Newsroom
August 19, 2019
The Western Carolina Medical Society Foundation--in collaboration with Digestive Health Partners (DHP)-- has been awarded a Colon Cancer Coalition (CCC) grant to expand the Western North Carolina Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative (WNC-CRCSI) across 5 counties.
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August 13, 2019
Every year, the Community Foundation of WNC’s advisory committee selects recipients for the Dr. Brian Ling Memorial Scholarship. It is our pleasure to announce two awardees this year: Kaylene Cender of Asheville Christian Academy and Andrew Elliot of T.C. Roberson High School. Kaylene will be attending Liberty University, majoring in Nursing with a focus on global studies. Kaylene says, “It is an honor to be awarded the Dr. Brian Ling Memorial Scholarship Fund. My dream is to serve as a medical missionary in South or Central America.” Drew will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a pre-medical student. He says, “I am truly honored to have been chosen as a recipient of the Dr. Brian Ling Memorial Scholarship. I aspire to carry his torch into the next chapter of my life and strive to be the rare and wonderful human being that he was.”
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July 25, 2019
New data from NC Child, a Raleigh-based children’s health research group, shows that although 85% of Buncombe County mothers received prenatal care in 2017 — nearly 20 percentage points higher than the North Carolina average — the percentages of Buncombe babies born pre-term or with a low birth weight remain comparable to those across the state.
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July 18, 2019
The NC House passed HB955 (Bill Summary). This Bill details the “Seizure Safe Schools Act of 2019” or “Sam’s Law”.
- Votes: 111 – Yes, 1 – No, 5 – “No Votes”, 3 – “Excused Absence.” Total Votes = 112
- Now - The NC Senate will begins discussions of SB354 (Bill Summary).
The Western Carolina Medical Society offerred a Letter-Of-Support for both HB955 and corresponding SB354. This letter was sent to the Bill Sponsors to distribute to Elected Officials.
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July 10, 2019
Innovative Practice Interview with Carolyn Chamberlain (Practice Administrator of 15 years) of Asheville Neurology regarding the development of new, innovative positions to improve efficiency at the office.
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July 9, 2019
North Carolina Medicaid Transformation
Provider Payment and Contracting
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July 2, 2019
Contents
- Medicaid Transformation Vision and Context
- Overview of Key Initiatives
- Deep Dive: Managed Care More
- Opportunities for Engagement
- Q&A
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June 21, 2019
As the dust begins to settle on the recent acquisition of Mission by HCA, we continue to field questions about the various changes to the health system’s employee benefits and retirement plans. The benefit changes are only a few of the countless moving pieces set in motion by the acquisition. Even so, the retirement plans, in particular, continue to generate enough interest and concern that the Western Carolina Medical Society (WCMS) membership might benefit from additional coverage of these changes.
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June 21, 2019
It is estimated 15% of patients will choose a Prepaid Health Plan (PHP), and over 80% will be assigned to an Advanced Medical Home (AMH). These tips will help ensure that you maintain relationships with your established Medicaid patients, and establish new relationships with patients who are attributed to your practice who you have never seen.
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June 10, 2019
Hi, my name is Susan McDowell and I am the current Foundation Board Chair at WCMS. I am a family practice physician who has been working in Madison County for the past 6 years at the Hot Springs Health Program. In 2018, we were lucky enough to be the first expansion site for Project Access.
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May 28, 2019
The WCMS Association Board met with HCA/Mission Health’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, William Hathaway, MD, at the May 13, 2019 meeting to discuss changes from the Mission charity care policy to the HCA policy following the transition. We were informed that the amount of funds devoted to HCA’s Charity Care will be significantly more than what had been provided by Mission. We also discussed the two policies currently in place:
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May 22, 2019
1. Please introduce yourself (background/education/experience/current organization & role, etc.)
Blake Fagan, MD
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University of Missouri at Columbia
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Medical School at Vanderbilt Nasheville TN
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Residency at MAHEC in Asheville
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Family physician for 20 years working with pregnant women and delivering babies (30% of practice working with kids)
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Prescribing suboxone for patients with Substance Use Disorder for the last 3 years
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Clinical Consultant for Opiate Crisis
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Chief Education Officer at MAHEC
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May 14, 2019
Background: Since 1996, WCMS Foundation’s Project Access® has served the local community as a dedicated network of now more than 700 independent and employed physicians providing free/low cost healthcare to low income, uninsured, under-resourced residents in Buncombe and Madison counties. Project Access® is not health insurance, it is however a way to help our community members stabilize their health so that health insurance is more attainable. This comprehensive network includes primary care physicians/providers (eg, 4 FQHCs, MAHEC), specialists, HCA/Mission Hospital, labs, imaging, physical and occupational therapy, medication/DME funding, local pharmacies, WCMS Interpreter Network, mental health providers, community service navigators, social service agencies, optometrists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and more. WCMSF is a certified application entity for the ACA; we enroll eligible Project Access® patients into the Marketplace so that they have private health insurance. Project Access® been replicated in hundreds of communities across the country.
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May 7, 2019
First, please tell us a little bit about you and your practice
I graduated UNC Chapel Hill Medical School then from the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency in 1993, worked in Franklin, Angel Hospital Emergency Department for a year, then came to the Family Health Centers (FHCs) in 1995 and have been here ever since. FHCs are privately owned by the physicians and there are 3 offices now that function seamlessly as one unified practice largely thanks to our EHR integration in 2005, which was a progressive step at the time. I served as our Medical Director for quite a few years but now am joyfully back to only patient care.
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April 30, 2019
CMS Advances Agenda to Re-think Rural Health and Unleash Medical Innovation
Proposed changes to Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System would improve quality, expand access
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