Past & Present Projects

Child and Adolescent Health

Adolescent Sexuality Collaboration
The goal of this project is to improve communication, coordination and collaboration among school and community stakeholders to avoid duplication of effort and provide consistent messages that help young people abstain from risky behaviors that could lead to HIV, other STDs and unintended pregnancy. This project will bring the Children of Children: Portraits and Stories of Teenage Parents exhibit to two communities in Michigan that have a high teen pregnancy rate and teen birth rate. The two communities hosting the exhibit will also focus on bringing members of the community together in a community-wide collaboration effort.

Antibiotics and You: Pharmacy Experimental Program
This project will fund the development, implementation and coordination of a program to train pharmacy students to present the educational module “Antibiotics and You” at elementary schools and other venues in their communities. The “Antibiotics and You” module promotes hand-washing and appropriate antibiotic use among school children.

Family Planning Reviewer
This project reviews local public health family planning clinics throughout Michigan for quality assurance.

Fetal & Infant Mortality Review
This project will support communities conducting Fetal/Infant Mortality Review programs (FIMRs) and expand the number of communities participating in FIMR. FIMR is a collaborative, community-based process that enables a community to conduct in-depth reviews of their fetal/infant deaths in order to improve systems of care.

MARR
The Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction (MARR) Coalition is a statewide organization of more than 190 individuals representing 56 organizations, including the Michigan Department of Community Health. The MARR Coalition Educational Initiative is aimed at reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and use, primarily through education of practitioners and health care consumers on appropriate prescription of antibiotics. The goal is to reduce antibiotic resistance rates.

MARR Provider Education Program Development
In recent years, the rising rates of antibiotic resistance among human commnesal and pathogenic bacteria have contributed to a rise in infections that are no longer treatable with standard antibiotic therapies. Much of the problem has resulted from inappropriate use of antibiotics. The Michigan Antibiotic Resistance Reduction Coalition (MARR) has recognized opportunities for improving judicious antibiotic use, principally through education of physicians, patients, and the public; research; and collaboration with diverse partners. Through this project, MARR will establish an infrastructure for the conduct of projects related to reducing antibiotic resistance. A key goal will be to hire staff to manage the day to day operations of the Coalition.

Michigan Child Death Review
The goal of this program is to improve our understanding of how and why children die, to demonstrate the need for and to influence policies and programs to improve child health, safety and protection, and to prevent child deaths. Child Death Review (CDR) staff provide technical assistance and support to voluntary, multidisciplinary teams in all 83 counties. These teams, totaling nearly 1,200 professionals, meet regularly to review the circumstances surrounding the deaths of children in their communities. Teams complete a case report on each death reviewed. Findings are aggregated and shared with the Michigan Child Death State Advisory Team, and form the basis for the annual report on child deaths in Michigan, which is required by state statute. Through the effort and dedication of the local review teams, many improvements have occurred across the state in the investigation of child deaths and the delivery of services to families. Well over a thousand local prevention initiatives have been implemented as a result of the reviews, since the inception of the program in 1995. http://www.keepingkidsalive.org/

MIFPI Wraparound Conference
We are pleased to announce the TWELFTH ANNUAL WRAPAROUND CONFERENCE.  The purpose of this conference is to build on our successes and progress in Wraparound and enhance Wraparound in other areas by exploring new resources and innovations. Parents and practitioners from Michigan, in addition to national trainers, will offer keynote presentations and workshops. Our previous conferences have been successful, and we anticipate this year’s conference will be equally rewarding for participants.

National Child Death Review Resource Center
The National Child Death Review Resource Center will provide technical support, training and guidance to all 50 states in their efforts to implement effective child mortality and morbidity review programs, will develop national standards and tools for reviews, will work with HRSA to promote child death review to national organizations, will develop and maintain a national child mortality reporting system, and develop tools for state Title V Directors in interpreting and utilizing child morbidity and mortality data.

Nurse Family Partnership
This project will provide leadership and technical assistance for the Nurse Family Partnership program.

Project Oversight
This project will provide technical assistance and coordination of all projects funded by the MDCH Division of Family and Community Health. These funds will support staff to coordinate with the Director of DFCH in managing all projects and in responding to requests from the director for the development of new funding initiatives and programs.

Safe Delivery of Newborns Resource Support
This project provided technical assistance to state and local organizations on the development and implementation of the Safe Delivery of Newborns Act. This assistance included the development of model policies, training curriculum and resource kits and the development and distribution of materials that would increase professional and public awareness statewide about the legal protections provided to parents with an unexpected/unplanned pregnancy. Additional information on the Safe Delivery law, forms and procedures can be accessed via the Michigan Department of Human Services Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/dhs and clicking on the Safe Delivery icon.

