Member Mariajose Canosa mm_mnl_0819 V3.2019 CommunityHealthChoice.org 713.295.2294 | 1.888.760.2600 THE SUN MEMBER NEWSLETTER
COMMUNITY 2 MEMBERS, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO RE-APPLY FOR OR USE YOUR HEALTHCARE BENEFITS. There is a lot of incomplete or wrong information out there about possible changes to immigration law. It is natural to be worried, and things can change, but here is what you need to know now. What is your status? If you are a green card holder (permanent resident), your legal status is protected. You are not in danger of deportation if you apply for and use your healthcare benefits and other public assistance. To keep your green card status, do these things: • Tell the truth on all benefits applications • Do not leave the country for more than six months in one trip If you have had your green card for more than five years, apply for citizenship! If you apply soon, you may be able to vote in 2020. If you are undocumented and are thinking about applying for a green card, get legal help. Who can help? BakerRipley can help! BakerRipley has several locations around Houston that can help you apply for citizenship, advise you on your legal status, help you file your taxes, and more for free. Visit https://www.bakerripley.org/services to find a location near you or call the BakerRipley Immigration & Citizenship Program at 713.273.3702 for more information on how to get legal help. mm_mnl_0419 COMMUNITY IS PROUD OF OUR SCORES! Thank you for being a Community Member! For more information about our ratings, please visit https://www.communityhealthchoice.org/en-us/5-star-rating/ billboard2_5star_0719 CommunityHealthChoice.org
CARE MANAGEMENT 3 HOW TO BE SAFE WHEN YOU'RE IN THE SUN The weather is warming up, the days are longer, and there's more time to be outside doing all kinds of fun things! But if you're going to be out in the sun, especially on a hot day, you need to stay safe. Let's find out how to protect yourself. Don't Feel the Burn Even though the sun is hot, it does cool things. It keeps us warm. It makes flowers and plants grow. It even gives us vitamin D so we can better absorb calcium into our bodies for strong bones. It does all these things by sending down light, which includes invisible ultraviolet (say ul-trah-VYE-uh-lit) rays. These are also called UV rays. Some ultraviolet rays pass through air and clouds and reach the skin. When your skin's been exposed to too many of these rays, you get what's known as a sunburn. Ouch! Some people get a sunburn faster than others because of their coloring. If you have blond or red hair, lightcolored skin, and light-colored eyes, you tend to get a sunburn more quickly than someone with dark eyes and skin. That's because you have less melanin (say MEL-uhnun). Melanin is a chemical in the skin that protects it from sun damage by reflecting and absorbing UV rays. People with darker skin have more melanin, but even if you have dark hair, dark eyes, or darker-toned skin, you can still get a sunburn. It will just take a little bit longer. Sunburns look bad and feel worse. They can cause blisters on your skin. They can keep you inside feeling sore when everyone else is outside having fun. They increase your chance of getting wrinkly when you get older. And worst of all, they can lead to skin cancer when you are an adult. Because getting wrinkles and getting sick don't happen right away, they can seem like things that could never happen to you. But you still need to be careful. https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/summer-safety.html?WT. ac=ctg#catout CommunityHealthChoice.org
MEMBER EVENTS 4 Members, family, and friends had a great time at Typhoon Texas! Community is always planning great events, big and small, for our Members in the Houston and Beaumont areas! Do you have a suggestion for an event? Email it to CommunityAffairs@CommunityHealthChoice.org. CommunityHealthChoice.org
MEMBER SERVICES 5 CREATE A MEMBER ONLINE ACCOUNT How to do it… What you can do… Go to CommunityHealthChoice.org Click on the “Register Here” link for Members on the Community home page What you need… An e-mail account A Community Member ID number Your ZIP code Check your eligibility Update your personal information Change your Primary Care Provider Complete a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy form to add more guardians to your account Print a temporary ID card Much more! mm_mnl_0718 CommunityHealthChoice.org
WELLNESS 6 ANTIBIOTICS FOR A COLD? NOT SO FAST! When they get a cold, many people rush to their doctor for antibiotics. But what if your doctor says you don’t need them? That’s because antibiotics only treat illnesses caused by bacteria. If you have the flu or something else caused by a virus, antibiotics won’t help. That’s why your doctor might not prescribe an antibiotic. In addition, it can be harmful to take antibiotics when you don’t need them. They may not work when you do need them, because your body has gotten used to them. Your doctor will give you information on how to treat your cold and feel better. Remember: Any medicine can cause harmful side effects. Whether it is an antibiotic or an over-the-counter medicine, follow the instructions. HEALTH EDUCATION DURING WELLNESS CHECKUPS Age-appropriate Health Education/Anticipatory Guidance is one of the important components of your child’s wellness checkup. Your child’s doctor will provide health education specific to your child’s age, which includes information about the benefits of healthy lifestyles and practices that prevent injury and disease. It also gives you a chance to ask questions and discuss any issues or concerns you might have regarding your child’s overall health and development. Please take a list of questions to ask your child’s doctor at their next appointment. CommunityHealthChoice.org
