Improving Compliance Rates with Health Assessment and Vaccine Documentation to Decrease School Absences: A Community Collaborative.

Students entering North Carolina public schools must have documentation of a health assessment and immunizations by the 30th day of class, or they are excluded from attending school until they submit documentation. A community collaborative was essential in decreasing the number of students excluded from school for noncompliant documentation in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school district.

Diabetes and BMI: Health Equity through Early Intervention on Dysglycemia, and How Providers Can Help.

Like most states in the U.S., Rhode Island's rate of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is rising as its population has both aged and become heavier. Risk of both BMI>=30 and DM has risen across almost all demographics, but disparities continue to exist in both conditions. We analyzed state health survey data to assess race/ethnicity-stratified DM and BMI and the age-adjusted rate of DM by weight status relative to the late 1990s. The prevalence of obesity increased across almost all demographic groups relative to 15 years ago, but the rise was greatest among non-Hispanic whites. The age-adjusted rate of DM had a similar increase across racial/ethnic categories where BMI>=30, but black adults were still at higher risk of DM even at a BMI<30. In sum, non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics are "catching up" to blacks' historically higher prevalence of obesity and DM, but disparities remain in both conditions. We describe two ways providers can collaborate with the Department of Health to address these growing health problems. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2016-11.asp].

Community Health Teams: A Healthcare Provider's System Transformation Opportunity.

"The goal of community health teams is to develop and implement care models that integrate clinical and community health promotion and preventive services for patients." -Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)1 Eleven community health teams (CHTs) operate in various geographies within Rhode Island. Physicians and payers refer their highest-risk patients to CHTs that serve as community extenders. Community health workers and others work to link referred individuals to primary care and work to address the other determinants affecting their health, such as safe housing. Since much of health is driven by factors outside of the healthcare setting, CHTs compliment the work of physicians within the office environment. Transforming practices and addressing both the physical and behavioral needs of patients simultaneously is key to CHT success. This article attempts to quantify the expanding need for CHTs within Rhode Island and describes ways in which CHTs as a practice transformation resource may be leveraged by providers. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2016-10.asp].