Opportunities to Increase Vaccine Compliance in the U.S.: HPV and its link to Cancer

Think About the Link™ is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, August 23, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MST.

Save the date: Cervical Cancer Screening Expansion webinar

Clinical Corner - Second Biopsy Case

Question: We have a 44 year old that had multiple suspicious masses that were noted as microcalcifications on her mammogram report. Her ultrasound reports noted 5 hypoechoic masses with irregular margins and a Birads-5 result. Patient proceeded to have two left ultrasound guided core breast biopsies and a left breast ultrasound guided lymph node biopsy. Now that WWC will reimburse for a second breast biopsy on the same day, what should we enter in eCaST for proper reimbursement on this case?

Are you interested in being a University of Colorado College of Nursing Preceptor?

The Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) program at the University of Colorado College of Nursing located at the Anschutz Medical Campus is recruiting new preceptors for their WHNP students. As a University of Colorado College of Nursing Preceptor, preceptors would receive the following benefits:

Clinical Corner - Cervical Expansion Case Study #1

Question: We had a 37 year old with self-reported history of abnormal Paps 9 years ago, but no documented follow-up. Current Pap was NILM and HPV genotyping 16 positive. I referred her for a colposcopy. The patient presented for a scheduled colposcopy with a different provider. This provider advised her the recommendation was to co-test in one year. The patient presented 6 months later with irregular bleeding and questions about the colposcopy. Her colposcopy was rescheduled, but through scheduling error, was scheduled with the provider who advised against colposcopy. My understanding is that if the Pap was normal, but HPV 16 or 18 were identified, that colposcopy is recommended per 2012 guidelines. Could you please clarify?

Cancer Plan feedback requested

The Cancer Coalition would like you to fill out this brief survey on your experience with the Colorado Cancer Plan. Have you read it? Do you use it? How useful is it to your work (if at all)? Your feedback is important to help guide the Cancer Plan process in the coming years.

The Adelante! 5K Run/Walk is on Sunday, August 7

Clinica Tepeyac's Adelante! 5K Run/Walk is on Sunday, August 7. Register online!

WWC Care Coordination final diagnosis and lost to follow-up in eCaST

Clients enrolled into the Care Coordination Grant Program (CCGP) follow the same final diagnosis and lost to follow-up guidance as those who are enrolled in Clinical Services. Please ensure that the Final Diagnosis section is completed for all WWC Care Coordination and Clinical Services clients. If the Final Diagnosis is “Lost to follow-up," three attempts or interventions to contact the client must also be documented in eCaST under Case Management Information.

Helping Cancer Survivors to End Tobacco Use and Improve Health Outcomes

Monday, August 29, 2016, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MST

Continued tobacco use by cancer patients and survivors may reduce the effectiveness of treatment and increase the likelihood of a second cancer. Continued smoking may also worsen side effects of treatment. Studies have shown however that 9.3% of all cancer survivors and 50% to 83% of cancer patients who are current smokers or recent former smokers at diagnosis continue to smoke or resume smoking after diagnosis.

The National Cancer Institute (NIH) is hosting a cyber-seminar in conjunction with the Comprehensive Cancer Control National Partnership in order to draw needed attention to this issue and support the work necessary to address this cancer control priority.

Reaching populations at greatest risk for tobacco use requires a robust understanding of the issues that they face. Dr. Diana Stewart Hoover and Dr. Jennifer Vidrine will describe the lessons they are learning as they seek to adapt an existing evidence-based tobacco cessation intervention, “Motivation And Problem-Solving” (MAPS), for cervical cancer survivors. Diana and Jennifer have identified several themes from a preliminary analysis of their study and will discuss how they are using these results to tailor interventions to reach a vulnerable and underserved population of young women. Their presentation will have broad applicability to others seeking to adapt evidence-based tobacco control programs

Comprehensive cancer control programs can play a vital role is facilitating the systemic changes necessary to support tobacco cessation initiatives. To this end, Dr. Elisa Tong and Shauntay Davis, MPH, will discuss the upcoming “Tobacco Cessation in Cancer Prevention and Treatment: A Call to Action for California Cancer Centers.” This document highlights gaps in cessation services and identifies opportunities and resources for improving tobacco treatment and cessation services in oncology settings with a specific focus on the context in California.