Cancer Control Services Program

Cancer Control Services Project (06262)
This project will provide technical assistance and support for the coordination of cancer control activities for the Cancer Prevention and Control Section (CPCS) of the MDCH. Project staff and consultants will provide project support to the CPCS as it works with state and local public health agencies, private and non-profit agencies, as well as community organizations in their collaborative activities directed towards the reduction of cancer morbidity and mortality through strategies which promote early detection and cancer prevention.

Improving Cancer Outcomes in African Americans in Michigan
This addresses the disparities Michigan. African many forms of cancer than other Americans have a higher mortality rate as well. The project will address this disparity 5 communities in Michigan (Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Pontiac, and Saginaw).

MCC Support (50500)
This project will further the activities of the Michigan Cancer Consortium by producing a multimedia presentation to promote the MCC by increasing knowledge about, understanding of, and engagement within the consortium.

Past Programs

Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP)
Michigan’s BCCCP has been in operation since 1991.  This life-saving program provides breast and cervical screening and follow-up services to approximately 23,000 low income women per year through a statewide network of 21 contracted coordinating agencies.  As of October 2004, more than 2100 women have been diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer (or cervical pre-cancers) through the program and have received life-saving treatment.  In 2002, for the first time, women enrolled in the BCCCP who were diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer became eligible for the Medicaid program to cover all treatment needs.  Available federal and state funds limit the program’s size; the program estimates that it serves approximately 15% of the eligible Michigan population annually.   http://www.michigancancer.org/OurPriorities/breast_cervical-AboutTheMichiganBCCCP.cfm.

WISEWOMAN Program
Michigan’s Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) Program provides the opportunity for local BCCCP coordinating agencies to offer cardiovascular disease assessments and risk-factor-reduction interventions to a subset of their BCCCP participants.  This program provides resources to screen for hypertension, abnormal cholesterol and/or other lipids, and provides lifestyle behavioral counseling related to nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco cessation as appropriate.  Changes in these areas impact risk factors for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many other chronic diseases.   http://www.michigancancer.org/PDFs/BCCCP/MichBCCCPFAQs.pdf

Comprehensive Cancer Control Program
Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) Program is the oldest and strongest comprehensive program in the nation.  Coordinated by MDCH, this program is implemented by the Michigan Cancer Consortium (MCC), a network of 80 major public and private organizations concerned about cancer that work together to address priorities to reduce the burden of cancer in Michigan.  The MCC is focusing on five cancers of public health significance:  breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers.  The Consortium’s ten priorities include tobacco prevention/cessation, early detection of breast, cervical and colorectal cancers, and assuring informed treatment choices for prostate cancer patients.  Other priorities include increasing participation in cancer clinical trials, improving timeliness of end-of-life care, improving critical communications between pathologists and cancer treatment providers, and cost and treatment data linkages that will permit studies of the quality, impact and cost of cancer care.
http://www.michigancancer.org

Center for Collaborative Research in Health Outcomes and Policy

The Science of Translational Research
This is a white paper that will bring together concepts from the diffusion of innovation, social marketing, dissemination, and technology transfer literatures to recast how we can best encourage the spread of evidence-based (valid) practices and programs among practitioners in health and health services who provide services to their clients, patients, customers, and members.

MAC FY05/06
There are 3 components of this project: 1) a data warehouse will contain data from the University of Kentucky survey, as well as other sources such as nurse-managed clinics. All data will be aggregate, non-personally identifiable data, from nurse-managed clinics. The purpose of this application is to obtain data, conduct data analysis, and disseminate the results via reports and articles. 2) Create a strong diverse network to bring together collaborative and diverse partners across the country to facilitate the development and promotion of NMCHS that are responsive to the unique needs of communities and to increase access to healthcare, with an emphasis on client groups that have been historically underserved. 3) Inform policy to make nurse-managed clinics a viable healthcare option within communities.

Non-hospitalized MTBI: Michigan Incidence, Impact & Cost
The primary aims of this study are to determine the prevalence and characteristics of non-hospitalized mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) patients, determine the outcomes associated with non-hospitalized MTBI, in particular the post concussive syndrome (PCS); and evaluate the level of agreement between case identification protocols in the ED cohort study. The secondary aims are to determine the costs and services associated with non-hospitalized MTBI, and compare hospitalized and non-hospitalized TBI cases on demographic variables and the nature and severity of injuries.

