Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. We’re excited to announce that The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce has now named Healthy Connections a finalist for Organization of the Year.
The 2021 Community Service Awards will be presented at a ceremony at Oaklawn Park on Thursday, May 5. In addition to Organization of the Year, awards will be presented for Woman of the Year, Man of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Small Business of the Year, and Large Business of the Year.
The Organization of the Year Finalists are:
- The CALL in Garland & Hot Spring Counties
- Abilities Unlimited of Hot Springs
- Cooper-Anthony Mercy Child Advocacy Center
- Healthy Connections
- High Impact Movement
- Cutwell 4 Kids
- Oaklawn Center on Aging
- Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic
- National Park College
Healthy Connections is excited to announce its February 2022 Shining STAR employees of the month:
WEST: Michelle gibson
EAST: andrea pilcher
Each month across the Healthy Connections Community Health Network, exemplary employees are nominated for this award for representing our Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners of this Shining STAR award, Michelle and Andrea are winners of a $50 gift card.
Michelle is a Clinical Nurse Educator and also works with PCMH and Quality and Risk Management. Andrea is a LPN with the My Kids Pediatric Clinic and the lead nurse at the Hot Springs Central Clinic.
- “Michelle and Andrea have been amazing over the past six months helping during a nursing shortage, the startup of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment, and nurse training. They both exhibit professional behavior and are among the “go-to’s” when anyone needs help.”
- “Michelle doesn’t show any sign of attitude and is an amazing trainer. She takes her time to make sure you understand what she is explaining.”
- “Andrea is so hardworking. She is always trying to help out her co-workers as well as the patients and their families. She always has a bright and friendly demeanor.”
Congratulations to both Michelle and Andrea.
Do you know who should be our next to be recognized? Nominate by visiting https://www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.
Healthy Connections, Inc. is being recognized for its quality improvements during the past year.
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has named Healthy Connections a recipient of five of its Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) awards. These awards are presented for showing notable quality improvement in areas of access, quality, health equity, and health information technology. In addition, Covid-19 awards were also introduced to recognize health centers’ contributions to the public health emergency response.
Healthy Connections was recognized as:
- Access Enhancer. Health Centers that increase the total number of patients they serve and the number of patients who receive at least one comprehensive service (mental health, substance abuse, vision, dental, and/or enabling) by at least 5 percent.
- Health Disparities Reducer. Health Centers that meet or exceed Healthy People (HP) goals in the areas of low birth weight, hypertension, or uncontrolled diabetes for at least one racial/ethnic minority group, and demonstrate at least a 10 percent improvement in areas of low birth weight, hypertension, or uncontrolled diabetes for at least one racial/ethnic group.
- Advancing HIT for Quality. Recognizes Health Centers that meet all criteria to optimize HIT services that advance telehealth, patient engagement, interoperability, and collection of social determinants of health to increase access to care and advance quality of care.
- Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Recognizes health centers with PCHM recognition in one or more delivery sites.
- Covid-19 Testing. Recognizes health centers that tested more than 50 percent of their 2020 reported UDS patient populations from April 10, 2020, to July 2, 2021, and have a response rate of at least 50 percent to the weekly Health Center Covid-19 Survey.
Healthy Connections is a Mena-based Community Health Network with locations throughout southwest and central Arkansas. Since its founding as a home-visiting program in 1998, Healthy Connections has been able to provide much-needed health, dental, behavioral health, and social services to families of every lifestyle. Services include primary care/family medicine, specialty services including cardiology, podiatry, and women’s health, My Kids Pediatric Clinic, Evolve Behavioral Health Services and Medication Management, Health For Life Clinic, Healthy Families Arkansas Polk, and Garland counties, and more.
Learn more about Healthy Connections at www.healthy-connections.org.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses like seasonal influenza (flu) are more important than ever. Vaccination against both the flu and Covid-19 is essential to meet our community’s public health needs, to prevent further disease spread, and to protect vulnerable populations like the elderly, the immunocompromised, and people not yet old enough to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Please note the following holiday schedule and hours for Healthy Connections Community Health Network clinics from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2. Call 888-710-8220 with questions or to schedule appointments.