The final part of the webinar will be dedicated to Q&A and discussion and will offer an opportunity to engage with the presenters, and also to share your own experiences and thoughts.

Register today!

Cervical cancer screening expansion is coming to WWC Clinical Services and Care Coordination!

Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC) is expanding cervical cancer services to include women ages 21-39, tentatively starting January 2017, coinciding with Cervical Health Awareness Month. An initial announcement was made to WWC agencies and stakeholders May 2016. This policy change allows the WWC program, both Clinical Services and Care Coordination, to align with national guidelines for cervical cancer screening age recommendations. Women must continue to meet all other WWC eligibility requirements (income, lawful presence, insurance status) for enrollment. WWC age eligibility for breast cancer screenings will remain for women ages 40-64. To start preparing for this policy change:

• Look for additional information in the WWC Forum and WWC Update in the coming months, including a Cervical Expansion FAQs sheet and cervical case studies involving women 21-39.
• Attend the clinical webinar scheduled for October 5, 2016 from 12-1 p.m. Dr. Jan Shepherd will be discussing cervical cancer screening, diagnostic and treatment services for this younger age population.
• Start planning for EHR and form changes, staff training needs, and internal policy/workflow updates that will include enrolling women ages 21-39 into WWC for cervical screenings.

Please contact the nurse consultant, Angela.FellersLeMire@state.co.us with any clinical questions, including questions regarding the upcoming cervical cancer screening expansion.

Congratulations to the Colposcopy Scholarship Awardees

WWC is excited to award the WWC Colposcopy Training Scholarship to 21 individual providers at 19 agencies. The scholarship provides funding for additional WWC and Title X Family Planning providers to become trained as colposcopists at the July 27-30, 2016 ASCCP Comprehensive Colposcopy course.

Please wish the awardees good luck as they travel to Rhode Island for the 3 day training course!

BPS and CPT Code List for Fiscal Year 2017

The new 2016-2017 WWC Clinical Services CPT Code List is now available. There are no changes in CPT code rates compared to the previous CPT Code List released January 2016. The current CPT Code List is valid from June 30, 2016 through June 29, 2017. Rates are based on information found on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid website, under physician fee schedule and clinical laboratory fee schedule. As per CMS, the new CPT codes became effective January 1, 2016. As of June 30, 2016, WWC can no longer reimburse for procedures using 2015 CPT codes. The Bundled Payment System (BPS) has also been updated and can be found on the WWC website.

Starting January 2016 HPV genotyping CPT code 87625 was added to the allowable CPT code list. As of June 30th, WWC has added reimbursement for HPV genotyping to the Bundled Payment System at the C3 level. CPT code 87625 should be used for HPV genotyping reimbursement. HPV genotyping determines if a patient is positive for HPV types 16 and 18, and is commonly used following an atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) result to determine if the patient is a candidate for colposcopy. 

Effective June 30: When a same day second diagnostic breast procedure (i.e. breast biopsy) is required in order to reach a final breast diagnosis, agencies may now request additional reimbursement at the CPT code procedure rate. Please email the nurse consultant after both procedure results are entered into eCaST for administrative approval and timely reimbursement. 

Please see the fiscal year 2017 Clinical Services Bundled Payment System and CPT Code List to review these changes.

Clinical Corner: IDC vs. DCIS

Question: What is the difference between IDC and DCIS?

Are You a Provider in a Health Professional Shortage Area?

