2017 September Newsletter

September 2017

Clinton Service Unit

Inside this issue: To See or Not to See a Provider

IHS Mission 2 Many requests do not require an appointment with your primary care provider and can be ad-
Eye Health 2 dressed with a nurse only visit. However, there are certain items that do need a scheduled ap-
Monster Dash 3 pointment with your provider. Here are some general guidelines for visits your nurse can com-
Ask Me 3 4 plete, versus visits needing an appointment with your provider. The lists are common requests,
Preparedness 4 and are not all-inclusive.
Flu Shots 5
Pop Awards 6 Requests or symptoms requiring an appointment with a provider: Cold and flu symp-
Dental 6 toms; Ear pain; Vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea; Rash; Possible broken bone or sprain; Possible
Medicare Cards 7 sexual transmitted disease; Follow-up following an Emergency Room or Hospital visit; Involved
You Spoke 8 in a motor vehicle accident; Request for pain medication or pain shot.
Welcome 9
ACA Outreach 9 Requests or symptoms a nurse can assess either in person and/or over the phone and do

not need an appointment: Influenza (flu) shot, Pneumococcal Shot, Tuberculin (TB) skin
test, and other immunizations; Testosterone, B12, or Depo-Provera shot (with active order

placed by provider); Pregnancy test; Lab work (with an order placed by a provider); Urine drug screen for pain manage-

ment; Wound dressing change (must be an established wound care patient); Suture/staple removal (with an order

placed by a provider); Emergency dental referrals; Retinal eye photos.

Go to the nearest Emergency Room if you have the following symptoms: Chest pain; Sudden dizziness; Cough-
ing blood; Sudden loss of vision; Shortness of breath; Sudden onset of abdominal pain with nausea and/or vomiting last-
ing longer than 48 hours.

For questions or concerns, please reach out to your Medical Home Nurse:
Clinton (Beshaw / Maqbool / Van Den Berg): Helen Dodson, RN — 580.331.3343

Clinton (Egan / Hartnett): Molly Danforth, RN — 580.331.3467
El Reno (Garcia / Mejias): Cheryl Lamb-Groves, RN — 405.234.8407
El Reno (Renshaw / Holcomb): Todd Lawrence, RN — 405.234.8402

Fulfilling the Indian Health Service Mission

“To raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of
American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level”

Earlier this year, the Acting Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) challenged all of IHS to commit to memory our mission state-
ment. The CSU has taken this request to heart. Our service unit is committed to providing the best quality patient care. The IHS mis-
sion is more than a statement, it is how we care for our patients, family, friends, and coworkers everyday.

“The mission to me means a lot,” said Scott Kellogg, den-
tal assistant. “It is a blessing to see and make people
smile and being happy on the job”

Pictured above: Clinton Indian “The feeling I get in providing service to our com- Pictured above: Clinton Indian Health
Health Center Dental Assistant munity here at the CSU has been fulfilling,” Center Dental Assistant Supervisor

Scott Kellogg said Elverna Spottedwolf. “I enjoy the job I do and Elverna Spottedwolf
certainly care for our patients and coworkers. The
Dental staff here have overwhelmingly given their
hard work and dedication to the job they do on a

daily basis. It’s all about the teamwork and just
being humble and kind.”

Your Eyes are a Window to Your Health

The latest technology has been installed in CSU’s Optometry Department to evaluate eye
health. Your retina is the only place in the body where blood vessels can be seen directly.
This means, in addition to eye conditions, signs of other diseases (for example, stroke,
heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes) can be seen in the retina. Early detection is
essential so treatments can be administered.

“It is improving our care and allowing us to see more patients,” said Dr. Matt Geiger, chief
of optometry.

Examining the retina is challenging. Normally, eye doctors look through patients’ pupils to
examine the back of the eye. Traditional viewing methods can be effective, but difficult to
perform and are carried out manually without any digital record. The retinal imaging device
installed at Clinton Indian Health Center is able to capture more than 80% of our patients’
retina in one image. Traditional methods typically reveal only 10-45% of the retina at one
time. The unique ultra-widefield view of the new technology enhances Dr. Geiger’s ability
to detect even the earliest sign of disease that appears on the retina .

Page 2

Monster Dash 5K Fun Run & Walk—Saturday, October 14th

Registration begins at 7:30 AM, Costume Contest at 8:30 AM,
and Race ceremonies begin at 9 AM

Page 3

Good Questions for Your
Good Health

Every time you talk with a doctor, nurse, or
pharmacist, use the Ask Me 3
questions to better understand
your health.

