Programs &
Network Teams

Clinical services require ongoing education and awareness to maintain compliance with community health center requirements, achieve accreditation, and support continuous quality improvement. CHAD supports health centers in identifying the best practices that could work in their environment, as well as innovative and emerging programs, curricula, and funding opportunities to enhance clinical operations, expand service offerings and integrated care models.

The clinical quality program at CHAD offers training and technical assistance through networking opportunities with peer health center members, monthly meetings, best practice research and sharing, webinars, and workshops relating to these clinical topics:

• Quality improvement
• UDS clinical measures
• Oral health initiatives
• Patient-Centered Medical Home
• HIV/AIDS education  
• Meaningful use/clinical IT
• Special populations
• ECQIP

Communications and marketing play significant roles in health center operations:  and robust strategies and tools help drive successful campaigns to promote general awareness, recruiting the workforce, growing the patient base, educating the public, and engaging community leaders and stakeholders.

CHAD works closely with community health centers to develop marketing plans and campaigns, and capitalize on emerging trends and opportunities to effectively promote their center and achieve their marketing goals. CHAD provides peer networking and strategy development opportunities through regularly-scheduled meetings, trainings and events, and We provide communications and marketing resources and technical assistance in the following areas:

• Awareness campaigns  
• Branding and graphic design support
• Paid, earned, and digital media strategies
• Media engagement
• Events
• Policy and advocacy

CHAD provides support and resources to communities interested in establishing a community health center and to existing health centers planning to expand services. The Health Resources and Services Administration, through its Bureau of Primary Health Care, reviews applications and awards grant funds to eligible applicants who demonstrate the ability to meet the program’s core requirements.

In collaboration with national and regional partners, CHAD offers the expertise and resources to help communities plan for their future health care needs and navigate the assessment and application process required to qualify for health center status. Specific areas of assistance include:

• CHC program information  
• Grant application assistance
• Needs assessment support
• Ongoing technical assistance
• Collaboration opportunities

The Dakotas AIDS Education and Training Center (DAETC) is a program of the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD), serving North Dakota and South Dakota to deliver innovative education and training to improve access to care and quality of life for people who are living with or are at-risk for acquiring HIV. The program is funded through the regional Mountain West AETC (MWAETC) which is housed at the University of Washington in Seattle, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The national AETC network is the professional training arm of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. We offer education, clinical consultation, capacity building, and technical assistance for the following topics:

Services

We provide customized clinical training on a variety of HIV/AIDS-related topics including:

• • Routine Testing & Linkage to Care
  • Diagnosis and clinical management of HIV
  • Pre/post-exposure prophylaxis
  • HIV care coordination
  • Retention in care
  • Antiretroviral treatment
  • Comorbidities
  • Sexually Transmitted Infections

It is the goal of the AETC National HIV Curriculum to provide ongoing, up-to-date information needed to meet the core competency knowledge for HIV prevention, screening, diagnosis, and ongoing treatment and care to healthcare providers in the United States. Visit https://www.hiv.uw.edu/ a free educational website from the University of Washington and the AETC National Resource Center; free CE (CME and CNE) are available. In response to increasing STD rates, the University of Washington STD Prevention Training Center developed a National STD Curriculum available through a training website https://www.std.uw.edu/. A variety of educational and resource materials are available.

Epidemiology and testing site information:

• South Dakota Department of Health
• City of Sioux Falls – Ryan White Part C
• Heartland Health Resource Center – Ryan White Part B Care Program (eastern SD)
• Volunteers of America – Ryan White Part B Care Program (western SD)
• North Dakota Department of Health

Care Connection Newsletter – Past Editions

March 18, 2024

February 22, 2024

December 28, 2023

October 31, 2023

The effective collection and management of data is fundamental to understanding the operation and performance of community health centers. Each year, health centers are required to report on their performance using the measures defined in the Uniform Data System (UDS).

CHAD’s data team is equipped to assist health centers with collecting and reporting their UDS data to fulfill federal requirements, and extracting and interpreting that data to support their planning, operations and marketing efforts. CHAD provides training and technical assistance for UDS and other data points, including:

• Needs assessments
• Census data
• Navigating the UDS Analysis Database (UAD)
• Comparative information about UDS measures in the Dakotas
• Budget Period Renewal (BPR)
• Service Area Competition (SAC)
• Designations:
  • Medically Underserved Area (MUA)
  • Medically Underserved Populations (MUP)
  • Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)

Resources

2020 SD Snapshot
2020 ND Snapshot
Data for Measuring Access to Care webinar
Shortage Designations

As primary care providers and trusted members of their communities, health centers need to be prepared to respond to emergency and disaster situations in the event they are called upon for medical care and other support services, as well as to ensure the continuity of operations for their clinics. CHCs need to assess vulnerability, create an emergency preparedness plan, train staff and evaluate response with drills and exercises, and connect with local emergency management and community partners to identify resources and establish action plans before an emergency or disaster occurs.

