Washington, D.C. – Metropolitan Washington lags slightly behind the national average in developing new jobs in the fast-growing health care sector, even though the region has produced jobs in other sectors at twice the national rate, experts at “United for Jobs: A Region Forum on Careers in Health” said today. The forum was organized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

Workforce and health care experts at the forum focused on the need for regional leaders to increase funding for community colleges to prepare candidates for jobs in new areas of the health care sector, such as health information management, and to help colleges and universities create more clinical training facilities. Participants also encouraged philanthropic organizations to support more scholarships for prospective students in health care related fields.

The important role of community colleges was highlighted by Matt Erskine, executive director of the Greater Washington Initiative (GWI). “This region has had the second best general job growth in the nation: we are twice the national average and just behind Dallas,” he said. Erskine noted that projections indicate that the largest gap in future job growth and skilled employees is in fields requiring two-year degrees, which are provided by community colleges. He added that COG, GWI, and the Greater Washington Board of Trade could take the lead in advocating for more funding and regional coordination on workforce development.

“We have an opportunity here in metropolitan Washington to develop the most competitive healthcare workforce in the country. We are home to one of the nation’s strongest economies and we have fantastic academic and research institutions. But for all of our strengths, we don’t have a regional healthcare workforce strategy,” said District of Columbia Councilmember Kwame Brown, Chair of the COG Board of Directors. “We are better positioned to prosper—especially in this time of limited resources—if we band together as a region.”

Forum participants also emphasized the need for a new regional marketing strategy that would serve multiple purposes, such as promoting the region’s current assets and increasing awareness of the wide variety of jobs in the health care sector. As the demand for new careers in the sector – such as in Electronic Health Records (HER) management – grows, the demand for more traditional jobs including physical and occupational therapists and nurses is projected to increase significantly as well. A critical shortage of nurses led The George Washington University to open a new School of Nursing, said Ellen Dawson, Chair of the university’s Department of Nursing.

“Our region is projected to create an additional 1.2 million jobs over the next 20 years, but we need to be prepared to fill them,” said William Euille, Mayor of Alexandria and Chair of COG’s Workforce Competitiveness Task Force.  He said a summary report of today’s discussion and recommendations for next steps will be presented at next week’s COG Board of Directors meeting.

“We see a generational shift in what is needed (for many healthcare jobs,) said Elyse Kaplan, Vice President of Human Resources for Adventist Health Care Inc. “We need a workforce that is comfortable with technological developments and able to quickly adapt to information technology changes.”  Kaplan noted that this flexibility will enable workers to advance their careers, a recommendation of COG’s regional workforce development report, Closing the Gaps to Build the Future. The report served as the catalyst for the United for Jobs forum.

COG is the association of 21 local governments working together for a better metropolitan region.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nativity Catholic Church and Community Health Partnership Invites Public to HEALTH FESTIVAL 2010 and Free Health Screenings

Contact: Elaine Ellis
240-535-4100
HA2010@verizon.net
Website: http://chpdc.org

WASHINGTON – Nativity Catholic Church and Community Health Partnership, 6000 Georgia Avenue N.W. invites the public to attend HEALTH FESTIVAL 2010 on Saturday, JUNE 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bilingual staff from Andromeda Transcultural Health and La Clinica del Pueblo will provide FREE health screenings. Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation will offer FREE eye examinations. Howard University and Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Centers will offer FREE cancer screenings, and educational workshops on risky health behaviors and cancer prevention to raise awareness about the District of Columbia’s Cancer Control Program.

Seniors citizens, low-income families, the un-insured and under-insured are encouraged to attend. These are among the groups most at risk for chronic health problems and diseases.

Also attending the festival will be Ward Four Councilmember Muriel Bowser. HEALTH FESTIVAL 2010 will offer great door prizes throughout the day. Participants will receive a FREE lunch box from Corner Bakery. Fresh fruit and drinks provided by Whole Foods Market. Washington Sports Club will offer FREE one-week passes and physical fitness demonstrations.

Mimi Ton will provide creative face painting for children. The Sol y Rumba Band will provide live Latin music. The public is invited to join us for a fun-filled afternoon.

Event Sponsors: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Corner Bakery, DC Department of Health, DC Cancer Consortium, HDO Productions, Washington Sports Club, Whole Foods Market, Community Health Partnership, Inc., and Nativity Catholic Church.

Nativity Catholic Church was established as a mission in 1899 and canonically established in 1901 with the assistance from Cardinal Gibbons and a parcel of land donated by one of the members. The first mass was celebrated in the old frame church at corner of Georgia Avenue and Peabody Street on February 3, 1901.