Everyone wants help with health information. You are not alone if you find things confusing at times. Asking questions helps to under-
stand how to stay well or to get better. Every time you speak with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other health care provider, ask ques-
tions to better understand your health and take care of yourself.

1.) What is my main problem?
2.) What do I need to do?
3.) Why is it important for me to do this?

The health care team at CSU wants you to let us know when you need help. We want to help you learn about your condition, why
things are important for your health, and steps to take to keep your condition under control. If you ask questions and still don’t under-
stand, let your provider know you don’t understand what you need to do. You might say, “This is new to me. Will you please explain
that to me one more time?”

At your next medical visit, practice the “Ask Me 3” questions with your provider so you may do what you can to take better care of
your health.

Natural Disaster Preparedness and Response

With recent coverage on the hurricanes and severe weather, it is a good
reminder for us to have an emergency plan in place to take precautions for
storing water and ensuring the safety of food and medical supplies both
during and after severe storms (tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards) and oth-
er events that can result in power outages, flooding, or road and business
closures.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers the following link for
information on keeping medications safe during natural disasters:
https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/ucm082350.htm

Page 4

Get Your Flu Shot Today!

Influenza (flu) is a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Every flu season is different, and flu
infection can affect people differently. Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others. Flu season in the
United States can begin as early as October and last as late as May. An annual seasonal flu vaccine is the best way to reduce your
risk of getting sick with seasonal flu and spreading it to others. When more people get vaccinated against the flu, less flu can spread
thought the community.

Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against
infection with the viruses in the vaccine. The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the flu viruses that research indicates will be most
common during the upcoming season. The flu vaccine is recommended for all people six months and older. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for people to get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible.

The flu vaccine is now available at any of CSU’s three clinical facilities. Appointments are not needed, and those needing a vaccine
may stop by either the clinic or pharmacy to receive a flu shot. For those who can’t make it into the clinic, our Public Health Nurses
will be in the community on the following dates to offer flu vaccinations.

Elk City Nazarene Church

September 29th from 10 am — 3 pm

Clinton Elder Nutrition Center

October 3rd from 11 am — 1 pm

Seiling Community Building

October 10th from 4 pm — 7 pm

Canton Community Building

October 11th from 4 pm — 7 pm

Clinton Indian Health Center’s Big Event Health Fair

October 13th from 9 am — 3 pm

Clinton Indian Health Center’s Monster Dash 5K Fun Run & Walk

October 14th from 8 am — 10: 30 am

Breast Care Walk in Clinton

October 25th from 10 am — 3 pm

Community Health Representative’s Health Screening in Clinton

November 2nd from 10 am — 3 pm

Page 5

CSU “POP” Stars

Personal Outstanding Performance

The “POP” Award recognizes CSU employees who exhibit “Personal Outstanding Performance”.
It is designed to encourage and acknowledge employees for their everyday
efforts and customer service.

Congratulations to all of our POP Stars!

William Littlecalf, Kristi Epperly & Jessica Van Den Berg

“I was speaking with a patient in the Outpatient Clinic and she asked about getting an appointment,” said Rachel Colvin, patient
advocate. “I told the patient I would check on this and before I could get her chart pulled up the clinic was calling the patient back
into the clinic. This patient had arrived to the clinic with extremely high blood pressure and other issues. Even though this patient
did not have an appointment, William alerted Kristi, who pulled the patient into an exam room, took her vitals, then alerted Jessica.
This patient was so thankful for the quick response from William, Kristi, and Jessica. I would like to thank them for Exceeding the

Need. Great job guys!”

Brett Whitehead, Donna Rush, & Cheryl Lamb-Groves

“A visitor who was accompanying a patient had a seizure in the waiting room of El Reno Indian Health Center,” said Andrea Jack-
son, facility unit director. “Staff immediately responded to the visitor and called 911. The visitor was out of the door via ambulance in
less than 20 minutes. A patient who was in the vicinity at the time the seizure occurred wrote a handwritten compliment for the staff

involved stating how impressed she was on their response time and coordination.”

Congratulations!

Dental Assistants for Clinton Indian Health
Center, Scott Kellogg and Victoria Kirkendoll,
recently received their Certificate of Completion

in Basic Restorative Expanded Functions.
Congratulations on this accomplishment!