CHAD has the resources to support CHCs in developing a plan that will guide them in sustaining critical operations and services in the event of an emergency or disaster. CHAD can provide other key services, including:

• Liaison to state and regional partners
• Tools and resources for developing federally-compliant plans
• Emergency preparedness information and updates
• Training and education opportunities

Health Centers can access emergency care packages in bulk from Direct Relief and AmeriCares, who are philanthropic organizations dedicated to providing health centers with immediate assistance, including cash assistance, medical supplies, personal toiletries, and pharmaceutical products.

For local assistance in response to an EMERGENCY in your county, click below:

ND County Emergency Managers
SD County Emergency Managers
Emergency Preparedness Resources

Billing and financial management are complex, yet essential components of operating a successful community health center organization. Whether reporting business operations to board directors and federal authorities, analyzing Medicare and Medicaid processes and changes, or managing grants, finance officers play an integral role in the operational sustainability of health centers and in charting a course for growth and expansion.

CHAD’s finance team stands ready to assist CHCs with financial and business operational strategies to support essential services, provide stability, promote cost-effectiveness, and inspire growth within health center organizations. We provide CHAD utilizes the finance team network, monthly meetings, webinars, trainings, technical assistance and on-site visits to offer financial support in many key areas, including:

• Financial benchmarking, including Uniform Data Services (UDS)
• Financial reporting systems that efficiently monitor, analyze and report the health center operations to executive management, board directors and federal authorities
• Grants and management reporting
• Medicare and Medicaid processes and changes
• Policies and procedures for sliding fee scale programs
• Revenue cycle systems to help maximize health center patient revenue and manage
• Patient accounts receivables

In order to ensure responsiveness to the community, each community health center is governed by a board of directors that is patient-led and represented by a majority of consumers who use the health center as their main source of care. The intention is to ensure the center is responsive to the needs of the communities it serves.

Health center boards play an important role in guiding overall operations and directing future growth and opportunity. The board provides oversight of all major aspects of the center and ensures compliance with state and federal laws. Board member responsibilities include approval of the health center grant application and budget, selection/dismissal and performance evaluation of the health center CEO, selection of services to be provided, measuring and evaluating the progress in achieving goals, ongoing review of the organization’s mission and bylaws, strategic planning, evaluating patient satisfaction, monitoring organizational assets and performance, and establishment of general policies for the health center.

Ensuring that board members have the tools and resources necessary to effectively lead and serve their health center and community is provided, by CHAD, paramount to the overall success and performance of the board. CHAD is equipped to provide CHCs and their boards with the skills and expertise to successfully govern through training and technical assistance opportunities covering a variety of topics, including:

• Board roles and responsibilities
• Corporate planning
• Board and staff relationships
• Organizational performance
• Board effectiveness
• Marketing and public relations
• Establishing organizational policy            
• Emergency preparedness and response
• Legal and Financial responsibility

Governance Resources

CHAD has partnered with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) to bring to its members a Value in Purchasing (ViP) opportunity to  negotiate pricing on medical supplies and equipment, resulting in cost savings for participating CHCs.

The ViP program is the only national group purchasing program for medical supplies and equipment endorsed by NACHC. ViP has leveraged the national purchasing power of health centers to negotiate discounted prices for products and services used on a day-to-day basis. Currently, over 600 health centers are enrolled in the program nationally. ViP has saved health centers an millions of dollars, with average savings of 25%-38% on all health center purchases.

The program is managed through CHAD and Community Health Ventures, the business development affiliate of NACHC. Currently, the CHAD/ViP program has negotiated preferred vendor agreements with Henry Schein and Kreisers. Both companies provide high-quality name brand and private brand products delivered through world-class distribution.

CHAD member health centers can are encouraged to request a free cost savings analysis by calling 1‐888‐299‐0324 or contacting: 

Rodrigo Peredo (rperedo@nachc.com) or Alex Vactor (avactor@nachc.com)

A strong and skilled workforce is a critical resource at the top of every community health center’s needs list. Health centers across the Dakotas are fully engaged in long-term strategies to secure a primary care workforce that meets the needs of their centers, their communities and their patients.

Recruiting and retaining providers and staff at all levels is a persistent and oftentimes formidable challenge. As a result, health centers are developing innovative programs and providing competitive benefits to build and maintain a diverse workforce equipped to serve rural, uninsured and underserved populations.

CHAD works closely with CHCs to implement policies, processes and best practices that address various aspects of human resource management, including recruiting, hiring, training, employee benefits and retention. CHAD also provides tools and resources for helping CHCs capitalize on strategic marketing opportunities to achieve their workforce recruitment goals.