Beryllium Study
Beryllium exposure has occurred in Elmore, Ohio, a community near Brush Well a facility over several decades. Individuals could be exposed to beryllium that left the facility in airborne releases; as beryllium alloys that were machined locally; or incidentally on the clothes of beryllium workers. The purpose of this project is to identify adults working or living near the Brush Wellman facility. A screening interview will be done by the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a blood specimen will be collected, specimens will be tested, data collected will be put into a database and delivered, along with the contact list and original questionnaires. This study will collect and send each participant’s blood specimen to two of four laboratories in the U.S. and each test outcome will be reported to participants and their physicians (as authorized).

Sentinel Centers Network
The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) at the Health Resources Services Administration created the Sentinel Center Network (SCN) in 2000 to collect a representative sample of data from community health centers. Participating health centers provide the SCN with semi-annual data extractions from existing management information systems at the patient, encounter, and practitioner levels. These data provide an avenue for continuous monitoring, improvement, and evaluation of services offered by Community Health Centers. These data also address three key BPHC purposes: 1) to supply key information for time sensitive policy issues related to health care and populations served by health centers; 2) to build capacity of information technology at health centers; and 3) to identify strategies for enhancing the quality of clinical services at health centers.

PBB, Part 2
This project will assist in the Marcus PBB Project, which follows up on and expands previous research into the effects of PBB exposure on women and their children. This project uses surveys to investigate the endocrine effects of PBB exposure in women from the Michigan cohort and their offspring. This project builds on a past study that centered on a comprehensive interview with adult women and mothers of female children regarding their health and reproductive history over a time period of twenty years.

CAP Grant
The research design provides for both continuous formative evaluation feedback to project leadership throughout the life of the project, and for a summative evaluation of intended and unintended outcomes, barriers encountered, strategies for addressing barriers, a description of intended and unintended facilitators, as well as an assessment of the sustainability and added long-term value of the MCHP CAP project.

Multiple Sclerosis Project
Multiple Sclerosis is the most common neurologic disease disabling young adults in the United States, the cause of this disease is unknown. This project will extend and improve upon previous research by conducting a case control study with a case only component to examine the joint role of select environmental exposures and candidate genes as potential risk factors of multiple sclerosis.

Arsenic Bladder Cancer Survey
This projects looks at patterns of arsenic exposure and how these may relate to the incidence of bladder cancer in those areas of Michigan with elevated levels of arsenic in their drinking water.

Michigan Local Public Health Accreditation
The Michigan Local Public Health Accreditation Program seeks to assure and enhance the quality of local public health in Michigan by promoting the implementation of public health standards for local public health departments, and facilitating the accreditation of local health departments based on their ability to meet these standards.

Traumatic Brain Injury
The Traumatic Brain Injury project is part of a continuing State effort to improve access to services for individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) in Michigan. This project continues to focus on identifying, collecting, developing, and disseminating educational materials about TBI and available services in Michigan with the goal of improving service delivery and coordination.

SARP
This project will develop an aggregate report summarizing the evaluation efforts and findings from 10 prevention programs across the state of Michigan. The information gathered will be used to create one overall report on Sexual Assault and Rape Prevention.

Crime Victim Services Commission
The Crime Victim Services Commission (CVSC) administers Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to nearly 100 public and private agencies Michigan. These community-based agencies offer and provide vital services to victims of violent crime throughout the state. Victim populations served include abused and neglected children, victims of family violence, victims of sexual assault, victims of drunk driving crashes, hate crime victims, surviving family members of homicide victims, and others. Services provided may include crisis intervention, counseling, group support, shelter services, legal advocacy and other critical services.

MIChoice Decision & Training Support
This project provides a Helpdesk service for state of Michigan single sign-on process on-line Long Term Care Determination screening tool, and to coordinate trainings for providers about access to local and state long term care community based services.

Quality Community Care Council (QCCC)
This projects primary goal will be to assess the extent to which the QCCC and the registry that was implemented within a ten county region of Michigan enhance the quality of direct care services. The evaluation study will also determine the effectiveness of the registry on enhancing recruitment and retention of direct care workers as well as the cost-effectiveness of the registry.

State Planning Grant
This project will collect data to identify the size and characteristics of the uninsured population in Michigan at the state and regional level. From this, a plan will be developed to put forth realistic strategies and viable options that will lead to health insurance coverage for all Michigan residents and promote an understanding of uninsurance issues among key stakeholders and policy makers.