Primary care providers working in designated health professional shortage areas can receive funding to repay qualifying educational loans. The next application cycle will open September 1, 2016. Participants must see underserved patients at an approved clinical site for the entire service obligation. To learn more about where the designated health professional shortage areas are in Colorado, please visit the following maps:

Primary Care

Mental Health

Oral Health 

Medically Underserved

Application information, eligibility, award amounts, service obligation, and approved sites for the Colorado Health Service Corps can be found on their website. To be eligible, candidates must be delivering health care services in a public or nonprofit clinic, accept public insurance, and offer discounted services to low-income, uninsured patients on a sliding fee scale.

Initial Mammogram Entry into eCaST Clarification

Question: When is an initial mammogram entered into eCaST as a screening procedure and when is it entered as a diagnostic procedure?

Application Open for LBBC Young Advocate Program

Living Beyond Breast Cancer's (LBBC) Young Women’s Initiative is now accepting applications for their Young Advocate Program in the Denver Area on July 14 -16, 2016. The Young Advocate Program will provide the tools and training to help a small group of young women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to use their personal experience to raise awareness, further their understanding of the disease and advocate for others.

4 Multilingual Resources for Newly Insured Individuals

There are new multilingual resources available from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to help newly insured patients understand their heathcare benefits, connect to primary care and preventive services. The following resources are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese:

Important: Cervical Cancer Screening Expansion

We are so pleased to share with you a major legislative victory that will improve women’s health in Colorado by expanding Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC) cervical cancer screenings to women starting at age 21, instead of 40, tentatively starting January 2017.

Governor Hickenlooper recently signed HB16-1405, the Long Appropriations Bill for 2016-17 which is Colorado’s state budget. While the Long Bill includes many important items, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is excited to announce that the bill includes expanded eligibility for cervical cancer screening within the WWC program.

Women must continue to meet all other WWC eligibility requirements (income, lawful presence, etc.). This change allows the WWC program to align with national guidelines for age and cervical cancer screening and make great strides to improve women’s health. WWC age eligibility for breast cancer screenings will remain for women ages 40-64.

Women who meet WWC age and income eligibility criteria who are diagnosed with breast and/or cervical cancers may be eligible for enrollment into the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) through Medicaid. Therefore, in order to implement this programmatic change, both CDPHE and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) are working together to modify each program’s systems, guidelines and processes to provide screening, diagnostic and treatment services, if needed, to eligible women in this expanded age group. 

We will continue to update you when additional information is available as we move closer to implementation. Please contact Angela Fellers LeMire, WWC Nurse Consultant at 303-692-2323 or Angela.FellersLeMire@state.co.us if you have questions about this change.

Ask A Navigator: Patient Navigation Training Collaborative Classes

Guest blog post from WWC Clinical Scholar: Darlyn Miller, Teller County Public Health

Recently, I participated in a Level 2 course with the Patient Navigator Training Collaborative (PNTC), entitled, "Emotional Aspects of Chronic Illness." The format of the course was entirely online and extended over an 8 week period. This course is also offered through the School of Public Health for college credit. It was a time commitment, but to have the opportunity to participate in this level of education and collaboration remotely, is a privilege. The topics included Bias, Culture and Values in Healthcare; Patient Response and Adjustment to Chronic Disease; Empowering the Patient, Coping Strategies and Social Support; Basics of Mental Illness and Crisis Management; and Impact of Illness on Caregivers and Family Members.  

As students, we explored our own biases, coping skills, and navigation practices. We then learned new perspectives, tools, and ways of approaching the individuals and families we work with on a daily basis. Some of the activities included application of the concepts to our current practices, case studies, dialogue with other students and the instructor, assessments, and other learning exercises. I would encourage everyone to look at what is offered through PNTC to explore the opportunities that most closely apply to you and/or your colleagues. I found the course to be convenient, and beneficial to my practice and my role in WWC Clinical Services and Care Coordination.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Darlyn Miller, RN, BSN, CCM | millerd@co.teller.co.us | 719-687-6416 | WWC Clinical Scholar

Funding opportunity: Targeted Outreach Program Request for Application (RFA) #2823

The Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC) program is currently accepting applications for the Targeted Outreach Program (TOP). If you already receive funding, you do not need to apply. The Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC) Targeted Outreach Program seeks to provide financial support for local initiatives that utilize evidence-based interventions, education, referrals and Community Health Worker outreach efforts to improve access to local breast and cervical cancer screening providers for underserved women.

Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on June 10, 2016. Application documents and information can be found at www.colorado.gov/cdphe/wwc-funding. 

Please forward this information to any organization that might qualify and be interested in this funding. If you have any questions, please email them to the WWC program staff at cdphe_wwc@state.co.us.

Targeted Outreach Program (TOP) Summit A Success!

On May 4, 2016, the Targeted Outreach Program (TOP) agencies gathered at the American Cancer Society in Denver for a bi-annual summit. Participating agencies included Denver Health and Hospital Authority, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, Penrose - St. Francis Hospital, Somali American Community Center of Colorado, Spanish Peaks Outreach and Women's Clinic and Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. The summit focused on evidence-base interventions, culturally and linguistically appropriate standards (CLAS), and evaluation.

Thank you to all the agencies that participated in the TOP summit, making it a success!

National Women's Health Week partner toolkit

National Women's Health Week is May 8-14, 2016. The Office on Women's Health has put together a Partner Toolkit to assist you in creating specific messages for each day during this week.   

May 8-14 is National Women's Health Week!

Did you know May 8-14 is National Women's Health Week? We have put together two swiss cheese press releases to assist you in getting the word out! One is for preventive cancer screening, while the other includes information on preventive cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic disease screening.

Does your agency need any of the following (free) materials?

• WWC marketing materials
• Make it Your Own (MIYO) communication

Do you have events planned for National Women's Health Week? Place them in the comment section below!

SAVE THE DATE Race for the Cure on Sept. 25, 2016

SAVE THE DATE 2016 Susan G. Komen Colorado Race for the Cure®

SAVE THE DATE for the 2016 Susan G. Komen Colorado Race for the Cure® on September 25 at the Pepsi Center! Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for registration opening in June!

Ask A Navigator: Care Coordination Training and Certification

Guest blog post from WWC Clinical Scholar: Darlyn Miller, Teller County Public Health

Recent changes in the health care environment, particularly implementation of the Affordable Care Act, have caused an increased demand for qualified patient navigators and case managers. This need is driven by the goal of reducing health care costs while improving quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction. This demand has placed many of us in the position of “inheriting” these additional job responsibilities. Our original training, such as nursing or social work, may have provided basic concepts and knowledge in care coordination, but often these new roles require skills that are more specific to the actual job we are doing. The broad spectrum of empowering an individual across the continuum of care, while fostering optimum health and wellness, can be a daunting task to say the least.

National Nurse Practitioner Symposium

The National Nurse Practitioner Symposium is coming up! It's July 7-10, 2016 at the Keystone Conference Center in Keystone, Colorado. The symposium brochure includes many educational sessions related to providing care in both WWC and WISEWOMAN programs, including two sessions on nurse practitioners scope of practice and current legislation. Hope to see you there!

Clinical Corner - WWC table for abnormal cervical results

Question: The ASCCP algorithms for following up after abnormal Pap and HPV results are sometimes difficult to understand, particularly for our new staff members. Is there a cheat sheet of some kind that could assist us with training new staff?

Clinical Corner - Normal CBE & No Screening Mammogram? What do you do!

Question: We have a client who had a normal clinical breast exam (CBE) and did not present with any symptoms or history of breast cancer. She is 54 years old and her last screening mammogram was in 2011. We provided education about a referral to another screening mammogram. She did not complete the screening mammogram. We attempted to contact her without success. Should this person be closed out as “Lost to Follow-up” in eCaST or “Follow Routine Screening?"

