The Primary Care Coalition (PCC) held its final CoAct convening to improve services for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on December 7, 2023 at The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center in Downtown Silver Spring. A diverse group of stakeholders, including ranging parent advocates, government agency representatives, and direct service providers (DSPs) gathered to translate the learning and conversation process into defined next steps:

​1) Providing parents of individuals with IDD group opportunities for support and connection.
2) Connecting DSPs with Montgomery College to explore offering field experience placements as a workforce pipeline.
3) Advocating for a local START pilot to provide more appropriate behavioral health crisis response for individuals with IDD.

These next steps build on existing community resources to address concerns raised by participants.

CoAct is a PCC process designed to support action-oriented learning. It builds on PCC’s experience supporting learning collaboratives, issue convenings, and process improvement. PCC chose IDD services as the focus for the initial CoAct series following its experience supporting DSPs in their pandemic response. This work highlighted how complex the needs can be for residents with IDD and the number of providers and systems that must coordinate effectively to meet them.

Is there a topic you think needs a CoAct? Share your thoughts with Kristine Gallagher Sargsyan at [email protected].

Thank you to the stakeholders and experts who participated in this process, and thank you to our 30th Anniversary Sponsors at Kaiser Permanente whose support helped make the series possible.

Staff from the Primary Care Coalition’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) volunteered to set up and operate a successful pop-up breast cancer screening for local uninsured residents on January 6 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at Community Radiology Associates in Silver Spring.

“I’m proud of our staff for taking the initiative and organizing this important event on their own time,” said Dr. Veronica Vela, Senior Director of Healthcare Access for the Primary Care Coalition. “In Maryland, approximately one in eight women are ultimately diagnosed with breast cancer, and about 85% of them have no family history of it. Early detection makes treatment easier, less costly, and significantly increases survival rates.”

The BCCP staff who participated included Beth Burdette, Alyse Cooper, and Nelly Velazquez. Sonia Dinarte, the BCCP coordinator for the Proyecto Salud Clinic, scheduled 27 new and returning patients within three time slots to be screened on a first-come, first-served basis. BCCP Educator and Billing and Data Specialist Nelly Velasquez confirmed the appointments by calling and texting those who were scheduled.

“I am tremendously proud of my team. They are passionate and committed to this work and the well-being of women in our community,” said PCC Director of Cancer Screening Ogechukwu (Oge) Okeke. “They work tirelessly daily (on and out of their regular work schedules) to ensure that as many women as possible are screened for breast and cervical cancer. It's a pleasure and an honor to work alongside these sheroes!”

The 2121 Medical Park Drive location of Community Radiology Associates (CRA) in Silver Spring opened for the clinic outside of its regular business hours, and the front desk staff checked in clients as they arrived with help from Proyecto Salud staff. The CRA staff and radiologists prepared the clients for their screenings and conducted the mammograms. Following the mammograms, BCCP staff educated the women about the importance of getting an annual mammogram.

Refreshments and breast cancer awareness goodie bags were provided to the 26 women screened during the clinic. The bags included magnets with a reminder for their next mammogram in January 2025.

A few of the clinic’s screening results indicated a need for further diagnostics, and those women will be seen again for another screening and any needed follow-up care. Additional volunteer mammogram clinics will be scheduled as arrangements can be made with Community Radiology Associates staff and locations.

​The BCCP program has screened approximately 3,260 women in the past two years for breast and cervical cancer through mammograms, Pap and HPV testing, and other diagnostics. The goal of the program is to reduce breast and cervical cancer deaths through education, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and patient navigation services. Participating clinics include the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center Inc. (CCAC), Care for Your Health, and Proyecto Salud. Community partners are Adventist Health Radiology, Community Radiology Associates, Adventist Medical Group (breast surgery), Holy Cross Health OB/GYN Clinic (cervical diagnostic services), and Capital Choice Pathology Laboratory. The Primary Care Coalition’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Program began in April 2021 and is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control through the Maryland Department of Health.