Page 6

New Medicare Cards Offer Greater Protection

New cards will no longer contain Social Security numbers,
to combat fraud and illegal use.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is readying a fraud prevention initiative that removes Social Security numbers
from Medicare cards to help combat identity theft, and safeguard taxpayer dollars. The new cards will use a unique, randomly-
assigned number called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), to replace the Social Security-based Health Insurance Claim Number
(HICN) currently used on the Medicare card. CMS will begin mailing news cards in April 2018 and will meet the congressional dead-
line for replacing all Medicare cards by April 2019. CMS kicks-off a multi-faceted outreach campaign to help providers get ready for
the new MBI.

We’re taking this step to protect our seniors from fraudulent use of Social Security numbers which can lead to identify theft and illegal
use of Medicare benefits,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “We want to be sure that Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare
providers know about these changes well in advance and have the information they need to make a seamless transition.”

Providers and beneficiaries will both be able to use secure look up tools that will support quick access to MBIs when they need them.
There will also be a 21-month transition period where providers will be able to use either the MBI or the HICN further easing the tran-
sition

CMS testified on Tuesday, May 23rd before the U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means Subcommittee on Social Security and U.S.
House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Technology, addressing CMS’s comprehensive
plan for the removal of Social Security numbers and transition to MBIs.

Personal identity theft affects a large and growing number of seniors. People age 65 or older are increasingly the victims of this type
of crime. Incidents among seniors increased to 2.6 million from 2.1 million between 2012 and 2014, according to the most current
statistics from the Department of Justice. Identity theft can take not only an emotional toll on those who experience it, but also a finan-
cial one: two-thirds of all identity theft victims reported a direct financial loss. It can also disrupt lives, damage credit ratings and result
in inaccuracies in medical records and costly false claims.

Work on this important initiative began many years ago, and was accelerated following passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). CMS will assign all Medicare beneficiaries a new, unique MBI number which will contain a
combination of numbers and uppercase letters. Beneficiaries will be instructed to safely and securely destroy their current Medicare
cards and keep the new MBI confidential. Issuance of the new MBI will not change the benefits a Medicare beneficiary receives.

CMS is committed to a successful transition to the MBI for people with Medicare and for the health care provider community. CMS
has a website dedicated to the Social Security Removal Initiative (SSNRI)
where providers can find the latest information and sign-up for newsletters.
CMS is also planning regular calls as a way to share updates and answer
provider questions before and after new cards are mailed beginning in April
2018.

For more information, please visit:
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/ssnri/index.html

Page 7

You Spoke, We Listened

Our patients spoke, we listened and now have exciting news to share! For some time we have asked our patients to complete a clinic
update form each and every time they came into any of our facilities for an appointment. Many of our patients grew tiresome of filling
out all of the paperwork, in large part if they had a recent visit to the clinic and had just filled out the same paperwork a short time ago.
The CSU is pleased to announce we are no longer requiring for our patients to complete a clinic update form prior to each appoint-
ment. Patients will now review their information during their appointment with a nurse or provider, who will directly input their updated
information into our system.
“Our new process has created a little more work for us, but it is designed to cut down on all the paperwork for our patients,” said Lucy
Rainey, medical support assistant. “This process saves our patients the hassle of writing down the same information over and over. It
allows for greater accuracy in updating our patients’ information by allowing for staff to see what we already have recorded in their
chart.
The Outpatient Clinic has heard a lot of compliments about not having to fill-out a clinic update. “Many patients have thanked us for
not making them fill out all of the papers,” said Rainey.
Do you have a suggestion on how we can make our process better for you and your family? We invite you to tell

us how we’re doing and take our short online patient survey located at either registration or at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSUPateintSurvey.

2017 Feds Feed Families Campaign

Staff across the three facilities of CSU came together to nourish the local community in the Feds Feed Families campaign. The cam-
paign, which runs from June 1 through August 31, is an annual campaign across all federal agencies. It comes at a time during the
year when food donations traditionally decline.
Since the campaign began in 2009, Federal workers have donated and collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food and other non-
perishable items to support families at risk of hunger across America. CSU collected more than 556 items. All items have been donat-
ed to food banks and shelters in the communities served by CSU. Thank you to everyone who donated!
Page 8

Welcome to Clinton Service Unit!

