February is American Heart Month. This month motivates us to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease. Focusing on your heart health has never been more important. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S., and people with poor cardiovascular health are also at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Celebrate Heart Month by registering for one of our many Health Education classes that provide education in healthy nutrition, exercise and chronic disease management. To learn more, visit our Health Education webpage.
Updates: Delays in COVID-19 Testing and Phone Lines
As the highly contagious omicron variant is quickly spreading in Los Angeles County, there is a high demand for appointments and COVID-19 testing at NEVHC. Unfortunately, there may be longer than usual wait times for our appointment phone lines, and limited COVID-19 testing appointments as we have a limited number of test kits available. If you need a test and are unable to make a testing appointment with NEVHC, please visit LA County’s testing website.
We have also updated our patient and visitor policies. To learn about these changes, please visit https://nevhc.org/corona-virus.
Staff Spotlight: Diego Emestica, MHI
Diego Emestica is NEVHC’s Project Coordinator for a new program called Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). Currently, our RPM allows providers to monitor the blood pressure of high-risk patients from their own home using an unconnected blood pressure monitor. Diego promotes and carries out services to closely monitor and provide customized care to high-risk patients. Services include distribution of blood pressure monitors, appointment scheduling, health education and assistance with medication adherence. Diego pursued a graduate degree in Health Informatics because of his ever-growing passion for healthcare and technology; he mentions that a field where technology and data optimization meet clinical and public health is the perfect fit for him! Diego states he chose to share his talents with NEVHC because he views our organization as a leader of primary care and chronic disease management.
NEVHC Certified as Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence
NEVHC was recently certified as a Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). An ACE is defined as a “Community Health Center (CHC) that creates a culture of advocacy to ensure that policymakers at all levels of government commit to investing in affordable, equitable, and innovative care that health centers provide.” Our organization provides patients and staff with the tools and knowledge to champion policy that promotes access to healthcare and build healthy communities. Visit our advocacy network webpage and learn about the different ways that you can take action in support of our community’s health.
How To: Register for the Patient Portal
NEVHC offers all patients access to a patient portal using a secure online website or mobile app. The portal gives you convenient 24-hour access to your personal health information. You are able to request appointments and medication refills, check your lab results, view visit summaries and immunization records, receive appointment reminders and send messages to your care team! The app is available in the iOS App Store (for iPhones) and the Google Play Store (for Androids). Search for ‘PatientPortal by Intelichart.’
To sign up for the portal:
1. Visit login.intelichart.com/nevhc
2. Click on ‘Let’s Get Started’
3. Register using your email address and PIN/verification question. **If you do not have a PIN, call the Patient Portal Hotline at (818) 979–7444 to request one.
4. Complete the process by confirming your email address for future logins. To learn more and view the informational guide, visit https://nevhc.org/patient-portal/