WWC offers a Colposcopy training scholarship announcement

Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC) is pleased to announce a colposcopy training scholarship opportunity that will allow for additional WWC and Title X Family Planning Program (FP) providers to become trained as colposcopists. This scholarship is available to WWC and FP providers that have no experience in colposcopy and for those with experience, but are in need of a refresher.

AHRQ Releases Health Literacy Toolkit for Primary Care Practice

AHRQ’s Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit – 2nd edition can help primary care practices reduce the complexity of health care, increase patient understanding of health information, and enhance support for patients of all health literacy levels.

Additional tools for improving health literacy:

• AHRQ Pharmacy Health Literacy Center
• Self-Management Support Video and Library
• Health Literacy Topics

Learn more about how to improve primary care by visiting AHRQ’s National Center for Excellence in Primary Care.

2016 Webinar Series Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living through Partnerships and the National Prevention Strategy

The Role of Community, Non-Profit and Faith-Based Organizations
Thursday, March 17, 2016
2:00 – 3:30 p.m., MT (4:00-5:30 ET)

2:00-2:05 Welcome and Adobe Connect Logistics
Speaker: Cherri Pruitt, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Region VIII Maternal and Child Health Consultant

2:05-2:20 What IS the National Prevention Strategy and its Healthy Eating and Active Living Priorities
Speaker: Laurie Konsella, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Acting Regional Health Administrator, Region VIII

2:20-2:40 Faith Community Nursing: Eat Healthy, Be Active! This presentation will provide an overview of Wyoming’s Faith Community Nurse Program, a unique model of nurturing the body, mind, and spirit to help families and individuals eat healthy and be active.

Speaker: Shirley Harris, Wyoming Faith Community Nurse Outreach Leader

2:40-3:00 Healthy By Design: Collaborating with Community Partners to Address Active Living and Healthy Eating 

Learn about this successful collaboration among diverse partners from community, faith-based and health care organizations. Initiatives such as the Gardener’s Market and Active Living Every Day program are presented as examples of community collaboration to create a community that is healthy by design, where the healthy choice is the easy choice.

Speaker: April Ennis Keippel, Mission and Community Benefit Program Manager

3:00-3:20 The Food Trust

In this presentation, you will learn about how this national organization helps build healthier communities by ensuring communities have access to healthy, affordable foods. Various approaches to improving food access and community health will be discussed, including a spotlight on the small store program which is a common approach used in rural areas. Emphasis will also be placed on the role of funders and cross-sector partnerships.

Speaker: Karen Shore, Director of Consulting at The Food Trust

3:20-3:30 Questions & Answers and Additional Resources

Register online. Please contact RegionVIIIFedPartners@HHS.GOV with questions.

Continuing education credits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for this activity are pending.

WWC follows up on pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) survey

WWC coordinators, please set aside time in the next few weeks to complete the Women’s Wellness Connection Affordable Care Act (ACA) follow-up survey, the follow up to the WWC ACA readiness survey done in October 2013. A worksheet is available so you can plan and research your agency's answers before entering them into the SurveyMonkey survey. This survey will close Wed., March 16, 2016.

Please coordinate with your agency staff to ensure only one survey is submitted per agency.

The 2016 WWC CPT Code List is available on the website

The updated list includes 2016 allowable CPT codes for WWC clinical services agencies. New codes are indicated in bold and deleted codes are indicated with a strikethrough. 

Rates are based on information found on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid website, under physician fee schedule and clinical laboratory fee schedule. As per CMS, the new CPT codes became effective January 1, 2016. WWC allows both new and recently deleted codes to be reimbursed through June 29, 2016. The Bundled Payment System (BPS) is updated annually and will be released for the new fiscal year.

Changes to the 2016 WWC CPT Code List include:

• 87625- Human Papillomavirus, types 16 and 18 only. WWC funds may now be used for HPV genotyping.

