What's New
Did You Know? FY 2019 IBHS and FY 2018 SUD-MH are Different Funding Opportunities! HRSA recently announced a new funding opportunity for health centers to increase access to high-quality integrated behavioral health services—fiscal year (FY) 2019 Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS). This is in addition to FY 2018 Expanding Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services (SUD-MH).
Applicant Question of the Week: Can I apply for FY 2019 IBHS funding if I received FY 2018 SUD-MH funding and will receive Year 2 SUD-MH funding? Answer: Yes! IBHS eligibility and awards are independent of FY 2018 SUD-MH year 1 and year 2 funding.
Don’t miss your chance for additional funding to support integrated behavioral health services. Start your application today! See the email from Friday, April 5, for the IBHS application module link. The IBHS technical assistance (TA) web page provides application development and submission resources. Join us for the second of two live question and answer (Q&A) sessions:
Monday, April 29 Noon-1:30 p.m. ET Join the webcast the day of the session Call-in: 888-233-9404 Passcode: 5874407
Be sure to watch the recorded presentation prior to the Q&A Session. Contact the IBHS TA Team with questions.
One Week Until the Oral Health Infrastructure Grants.gov Deadline Interested in applying for the Oral Health Infrastructure (OHI) funding opportunity? Remember, OHI has a two-tier application submission process, with the first part of your application due in Grants.gov by Monday, April 22 (11:59 p.m. ET), and the second part due in EHBs by Tuesday, May 21 (5:00 p.m. ET).
New TA resources are available to help you with your application, including an animated video with tips for completing the SF-424A form. Visit the OHI TA webpage for additional resources.
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Reminder: Review Patient Targets by Friday, April 26 The deadline for Health Center Program award recipients to review their patient target and take appropriate action in EHBs is Friday, April 26. View the recorded walk-through of the EHBs Patient Target Management Module to learn how to access your patient target in EHBs. Visit the Service Area Competition TA webpage for additional resources and contact the Patient Targets Team with questions.
Service Area Considerations Request for Information Available for Preview HRSA recently announced the release of the Health Center Program Service Area Considerations Request for Information (RFI). HRSA seeks input from the public on service area considerations that may inform HRSA decisions regarding Health Center Program expansion through an existing health center’s addition of new service delivery sites.
The Service Area RFI announcement will begin with a 30-day preview period. Instructions on how external stakeholders may submit feedback are forthcoming. Following the preview period, HRSA will accept public feedback for 60 days. We will announce details in a future Primary Health Care Digest newsletter. We look forward to receiving your feedback.
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New Video! The Operational Site Visit Have questions about your upcoming Operational Site Visit (OSV)? Check out our new video to get answers to the most frequently asked questions. |
Have You Taken the UDS Reporting Survey Yet? As part of the UDS Modernization Initiative, new functionalities within the EHBs and new offline reporting features were introduced for the 2018 reporting period. We invite all health centers to provide feedback for improvement through a short survey, which should take no more than five minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and all responses are anonymous. Thank you to those who completed the survey. If you haven’t yet, please take it soon—it will close on Friday, May 3.
2019 UDS Reporting Changes TA HRSA presents a TA webinar that will provide an overview of the changes for CY 2019 UDS data collection and reporting activities for reports submitted by February 15, 2020. We will also discuss possible changes for 2020 UDS and revised clinical measures resulting from continued alignment with electronic specified clinical quality measures. Read a summary of the approved changes in the UDS Changes Program Assistance Letter (PAL).
Thursday, May 9 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Join the webcast the day of the session Call-in: 888-233-9404 Passcode: 6379668
Register here and we’ll send you presentation materials ahead of time.
NACHC P&I Presentations Coming Soon We are in the process of identifying a way to share with you the slide decks presented at the recent National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Policy and Issues (P&I) forum in Washington, DC. We hope to share them within the next two issues of the PHC Digest.
Just One Month Until Important Deadline for SUD-MH Recipients If you received FY 2018 SUD-MH Services supplemental funding, please note these important reminders:
- Staffing Requirement: You must add at least 1.0 FTE direct hire(s) and/or contracted personnel who will support SUD and/or mental health services within eight months of award—by Saturday, May 18. Failure to meet this requirement may impact Year 2 funding.
- Minor Alteration and Renovation (A/R) Projects: You may not begin any minor A/R activities supported with SUD-MH funding without receiving prior approval from HRSA. You must submit a “Capital Update” via EHBs, and meet all additional conditions when applicable.
