West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships/Area Health Education Centers

MINUTES

 

                                                WVRHEP RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Committee Meeting Via Webinar

 

September 8, 2008, Days Inn, Flatwoods

 

Attending: Terri Bliziotes, Patricia Crawford, Amber Crist, Deborah Curry, Tom Hefner, Lew Holloway, Sandra Y. Pope, Jo Ann Raines, Anna Reno, Nannette VanDyke-McDonald. Staff: Alicia Tyler. Absent: Karen Bailey, Jay Bonfili, David Brown, Norm Ferrari, Sharon Lansdale, Melissa Wheeler, Bob Whitler. Guests: Betsy Randall, Brian Crist, Christopher Dodge, Elaine Mason, Bob Walker, Marilyn Bowe, Chuck Conner, Hilda R. Heady, April Vestal, Jodie Jackson.

 

Tom Hefner, Committee chairman, opened the meeting. The minutes of the March 10^th meeting were approved on motion (VanDyke-McDonald/Curry).

 

Derrick Day gave the roll call of members, and April Vestal gave tips on web conferencing.

 

STAFF REPORT

 

Doctoral Psychology: Alicia met with Dr. John Linton of the WVU-Charleston Division and Bob Whitler at CAMC about the possibility of creating an internship position in Charleston earmarked for a doctoral student from any campus in the state. WV has about 8 accredited internship positions, so most go out of state for training.  Patti Crawford asked where doctoral psychologists would work to meet the HSSP scholarship obligation. Alicia said the HSSP map would be used, plus federally qualified health centers.

 

Map - Work Locations of Licensed Independent Social Workers (LICSWs) - Alicia discussed the map and pointed out that although there are over 2,000 licensed social workers in West Virginia, there are only 214 LICSWs practicing in the state in 2008.

 

PRESENTATION ON GRADUATE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN WV

 

Presenters: Dr. Betsy Randall, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator

                  WVU Division of Social Work - Charleston Division

 

                  Brian Crist, CEO, Lincoln Primary Care Center

 

Dr. Randall said that WVU has the only graduate social work program in WV. Morgantown is the hub, with off-campus programs in 5 locations. Southern WV has the largest off-campus program with 75 students in Charleston and Beckley programs. The WVU programs offers emphasis in Children & Families, Aging, and Behavioral Health.

 

Nationally social work is the majority profession (65%) within the field of behavioral health. Graduate social work students in behavioral health take 3 advanced core curriculum courses in behavioral health, 4 electives, and a year of field practicum. The WVU social work program has an emphasis in rural health.

 

Issue of Billing: In WV. Social workers may bill private insurance and Medicare, but not Medicaid. The exception is behavioral health in an "integrated primary care" setting, also known as "collaborative care." This model considers behavioral health to be integrated with medical services. In these settings, social workers perform billable "medical services" although their work is behavioral health. In WV, these social workers must hold the highest level of licensure - Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSWs). About 200 out of the 2,000 licensed social workers in WV are LICSWs.

 

Focus on Collaborative Care: The WVU Division of Social Work has affiliation agreements with federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to offer field placements to behavioral health students and will begin offering specialized elective courses in collaborative care in Summer '09.

 

Brian Crist discussed the arrangement that Lincoln Primary Care Center has with Prestera to employ an LICSW who had her field placement at Cabin Creek. He said that the collaborative care model works well, but it takes time to integrate care. A health center setting is more acceptable to patients for behavioral health care. Other FQHCs have LICSWs - e.g., New River Health Association, Cabin Creek, & Family Health Care in Roane Co. The big issue is getting LICSWs trained and licensed at this level.

The presentation generated a lot of discussion. Hilda Heady said that sites are interested in social work students, but many students get paid field placements, so that becomes an issue. Terri Bliziotes said health care centers also employ Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) - this is another group that wants "billability."

 

The Committee was advised that a vote on expansion of HSSP eligibility for LICSWs and Doctoral level Clinical Psychologists could occur at the November 10^th meeting.

 

The meeting was adjourned.

 

INFORMATION NOTE: After the webinar ended, the small group at the HEPC discussed the need for qualified supervisors of LICSW students during their field placements. Terri said that the Primary Care Association could assist this by identifying LICSWs in their database.  

 

Betsy Randall also said that the VA has a hiring preference for social workers in behavioral health. Four current MSW candidates in the WVU-Charleston Division program work at regional Veterans centers (Logan, Charleston, and Princeton.) They will do employer-based field placements within the VA. Two more have just completed their foundation level field placements in VA medical centers. There are 12 -14 of the graduates who are working in VA medical centers.