Past Programs

Program Evaluation for the Office of Rural Health Policy
The Office of Rural Health Policy’s (ORHP) two programs, the Outreach program and the Rural Health Network Development (RHND) program are closely related efforts to build sustainable health service capacity at the community level in rural areas across the US. Rural communities face common problems of higher than average proportions of low income citizens, higher than average levels of uninsured citizens, scarce resources, and limited numbers of health care providers with few incentives to attract new providers to establish themselves within their communities.  ORHP has contracted with the Michigan Public Health Institute’s Center for Collaborative Research in Health Outcomes and Policy (MPHI-CRHOP) to evaluate the effectiveness of these two rural health programs.

Three-State Analysis of Local Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capacity
The goal of this project is to identify the effectiveness of the approach and tools used among three states that assessed preparedness using a comparable measurement tool in capturing key elements of local public health infrastructure and capacity.  The fact that Kansas, Illinois and Michigan each fielded nearly the same instrument provides researchers with a natural experiment that is critical to establishing the efficacy of baseline, state-relevant measures regarding readiness.  As each state used different processes to achieve survey completion, this study will enable an evaluation of comparability among the participants. Assessing the needed resources and the outputs for local assessments will enable an evidence-driven approach to effective disbursement of funds and other resources.  Furthermore the project may help point to the feasibility of administering routine assessment processes at the local level across the nation.  Meeting performance standards, monitoring progress and identifying gaps in the public health infrastructure at the local level has enormous national security and local protection value. 

National Network of Nurse Managed Health Centers
The National Network for Nurse Managed Health Centers (NNNMHC) is a network of organizations that focuses on the advancement, viability, and sustainability of nurse managed health centers (NMHCs). Nurse Managed Health Centers offer a variety of health care services delivered by advanced practice nurses, such as nurse practitioners or certified nurse specialists. Typically, these centers provide care to individuals and communities that are underserved by the healthcare industry, and also allow more time for patient-provider interaction creating collaborative relationships between nurses and patients to manage chronic diseases and maintain good health. The National Network for Nurse Managed Health Centers is designed to 1) create a strong network to facilitate the development and promotion of NMHCs to increase access to primary health care and to respond to communities’ needs, especially targeting historically underserved populations; 2) develop a national data center for NMHCs to inform policy and to develop benchmarks for best practices for NMHCs; 3) inform policy to promote nurse managed health centers as a viable health care option; and 4) develop and market educational and business products and services.

Health Promotion Disease Prevention

Michigan Dementia Project
The Dementia Program funds Dementia Information Network agencies to provide dementia information and referral services to families and professionals. Network agencies use grant dollars to staff toll-free helplines, maintain databases of available services, develop and distribute informational materials, maintain lending libraries, and provide educational programs for families and caregivers. The Dementia Program also provides staff support to the Michigan Dementia Coalition, a collaboration of representatives from universities, community organizations, units of government, and family caregivers. The Coalition strives to improve the quality of life of persons with dementia and their families in Michigan.

Michigan Osteoporosis
The Michigan Osteoporosis Project is a statewide program designed to, on a long-term basis: (1) reduce the prevalence of osteoporosis and (2) reduce the number of osteoporosis-related fractures. Program initiatives are based on recommendations from the Michigan Osteoporosis Strategic Plan.

Cardiovascular Health, Nutrition and Physical Activity
This project will provide project management, technical consultation and expertise for the implementation of the MDCH Cardiovascular Health, Nutrition and Physical Activity Section strategic plan and other special initiatives.

Cancer Project Management and Technical Support
This study is a component of an evaluation of the Michigan Cancer Consortium Initiative (MCCI). The MCCI is an initiative by public and private partners working throughout the state to reduce morbidity and mortality due to cancer, to establish a collaborative process to identify and achieve cancer control priorities, and to achieve cost-effective resource utilization for cancer control.

Asthma Strategic Plan Implementation
This project provides oversight and management for the implementation of the Michigan asthma Strategic Plan's programmatic components. This includes working with MDCH asthma staff on the following: convening and staffing the Michigan Asthma Advisory Committee and ad hoc work groups, providing assistance to Michigan's local asthma coalitions on coalition development and capacity building, working with the American Lung Association on Michigan on the ongoing development of the Michigan Asthma Communications Network, and assisting with program evaluation and production of materials.

Michigan Arthritis Initiative
The purpose of the project is to provide assistance to MDCH in the coordination of the revision of the Michigan Arthritis Action Plan, and printing the State of Arthritis Report.

