​Samuel “Le” Church, MD, a family physician with 20+ years of experience in rural Georgia, is no stranger to the limitations of the traditional fee-for-service model. While managing Synergy Health, one of the region’s largest primary care practices, he navigated the challenges of the time-intensive Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which rewards eligible clinicians for providing high-quality, efficient care within the fee-for-service model. 
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“We were climbing the ladder of success,” Dr. Church said. “Unfortunately, the ladder was on the wrong wall.”

Treatment of hepatitis C for the majority of cases is straightforward and can be effectively done, by general practitioners, in primary care. Approximately 60,000 people in Washington State in the United States are living with hepatitis C. In 2021, the Washington State Department of Health found that 44% of people newly diagnosed with HCV in WA are among people aged 25-34 years old. Hepatitis C is a leading infectious disease killer that is highly transmissible.  Left untreated, hepatitis C can cause liver failure, liver cancer, and death. Amongst people who use drugs, a single hepatitis C infection will spread to approximately 20 other people in a 3-year period.  

Depressive Disorders are a category of Mood Disorders as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Depressive Disorders are generally characterized by disturbances to several facets of a person's mood, including, but not limited to motivation, self-esteem, eating habits, sleep schedules, etc. An individual experiencing depression may experience decreased interest in day-to-day activities, anhedonia, fatigue, poor concentration, lowered self-esteem, feelings of guilt and shame, social withdrawal and isolation, insomnia, hypersomnia, poor appetite, and over-eating. 

As Community Health Centers navigate the ever-evolving landscape of community healthcare, it's imperative that we continually seek innovative solutions to address the specific challenges our patients face.
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 At Neighborhood Health Center (NHC), we recently adopted one innovative solution that promises to improve medication access and patient outcomes within our clinics – prescription pharmacy lockers.

By Anthony Harvey, Data and Information Specialist, NWRPCA

​NWRPCA’s training needs assessment is conducted on an annual basis and is used throughout the following year to help determine what kinds of trainings and sessions we as a PCA should work towards offering to health center employees and affiliates throughout our region. Our most recently facilitated assessment (conducted 09/2023-10/2023) garnered over 300 participants from health centers across WA, OR, ID, & AK. 

In today’s digital age, the healthcare industry faces significant cybersecurity risks that can have severe legal, financial, and reputational consequences. Based on a claims report by Marsh, the parent company of Marsh McLennan Agency, the healthcare industry has consistently reported the highest number of claims annually from 2020 to 2023. Healthcare is an appealing target for cyberattacks due to the sensitive nature of the information stored on systems and the critical and time-sensitive nature of operations.

Given that oral health is health, it is important for health advocates to elevate racial, social, and economic disparities within oral health access, affordability, and outcomes. Community Catalyst, a nonprofit national health advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the movement for health equity and justice, does just this.

By Cindy Beck, Diabetes Program Coordinator, Squaxin Island Tribe in collaboration with the NWRPCA Workforce Development Team

Nestled between the vibrant city of Olympia, WA, and the serene surroundings of Shelton, WA, lies the heart of the Squaxin Island Tribe's community which stands as a beacon of tradition, resilience, and healthcare innovation.
 
The Squaxin Island Tribal health facility, a community cornerstone, operates under a dual designation an Indian Health Service (IHS) tribal health facility and a federally qualified health care center. Its doors are primarily open to tribal members, their descendants, and their families, providing a broad spectrum of care that transcends mere medical treatment to encompass a holistic approach to wellness. This commitment to health and well-being extends not only to the tribe's members, regardless of their marital status or background, but also to a significant portion of its workforce. Reflecting the challenges healthcare providers face everywhere, the facility recently found itself at a crossroads. Last summer, due to overwhelming demand that tested the bounds of capacity, the difficult decision was made to halt enrollment for employees who were not already part of the program and did not possess a tribal affiliation. In this context, the Squaxin Island Tribe's healthcare facility emerges not just as a provider of medical services but as a vital organ of the community, adapting to its internal needs and the pressures of an ever-evolving healthcare landscape.

It is estimated that nearly half of all adults in the United States have hypertension[1] (AKA high blood pressure). The impact? An estimated 691,000 deaths in the United States in 2021[2] where hypertension acted as either a primary or contributing cause.
 
With the prevalence of hypertension and its associated health risks as high as it is, all FQHCs throughout the nation are required to report on both their number of patients with high blood pressure as well as the number of patients whose hypertension is controlled (<140 mmHg & associated with significantly less health risks). The below figures demonstrate the varying treatment outcomes achieved by FQHCs across Region X and within each individual state throughout 2022.

By the Ride Program in Collaboration with the NWRPCA Workforce Development Team​

Over 50 years ago, the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine began the WWAMI program, a medical education program serving the five-state region of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. WWAMI is renowned for its unique approach to supporting the rural physician workforce, advancing excellence in medical education, and helping meet physician workforce needs in the region.

​Inspired by the WWAMI program success, the School of Dentistry with funding from the Washington State legislature, launched the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program in 2007. By building on the existing educational structure in Spokane and the community health centers across the state, RIDE is a cost-effective, scalable model for training dentists to meet the needs of rural and underserved populations. The program focuses on delivering hands-on, interprofessional education within small communities, effectively opening pathways to improved dental care.