You should develop appropriate contingencies to ensure that delays in receiving HRSA approval of your minor A/R activities do not impact your ability to meet the staffing requirement and patient projections on time. Find information about the documentation you are required to submit on the SUD-MH TA website.
If you missed last week’s SUD-MH Progress Reporting TA office hours, the recording is now available. We provided updates and reminders for the next report submission and answered questions about reporting requirements.
Streamlining Medicare Site Enrollment Join us for a webinar featuring CMS that will explain upgrades to the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) for health centers enrolling in Medicare to receive their Federally Qualified Health Center certification. HRSA and CMS collaborated on PECOS upgrades that launched on Monday, April 1, and aim to streamline the enrollment process for new health center sites.
Wednesday, April 24 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET Join the webcast the day of the session Call-in: 888-233-9404 Passcode: 8901264
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Notice of Funding Opportunity HRSA released the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) notice of funding opportunity for a new initiative called RCORP-Implementation (HRSA-19-082). Grant recipients are strongly encouraged to leverage workforce recruitment and retention programs like the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Applications are due in Grants.gov by Monday, May 6.
Funding Opportunity: Using Data Analytics to Support Primary Care and Community Interventions to Improve Chronic Disease Prevention and Management and Population Health A new funding opportunity from AHRQ aims to improve the health of individuals and populations at risk for suboptimal health outcomes through the use of primary care and community interventions that address chronic conditions. Learn more.
Substance Use Disorder & Behavioral Health
SUD Promising Practices Now Available New SUD practices are now available on the Health Center Program Promising Practices webpage. To foster peer-to-peer learning, HRSA gathers promising practices on activities, procedures, approaches, or policies that lead to, or are likely to lead to, improved outcomes or increased efficiency for health centers. Promising practices come from OSVs, through our strategic partners, and from HRSA Project Officers. We regularly add promising practices to the webpage, and health centers will soon have an opportunity to submit their own. We also expect to add more topics to the page in the coming months.
Promising Practices in Behavioral Health Workforce Planning Experts from the University of Michigan, the University at Albany-SUNY, and the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU), a HRSA-funded National Cooperative Agreement (NCA), will share promising practices and resources focused on behavioral health workforce planning, recruitment, and retention. This webinar will share evidence-based research to improve and design strategic investment in behavioral health workforce planning.
Wednesday, May 8 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET Join the webcast the day of the session Call-in: 888-989-4389 Passcode: 5589163
Improving Opioid Misuse Prevention Literacy Between Older Adults and Health Care Providers View the recording if you missed this recent SAMHSA webinar that featured a discussion regarding effective prevention strategies and approaches for improving understanding and dialogue between older patients and their health care providers about opioid use.
SAMHSA Grant Opportunity First Responders - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act: These grants to state, local, and tribal governments will support training of first responders and members of other key community sectors to administer a drug or device for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. Recipients will also establish processes, protocols, and/or mechanisms for referral to appropriate treatment and recovery communities, and safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs. Applications are due Monday, May 6.
Did You Know? FY19 IBHS and FY18 SUD-MH are Different Funding Opportunities! See announcement above.
Just One Month Until Important Deadline for SUD-MH Recipients See announcement above.
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Notice of Funding Opportunity See announcement above.
HIV
Community Health Workers in HIV Care: Insights from the Field Boston University, with support from HRSA, is presenting an interactive webinar series on the use of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in HIV delivery care systems. CHWs bridge health providers and communities and help to increase access and improve the quality of HIV care services. Learn about the role of CHWs and how they serve as an integral part of the HIV health care system in HRSA-supported organizations. CHWs will share real-world examples of their work in linkage and retention in HIV care for people living with HIV. This webinar series is part of the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative-funded project entitled “Improving Access to Care: Using Community Health Workers to Improve Linkage and Retention in HIV Care.”
Thursday, May 2 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
Diabetes
Call for Applications: Strategies for Diabetes Management with Vulnerable Populations Learning Collaborative The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), Health Outreach Partners (HOP), and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC)—all HRSA-funded NCAs—will convene a learning collaborative focused on diabetes management in special populations. This cohort of clinical and non-clinical health center staff will learn about effective population-specific approaches, document efforts and effectiveness, and establish new goals using the framework of a Change Map to guide their diabetes prevention and management work.
Applicants must be existing or potential Health Center Program grantees and must have at least one staff member representing clinical and one staff member representing non-clinical practices. A total of 2-3 clinical and non-clinical health center staff must attend four learning sessions between May and August. Apply by Friday, April 19.