Other clarifications include:

• Breast tomosynthesis (CPT codes G0279, 77061, 77062 and 77063) are specifically NOT allowed.
• Human Papillomavirus, low-risk types (CPT code 87623) is specifically NOT allowed.
• G0461 and G0462 codes for immunohistochemistry were deleted codes in 2015. Please be sure your agency is using the most recent immunohistochemistry antibody slide codes, 88341 and 88342.
• ICD-10 will not have an impact on CPT codes or rates. Changes in CPT codes are set by the American Medical Association and CPT code rates are set by CMS.

Please contact the nurse consultant, Angie Fellers LeMire with any questions.

University of Colorado - Buffs’ Play4Kay game

The University of Colorado Athletic Department's Women’s Basketball team is joining the Play4Kay initiative. The Buffs’ Play4Kay game benefiting breast cancer awareness coming up in a couple of weeks and they have three big events happening during the game:

1.  CU will be honoring breast cancer survivors by giving them and their families/friends free tickets and then honoring them during halftime of the game with an on court ceremony

• Survivors can register for the game/request their tickets by either visiting CUBuffs.com/pink or emailing CUPromos@colorado.edu.

2.  CU will be handing out pink CU Women’s Basketball t-shirts to early arriving fans.

3.  The Buffs are raising money for the Play4Kay organization through their team page. 

View the event flyer for more information. 

2016-2020 Colorado Cancer Plan

Plan Overview: The Colorado Cancer Plan serves as the state’s road map toward reducing its overall cancer burden. The 2016-2020 Colorado Cancer Plan is organized along the cancer continuum of care: prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship. It represents a collaborative effort of diverse stakeholders from across the state allowing the plan to be grounded in the needs of our communities. The compiled data driven objectives and evidence-based interventions focus collaborative efforts across the state to pool resources and accomplish projects that would otherwise not occur. Colorado's first plan was released in 1996, which preceded CDC supported state level cancer plan development and implementation that now spans all 50 states, DC, 7 territories and 7 tribes or tribal organizations.

Plan Audience: Every person who is connected to the cancer community can have a stake in the plan. Traditionally primary care, oncology, non-profits, public health agencies and survivors were plan users, but the new plan hopes to increase the plan's visibility to reach health plans, environmental partners, local government agencies and specialty medical providers.

Plan Implementation: Building on the collaborative process that developed the plan, implementation has begun with a prioritization process that will narrow 45 items from the plan (stemming from 29 objectives), to roughly 4-6 using stakeholder input. At the Kick Off Event on Feb 11, 11 items will be presented, and stakeholder commitment levels will indicate what the Colorado Cancer Coalition will focus on for the next two years. The Coalition will be the hub of cancer plan implementation efforts with backbone support from CDPHE.

The plan will be officially released at the Cancer Plan Kick-Off Event on Feb. 11-12. View the agenda.

HHS/OWH Funds $2 million in FGC Community-Based Grants

The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) is pleased to announce a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Female Genital Cutting (FGC) Community-Centered Health Care and Prevention Projects. This national initiative (Funding Opportunity Number – WH-AST-16-002) will award a total of $2 million in grants for as many as 6 organizations for a 3-year period. Grantees will be expected to:

1) address gaps in the provision of FGC-related health care services for women living in the U.S who have experienced FGC; or 

2) to help prevent U.S. girls at risk for undergoing this practice from being cut, either in this country or abroad; or 

3) to focus on both populations. We encourage applications from U.S. communities affected by FGC and from organizations who have established trust-based relationships with communities affected by FGC.

The closing date for applications is April 15, 2016, and selections will be made/or work to begin in FY 2016. For more information, visit the website.

National Wear Red Day is today!

The CDPHE WISEWOMAN team wore red for Nation Wear Red Day! Did your agency wear red? Share your stories below!

