Halfway through the week!

Enjoy your Wednesday NCMS Morning Rounds.

  May 6, 2020

Today marks the start of National Nurses Week, celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. We recognize and celebrate our nurses as an important part of the health care team — now more than ever. Thank you for helping to protect and improve the health of our patients and our communities.

Crucial Questions about LEAD Conference – Please Help

Please help our 2020 NCMS LEAD Health Care Conference planning committee as it considers new and creative options to present conference content while accommodating any need — or preference — for virtual educational sessions. Committee members also are mindful of the many benefits of bringing people together and are contemplating how we might accomplish smaller, in-person gatherings to build community when possible.

We need your input, your ideas and opinions on what would be most helpful and appealing to you. Please take just a few minutes to answer the following brief survey. Everyone who responds will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon Gift Card!

TAKE THE SURVEY

Helping Ensure Healthy Moms and Babies

The March of Dimes recently began offering Supportive Pregnancy Virtual Groups to provide social support to expectant individuals during this unusual time. The 30-minute meetings began last week and will be held every Thursday through a secure Zoom line or via phone.

These group sessions are designed to complement medical care and prenatal education, but are not intended to act as a replacement. The primary focus is to engage in conversation to foster peer learning and support. To supplement the Supportive Pregnancy Virtual Group sessions, participants will also have access to Becoming a Mom Online™ resources.

Each session will provide participants with an opportunity to share their knowledge and concerns about a particular topic, hear from an expert on that topic to help gain a better understanding, and learn a new stress relief strategy. March of Dimes staff will be helping to lead and moderate these weekly conversations.

Please visit the registration page for more information on the SPVG schedule.

Helping to ensure maternal and infant health through events like our maternal and infant health summits as well as through resources like these virtual groups is part of the NCMS’ longstanding mission of improving health throughout the state.

NCMS Staff Offers Thanks – to YOU!

The NCMS staff wants to offer a special thank you to YOU for all you are doing in the trenches to serve your patients and your communities during this pandemic.

Watch our video thanks.

In the News

Three Potential Futures for COVID-19: Recurring Small Outbreaks, a Monster Wave, or a Persistent Crisis, STAT, 5-1-20

Learning Opportunity

DON’T FORGET the NCMS member call with State Medical Director Elizabeth Tilson, MD, MPH and NC Medicaid Chief Medical Officer Shannon Dowler, MD, along with Aaron McKethan, a senior policy fellow at the Duke University Margolis Center for Health Policy and one of the people working on projection models of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state tonight at 7p.m. You can still submit questions until noon today by responding to this email with what you would like the presenters to address. Join the call by dialing 877-273-4202 and entering Conference Room Number: 8155758#

MAHEC is offering “Parenting in Place: Supporting Clients, Children and Therapists While Socially Distancing,” a three module series the first three Mondays in June (June 1, 8 and 15) designed for clinicians as well as lay people. Clinical psychologist Heather Ulrich, PhD, offers simple methods for helping clients sustain their sanity while simultaneously helping children thrive in a challenging environment. Learn more and register.