Download the English Flyer

Download the Spanish Flyer

According the flyer: (Download flyer)

Capital Health Careers Project addresses dual needs in the District of Columbia for alleviating unemployment and filling healthcare workforce deficits.  The program is funded in part by a $4.9 million grant from the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

• Recruitment begins Spring, 2010
• Classes start Summer, 2010
• Will provide job placement through 2013

Scholarship Opportunities Available:

• Disability Service Provider
• Certified Nursing Assistant
• Registered Nurse
• Health Information Technology Certificate
• Master of Science in Info Tech (M.S.I.T)
• Gerontology Certification for LPN
• Community Health Worker
• Licensed Practical Nurse
• Health Information Technology Competency Development
• Bachelor of Arts in Info Tech (B.A.I.T.)
• Home Health Aide

Capital Health Careers Partners

• Providence Hospital
• Catholic University of America
• DC Dept. on Disability Services
• DC Dept. of Employment Services
• DC Primary Care Association
• Regional Alliance for Careers in Health
• Community College of DC
• United Planning Organization

For more information
Call: 202-238-4731
Email: upochc@upo.org
Visit: http://bit.ly/capitalhealthcareers

The only requirements for the program are that participants be District residents 5 years of age or older.  HSCSN will provide uniforms, equipment, and even refreshments.

Although the program is designed for special needs children, all children are welcome to participate in the T-Ball Clinics.  The Clinics will be held every Saturday from April 17-June 5, 9:30am-12:30pm, at the Randall Recreation Center.  The Randall Rec Center is located at 820 South Capitol St. SW.

If you want to register, fill out this flyer and return it to the address listed in the document.

For more information, please see this flyer, or contact HSCSN’s Director of Outreach Services, Cecil Doggette, who can be reached at cdoggette@hscsn.org, or at 202-580-6485.

Vital Records to Offer Birth Certificates in Long Form Only Short Forms will be Discontinued April 5, 2010

Washington DC — The DC Department of Health (DOH) announced today, that beginning April 5, 2010, its Vital Records Division will no longer issue Computerized Short Form Birth Certificates. Vital Records will continue to offer Certified Long Form Birth Certificate copies for the same price of $23.00. The Computerized Short Form Birth Certificate cannot be used for most legal purposes, and is no longer considered an acceptable proof of identification to obtain a passport, driver’s license, school enrollment, and for court proceedings. In addition, issues and concerns regarding identity theft, and homeland security have also contributed to the implementation of Vital Record’s new policy.

In order to obtain a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate, patrons born in the District of Columbia can visit the Vital Records Division located at 825 North Capitol Street, NE, 1st Floor from 8:30 am-3:30 pm, Monday-Friday. Residents are welcome to visit during business hours to complete the Long Form Birth Certificate application form, and will be required to provide appropriate supporting documentation to obtain birth certificates.

Obtaining a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate may also be done by mailing in requests to the Vital Records Division. For further instructions visitwww.doh.dc.gov to download and complete the application form for a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate. Applications should be mailed with a stamped, self addressed envelope, along with the appropriate payment and a non-expired government ID.

Online requests can be processed through our VitalChek service and can be reached at 1-877-572-6332 or through the VitalChek’s website at www.vitalchek.com.

Persons that are legally entitled to obtain a birth certificate are the registrant, immediate nuclear family member, and a legal guardian or a legal representative. A valid and current government issued picture ID is required, and there may be other support documentation requested to enable receipt of a birth certificate.

For walk-in requests, cash, checks, money orders, Visa and Master Card are accepted for payment. For mail-in requests, acceptable forms of payment are checks and money orders and should be made payable to the DC Treasurer.

For more information or questions, please contact the Vital Records Division at 202-442-9303.

For the original release click the link below:

http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/doh/section/2/release/19357

John A. Wilson Building

Through January 16th, the DC Department of Health will offer several H1N1 vaccination clinics throughout the District.  The clinics are part of the National Influenza Vaccination Week, a federally sponsored program to promote awareness of H1N1 and help people get vaccinated.

Many of the clinics are targeted towards especially at-risk groups, like pregnant mothers, or seniors, but other clinics are open to the general public.  Of course, the vaccine is available at no cost to DC residents, regardless of their risk level.

The General Public clinics are as follows:

Today, January 14th, from 5 pm – 9 pm, at the brand new Salvation Army Solomon G. Brown Corps Community Center, located on the corner of MLK Jr. Ave. Se and Morris Rd. SE.

