You are invited to participate in a Poster Presentation regarding the proposed implementation of a Medial Legal Partnership (MLP) at Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada (VMSN).
The premise of a MLP is that legal issues patients face – in areas such as family law, immigration law, disability law, insurance law, or housing law – may affect their health. MLPs involve lawyers and health professionals working together to identify and address patient legal needs so that barriers to good health can be reduced. However, MLPs can be structured in different ways.
VMSN, a nonprofit organization providing clinical care to patients in need, is interested in implementing an MLP model to help its patients. Services at VMSN are primarily provided by volunteer professionals, with some volunteer staff. The goal of this Competition is to propose an innovative way to structure communications and collaboration between health care volunteers, legal volunteers, and VMSN staff as part of the development of a MLP at VMSN. The Competition also aims to encourage students from different disciplines – including medicine, law, public health, and other health professions – to collaboratively problem-solve and to present their ideas to professionals in the community.
The Competition will culminate in a poster presentation. Posters will be displayed at the 2017 Nevada Population Health Conference on Friday December 1, 2017 on the Campus of UnitedHealthcare at 2716 N. Tenaya Way, Las Vegas, Nevada 89128. The Population Health Conference is attended by Nevada elected officials, health professionals, attorneys, business leaders, educators, and students. Posters will be displayed throughout the Conference and the top presentation –selected by a panel of judges – will be announced at approximately 12:30 pm. Students are able to attend this Conference for free.
This notice includes the pertinent information about participating in the poster presentation.
Poster Topic
Currently VMSN is considering the proposed implementation of a MLP to assist its patient population with legal issues which may have an impact on their health. In developing this MLP, one area that is still being determined is how to identify the legal issues of patients and then how to coordinate and communicate between the health care and legal professionals regarding patient needs. Please present a poster with your proposal to address maximizing efficient communications between health care and legal professionals working at VMSN in order to benefit patients. The presentation should consider how health care and legal professionals can best structure their collaboration to benefit patients and may include consideration of one or more of the following:
- How to identify legal needs of patients in a health care setting;
- How to communicate the legal needs once they are identified. This can include the structure and means of communication between health care and legal professionals in a MLP;
- The use of technology to aid in communication between health care and legal professionals in a MLP; and
- How to measure and communicate regarding improved health outcomes resulting from the MLP
Technical Guidelines
Please use the poster template. Proper attribution should be given to all materials and citations. Attributions may be provided in a separate document that accompanies the poster. Your poster must also be accompanied by a list of names and contact information for all persons that participated in the creation of the poster.
The following should also be considered in developing your poster:
- Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
- Title is short and draws interest
- Text is clear and to the point
- Consider use of bullets, numbering, headlines to make it easy to read
- Use of graphics, color and fonts effectively to bring attention to key points
Additional resources and information regarding creating and printing posters may be available through your school.
More About VMSN
As a nonprofit health organization, VMSN provides medical care and support at no cost to the uninsured and underserved residents of Clark County. VMSN is affiliated with Volunteers in Medicine Institute (VIMI), a national organization, in operation since 1993. The number of Volunteers in Medicine clinics is growing rapidly - as of November 2014, there are currently 97 Volunteers in Medicine Clinics and over 1,200 free and charitable clinics operating within their communities across the country. VMSN provides preventive and wellness health care as well as treatment of acute and chronic illness. VMSN's mission is to provide quality health care and support for people without access to health care in Southern Nevada within a culture of caring.
Currently VMSN operates two comprehensive health care clinics in Southern Nevada, which provide a variety of health care services for no charge to the patient. Services provided by VMSN includes medical care, dental care, social and behavioral health services, and prescription medications.
You can learn more about VMSN at https://www.vmsn.org/
More About Medical Legal Partnerships
While 40 percent of a person's health is determined by genetics, medical care, and personal choices, 60 percent of health is determined by environmental (urban design, housing, clean air, and water) and social factors (income, education, job stability, access to healthcare, access to enough healthy food, personal safety, social support, and culture). See National Center for Medical Legal Partnership, http://medical-legalpartnership.org/need/.
A Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) is a partnership of civil legal service providers and healthcare providers that facilitates the delivery of pro bono legal services to vulnerable populations in a clinical setting with the overall goal of improving a patient's health.
According to the National Center for Medical Legal Partnerships (NCMLPs), MLPs have been established in nearly 294 health care institutions in 41 states. There is currently an MLP in Northern Nevada but, to our knowledge, none in Southern Nevada. See National Center for Medical Legal Partnership, http://medical-legalpartnership.org/partnerships.
One MLP example, Medical Legal Partnership Colorado (MLP-CO), which was founded by Holland & Hart, LLP Partner Patricia (Pia) Dean. MLP-CO contributes to improvement of health equity and health justice in Colorado in four ways: First, MLP-CO provides education for healthcare providers, professionals, and students, teaching them to practice collaborative preventative law and medicine. MLP-CO works within an integrated care team to address the health-harming legal needs of patients who have little access to legal representation. Second, MLP-CO provides direct legal service to patients whose unmet legal needs detrimentally impact their health. Examples may include families living in unhealthy housing, women experiencing domestic violence, immigrants isolated from preventative care, or low income families whose medical benefits have been improperly terminated. Third, MLP-CO conducts quantitative and qualitative research to contribute to the knowledge of best practices for improving the health and well-being of low-income patients. Fourth, MLP-CO works with public health professionals, public interest and pro bono attorneys, public health advocates, and health care providers to develop public and institutional policies to systemically address the social determinants of poor health and reduce health disparities. MLP-CO's client successes include: positive resolution of legal issues; improved health outcomes; decrease in missed clinic appointments; decrease in missed work days; decrease in ER visits and hospitalizations; and high satisfaction levels.
Information Session
An information session to learn more about Medical Legal Partnerships will be held at VMSN (1240 North Martin Luther King Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106) on October 26, 20017 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The session is free to attend and food will be provided. While there is no cost to attend the session, you must RSVP on or before October 25, 2017 at the following link: https://law.unlv.edu/content/medical-legal-partnership-boot-camp-december-1-competition
Those who are unable to attend this session but want to participate in the Competition will be able to watch a webinar available at: https://www.hollandhart.com/nevada-population-health-2017.
Who is Eligible
Any and all students and medical residents or fellows currently enrolled at or employed by a higher education institution in Nevada. Participants may compete individually or in groups of up to 5 members. Participants are encouraged to work with individuals representing different disciplines and studying at different institutions (for example a Poster submitted jointly by a group of medical students and law students).
How to Submit Poster
Deliver your final version of your poster along with a list of attributions and participants to
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
1701 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 670
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
Phone: 702-916-3711
Fax: 702-671-2277
Attn: Nancy Gregory
NOTE: UNLV Reprographics prints the posters.
Competition Updates
For updates on the competition and answers to questions received about the competition, go to
https://www.hollandhart.com/nevada-population-health-2017.
Timeline
|
Date
|
Deadline
|
|
October 25, 2017
|
Deadline to RSVP to attend information session on October 26, 2017 at the following link: https://law.unlv.edu/content/medical-legal-partnership-boot-camp-december-1-competition
|
|
October 26, 2017 6:00 pm
|
An information session to learn more about Medical Legal Partnerships will be held at VMSN (1240 North Martin Luther King Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106). A recorded webinar will be available to anyone unable to attend.
|
|
November 3, 2017 5:00 pm
|
Deadline to submit notice to christine.smith@unlv.edu
of your intent to submit a poster. Only one notice needs to be submitted per poster.
|
|
November 28, 2017 5:00 pm
|
Deadline to deliver your poster along with a list of attributions and participants to:
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
1701 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 670
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
Phone: 702-916-3711
Attn: Nancy Gregory
|
|
December 1, 2017
|
Posters will be displayed 2017 Nevada Population Health Conference on the Campus of UnitedHealthcare at 2716 N. Tenaya Way, Las Vegas, Nevada 89128. The top poster will be announced at the Population Health Conference at approximately 12:30 pm
|