Sustainable financing for community health workers: exploring medicaid opportunities

Dialog4Health presents a webinar on Feb. 11 titled: Sustainable financing for community health workers: exploring medicaid opportunities. Community Health Workers (CHWs) have gained increased recognition and awareness since the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Many states that were funded through Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center (CMMI) Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA) and State Innovation Model (SIM) awards are turning to CHWs to help transform the delivery of health care in their respective states.

Utilization of CHW’s has historically been supported through grant funding. However, as more states come to understand the value of CHW’s as a means of improving health outcomes through care coordination, preventive care, and community-based engagement activities, they are looking for sustainable financing strategies, including Medicaid.

This Web Forum will feature speakers from state agencies in Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania who will provide valuable insight into how they have approached sustainable financing levers for CHWs, such as the recent preventive service rule change (440.130), managed care contracting, and health homes.

Presenters

• Rebecca Kishbaugh, Director, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Pennsylvania Department of Health
• Monica Kwasnik, Manager, Quality Improvement and Program Development Section, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Kate McEvoy, JD, Director, Division of Health Services, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Sue Moran, MPH, Senior Deputy Director, Population Health and Community Services Administration, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• CDR, Thomas Pryor, Nurse Officer, U.S. Public Health Service, Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center
• Will Wilson, MPP Supervisor, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, Minnesota Department of Health

Moderator

• Lolita Ross, MPPA, PMP, Chief Program Officer, National Network of Public Health Institutes

RSVP online!

Making the case for cancer control

The National Cancer Institute is hosting a webinar on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Making an economic case for investment in cancer prevention and control is becoming more important year after year as needs mount and resources strain. The February Research to Reality (R2R) cyber-seminar will examine how cancer control practitioners can best leverage the expertise of partners to better understand the economics of cancer and therefore acquire and maintain needed resources. Register online!

World Cancer Day is Feb. 4!

World Cancer Day exists to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection and treatment. Take action to help prevent and fight cancer this month and throughout the year!

Use the hashtags #WorldCancerDay and #WeCanICan to spread awareness! See the left sidebar for more information and for sample messaging you can use to join the conversation and spread awareness.

Follow the CCC on Facebook and Twitter as we'll be posting #WeCanICan messages throughout the entire day!

Download free materials.

NCI-designated cancer centers urge HPV vaccination for the prevention of cancer

Cancer centers across the U.S. are releasing statements showing their support of HPV vaccine as cancer prevention.

Please see the attached consensus statement, and feel free to share it with your partners, use social media, or other outreach to promote this message.

What can you do?

• Use free CDC tools to promote HPV vaccination with all adolescent vaccines, at every visit.
• Learn more about cervical cancer prevention and use CDC materials to help promote the vaccine and screening message. 
• Help educate providers and community leaders in your area.

Read the statement from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers.

Why should you attend the 2016-2020 Colorado Cancer Plan and Colorado Cancer Coalition Kickoff Event?

If you have an interest in reducing the burden of cancer in your community or throughout the state, then this is the perfect place to start. Connect with partners in cancer prevention and control and join forces to enhance cancer work throughout the state of Colorado. Use the Colorado Cancer Plan as a roadmap and the newly restructured Colorado Cancer Coalition as the link to improve and expand the great work in our state.

View the agenda

RSVP online! 

Attendance performance indicator clarification

In the past, the attendance performance indicator requirement included attendance of one agency representative at 100% of WWC clinical webinars. For this fiscal year, the requirement will include any clinical webinar, training or conference that included topics related to breast or cervical cancer across the cancer continuum. Examples include: ASCCP conferences and patient navigation training. This does not include HIT calls or eCaST User Group calls. If you have questions on whether an educational opportunity qualifies, please contact me, Angie Fellers LeMire.

Inside Knowledge: Get the facts about Gynecologic Cancer

The CDC’s Inside Knowledge campaign has resources for women, and for health care providers and organizations to share with their patients and communities. Web pages and buttons are also available for use.