Improving Diabetes Care Initiative
In an effort to improve the quality of care provided to Michigan citizens with diabetes, the Michigan Public Health Institute Improving Diabetes Care Initiative will support the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and the Michigan Diabetes Outreach Networks (MDON) through continuing education fur health care providers; Diabetes risk factor survey; and web-based delivery of independent study modules.

Michigan Fall Injury Prevention
Fall injuries to adults 65 and older comprise an extremely costly, tragic and largely preventable public health problem. This project will integrate a comprehensive and interdisciplinary fall prevention education, training and referral model into two southeastern Michigan hospitals.

WIC Local Agency Operational Improvement
The WIC Division would like to understand how WIC services are coordinated with other health and social service related programs in southeast Michigan. After an assessment of their present status as they interface with other programs, methods and strategies will be developed to achieve maximum coordination of services.

Public Health/CDIC Technical Services
This project provides leadership and oversight for all MPHI/MDCH public health projects and programs, serving as a liaison between Chief Administrator for Public Health, MPHI Central Administration and MDCH Bureau and Division Directors, the Surgeon General and MPHI Program Directors.

Faith in Action
This project has two primary goals. 1) Design an interactive informational site for faith leaders to access and obtain health information for use in their project. 2) Development of a faith-based assessment tool to help churches and faith organizations eat better and become more physically active.

Detroit Communities
This project will offer cholesterol screening and education and immunizations to about 600 persons from 10 Detroit African American churches and surrounding neighborhoods who are participating in fruit and vegetable mini-markets and the NCI/ACS Body and Soul Program. This project will also offer clinical preventive services to persons ages 50 and older participating in Michigan Nutrition Network funded projects in 10 Detroit African American faith-based communities.

Past Programs

• Cancer epidemiology and technical assistance
• Cancer studies and evaluation 
• Managed care best practices and education Creating strategies and methodologies to improve care delivery

Systems Reform

Childcare Expulsion Prevention
A significant and growing number of young children in Michigan are being expelled from childcare settings due to challenging behaviors. Child care providers have had limited access to early childhood mental health consultation to assist them in helping young children with challenged behaviors in ways that promote their social-emotional development. As a result, Child Care Prevention Expulsion projects have been established at several sites across the state to provide early childhood mental health consultation to providers and parents to promote social-emotional health and reduce the number of expulsions from childcare. The purpose of this project is to coordinate and provide technical assistance for these projects and to promote the development of additional projects.

Specialized Provider Survey
This project will conduct medical facility surveys for the Dept. of Community Health/Bureau of Health Systems/Licensing & Certification Division.

ACT Field Guide Implementation
This project will support the implementation and evaluation of the Field Guide to Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) as a quality assurance tool.

Heritable Disorders
This project will develop a regional approach to improve the health of children and families with heritable disorders in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin by working to: 1) implement a universal screening and confirmatory testing of newborns for inborn errors of amino acid, organic acid and fatty acid metabolism. 2) reduce inequities in access to clinical genetic services. 3) utilize a regional approach to improve public health infrastructure for supporting optimal diagnosis, follow-up and management of children with heritable disorders and birth defects.

Shiawassee Even Start – Year 4
This project will provide services to Shiawassee Regional Education Service District to assist them in designing and implementing processes for local evaluation of the Even Start Program. Data will be collected, analyzed, and managed and assistance in training local service providers in evaluation will also be provided.

Copper Country Drug Free Evaluation
This project will complete an evaluation of the Copper Country Coalition for a Drug Free Community alcohol, tobacco and other drug use prevention and intervention efforts. Information from the evaluation will be used to continue to improve and enhance Copper Country’s prevention and intervention efforts toward achievement of a drug-free community.

MI Infant Health Program
This project provides leadership for the Local Health Department Accreditation process in the program areas of Maternal Support Services and Infant Support Services.

Prenatal and Infant Care
This project will complete a county census of daytime placements of children 0-5 by surveying childcare centers, pre-schools, family daycare providers, headstart, and special education programs. It will also provide program evaluation services to improve the quality of the early childhood experiences of children in Family Daycare homes.

Region 4 Genetics Collaborative
Seven states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) have joined together as the Region 4 Genetics Collaborative in a project to address inequities in genetics resources across the region.  The MPHI Systems Reform Program is acting as the lead agency for the project, which is funded by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The Region 4 Genetics Collaborative is implementing three cluster areas of activity to address issues within and across the public health, laboratory, and clinical systems.  These activities address the following core program goals:

• Implement universal screening and confirmatory testing of newborns for inborn errors of amino acid, organic acid, and fatty acid metabolism;
• Reduce inequities in access to clinical genetic services;
• Utilize a regional approach to improve public health infrastructure for supporting optimal diagnosis, follow up, and management of children with heritable disorders and birth defects.

