ProfNet Experts Available on Mental Health Awareness, HIPAA, Gay Rights, More
Also in This Edition: Jobs for Writers, Media Industry Blog Posts
NEW YORK, May 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.
You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire.
EXPERT ALERTS
- Mental Health Awareness
- Healthcare Data Breaches in the Age of HIPAA: A Chronic or an Acute Condition?
- Medicare's Physician Payment Methodology
- Ensuring Inclusive Education for Children
- Tips for Planning Your Child's 'Digital Diet'
- Stonewall Inn to Become First Gay Rights Monument?
- Financial Planning and the LGBT Community
MEDIA JOBS
- Data Editor – Crain's Cleveland Business (OH)
- Online Editor – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
- Reporter – Dow Jones (NY)
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
- Upcoming Twitter Q&A: The Art of Risk
- Interviewing People Affected by Tragedy
- Media Law: Ignorance Is Not a Defense to a Libel Lawsuit
EXPERT ALERTS:
Mental Health Awareness
Janee Both Gragg, Ph.D.
Professor, Clinical Mental Health
University of Redlands
"Mental health awareness helps us move away from the stigma and discrimination that has historically shaped and colored these conversations."
Dr. Gragg is available to discuss clinical mental health, mental health awareness, counseling, psychotherapy, and substance abuse counseling. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Loma Linda University, Calif. She is a licensed professional clinical counselor and marriage and family therapist. In addition to her teaching in the School of Education, Dr. Gragg founded the Alliance for Community Transformation and Wellness in June 2014, through which she brings awareness to issues around mental health.
Website: http://www.redlands.edu
Contact: Jennifer Dobbs, [email protected]
Healthcare Data Breaches in the Age of HIPAA: A Chronic or an Acute Condition?
Adam Stern
Founder and CEO
Infinitely Virtual
A recent study by the law firm Baker Hostetler revealed more healthcare data breaches occurred in 2015 than any other type of data security event (see http://goo.gl/iHOZ3h). The report agrees with previous analyses indicating that healthcare is consistently one of the industries most affected by privacy and security violations. HIPAA violations are especially difficult to detect, and potentially calamitous because of that difficulty. If a single Social Security number leaves a healthcare provider's facility, the loss can be catastrophic to the holder of that number. Almost by definition, data losses by smaller providers don't hit the radar, or the headlines, but that doesn't diminish their power to do real damage. In the case of that Social Security breach, every patient that provider serves is now a victim as well. And smaller organizations have both a harder time being secure and being aware of their security situation.
Says Stern: "It's generally smart to install Data Loss Prevention (DLP), the standard software methodology to determine if a breach has occurred, but DLP isn't a panacea and it can monitor only so much. While DLP may make life easier, it's certainly not required of HIPAA compliance. Every upstream provider that handles data needs to sign a BAA -- a business associate agreement -- in order to be in the HIPAA food chain. A BAA under HIPAA is a sort of promissory note that the IT provider will adhere to the HIPAA law. But a BAA doesn't compel compliance or insulate providers from liability or responsibility -- that's why healthcare providers looking for IT support need to exercise extraordinary due diligence. As of right now, there's a persistent lack of clarity around HIPAA, and nothing has been tested in court. The fact is, 'HIPAA compliance' comes with disturbingly few obligations. Perhaps owing to whatever legislative sausage-making gave birth to the law, HIPAA offers no guidance on how to follow it."
Infinitely Virtual helps businesses move from obsolete hardware investments to an IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) cloud platform, providing them the flexibility and scalability to transition select data operations from in-house to the cloud. Since 2007, Infinitely Virtual has grown exponentially through its offering affordable, customized cloud-based solutions, using the most sophisticated technology available. Host Review named the company to its list of "Top Ten Fastest Growing" enterprises in 2011 and it has made the list on a regular basis ever since.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitely_Virtual
Website: http://www.infinitelyvirtual.com
Contact: Ken Greenberg, [email protected]
Medicare's Physician Payment Methodology
Dave Wofford
Senior Manager
ECG Management Consultants
With MACRA, CMS has set in motion the most sweeping set of changes to Medicare's physician payment methodology in more than two decades. And while the program, and its two-track payment system, do not go into effect until 2019, many provider organizations likely do not realize that their performance in 2017 will have a significant impact on how they are paid by Medicare and how much. Despite the potential impact on providers, there has been minimal reporting on this aspect of MACRA. Unless provider organizations are positioning themselves for payment change now, they will have little say about how they are reimbursed by Medicare in the near future. Says Wofford: "Provider organizations may not realize that their choice of which payment track to go down -- MIPS or APMs -- is not so much a conscious choice but really a determination that CMS makes based on provider's participation levels in advanced APMs. And according to the proposed rules, those participation levels will be based on 2017 results, giving provider organizations very little time to influence the outcome."
