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More than 90% of children with chronic illness now survive into adulthood, which presents a range of challenges for individuals and for the system of care. This Issue Brief describes key unmet needs regarding a) developing chronic disease self-management skills; b) enhancing the capacity of the adult health care system to care for young adults with special health care needs; and c) reducing lapses in care during the transition period. The authors, fellows at the Stanford University Clinical Excellence Research Center, offer recommendations for improving the transition.

Of all the issues being debated by politicians, lawmakers and voters, health care may be the issue on which no one can agree. A study by a team of professors at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management finds that health care is one of the most divisive issues splitting Democrats and Republicans, especially when it comes to cost and access. Even if the person works in the health care industry, political affiliation still reflects his or her opinions on health care.

Click here to register for this event What: In the rush to develop collaborative care practices the use of health IT is a powerful, often overlooked, and crucial element. The University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care in northern Vermont have embarked on a project to develop Patient-Centered Medical Homes in each of our primary care practices. As part of that effort, there is a commitment that mental health substance abuse and health behavior services are central elements of the development. Dr. Kessler, a health psychologist, directs this effort. Dr. Burdick a family physician, is physician leader for outpatient implementation of the Fletcher Allen Helath Care Epic-based EHR, PRISM. Their collaboration has resulted in this project. The webinar will explore the backround and history, measure selection and process development, current status and future plans. When: Thursday, April 14th 2011, from 11:00am - 12:30pm Mountain

HELENA -- The Schweitzer administration has abandoned its controversial plan to set up a Medicaid managed-care demonstration project in Lewis and Clark, Cascade, Choteau, Teton and Judith Basin counties.

Cristin Lind couldn’t find the words, so she drew a picture. The artistic inspiration hit about a year ago, after she’d been asked to speak to a meeting of primary care physicians, telling them what it took to manage the complex care of her special needs son. Her page was still empty, despite hours trying to collect her thoughts, so she found some colored markers and began drawing circles.

Click here to register for this event What: This webinar will provide you with an overview of culturally effective pediatric care and will highlight the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new online resource the Culturally Effective Care Toolkit. A current Healthy Tomorrows grantee will discuss their experiences creating culturally responsive health education materials and training providers how to manage diverse health literacy levels.  Speakers: Denice Cora-Bramble: MD, MBA, FAAP, Senior Vice President, The Diana L. and Stephen A. Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health, Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University. Dodi Meyer: MD, FAAP, Associate Clinical Professor Pediatrics, Co Director Community Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital When: Thursday, April 7, 2011 12:00 – 1:30 pm Mountain After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

This spring, Montana State University's College of Nursing and Extended University offer a series of recorded Webinars designed for primary care providers who offer mental health care in their practices but who are not mental health professionals.Topics cover conditions that often present in the primary care setting: Diagnostics; Pharmacotherapy; Depressive Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Bipolar Disorders; Cognitive Disorders in the Older Adult; and Managing Neurobehavioral Crises.

Click here to register What: The webinar will feature discussions on streamlining the screening process, communicating the value of screening with patients and parents, delivering screening results, and managing referrals from two distinctly different perspectives. Christina Carro Newport, Program Coordinator, TeenScreen Primary Care, will discuss how best to use the resources and support available through the TeenScreen National Center. When: June 30, 2011 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Mountain

Part I: What Families & Caregivers Need to Know About Managing Seizures May 11, Tuesday – 5:00-7:30 PM MDT Part II: DIASTAT as Treatment for Acute Seizures July 20, Tuesday, 5:00-7:30 PM MDT Who Should Attend:  Families and Caregivers; Physicians; Nurses; Educators and School Administrators; Allied Health Care Professionals; Institutions Serving the ID/DD Population: State and privately-held facilities, Military Healthcare personnel.

Click here to download the full flyer for this event (PDF) When: September 8, 2011 12:00pm - 1:00pm Where: St. Vincent Healthcare Mansfield Health Education Center - Room 7 Billings, MT Target Audience: Primary Care Providers to include but not limited to: Family Practice, Pediatrics, Emergency Department physicians, Physician assistants, Nurse practitioners, Advanced practice nurses, Registered nurses, And all other healthcare providers of pediatric/adolescent patients Series Objectives: At the end of this RSS, participants should be able to: Differentiate between types of seizures, spells and spasms in children Recognize infantile spasms and absence seizures Utilize appropriate imaging and lab work for the diagnosis, treatment and management of seizures, spells and spasms in children Manage status epilepticus emergently Initiate referral of children to a pediatric neurologist as appropriate Lecture Specific Objectives: At the end of this RSS, participants should be able to: Develop a differential diagnosis of seizure-like episodes. Identify clinical features of psychogenic non-epileptic events. Appropriately manage non-epileptic events. If you would like to attend via videoconference contact: St. Vincent Healthcare University at 406.237.3348 or email svhu@svh-mt.org.  Reservations for videoconferencing must be made at least 24 hours prior to live activity.

Each year the Annie E. Casey Foundation funds a national survey of child well-being. The new report was recently released. Montana is again ranked 28th, same as last year.The data is analyzed in four different categories: education, economic well-being, family and community and health.Montana was above average in three of the four categories, but finished 50th in child health.The report shows that Montana improved in economic well-being, up to 15th from 20th last year. We held steady on education at 13th. We declined a bit on family and community, down to 14th from 13th.But it’s the child health numbers that seem to be the greatest cause for concern.If you dig into the health numbers, Montana did improve over last year’s report in having fewer uninsured kids — down to 12 percent — and fewer teens abusing alcohol and drugs — down to 10 percent. However, we have increased our percentage of children with low birth weights — 7.5 percent — and increased the number of child and teen deaths per 100,000 — 45.How do we make sense of this data? It’s hard because for many of us these kinds of statistics don’t mean a lot when you pull them apart. As a state, Montana’s 28th place ranking is the lowest in the region. North Dakota ranks sixth, Wyoming ranks 15th, South Dakota ranks 18th, and Idaho ranks 20th.What the report tells us about child health is we have more work to do. It may seem like 88 percent of children being covered by health insurance is pretty good, but we’re average for the region. Similar to Idaho and Wyoming, but lower than both Dakotas.For teen death rates, we’re highest in the region at 45 per 100,000. Idaho is at 28, Wyoming at 32, North Dakota at 34 and South Dakota 39.In general what this means is in Montana we can do a better job, in this areas, of improving the health of our kids. The good news is that health continues to be a priority of the Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration, which launched an initiative last week called “A Healthier Montana: A Plan to Improve the Health of Montanans.”Bullock’s plan focuses on six areas: Preventing, identifying and managing chronic diseases; promoting the health of mothers, infants and children; preventing, identifying and controlling communicable disease, preventing injuries and reducing exposure to environmental health hazards; improving mental health and reducing substance abuse; and, strengthening Montana’s public health and health care system.Reports like Kids Count, are one of many analyzing different aspects of health in Montana and around the country, said Jon Ebelt, spokesman for the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Typically, those reports only tell part of the story. And though the state takes the Kids Count report seriously, it fit into the broader look of health in Montana now outlined in Bullock’s initiative.“We’ve done a lot of work the last year to set the priorities on where we can make the most difference,” Ebelt said.At Lewis and Clark County, county health officer Melanie Reynolds is also focused on local work.The county has been working for a number of months on their community health improvement plan and is looking to unveil soon.So while the news from Kids Count was mixed, we’re pleased the state and local governments are continuing their efforts to support better health for Montanans. We anticipate these efforts will show themselves with an improved report next year.