Minnesota OSHA Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC): Safety Grant Program
The Safety Grant Program awards qualifying employers in the state of Minnesota a dollar-for-dollar match – up to $10,000 – for projects designed to reduce the risk of injury and illness to their workers based on results of an on-site safety/health hazard survey.
Qualifying employers include healthcare facilities, defined as:
- A hospital with a North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code of 622110, 622210 or 622310
- An outpatient surgical center with a NAICS code of 621493
- A nursing home with a NAICS code of 623110
This is a reimbursement program. Invoices dated prior to the approved contract date are not eligible for this program. Visit the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry website to learn more.
ORHPC Grant and Loan Forgiveness Reviewers
Are you interested in joining the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) volunteer pool of reviewers? The ORHPC grant and loan forgiveness review process is an opportunity for participants to:
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Help select the best applicants for funding to work on promoting health and advancing health equity across Minnesota
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Meet and network with other people who work on promoting health and advancing health equity across Minnesota
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Learn about some of the initiatives and projects happening at ORHPC to promote health and advance health equity
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Learn more about State grants and how review processes work (especially if you are considering applying in the future!)
- Practice using an equity lens
Reviewers for a program are asked to:
- Review and score around 5-15 grant applications
- Complete reviews within 2-4 weeks (Reviews generally take 30-60 minutes for each application)
- Participate in a virtual review meeting to discuss their evaluations and make funding recommendations to ORHPC
To volunteer, please complete the ORHPC Grant and Loan Forgiveness Reviewer Interest Form to ensure staff have your contact information and areas of interest to connect with you when review opportunities become available. For more information, visit the Rural Health and Primary Care Grant Reviewers webpage.
ICD-11 Coding Readiness Overview for Minnesota SHIP Hospitals
Do you want to prepare for the implementation of the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11)? Minnesota Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) is collaborating with ArchProCoding to provide an ICD-11 coding readiness overview training on April 1 from 12:00-1:00 pm. This virtual training is free to all SHIP participants.
Upcoming Webinar: State of the Healthcare Industry - Market Updates for Rural Strategy
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) exists to support all 50 State Offices of Rural Health in their efforts to improve access to, and the quality of, health care for nearly 61 million rural Americans.
NOSORH, in partnership with Stroudwater Associates, is hosting a quarterly webinar series on the State of the Healthcare Industry: Market Updates for Rural Strategy. You are invited to join the series for the next session on Friday, April 11th, at noon. Join industry experts as they discuss the latest healthcare trends and strategize how to maintain essential services in rural communities. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand new regulations and laws that have occurred during the last 90 days
- Describe the current market dynamics of the healthcare industry
- Evaluate the effects of these trends on rural providers
- Apply this understanding to their organization
2025 State of Rural Healthcare Report
Wipfli, an accounting and business consulting firm headquartered in Wisconsin, released its third annual State of Rural Healthcare Report. Leaders from rural hospitals and clinics nationwide shared their perspectives, outlooks, and concerns. Responses were aggregated and compared to data collected over the years.
Here are some of the results:
- 96% of rural healthcare leaders are optimistic about their organization’s financial viability
- 78% said they are “not likely at all” to merge with another organization
- 41% said financial concerns/reimbursements are a significant challenge
- 65% said cybersecurity is a top concern — up from ~50% in prior years
- 81% have increased their investment in cybersecurity technologies in the past 12 months
- 32% use AI tools
The full report contains more insights, statistics, and strategies to guide rural healthcare organizations.
Critical Access Hospital Survey
A third-year pharmacy student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, is conducting a survey to understand the landscape of trauma/emergency training for critical access hospital workers. Please complete the survey to help determine:
- Which certifications and/or training healthcare workers at CAHs have
- How these trainings are funded (employee, employer, or some other source)
- What some of the barriers are to receiving additional training (time, money, distance)
- How comfortable healthcare workers are to responding to trauma and emergency situations
Telehealth for Diabetes Management
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in every 10 people in America have diabetes and an additional 96 million people are living with pre-diabetes. Telehealth and telemedicine can be effective tools to manage diabetes.
Learn how to use telehealth in this Best Practice Guide from telehealth.hhs.gov, including the latest telehealth technologies to improve health outcomes for patients with diabetes.
Tip Sheet: Telehealth Privacy Tips for Providers
Providers are taking steps to ensure the privacy and security of patient health information and help patients to feel comfortable using telehealth. This telehealth privacy tip sheet covers important topics like understanding data privacy and security risks, fulfilling privacy obligations, communicating privacy protections to patients and reducing the risk of breaches.
More information can be found at telehealth.hhs.gov.
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