Cervical cancer awareness month: Test your knowledge!

Time for a pop-quiz! Use the comment section to post answers to the questions below. We will respond with the correct answers.

Optional webinar opportunities from the CDC for Cervical Health Awareness Month

In observance of Cervical Health Awareness Month in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Adolescent Immunization Communications Team is proud to present the “Taming Conversations Around HPV Vaccine and Other Immunizations in Social Media” webinar series. This weekly presentation will address various aspects of engaging with negative comments or safety concerns on social media platforms. Discussion will be mostly focused on HPV vaccine, and the unique challenges that come with it; however many principles that we will address are relevant to immunization overall. Each webinar will offer perspectives from experts in immunization, vaccine safety, vaccine acceptance, and social media.

Date: January 22 

Time: 9:00 a.m. MST

Title: But I saw it on the internet! Addressing safety concerns that have gone viral Presenters: Cindy Weinbaum, MD, MPH and Melinda Wharton, MD, MPH
Register online

Date: January 29

Time: 9:00 a.m. MST

Title: Harnessing Enthusiasm: Real world examples of engaging partners in social media discussions

Presenters: Karen Ernst and Christine Vara 

Register online

How to document suspicious vs. non-suspicious CBE findings in WWC

Non-suspicious (normal) includes:

• Benign exam- clinical breast exam (CBE) findings are not a concern for cancer (tenderness, cyclic pain, or fibrocystic may fall into this category)
• Normal or negative exam
• Discrete lump, previously diagnosed as benign. Non-suspicious lumps should still be included in documentation since this is helpful in evaluating change or lack of change at future visits.

Suspicious or abnormal includes:

• Discrete palpable lump (suspicious)
• Bloody, clear or serous nipple discharge
• Nipple or areolar scaliness, rash or color change
• Skin dimpling or nipple retraction
• Inflammation 
• Suspicious breast pain (non-cyclic or pain/tenderness determined by provider to need further diagnostics)

All clients with an abnormal CBE finding should be referred for further diagnostic testing. The provider should indicate whether or not, based on the CBE and patient report, they would like to see additional diagnostics in cases of breast pain or tenderness. If the provider recommends further diagnostic testing in these cases, the CBE results should be documented as “suspicious."

CMEs/CEUs available: HPV vaccination webinar

Join the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pa. Immunization Coalition on Jan. 21, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. MST, for a live one-hour webinar to increase awareness about HPV vaccination and its impact on cancer. This webinar can be applied to the WWC clinical webinar requirement. 

Register online!

Cervical Cancer Awareness Social Media Toolkit

This Cervical Cancer Awareness Social Media Toolkit – January 2016 is designed to help public health professionals understand the functions and benefits of social media, establish a Cervical Cancer Awareness Month social media strategy, manage social media accounts, implement Facebook and Twitter best practices, disseminate Cervical Cancer Awareness Month messaging and evaluate their social media efforts.

Coming soon! A redesigned AMIGAS kit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is redesigning the AMIGAS kit – a bilingual, community-sourced educational outreach program designed to help health workers and others connect with Hispanic women about the importance of cervical cancer screening. This is a free, downloadable resource for the community built on the idea that one-on-one or small group education increases screening use. Hispanic women have a high incidence of cervical cancer, but are less likely to get a Pap test than non-Hispanic white women.

Updated maps on breast and cervical cancer screening and late stage incidence

CDPHE has updated its maps showing breast and cervical cancer screening (Pap test or mammogram) compliance and late-stage cancer incidence by health statistic region. Each map shows WWC clinical services sites and quantifies screening rates into four groups (depicted by circles) and late stage cancer incidence by shading of regions. These maps should be used to identify geographic areas of additional need for cancer screening and early detection. For more information on these maps and how they can be used, please review the end of Health Improvement Team (HIT) call from February 2015.