Each of the three clusters has developed working groups with members from the seven states.  The 100-plus participants in the grant include public health professionals, advocacy groups, geneticists from private and university settings, hospital staff, public and private lab professionals, and family members.

As lead agency of the Region 4 Genetics Collaborative, MPHI will manage the complex activities of the collaborative for the project’s three years of operation.  In this role, the MPHI Systems Reform Program is:

• facilitating the strategic planning process for the public health working groups;
• hosting video-conferences;
• initiating contracts and letters of agreement with state public health, university, and private partners;
• providing stipends and other support for family members;
• planning and hosting regional conferences;
• developing and overseeing a mini-grant process to support activities of the public health working groups;
• acting as liaison among the three clusters of activities.

Evaluation of Assertive Community Treatment
In 2001, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) Systems Reform Program formed a partnership with support from the Flinn Family Foundation to improve the mental health system’s use of evidence-based clinical practices.  Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) was selected for the study.  The purpose of this project was to assess the model fidelity of Michigan’s adaptation of the ACT model and identify practices associated with positive outcomes to share with ACT teams, consumers and MDCH.  The study found that 42.4 percent of teams did not meet the minimum criteria for model fidelity and recommended that monitoring of model fidelity be implemented in order to improve and maintain the quality of ACT services.  The project developed a self-assessment tool for ACT teams, called the Field Guide to ACT.  The Field Guide is designed to assist ACT teams and MDCH to improve the quality of ACT team services.  The Field Guide has been reviewed by several ACT teams and MDCH with the general conclusion that it is a helpful tool to promote model fidelity and quality improvement for Michigan’s ACT teams.

Covering Michigan’s Kids & Families:  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Covering Michigan’s Kids & Families is part of a nationwide effort to enroll families in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).  This initiative began in February 2002 and is sponsored by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  The Systems Reform Program of the Michigan Public Health Institute is the statewide lead agency.

Under this project, a statewide Steering Coalition has been established to provide guidance and advice to the overall initiative.  Membership of that group includes over 25 organizations, dedicated to improving the health and well being of children in Michigan.  The key activities of the Covering Michigan’s Kids and Families Coalition are:  to prepare and communicate policy recommendations on outreach strategies and activities; to facilitate dissemination of information and networking; to problem solve and provide advice; and to monitor progress and outcomes of the project.

Through MPHI’s support as statewide lead agency, this Coalition has been able to accomplish many significant goals.  Notably, the Coalition has assisted with the implementation of the state’s electronic application for Medicaid and SCHIP.  The electronic application is not just an outreach strategy, it can also a simplification and coordination strategy.  The benefits of the electronic application are:  maximizing on the self-declaration of income policy, reducing the fear or stigma of applying for assistance, gaining access to isolated populations, and more!

Center for Advancing Community Health

From April 2003 through May 2005, CACH provided consultation and technical assistance to the groups planning and implementing the Detroit Wayne Counth Health Authority (DWCHA). CACH continues to provide consultation and planning support to the staff of the DWCHA, as the Authority works to coordinate health care for the uninsured in Detroit and Wayne County.

On a continuing basis, CACH supports the activities of the Access to Care Community Coalition, a membership-based organization of community health initiatives, including county health plans, HCAP grantees, three-share programs, and volunteer provider health programs. CACH also supports the activities of the Treetops Health Policy Group, providing useful information and opportunities for information exchange to Michigan's health policy leadership.

CACH provides consultation to various health policy initiatives at state and community levels. Dr. Beane participated extensively in the 2004/2005 development of a comprehensive Guide for Emerging Public Health Institutes, published by the National Network of Public Health Institutes in May 2005.

Center for Tobacco Use Prevention and Research

The Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Analysis (Tobacco DATTA  Project) has collected over 9,000 trial transcripts, depositions and related exhibits, most of which are available to the public on the Tobacco Documents Online website (http://tobaccodocuments.org).

About 5,000 transcripts of depositions and trial testimony are being digitally archived in the American Legacy Foundation Tobacco Document Library, a part of the digital archives of the University of California at San Francisco. 

A dozen research teams from institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia have been formed and are presently analyzing the material on a variety of topics including Advertising and Marketing, Addiction and Pharmacology, Product Design, Youth Initiation, Health Effects of Tobacco Use, Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke.

