC joins organ donation campaign

Haywood Regional Medical Center has joined other area hospitals, health care organizations, and LifeShare Carolinas to create a donation-friendly community through the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign for organ donation.

This national initiative sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges health care organizations to educate employees, patients, visitors, and the community about the crucial need for organ, eye, and tissue donation and give them opportunities to sign up as donors. More than 492,000 people have added their names to state registries through this campaign.

“We need your involvement and support to reach our goal of registering new organ, eye, and tissue donors in our state registry between now and April 30, 2020. It’s easy to sign up, and the result is potentially life-saving,” said Sherry King, local LifeShare program coordinator.

Individuals can add their names to North Carolina’s donor registry online at www.donatelifenc.org/register.

Haywood Health Department services

Certain clinics within the Haywood County Health Department will be seeing clients on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only, starting Monday, March 30.

Clients with symptoms of STDs or needing treatment will be seen in the STD clinic. The immunization clinic will only be taking appointments for flu and pneumonia vaccines.

WIC clients can make an appointment upon request, but most appointments will be handled over the phone. Family planning clients will be seen on a case by case basis with the exception of Depo-Provera and pregnancy testing.

Call the health department to be triaged if you are in need of family planning services. Maternal health clinics will see clients as normal, with telephonic visits as needed. Call the health department at 828.452.6675 for further guidance or to schedule an appointment in one of the listed clinics.

Blue Ridge Health offers expanded access

Blue Ridge Health has an expanded network of virtual care opportunities available for all insurances, including Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the uninsured.

Like all BRH practices, services are universally accessible and available on a sliding fee based on income and household size. Patients with insurance deductibles over $1,000 can qualify for sliding fee discounts as well. Accessing care from the comfort of home is especially important given the spread of COVID-19, but the trend toward virtual care is something BRH has been preparing for over the years.

Register as a patient if not already registered and set up an appointment over the phone, then an email will be sent providing simple instructions and a link. Click the link at your appointment time and your doctor will appear on your screen. If needed, prescriptions are electronically routed to a BRH or other preferred pharmacy. In some cases, BRH pharmacies are even able to deliver.

Patients concerned they may have been exposed to COVID-19, or those experiencing fever, cough or shortness of breath are encouraged to access virtual services as well. Call 828.692.4289 and select option #9 to be connected to our COVID-19 Hotline.

School action team recruiting members

The School Health Advisory Council is an action team through Jackson County Public Schools, made up of school board members, faculty, staff, parents, and students, as well as professionals and individuals in the community.

SHAC’s mission is to support an overall safe and healthy community by providing information and education to children, families, and the community towards the prevention of substance abuse and the promotion of safe and healthy choices. SHAC is seeking interested business leaders, youth-serving organizations, religious/fraternal organizations, civic and volunteer groups and any other organizations involved in reducing substance abuse to join the action team. SHAC has been and will continue to target youth alcohol, tobacco (including vaping and electronic cigarettes), and opioid use in the community. In the coming months, SHAC will be applying for a federal grant to secure funding and to create a position to combat substance use with our county’s youth.

For more information, contact Laura Cabe at 828.586.2311 ext. 1936 or lcabe@jcpsmail.org.

Medicaid payments to increase

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will temporarily increase Medicaid payment rates to long-term care providers and facilities to support them in caring for Medicaid beneficiaries who are at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

Medicaid will also be temporarily increasing rates to behavioral health, intellectual and developmental disability and specialized therapy providers for vulnerable children and adults in outpatient and residential settings.

This temporary rate increase will allow longterm services providers to implement additional measures to protect the health of those they serve in this time of crisis. Long-term care facilities have been asked to set up isolation space for residents who test positive with COVID-19, proactively monitor staff for symptoms of COVID-19 and provide masks to residents with any type of respiratory symptoms.

To ensure access to behavioral health, I/DD and specialized therapy providers for vulnerable children and adults in outpatient and residential settings, local management entities/managed care organizations (LME-MCOs) agencies will receive a temporary increase in their rates and can use the funds to address community gaps in services such as purchasing needed teletherapy equipment.

Vaya to serve on disabilities council

Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed Rhonda Cox, chief population health officer at Vaya Health, to the N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities. Vaya, based in Asheville, manages Medicaid and other public funds for mental health, substance use disorder and intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) services in 22 Western North Carolina counties. At Vaya, Cox is responsible for all complex care management and integrated care functions, member services, provider network operations and utilization management.

“I believe strongly in supporting persons with disabilities having individual autonomy in making life choices, where they live, what they choose to do and with whom they choose to spend their time both personally and with regards to services,” Cox said. “I also want to design a sustainable service and support system that allows these options and provides real choices and opportunities for individuals and their families.”

Jabaley earns DNP degree

Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers announced that Eden Jabaley, DNP, a nurse practitioner at Peachtree Community Health Center, recently earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with an acute care specialization and lifestyle management focus from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee.

A Doctor of Nursing Practice offers the highest level of nursing training and can be used in either direct patient care or a leadership and administration role. A DNP degree trains nurse practitioners to become leaders in their field, translate research and data into better health care, and improve systems of care to enhance patient outcomes.

Before becoming a nurse practitioner, Jabaley worked for 20 years as a registered nurse in psychiatry, emergency medicine, cardiology, neurology, medical intensive care, critical care transport and health care management.

AMCHC offers patient-centered, financially viable care through a network of six accessible health care centers throughout Western North Carolina. With sites located in Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, and Jackson counties, AMCHC delivers timely, comprehensive, and quality health services to the area’s most vulnerable and highrisk populations with dignity and respect regardless of a person’s ability to pay. To learn more, visit www.amchc.org.