Impact Health, the Network Lead for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot covering Western North Carolina’s 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary, is officially opening the application process for participating Human Services Organizations (HSOs) that wish to be a part of the Pilot. The Healthy Opportunities Pilot is a key feature of North Carolina’s transition to Medicaid Managed Care. As the Network Lead, Impact Health must contract with HSOs to cover key areas of services (food insecurities, transportation, housing, interpersonal safety and toxic stress) for enrolled Medicaid Managed Care members in their region. An initial application deadline for HSOs whose areas of expertise (or specialty domains) include food insecurities, transportation, housing or an intersection of all domains is October 29, 2021. The application for HSOs addressing interpersonal safety will be announced at a later date. Interested HSOs may visit impacthealth.org/network/join/ to learn more and submit an application.
Mars Hill University has announced the Grammy-winning entertainer David Holt is the recipient of this year’s Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award. The award has been given yearly since 1980 to “an individual who has made significant contributions to the folk, musical, and/or dance traditions of the southern mountain region.” The award usually is presented during the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Mountain Music Festival at Mars Hill University, but with this year’s festival canceled due to health concerns surrounding COVID-19, there will not be an in-person award presentation ceremony. Learn more here.
Happenings:
The Asheville Home Builders Association has announced this year’s Parade of Homes sponsored by Coldwell Banker King. This year’s Parade features 36 newly-constructed homes throughout the Asheville area, 15 of which will be open for in-person tours. For two weekends in October ( the 9-10 & 16-17), Parade homes will be open from 1-5 PM. Be sure to check out the virtual tours here.
The Junior League of Asheville, Inc. (JLA) has announced the return of the TOUCH-A-TRUCK Family Festival, Saturday, October 23, 2021 at Asheville Outlets. TOUCH-A-TRUCK is a community wide event where both kids and adults have the opportunity to see, touch, and learn about vehicles of all types, including public service, emergency, utility, construction, transportation, and delivery—all in one place! Guests will get to meet the drivers and people who operate these vehicles. Each child will be given a bag of candy upon exiting the event. Additional activities on-site will include nonprofit organizations that focus on family and children’s issues, complimentary balloon creations, and other special attractions. Parental supervision is required and cameras are highly recommended to capture the day’s special adventures. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Learn more here.
Montford Park Players has announced their upcoming production of the of Living Dead in Denmark by Qui Nguyen. The play will be held at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre at 92 Gay Street. Dates for Living Dead in Denmark are October 15-31, all on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm. For safety, only those with tickets will be allowed at each performance. Tickets are available at montfordparkplayers.org and are, as always, FREE.
Opportunity:
Dogwood Health Trust has begun the process for selecting its next Chief Executive Officer. The foundation has had an interim CEO in place since December 2020. Dogwood’s Board of Directors recently appointed a search committee. Dogwood has retained WittKieffer, a global executive search firm, to guide and assist with this process, and has posted a CEO Leadership Profile for interested candidates. The Board anticipates announcing Dogwood’s next CEO in early 2022.
Pisgah Legal Services (PLS), community-based non-profit legal aid agency, is seeking a Communications Specialist. The Communications Specialist supports the implementation of a wide range of internal and external communications and media policies, strategies and tools. Working closely with the Director of Communications, they will develop targeted and compelling communications for PLS’ audiences, primarily focusing on community outreach to potential clients in need of Pisgah Legal’s WNC Economic Recovery Program. The Communications Specialist will develop and maintain a digital outreach strategy aimed at sharing legal information, and issues-based communications, focusing on (a) boosting the rate of insured low-income people and (b) reducing the number of children living below the federal poverty line – across the 18 westernmost counties of N.C. Learn more here.
Pisgah Legal Services (PLS), community-based non-profit legal aid agency, is seeking Outreach and Enrollment Specialists for the Health Justice Program. Multiple positions are available for Outreach and Enrollment Specialists. The primary work of the position includes health insurance enrollment, health insurance literacy, community engagement and outreach to provide education and access to quality affordable healthcare. Multiple office location available throughout WNC to offer ACA health insurance enrollment appointments and outreach. Learn more here.
PLS is seeking temporary Navigators/Certified Application Counselors through the ACA open enrollment (November 1, 2021-January 15, 2022). It includes direct enrollment assistance as a Navigator/Certified Application Counselor (CAC) and maintaining information in the appointment database called the Connector. This position will be mostly remote with work from home and includes administrative work to support the Health Justice Program. Passion for promoting justice and overcoming barriers facing low-income people, being a creative and zealous staff member and a team-player, and a demonstrated commitment to achieving lasting results for clients and low-income communities are all important. By ensuring that the lowest-income people in Western North Carolina have access to full health services we will increase opportunities for positive health outcomes at the individual and community levels. Learn more here.
Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) is seeking to fill a Health Justice Program Support Position. Multiple positions are available to provide administrative support to the Health Justice Program. Positions include managing Health Justice Program hotline to assure that callers are responded to quickly and provided information and are scheduled appointments for enrollment. Positions also include direct enrollment assistance as a Navigator/Certified Application Counselor (CAC) and maintaining information in the appointment database called the Connector. Multiple office locations available throughout WNC. Learn more here.