News You Need to Know

Minnesota Health Information Clearinghouse
Health Coverage Options

The Minnesota Health Information Clearinghouse provides information and publications on health coverage options. This information can be useful when consumers are looking for health care coverage in Minnesota.

A series of booklets called Health Plan Options (formerly Health Plan Atlas) helps people learn about their health care options so they can make informed decisions.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/clearinghouse/clhlthcov.htm

Family Village is a global community that integrates information, resources, and communication opportunities on the Internet for persons with cognitive and other disabilities, for their families, and for those that provide them services and support. 

The Family Village web-site includes informational resources on specific diagnoses, communication connections, adaptive products and technology, adaptive recreational activities, education, worship, health issues, disability-related media and literature, and much, much more.  http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/

Emergency Preparedness for Children with Special Health Care Needs:   Because of the complex and varied needs of children of childen with special health care needs and disabilities they are often lost in the cracks between the specialists and the primary care medical home. When a crisis occurs and children with special health care needs must access the emergency system, they are often left vulnerable because of a lack of access to information about their medical problems. There can be delays in treatment, unnecessary tests, and sometimes serious errors as a result of lack of access to information available to the treating emergency physician.

To facilitate prompt and appropriate emergency care for children with special health care needs, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) have developed an Emergency Information Form which can be used as a tool to transfer critical information about these children.

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/emergprep.htm

Bright Futures for Families is a naional initiative for families and communities to promote and improve the health and well being of children of all ages.  There are a number of materials and information on available on this site including the Family Pocket Guide: Raising Healthy Infants, Children and Adolescents

The Family Pocket Guide covers:

How to choose and work with a health care provider
How your child grows from birth to age 21
What will happen at each health care visit
What to expect when your child gets older and more

http://www.brightfuturesforfamilies.org

ADAparatransit service is public transportation for certified riders who are unable to use the regular fixed-route bus due to a disability or health condition.
DisabilityInfo.gov.  You can access the info with this link: http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/FindSL.do?categoryId=126&stateId=32&search=Search

Patient safetyis the freedom from accidental injury due to medical care or from medical error and is recognized as an important issue in health care, particularly for our most vulnerable population -- children. The conclusions drawn by recent studies on the incidence of medical errors in pediatrics, including medication and non-medication errors, are disturbing and might lead you to wonder what you can do to ensure the delivery of safe health care to your patients.

The Safer Health Care for Kids program is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for physicians, allied health professionals, administrators, parents, and caregivers, who share this commitment.

A series of one-hour Web-based seminars, or “Webinars,” is available on various topics within pediatric patient safety. There is no fee to register, and you can participate from the comfort of your office or home, and learn new strategies that you can immediately put into practice to prevent medical errors.

Mark your calendar now to participate in the next live Webinar:

Improving Handoffs of Care: Impact on Patient Safety
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Hurry! Registration deadline is February 11.

Also, be sure to visit the Safer Health Care for Kids website at http://www.aap.org/saferhealthcare to view our full archive of past Webinars.

Please direct any questions about this Webinar or the Safer Health Care for Kids program to saferhealthcare@aap.org.

 
Tips For First Responders, an 11-page, color-coded, laminated 4.5 x 5.5-inch field guide offers information on how to assist persons with a wide range of disabilities. These tip sheets provide information about many types of disabilities you can use during emergencies as well as routine encounters. They are not meant to be comprehensive, but contain specific information that you can read quickly either before or while you are actually responding to an incident.

http://cdd.unm.edu/products/TipsForFirstResponders.htm

The National Family Voices Legislative Action Center can be utilized to become informed of policy issues related to children with special health needs. It is fast, easy and efficient: http://capwiz.com/familyvoices/home