Additional human resource and workforce development support areas include:

• FTCA guidelines
• Risk management and compliance
• HIPPA
• Sexual harassment
• Conflict management
• Diversity
• Employment law
• FMLA and ADA
• Employee handbooks
• Leadership development
• State and federal law updates
• Recruitment and retention best practices
• Job announcements for CHC career opportunities

• Affordable Care Act
• Get Covered North Dakota Initiative – www.getcoverednorthdakota.org
• Get Covered South Dakota Initiative – www.getcoveredsouthdakota.org
• Educational and awareness outreach materials
• Health Insurance Marketplace
• Partnerships
• Reporting
• Media Relations
• Relationship development with community organizations

Resources

• HealthCare.gov
• CMS.gov | Health Insurance Marketplace https://marketplace.cms.gov/ –
• Official Marketplace information source for assisters and outreach partners
• Health Reform: Beyond the Basics
• Kaiser Family Foundation (kff.org)

CHAD is supporting health centers in North Dakota and South Dakota in their efforts to improve and expand behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) services through technical assistance, training, coaching, and advocacy with legislative and licensing bodies. Currently, CHAD is offering:

• A monthly behavioral health workgroup for behavioral health providers and supervisors, clinic managers, and care coordinators to discuss legislative and organizational updates, barriers to services, best practices, and training needs;
• Coaching calls and technical assistance offered by the behavioral health and SUD program manager that focuses on training related to integrated behavioral health services, peer-to-peer clinical support, and troubleshooting issues that may occur during the provision of behavioral health services in primary care;
• Program management related to shared grants and opportunities afforded to CHAD and CHCs pertaining to behavioral health or SUD projects;
• Training and support related to the prevention and treatment of compassion fatigue in health center providers and staff; and,
• Robust behavioral health and SUD training designed to provide CHCs with the most current and effective evidence-based treatment opportunities tailored for primary care.

CHAD’s health equity program of work will lead health centers in an upstream movement in healthcare, identifying populations, needs, and trends that may impact outcomes, healthcare experiences, and cost of care through analysis of social risk factors. As part of this work, CHAD supports health centers in implementing the Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) screening tool and bridging state and community partnerships to collaboratively advance health equity in our states.  

Click here for CHAD’s multi-media collection of resources on health equity, antiracism, and ally development.

Clinical services require ongoing education and awareness. The clinical quality program at CHAD offers training and technical assistance to community health centers through numerous avenues such as monthly meetings, webinars, workshops, and networking opportunities with peer health center members. Clinical services require ongoing education and awareness. CHAD offers support in the following areas:

Quality improvement including UDS clinical measures

• Patient-Centered Medical Home
• Behavioral health initiatives
• HIV/AIDS provider education and training
• ECQIP
• Special populations: homeless, aging

CHAD is committed to collaborating with local, regional and national partners to bring current best practices and education to CHC members.  

For questions regarding the Clinical Quality Network teams, contact:

Lindsey Karlson, lindsey@communityhealthcare.net

North and South Dakota Dental offices participate in Region VIII Oral Health Peer Network Group. We participate in a quarterly meeting of oral health professionals, including dentists, hygienists, dental operations staff and others working to support oral health efforts at Region VIII health centers. Join your peers, state PCA and CHAMPS staff for the opportunity to discuss the things on your mind, to share resources and best practices with other health centers.

For questions regarding the Dental Network Team, contact:

Shannon Bacon at shannon@communityhealthcare.net

CHAD’s Communications and Marketing Network Team is composed of communications, marketing, education and outreach professionals representing member health centers across North Dakota and South Dakota. Team members meet on a monthly basis to discuss marketing ideas and opportunities for CHCs and participate in online or in-person trainings and peer-to-peer learning sessions.

CHAD facilitates these peer networking opportunities and works closely with team members to generate ideas, share best practices, develop campaigns and messaging, and provide strategies and tools to help promote general awareness, recruit workforce, grow patient base, educate the public, and engage community leaders and stakeholders.

Communications and marketing resources and technical assistance are provided in the following areas:

• Awareness campaigns
• Paid, earned and digital media strategies
• Event planning
• Branding and graphic design support
• Media engagement
• Policy and advocacy

For questions regarding the Communications/Marketing Network Team, contact:

Brandon Huether at bhuether@communityhealthcare.net

CHAD’s Finance Network Team is comprised of chief financial officers and finance directors and managers from our member community health centers. CHAD supports the development and implementation of financial management services, including training and technical assistance.