Workforce
Burnout Series 201 The ACU’s STAR2 Center offers a six-part webinar series on one of the most pressing topics facing health centers: provider burnout. It features experts who are on the front lines of this issue discussing topics such as team-based care and the role of provider satisfaction, clinician experience, and the connection between physical space and provider well-being. The weekly series began on Thursday, April 11. Learn more and register for the series now.
NHSC Scholarship Program Eligible health profession students can receive payment for tuition, fees, and other educational costs, as well as a living stipend. In exchange, they serve at least two years at NHSC-approved sites in underserved rural, urban, and tribal communities. Applications are due Thursday, May 16. Learn more about the NHSC Scholarship Program.
Nurse Corps Scholarship Program Eligible nursing students may receive funding for tuition, fees, and other educational costs, as well as a living stipend. In exchange, they will serve at an eligible facility with a critical shortage of nurses upon graduation. Applications are due Tuesday, May 21. Find out more about the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program. |
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Promising Practices in Behavioral Health Workforce Planning See the announcement above.
Community Health Workers in HIV Care: Insights from the Field See the announcement above.
Oral Health
April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month Oral cancers are the sixth most common cancers in the world. Health centers can play an important role in the prevention and screening of oral cancer. According to the latest Health Center Patient Survey (2014), 73.1% of health centers patients 18 years and older reported having an oral cancer exam in the past year. Increased risk for oral cancers are related to tobacco use, alcohol use, or infection by the human papilloma virus (or HPV). Learn more and access resources to help prevent oral cancer:
One Week Until the Oral Health Infrastructure Grants.gov Deadline See the announcement above.
Evaluating Your Infection Prevention and Control Program: Earn 1.0 Continuing Education Credit This HRSA webinar will focus on infection prevention and control for dental settings. Speakers will describe methods of monitoring a site-specific infection control and safety program and will identify credible resources to facilitate continuous quality improvement of an infection prevention and safety program.
Tuesday, April 23 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
Additional Resources
Health Centers Deliver Cost-Effective Care Did you know that the Health Center Program saved over $10.1 billion in 2017 for Medicaid fee-for-service patients? Learn more in this Health Center Fast Stat and an article on health care use and spending. Access additional peer-reviewed articles related to the Health Center Program on the newly released Health Center Library.
Health Center Profiles: Sharing Stories to Make Communities Stronger HRSA released a new health center profile to highlight work that led to significant improvements in increasing access to care, high quality health care delivery, health outcomes, cost effectiveness, and reducing health disparities. La Red Health Center, Inc. used nurse navigators that analyze patient data to reduce patient care barriers and improve breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates.
Do you have a story to share? See how, and access other health center profiles.
New Fact Sheets on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders Served at Health Centers AAPCHO has developed two new reports to improve understanding of the Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities served by health centers, and to help identify priorities and opportunities to improve the health of patients in these communities.
Cervical Cancer Screening Promising Practices Webinar Recording Available Earlier this year, HRSA hosted a webinar highlighting promising practices, challenges, and recommendations to increase cervical cancer screenings from a health center and a Health Center Controlled Network. Speakers shared TA activities targeting health centers' cervical cancer screening quality improvement strategies, including patient navigation, care coordination, and data transparency. Access the webinar recording and presentation.
Virtual Listening Sessions: Opportunities to Inform Development of an STD Federal Action Plan HHS’ Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) will host two virtual listening sessions to gather public input to inform the development of a Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Federal Action Plan. Both sessions will follow the same format and provide the same opportunity for stakeholders to share their input.
Wednesday, April 17 3:30-5:00 p.m. ET Register here
Thursday, May 9 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET Register here
In addition, HHS will soon publish a RFI in the Federal Register to solicit written comments and recommendations for the STD Federal Action Plan.
OHAIDP will share the input gathered from the listening sessions and RFI with its federal partners, who collectively will use that information to inform the vision, goals, and strategies of the STD Federal Action Plan, as well as each agency's actions for implementing them.
Reaching Beyond “Just Say No” to Adolescent-Focused Motivational Interviewing Workshop Working with teens to decrease risk-taking behavior can be challenging. Effective counseling in this population requires a specialized approach that includes motivational interviewing. School-Based Health Alliance, a HRSA-funded NCA, presents an interactive, highly-rated workshop focused on teen risk and motivational interviewing. It will boost attendees’ ability to identify behaviors and social risk factors increasing adolescent risk and to effectively communicate with teens and encourage healthy decisions. Attendees must complete mandatory online modules prior to the in-person session. This free training will take place on Sunday, June 23, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET at the Crystal Gateway Marriott located at 1700 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA. To register, please email Alicia Newell.
In case you missed it: Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
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