Sunday, January 17th, from 12 pm – 3 pm, at the 19th St. Baptist Church, located at 4606 Sixteenth Street, NW.

More information on the National Influenza Vaccination Week clinics can be found here.

More information on the fight against H1N1, including a flu-vaccination-locator tool, can be found at flu.dc.gov.

The CDC is warning about a phishing scam taking advantage of people concerned about the H1N1 flu.  We included a FLU.gov news ticker on the right to keep you informed about the latest flu news.  Here’s the message we received from the CDC below.

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PHISHING SCAM - CDC Sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1CDC has received reports of fraudulent emails (phishing) referencing a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1. The messages request that users create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the CDC.gov web site.

An example of the phishing email is below:

Users that click on the embedded link in the email are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system. CDC reminds users to take the following steps to reduce the risk of being a victim of a phishing attack:

- Do not open or respond to unsolicited email messages.

- Do not click links embedded in emails from unknown senders.

- Use caution when entering personal information online.

- Update anti-virus, spyware, firewall, and anti-spam software regularly.

We wanted to share the information we received from the District of Columbia Department of Health on the H1N1 virus.
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The H1N1 virus, also referred to as “swine flu,” is a new influenza virus discovered in the spring of 2009.  This virus is spreading from person to person in a way that is similar to the way regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.  The District of Columbia Department of Health has been working diligently to reduce the spread of H1N1 among DC residents on the job, at school and at home.

The Mission of the Department of Health is to promote and protect the health, safety and quality of life of residents, visitors and those doing business in the District of Columbia.

The responsibilities of the Department include identifying health risks; educating the public;  preventing and controlling diseases,  injuries and exposure to environmental hazards;  promoting effective community collaborations;  and optimizing equitable access to community resources.

The following list includes the location, date and time that H1N1 vaccines will be administered to youth and pregnant women.

Eliot-Hine Middle School (W6)
Kelly Miller Middle School (W7)
Thursday October 22
5:00-9:00pm

Hardy Middle School (W2)
Wilson Senior High School (W3)
Coolidge Senior High School (W4)
McKinley Tech Senior High School (W5)
Saturday October 24
8:00am- 4:00pm

Eliot-Hine Middle School (W6)
Kelly Miller Middle School (W7)
Tuesday October 27
5:00-9:00pm

Hardy Middle School (W2)
Wilson Senior High School (W3)
Thursday October 29
5:00-9:00pm

Cardozo Senior High School (W1)
Coolidge Senior High School (W4)
McKinley Tech Senior High School (W5)
Ballou Senior High School (W8)
Saturday October 31
8:00am- 4:00pm

Hardy Middle School (W2)
Wilson Senior High School (W3)
Tuesday November 3
5:00-9:00pm

Coolidge Senior High School (W4)
McKinley Tech Senior High School (W5)
Thursday November 5
5:00-9:00pm

Cardozo Senior High School (W1)
Ballou Senior High School (W8)
Eliot-Hine Middle School (W6)
Kelly Miller Middle School (W7)
Saturday November 7
8:00am- 4:00pm

Coolidge Senior High School (W4)
McKinley Tech Senior High School (W5)
Tuesday November 10
5:00-9:00pm

Cardozo Senior High School (W1)
Ballou Senior High School (W8)
Thursday November 12
5:00-9:00pm

Eliot-Hine Middle School (W6)
Kelly Miller Middle School (W7)
Hardy Middle School (W2)
Wilson Senior High School (W3)
Saturday November 14
8:00am- 4:00pm

For more updates on the vaccine and H1N1 developments please visit this website.

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When: Tuesday, September 29 from 9am-11am

Where: AARP Brickfield Center

601 E Street NW

Washington, DC 20049

Come hear from District experts about local efforts to lower skyrocketing drug costs and learn where prescription affordability measures stand in health care reform.  The event is free but seating is limited. Continental breakfast is provided.

RSVP is required by September 24. Please call 1-877- 926-8300.

AARP has developed several new resources to cut through the rumors and misinformation swirling around health care reform and provide clear factual information.

The website www.aarp.org/getthefacts is loaded with up-to-date information on health care reform legislation.

AARP has also developed three new publications. Click to download.

Don’t Be Scared By Myths About Health Care Reform

Get The Facts; Health Care Reform:  What it Means For Your Medicare; and Health Care

Lets Fix What’s Wrong and Preserve What’s Right

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Posted by Damian Fagon, Intern