WELLNESS 7 IT’S TIME FOR A BACK-TO-SCHOOL CHECKUP! Summer is coming to an end, which means now is the time to schedule your child’s well-child checkup appointment. With timely and consistent checkups, you are preparing your child for a great school year and overall good health. Here are top reasons you should schedule your child’s well-child checkup appointment: 1) Catch problems early Regular checkups help prevent illness. Some illnesses are not easy to see. However, if your child does have a sign of illness, your child’s doctor can treat it right in the office and recommend steps to take at home to keep it from getting worse. 2) Get tips on healthy living Your child’s doctor will provide health education specific to your child’s age, which includes information about the benefits of healthy lifestyles and practices that promote injury and disease prevention. 3) Prevent absences Illnesses can cause your child miss school and you to miss work. Getting your child in for a checkup before the school year stars can prevent unnecessary absences. 4) Get vaccines and other checkup requirements for school Regardless of what grade your child is in, there are always some vaccines that your child needs before school starts. During the checkup, your child’s doctor will evaluate and recommend vaccines needed based on your child’s age and school requirements. If your child is participating in sports or is planning to participate in sports, he/she will need a sports physical exam. Make sure to ask the doctor for one during the well-child checkup. Below is the chart that summarizes the 2019 Immunization requirements for schools in the state of Texas. 2019 - 2020 Texas Minimum State Vaccine Requirements for Students Grades K - 12 This chart summarizes the vaccine requirements incorporated in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 25 Health Services, §§97.61-97.72. This document is not intended as a substitute for the TAC, which has other provisions and details. The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is granted authority to set immunization requirements by the Texas Education Code, Chapter 38. IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS Vaccine Required (Attention to notes and footnotes) A student shall show acceptable evidence of vaccination prior to entry, attendance, or transfer to a public or private elementary or secondary school in Texas. Minimum Number of Doses Required by Grade Level Grades K - 6th K 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grade 7th Grades 8th - 12th 8 9 10 11 12 7 For K – 6th 3 dose Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis1 (DTaP/DTP/DT/Td/Tdap) 5 doses or 4 doses primary series and 1 booster dose of Tdap / Td within the last 5 years Polio1 Measles, Mumps, and Rubella1, 2 (MMR) Hepatitis B2 Varicella1, 2, 3 Meningococcal1 (MCV4) Hepatitis A1, 2 2 doses 4 doses or 3 doses 2 doses 3 dose primary series and 1 booster dose of Tdap / Td within the last 10 years grade: 5 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine; 1 dose must have been received on or after the 4th birthday. However, 4 doses meet the requirement if the 4th dose was received on or after the 4th birthday. For students aged 7 years and older, 3 doses meet the requirement if 1 dose was received on or after the 4th birthday. For 7th since the last dose of tetanus-containing vaccine.* For 8th since the last dose of tetanus-containing vaccine.* *Td is acceptable in place of Tdap if a medical contraindication to pertussis exists. For K – 12th For K – 12th the 4th birthday. However, 3 doses meet the requirement if the 3rd was received on or after the 4th birthday. grade: 2 doses are required, with the 1st dose received on or after the 1st birthday. Students vaccinated prior to 2009 with 2 doses of measles and one dose each of rubella and mumps satisfy this requirement. For students aged 11 – 15 years, 2 doses meet the requirement if adult hepatitis B vaccine (Recombivax® ) was received. Dosage 3 doses 2 doses 1 dose (10 mcg /1.0 mL) and type of vaccine (Recombivax® documented. If Recombivax® is required. For K – 12th grade: 2 doses are required with the 1st or after the 1st birthday. For 7th – 12th vaccine is required on or after the student’s 11th For K – 10th NOTE: Shaded area indicates that the vaccine is not required for the respective grade. ↓ Notes on the back page, please turn over.↓ ) must be clearly was not the vaccine received, a 3-dose series dose of received on grade, 1 dose of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate birthday. Note: If a student received the vaccine at 10 years of age, this will satisfy the requirement. grade: 2 doses are required, with the 1st after the 1st birthday. Rev. 03/2019 CommunityHealthChoice.org dose received on or grade: 4 doses of polio; 1 dose must be received on or after dose Notes grade: 1 dose of Tdap is required if at least 5 years have passed – 12th grade: 1 dose of Tdap is required when 10 years have passed
WELLNESS 8 DID YOU TRAVEL THIS SUMMER FOR FARM WORK? If you have travelled to work on a farm or in fields to prepare crops, grow fruits and vegetables, plant trees, raise or care for livestock or prepare dairy products this summer or in the past two years, your children from birth to the day of their 18th birthday are considered children of traveling farmworkers. Your children can receive their wellness checkup before they travel with you to the next farm job. Call you child’s doctor today or Wellness Services at 713.295.6789. mm_mnl_0718 NEED A RIDE TO THE DOCTOR? CHIP Members: Call Community Member Services for help. Call toll-free at 1.888.760.2600., Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Medicaid Members: Call Medical Transportation Program (MTP) at least 48 hours before your appointment at 1.855.687.4786, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. VISIT OUR WELLNESS CORNER FOR EVEN MORE HELPFUL INFORMATION! CommunityHealthChoice.org > Member Resources > Wellness Corner mm_mnl_0418
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