Based in San Diego, Wofford is ECG's leading expert on MACRA and has already published articles on the subject in industry magazines. He is also a frequent speaker on MACRA and other topics around the country.
Bio: http://www.profnetconnect.com/davewofford_ecg
Contact: Kimberly Miller, [email protected]
Ensuring Inclusive Education for Children
Dr. Maria Gordon
Executive Vice-President
Shamiso Foundation
"The prevalence of chronic childhood diseases in schools suggests that teachers and schools should be trained to meet the needs of children who have a variety of diseases. If teachers remain unaware of the problems that exist among their students, then it may be difficult for them to be effective teachers if they are not properly prepared for these student populations. Children with chronic diseases require special accommodations while attending inclusive school settings, because of the fluctuating physical symptoms and the side effects from their medications. Merely including these children in general education classrooms does not guarantee them educational success."
Dr. Gordon is the editor of the book "Challenges Surrounding the Education of Children with Chronic Diseases," a reference for parents, teachers, educators, school administrators, policymakers, and anyone else concerned with inclusive educational rights for all students. She is a bilingually certified natural health consultant and licensed naturotherapist with a doctorate in psychopedagogy (teaching, learning and evaluation) from the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. She is a professional member of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Psychological Association, and has more than 10 years of experience in the fields of education and health research. Her lectures, writings, and research interests include inclusive and early childhood education, special education, global health issues, inflammatory bowel disease, complementary and alternative medicine, applied human sciences, First Nation and aboriginal students, and school curricula. She is fluent in French and English.
Contact: Penny Sansevieri, [email protected]
Tips for Planning Your Child's 'Digital Diet'
Chip Donohue, Ph.D.
Director of Technology in Early Childhood
Erikson Institute
"Most screen-time limits are based on one child passively watching one TV. Technology and our understanding of it have come a long way. Find interactive content that appeals to your child's interests and lets him or her control how to explore it."
Dr. Donohue is the editor of "Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years: Tools for Teaching and Learning" (2014) and has edited a new book, "Family Engagement in the Digital Age: Early Childhood Educators as Media Mentors" (2016). He is a senior fellow and advisor of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College, where he co-chaired the working group that revised the 2012 NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs serving children from birth through age 8. He is available to share five tips for a balanced digital diet.
Website: http://www.erikson.edu
Contact: Kate Schott, [email protected]
Stonewall Inn to Become First Gay Rights Monument?
Katie Batza
Assistant Professor, Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
University of Kansas
Batza can discuss the possibility that New York's Stonewall Inn could become a national monument, the first gay rights monument: "By making Stonewall a monument, President Obama will be formally acknowledging and protecting an important site of American history and ensuring that LGBTQ communities are included and represented in the national historical narrative and commemoration."
In 2014, Batza was one of 16 scholars invited to participate in the national collaboration on LGBTQ history regarding the National Park Service's historic site project.
Website: http://news.ku.edu
Contact: George Diepenbrock, [email protected]
Financial Planning and the LGBT Community
Thomas Donnelly, JD, PFP
LGBT Financial Planner
Calamus Financial Planning
"The traditional financial services industry assumes most people want marriage, kids, and a house in the suburbs, which is probably true. But gay men, by and large, want something a little different out of life."
Based in West Hollywood, Calif., Donnelly specializes in helping gay men make better financial decisions. Calamus Financial Planning provides advice and planning services on topics such as retirement planning, cash flow and debt management, college savings, employee benefit optimization, setting financial goals, investments, insurance, and tax planning strategies.
Bio: http://www.profnetconnect.com/Thomas_Donnelly
Contact: Thomas Donnelly, [email protected]
MEDIA JOBS:
Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/
- Data Editor – Crain's Cleveland Business (OH)
- Online Editor – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
- Reporter – Dow Jones (NY)
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.
- UPCOMING TWITTER Q&A: THE ART OF RISK. "Risk" is a scary word for many people. Stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a chance on something that might or might not work out can cause some to continue with the status quo. But taking a risk, as frightening as it might be, can open you up to new opportunities, better decisions and, perhaps, a more fulfilling career. Next week, we'll talk about risk-taking with Kayt Sukel, author of "The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution & Chance." Details here: http://prn.to/1X70su5
- INTERVIEWING PEOPLE AFFECTED BY TRAGEDY. Covering tragedies is part of the job when you're a reporter. It's never something reporters like to do, but there's no escaping it. If there's been a homicide, you cover it. If there's a fire, you cover it. You'll likely encounter relatives of the victim, someone who's lost their home, or someone else whose life has just been turned upside down. Here are some tips to approaching someone who's hurting: http://prn.to/1TIdcC5
- MEDIA LAW: IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NOT A DEFENSE TO A LIBEL LAWSUIT. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's not a defense that will hold up in court. So, just as reporters master their craft, it's important for journalists to know the basics of libel law: http://prn.to/LibelLaw
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