Each year, the Primary Care Coalition presents its Mary C. Jackson “Good Works, Done Well” Award to the employee or volunteer whose efforts have significantly improved access to healthcare for the community’s most vulnerable residents. The award winner for the 2023 year is Alma Aviles, client services supervisor for the Care for Kids program. She has worked for the Primary Care Coalition for the past eleven years.

“Alma embodies all of the qualities we look for in a Mary C. Jackson award winner,” said PCC President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Graham. “She is committed to the needs of the underserved in our community, and she has made a vast difference in the lives of so many families by securing access to high-quality health care for their children. Hers is the epitome of ‘Good Works.’ And, she has done this so well. As the number of children in the Care for Kids program has risen every year, it is through her leadership that her small but mighty team has stretched what it can accomplish to keep up with the needs of enrolling so many families.”

As supervisor, Aviles oversees three client services specialists and a small Care for Kids team. Parents and legal guardians apply for healthcare services on behalf of their children to the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Once DHHS deems a child eligible for the program, Aviles’ team takes over and enters them into the Care for Kids system. Aviles’ team calls and interviews the parents or legal guardians, creates the program’s ID cards mailed to each participant, enrolls the children, and assigns them to a healthcare provider that is as accessible as possible from school or home.

Aviles and her team also work tirelessly with the families to help them navigate the healthcare system. That can involve helping the families set up email accounts and understand technology to communicate better. The Care for Kids program actively serves approximately 10,000 children in Montgomery County.

“Working at PCC is like working with a big family,” said Aviles. “We’re all different and have different backgrounds but come together to fulfill the mission. We accomplish a lot.”

​“I love my work. At the end of every workday, I have a funny or happy story, and I feel like I’ve helped someone. That matters to me a lot,” said Aviles. “I also like that people trust me, and I can be creative and find different ways to do my job better. That feels good.”

​Outside work, Aviles claims to be an introvert who enjoys quiet time with her husband, two daughters, and two cats, Sumi and Theo. As an animal lover, she admits she would secretly like to “keep adopting cats and be a cat lady,” although a small dog may be in her future, too. Stay tuned for a Pets of PCC feature on Sumi and Theo.

Kevin J. Sexton took the helm of the Primary Care Coalition’s 17-member Board of Directors for a two-year term at the Board’s end-of-year meeting in December. He has been a Board member since June 2019 and was vice chair in 2023.

“The Board’s job is to keep the Primary Care Coalition’s mission front of mind and to help the organization accomplish its goals,” said Sexton. “Leslie Graham is an outstanding leader with an excellent staff. The PCC does a great job managing and coordinating programs and building good systems.”

According to Sexton, the Board’s challenge for 2024, beyond its usual responsibilities, is to update PCC’s Strategic Plan for the next three years.

“It’s the Board’s ongoing job to make sure that systems and finances are in place and that the programs work and are accessible,” said Sexton. “In addition, a new Strategic Plan needs to be completed by the end of the calendar year. This provides us with a strong focus.”

A preliminary presentation of a recently completed environmental scan that identifies community health needs and assesses the overall environment for meeting them was presented to the Board at its December meeting. The Board will consider factors like population trends in Montgomery County, including developments like an increase in unaccompanied minors, the aging of its residents, and other factors as it develops the Strategic Plan.

Sexton’s previous leadership experience at Holy Cross Hospital will provide a helpful perspective to him in his role. He retired from Holy Cross Health in 2016 as the organization’s longest-serving president and chief executive officer. He understands what it takes to work with a board, having done so from the other side. During his 18 years of leadership at Holy Cross Health, the system won awards for quality performance and its record of community service. He led a reorganization that included the creation of the Holy Cross Health Network, which created/managed four community health centers, two centers providing OB/GYN care for uninsured women, and other community health initiatives. Sexton also served for eight years on the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, including six years as vice chair, so he also thoroughly understands the state hospital rate-setting system.

​“I joined the Primary Care Coalition’s Board of Directors when they invited me because I had high regard for their work,” said Sexton. “There are still gaps in the system, but these programs help, and I think PCC does an exceptional job focusing on improving and expanding them. My hope is that PCC can get more involved at the state level to improve care coordination on a broader scale.”