Pediatric Care Coordination:

Community of Practice

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Happy New Year!

We leave 2020 both cautious and hopeful: COVID-19 continues to spread in our communities but many people have already gotten the vaccine. We have a lot to look forward to in this new year, including quarterly webinars and regional meetings hosted by the Community of Practice. We’ll also continue to share webinars and conferences hosted by other organizations that our members would find useful. Will you please help us make our calendar of events even more robust? Click here and scroll down to submit events.

Thank you for being part of strengthening this Community of Practice! If you know of other people who may be interested in being part of this community, please invite them to become a free member.

Wendy Berghorst and the ACET team


PLEASE REGISTER: Upcoming Events

Suicide Ideation and Assessing Risk: Saving Minnesota’s Youth

Kara Engebretson LICSW - Pediatric Therapist (she/her)
Ashley Crist LICSW - 
Pediatric Therapist (she/her)
PrairieCare co-located at South Lake Pediatrics

Tuesday January 26, 2021 | Noon to 1:00 pm CT

Webinar Objectives:
- Identify warning signs of suicidal ideation in children and youth
- Updated practices and resources for current conditions
- Guidance on suicide risk assessment, red flags, and action steps


Join us for your regional meeting!

Want to connect with people in your geographic area? Join us for your virtual regional meeting to share experiences, network and collaborate. The meetings will be a combination of small group discussion/networking and collective learning about innovative care coordination strategies in the region.

Regional meetings will occur from noon-1 p.m. on the following days:

  • Northeast: Tuesday, February 23

  • Northwest: Wednesday, February 24

  • Central/West Central: Thursday, February 25

  • Southwest: Tuesday, March 2

  • Southeast: Wednesday, March 3

  • Twin Cities Metro: Thursday, March 4

Supporting each other and our clients during COVID-19

The Pediatric Care Coordination: Community of Practice has an Advisory Group that meets monthly and helps steer the project. Advisory Group members shared some go-to resources that they’re finding useful right now*:

  • Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination info: Curious about when you might be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine? Want to see answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Check out MDH’s new webpage for the most up-to-date info.

  • Tips for helping kids learn during COVID: Find resources for how to help kids with special needs and their families navigate distance learning from Disability HubMDH and the Distance Learning for Special Education website.

  • New personal care assistant (PCA) rules: From December 1, 2020, through February 7, 2021, parents, stepparents, legal guardians, and spouses can be paid to provide temporary PCA services to a minor child or spouse. To be your child's PCA, you must meet the same requirements as other PCAs. Learn more at the Department of Human Services’ Disability Hub.

  • MDH Center for Health Equity hires COVID Community Coordinators: The COVID Community Coordinators (CCC) initiative supports community-led organizations to help relay information about COVID-19 response and other support services in culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, and timely ways. CCCs will serve the following communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19: African American, African immigrant, American Indian, Asian American Pacific Islander, Latinx, LGBTQ, and disability communities in Minnesota.

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Reflection on COVID-19 response

Tara Mahin, Advisory Group member and care coordinator at South Lake Pediatrics, reflects on care coordinators' response to COVID-19: "Our Care Coordination team’s first response was to turn to their registries. Their first calls were to families with children and youth who have special health care needs. ... Care Coordinators next focused on their patients who suffered from anxiety and depression. They checked in with patients and families to be sure they had the mental health support they needed. They provided community resources and connected patients to care. ... The stay at home orders placed additional stress on families who were struggling with food insecurity, housing and financial needs. Care Coordinators reviewed the social determinants of health screens for the previous three months and reached out to families to offer support and community resources as needed."

(This is a condensed version of Tara’s piece originally featured in MDH’s Health Care Homes newsletter, “The Connection,” on December 18, 2020.)

JOIN THIS COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you’re not already a member of this community, please consider signing up for the Pediatric Care Coordination: Community of Practice by clicking the button below (you will also be added to the newsletter list).

SIGN UP FOR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE


“Don’t stop because you’re tired, keep going because you’re almost there.”

-Ritu Ghatourey


The Pediatric Care Coordination: Community of Practice is a program coordinated by ACET Inc. under a grant funded by the Minnesota Department of Health. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Minnesota Department of Health’s position or policy.

Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who can benefit from the content provided within.

For more information, please contact info@acetinc.com.

ACET, Inc., Minneapolis, MN