March 2013

For the past year, the Portal staff has been working to reorganize, expand, and improve our information and resources For Parents & Families of children with special needs. We're adding new content, spiffing up the current pages, and putting things in places where they'll be easier to find. We anticipate that these efforts will be mostly done (it'll never be completely done) by July. Check out all the pages we've added or updated this year below!

By Al Romeo - At this early stage of the mandated across-the-board spending cuts imposed by the sequester, it appears that many federally-funded programs at the state, county, and local level will be impacted. Community health centers, health departments, schools, child care, Head Start, Early Intervention, and a variety of other programs may see some reductions in services. The Medical Home’s Care Coordinator may want to contact local programs if they notice reduced referrals to their practice, delays in receiving follow-up documentation for patients referred to the program, or families reporting reduced services.

Medical Homes may also see more anxious families as they worry about the sequester’s effect on paychecks, health insurance, and services for their children with special health care needs. Care Coordinators may want to help them navigate any changes in the system of services, though alternative resources are likely to be scarce. Parent partners, too, may be able to work with Care Coordinators to provide reassurance and problem-solving for distressed families. The Medical Home team might want to spend more time on anticipatory guidance to help anxious or distracted parents remember the basics of providing a calm, consistent, and safe environment for young children.

Each member of the Medical Home team will play an important role to help the Medical Home function smoothly during this period so it can provide the best care and service possible for families and their children. Medical Homes are encouraged to ask questions and watch for news on the Medical Home Portal Facebook page.

Check us out at our Medical Home Portal Facebook page and on Twitter - we're @medhomeportal!