Health Professional Recovery Program

MPHI assumed responsibility for the HPRP at the request of the State in December 2004. Since then HPRP has become staffed with qualified professionals who have received training in HPRP policies and procedures. HPRP currently is monitoring 800 licensees either in the intake or monitoring process. The program is developing a new database that will streamline program processes and reporting.

Interactive Solutions Group

Integrated Medicaid/BCBSM Eligibility System
Through a collaborative effort, Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) are providing Michigan Medicaid providers a way to validate Medicaid beneficiary coverage.  This eligibility verification capability is being offered to Michigan Medicaid providers at no cost and is accessible through the BCBSM Internet application, web-DENIS.  ISG led the project and serves as a host/clearinghouse for the Michigan Medicaid eligibility information.  ISG receives proprietary eligibility data files from MDCH on a daily basis.  Eligibility information is exchanged real-time between BCBSM and ISG using the HIPAA 270/271 standard transactions and a virtual private network (VPN) connection. This real-time environment enables the exchange of information to occur within 3 to 5 seconds per transaction resulting in a fast and economical way for providers to validate Medicaid eligibility.

HIPAA Implementation and Support for Michigan Medicaid
ISG implemented HIPAA requirements for the Michigan Medicaid Program and continues to provide ongoing post implementation support.  We maintained overall project management that included multiple separate projects for each of the covered HIPAA transactions.  ISG also developed a comprehensive outreach program to inform Medicaid providers and business partners of each step of the implementation process.  A website and all related material was developed to get Trading Partner Agreements in place.   Staffing for business analysts, programmer/analysts, project managers, quality assurance and subject matter experts was provided for the Transactions and Code Set rule.  We worked closely with MDCH to ensure compliance with the Security Rule.  ISG conducted a department-wide systems risk analysis based on CMS methodology, and worked with the MDCH Privacy Officer and Legal Affairs to draft security policies and procedures.  The Privacy Rule implementation included providing overall project management, planning and tracking.  With NPI (National Provider Identifier) compliance required by May 2007, we are providing support to the department on the planning process for changes required to eliminate legacy provider ID numbers.  ISG continues to work with MDCH on training programs for various aspects of HIPAA.

Michigan Care Improvement Registry
This project provides technical and programmatic assistance to the MDCH Division of Communicable Disease and Immunization to successfully develop, deploy, and support the statewide use of the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR).

Michigan Medicaid Online Courses
ISG hosts comprehensive online learning courses for MDCH.  Over 4000 individuals will be enrolled in the Learning Management System and over 8500 classes are expected to be taken in 2005.  In the past three years, over 400 individuals have received CEUs.  The number of enrolled students would rank ISG as the 12th largest community college in the state of Michigan!  Student satisfaction is high:

• 93% surveyed rated that the courses very easy to take
• 94% surveyed reported that the courses met teaching objectives
• 91% surveyed reported that they learned something new from the course
• 94% surveyed that they would recommend the course to someone else

There 14 courses are tailored to Medicaid, Breast and Cervical Cancer, and Children’s Health can be found at http://www.training.mihealth.org.  Examples of the course are:

• What is Medicaid?
• Using the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry
• What is Children’s Special Healthcare Services?
• Using the HCFA 1500 Claim for Medicaid Claims

CAQH CORE
ISG is actively participating in the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE).  Using the exchange of eligibility and benefits as a starting point, CORE is developing common business rules (“operating rules”) allowing healthcare trading partners and system vendors to interact and exchange information in a consistent, clear and standard manner.  In the short-term, CORE’s vision is to significantly reduce the administrative burdens and costs associated with eligibility/benefit inquiries by giving providers access to a patient’s eligibility information at the time of service (or before) using the provider’s system of choice.  Long-term, providers will be able to submit an eligibility inquiry from their IT system of choice and receive a response for any patient that is covered by any participating health plan. 

Medicaid Payment Error Rate Measurement
The Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) will be a requirement for state Medicaid agencies with an anticipated effective date of October 2005.  ISG will be working with MDCH to evaluate how to incorporate these requirements in the Michigan Medicaid program.  It involves measuring payment errors by doing a statistically valid sample of paid and rejected claims for both Medicaid and SCHIP, performing a process review, eligibility verification, and medical reviews to determine a state error rate with consistent methodology.  Each state’s rate will then be sent to CMS who will calculate a national error rate.  Michigan Medicaid wants to perform a small “claim check” process to see how this will work and how Michigan might fare under the proposed PERM requirements.