Corey Tofpi
General Clerk —Administration

Clinton

ACA Outreach

The CSU in collaboration with the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes’ of Oklahoma and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma hosted
an Affordable Care Act (ACA) HealthCare Marketplace Insurance Enrollment event at both Clinton and El Reno Indian Health Cen-
ters. In total, five patients who enrolled were approved for health insurance and were eligible for the premium tax credit.
“One of the patients I assisted was so happy she got health insurance for the first time,” said Teresa Murray, benefits coordinator.
The Benefits Coordinators of CSU are here to assist our patients in exploring all alternate health care resources they may qualify for.
Current Federal regulations require those within IHS to exhaust all alternate resources prior to IHS’s Purchase Referred Care (PRC)
eligibility to expend funds, as IHS is the payer of last resort.
Patient Benefits Coordinators are located within all three facilities of CSU to educate patients on their health care choices and are
available daily to speak on the benefits of enrolling in various Medicaid programs, Medicare, Disability, Insure Oklahoma, Vocational
Rehabilitation, Crime Victims Compensation, Medication Assistance, Veterans Affairs Administration, or private insurance through the
Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
All patients are encouraged to make a good faith application to necessary alternate resource programs. Failure to complete the appli-
cation process to such program, if an individual qualifies, may result in a denial of payment assistance through PRC if such care is
needed. Utilization of alternate resources will not only assist the patient in obtaining the best care available, but will help reduce cost
in PRC services, which enable CSU to serve more people.

For more information, contact CSU Benefits Coordinators

Clinton Indian Health Center
Teresa Murray at 580.331.3364 or Julie Cox at 580.331.3402

El Reno and Watonga Indian Health Centers
Juanita Benally-Morsette at 405.234.8425

Page 9

Page 10

Dr. Castro Visits Watonga!

Staff of Watonga Indian Health Center received a surprise visit from retired provider Dr. Robert Castro.

Pictured above (Back row, left to right): Kim Kidd, Penny Scraper, Annie Frymire, Amy Gomez,
Becky Johnson, Juanita Benally-Morsette, Delana Cowan, Anthony Scabby Pat Gonzales, Will

Williams, and Shoune Tallbird. (Front row, left to right): Juan Matanane, Dr. Robert Castro, Dr.
Ali, Dr. James Mejias

For when the unexpected happens...

Clinton’s Saturday Convenient Care Clinic

9 am to 1 pm

Walk-ins Only
No appointment needed

Clinton’s Saturday Convenient Care Clinic provides treatment for minor medical needs:

Sore Throat Eye and Skin Infections Earaches
Insect Bites and Rashes Sinus Congestion Minor Cuts and Wounds
Cough Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea Fever
Pregnancy Tests Bladder Infections Allergies

Chronic health needs such as diabetes, follow-up appointments, routine prenatal care, pain management, and chronic medication refill renewals
will require an appointment in the primary care clinic, and will not be seen in the Saturday Convenient Care Clinic.

Page 11

Page 12

Have you received your flu shot?

Fight the flu by protecting yourself and those around
you by getting a flu vaccine. Stop by any CSU clinic or

pharmacy to receive a flu shot today!

Appointments are not needed.

Clinton
Service Unit

CLINTON Tell us how we’re doing...

10321 N. 2274 Road We invite you tell us how we’re doing and take
Clinton, OK 73601 our short online patient survey.
(580) 331.3300
For a paper copy, please stop by registration.
Cedar (580) 331.3424
Sage (580) 331.3389 2017 CSU Patient Survey
SweetGrass (580) 331.3376
Peds (580) 331.3466 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSUPatientSurvey
Fax (580) 323.2579
Hours of Operation CSU VISION

Monday—Friday Provide quality health care services focusing on prevention, restoration and
8 am to 5 pm collaborative relationships that are valued and “exceed the needs” of our
Saturday patients, community and tribal partners.

Convenient Care Clinic
9 am to 1 pm

EL RENO

1801 Parkview Drive
El Reno, OK 73036

(405) 234.8400
Eagle, Otter & Peds

(405) 234.8411
Fax (405) 234-8435
Hours of Operation

Monday—Friday
8 am to 5 pm

WATONGA

1305 S Clarence Nash Blvd.
Watonga, OK 73772
(580) 623-4991
Turtle & Peds
(580) 623-4991
Fax (580) 623-5490
Hours of Operation
Monday — Friday
8 am to 5 pm