CHAD utilizes the finance group network, monthly meetings, webinars, trainings, technical assistance, on-site visits, and email communication to offer financial support in many areas, including:

• Financial benchmarking, including Uniform Data Services (UDS) reporting measures
• Billing and coding
• Financial reporting systems that efficiently monitor, analyze and report health center operations to executive management, its board of directors, and federal authorities
• Grants management reporting
• Medicare and Medicaid processes and changes
• Policies and procedures for sliding fee scale programs
• Revenue cycle systems to help maximize health center patient revenue and manage patient accounts receivables

CHAD partners with the Nebraska Primary Care Association (PCA) to provide a monthly webinar trainings and quarterly billing and coding webinars. The Nebraska PCA partners with several other state PCAs to provide broader feedback and input from peers as finance questions and topics arise.

For questions regarding the Finance Network Team, contact: 

Deb Esche at deb@communityhealthcare.net

As primary care providers and trusted members of their communities, health centers need to be prepared to respond to emergency and disaster situations in the event they are called upon for medical care and other support services, as well as to ensure the continuity of operations for their clinics. CHCs need to assess vulnerability, create an emergency preparedness plan, train staff and evaluate response with drills and exercises, and connect with local emergency management and community partners to identify resources and establish action plans before an emergency or disaster occurs.

CHAD has the resources to support CHCs in developing a federally-compliant plan that will guide them in sustaining critical operations and services in the event of an emergency or disaster. CHAD can provide other key services, including:

•  Liaison to state and regional partners
• Tools and resources for developing federally-compliant plans
• Emergency preparedness information and updates
• Training and education opportunities

Health Centers can access emergency care packages in bulk from Direct Relief and AmeriCares, who are philanthropic organizations dedicated to providing health centers with immediate assistance, including cash assistance, medical supplies, personal toiletries, and pharmaceutical products.

For questions regarding the Emergency Preparedness Network Team, contact Darci Bultje. 

For local assistance in response to an EMERGENCY in your county, click below:

The Human Resources/Workforce Network Team is designed to assist CHAD’s network of human resources professionals in achieving operational effectiveness by providing human resource and workforce services. Through networking, monthly meetings, peer-to-peer learning, webinars, technical assistance and trainings, CHAD offers human resource and workforce development support in the following areas:

• FTCA guidelines
• Risk management and compliance
• HIPAA
• Sexual harassment
• Conflict management
• Diversity
• Employment law
• FMLA and ADA
• Employee handbooks
• Leadership development
• State and federal law updates
• Recruitment and retention best practices
• Job announcements for CHC career opportunities

CHAD also recognizes the importance of collaboration and maintains partnerships on workforce related issues with the North Dakota and South Dakota Area Health Education Centers (AHECS), the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health, the South Dakota Office of Rural Health and the Primary Care Offices in both states. Collaboration with national and state organizations occurs to promote consistency and idea sharing regarding workforce recruitment and retention tools and opportunities.

All CHC staff in the Dakotas that engage in human resources and recruitment/retention efforts are encouraged to join the HR/Workforce Networking Team.

For questions regarding the Human Resources/Workforce Network Team, contact:

Shelly Hegerle at shelly@communityhealthcare.net.

The outreach and enabling network team is designed to connect certified application counselors (CAC) and other eligibility and enrollment professionals with local, state and federal partners to increase access to care through health insurance enrollment and retention of coverage. Through networking, monthly meetings, peer-to-peer learning, webinars, technical assistance and trainings, CHAD offers support with outreach and enabling services in the following areas:

• Affordable Care Act (ACA)
• Get Covered North Dakota Initiative – www.getcoverednorthdakota.org
• Get Covered South Dakota Initiative – www.getcoveredsouthdakota.org
• Educational and awareness outreach materials
• Coverage to care
• Partnerships
• Reporting
• Media relations
• Relationship development with community organizations
• State summits

As part of CHAD’s efforts to support outreach and enabling efforts, we provide consulting services to our members for the Affordable Care Act and Health Insurance Marketplace.  These services can be utilized to provide specific information in the areas of insurance, and legal and tax issues, and provide answers to complex scenarios and life situations. SAll health center staff involved in these areas are encouraged to join this collaborative networking team.

For questions regarding the Outreach and Enabling Network Team, contact: 

Penny Kelley, Outreach and Enrollment Services Program Manager

The Great Plains Health Data Network (GPHDN) is a partnership with the Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas (CHAD), the primary care association for North Dakota and South Dakota, and the Wyoming Primary Care Association (WYPCA). The GPDHN collaboration will harness the strength of the Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) program to support the technical capacity of some of the most remote and under-resourced health centers in the country.  

The North Dakota Oral Health Coalition’s mission is to foster collaborative solutions to achieve oral health equity. 

North Dakota Oral Health Coalition’s purpose is to coordinate partners and organizations throughout the state of North Dakota to create a collective impact by targeting oral health disparities. This proposed work focuses long-term on increasing access to oral health, improving North Dakotans’ oral health literacy, and developing integration between all professions impacted by oral health.