Medicaid Home Help
ISG is working with MDCH to improve the effectiveness of the Home Help Program (HHP) both from a service perspective and a financial standpoint.  The HHP is a $200M program that provides unskilled, non-specialized personal care services to persons who are functionally limited, yet wish to remain in their homes.  ISG assisted MDCH with responding to an internal audit on the HHP by writing the Corrective Action Plan (CAP).  While services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries were generally authorized and provided in a reasonable manner, the internal control processes of MDCH and DHS (Department of Human Services who is the fiscal agent of MDCH for HHP) were not effective to ensure that funds were expended in accordance with federal and state program requirements.  ISG assisted MDCH with developing a Memorandum of Understanding and Interagency Agreement between the two departments as a basis for implementing the CAP and will be assisting to implement other recommendations in the future.

Medicaid Provider Outreach Programs
ISG assists the Michigan Medicaid program to inform healthcare providers and trading partners about important initiatives by developing websites, listservs, and printed materials.  We maintain strong alliances with the provider associations which enables us to create the most appropriate and meaningful outreach programs tailored to the provider community.  Efforts include:

• Michigan Medicaid Uniform Billing Conversion
• Department of Community Health HIPAA Implementation
• MiRx Card Introduction
• MiHealth Card Introduction
• Medicare Pharmacy Benefit (Part D)

Healthcare Provider Training and Billing Support
ISG partnered with netwerkes.com to contact healthcare providers who bill Medicaid using paper claim forms, and convert them into HIPAA compliant, electronic claim submitters.  ISG worked in coordination with netwerkes.com and Michigan Medicaid to market, convert, train and support providers on the netwerkes.com web based, electronic billing system.  This included coordinating and conducting face-to-face user seminars.  ISG and netwerkes.com dramatically decreased the administrative costs associated with processing Medicaid healthcare claims on paper (which cost the State of Michigan an estimated fifty-eight million dollars); and facilitated reimbursement to Medicaid’s healthcare providers 5 to 8 times faster than if they submitted their claims to Medicaid on paper. 

PACE
The Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a model of community based care that enables elderly individuals who need nursing facility care to live as independently as possible in their own homes.  The program features a comprehensive service delivery system with integrated Medicare and Medicaid financing, and is an optional benefit in the Michigan Medicaid program.  ISG assisted MDCH to complete deliverables for a grant to expand the PACE program in Michigan.  The deliverables included developing:

• state defined evaluation criteria that prospective PACE organizations must meet in addition to Federal requirements,
• a web page for PACE accessible from the MDCH site,
• a provider bulletin that described the PACE program and the baseline provider criteria for prospective PACE organizations,
• site visit tool for both a readiness review and annual assessments,
• a Technical Assistance manual for PACE providers.
  

Web-based Online Trainings
There are nine e-learning trainings that are hosted by ISG. Some of the course topics include Genetics Information Resources and Breast and Cervical Cancer Control, HIPAA Transactions, and Medicaid Managed Care.

Education & Training - Interactive Learning Center

WIC Training
This project will enhance the quality and improve the efficiency of training programs provided by WIC Division of the WIC Programs Administration through a comprehensive and integrated training system. Continuing education and skill-building options for WIC staff practicing in WIC clinics and offices throughout the State of Michigan will be provided, including 33 training workshops.

Women, Infant & Children Annual Conference
This project involves managing and providing overall logistical coordination for the Annual Michigan WIC Conference, including: the establishment of a timeline for production, implementation of the training event, evaluation of the event, and the beginning of the planning process of the 2005 WIC Conference.

Maternal Support Services/Infant Support Services
The mission of this project is to provide training programs for staff throughout Michigan on establishing client relations within the Maternal and Infant Health Advocacy Services, and the Maternal and Infant Health Advocacy Services, and the Maternal Support Services Programs. Three training workshops for MIHAS program staff will be provided through the state, and 7 training workshops/coordinator meetings for MSS/ISS program staff.

Prenatal Smoking Cessation Training
This program will provide trainings to MDCH staff on establishing effective prenatal smoking cessation (PSC) interventions with their clients. Two training workshops for health staff through the state of Michigan will be provided.

Family Planning
This project will provide continuing education options for professionals practicing in family and community health throughout the State of Michigan. Two semi-annual Training Advisory Committee meetings will be coordinated and 6 training workshops for Family Planning program staff will be provided.

EHDI/Pediatric Audiologist Conference
This project will enhance and implement systems for facilitating early interventionist, parents and pediatric Audiologists within Michigan. The project will assess and respond to training needs expressed by public and private sector providers. The project will coordinate and provide one-day trainings for childhood specialists who work with families of young children with hearing loss and for parents of children with hearing loss throughout the state of Michigan.