What's New
Have You Shared Your Feedback Yet?
HRSA continues to accept feedback for the Health Center Program Service Area Considerations Request for Information (RFI) through Monday, July 8. See how to share your thoughts. Thank you to those who’ve already submitted their input!
This RFI 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. We welcome feedback from health centers and other Health Center Program stakeholders, including PCAs, National Cooperative Agreements (NCAs), as well as others who have an interest in health centers and potential health center expansion.
|
 |
|
New Strategic Initiatives Webpage, Featuring Medicare Site Enrollment Webinar Recording
HRSA supports special projects and initiatives to inform the strategic development of the Health Center Program. Check out the new Strategic Initiatives webpage for information and resources on collaborative efforts with CMS to streamline Medicare site enrollment as well as background on the Health Center Performance Management project. Also, find out how you can ask questions or provide feedback for these projects and initiatives. |
Veterans Administration Transitioning from the Choice Program to Community Care
The VA MISSION Act of 2018 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Maintaining Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act) consolidates VA’s community care programs, including VA Choice, into a new Veterans Community Care Program that will ensure veterans receive timely, appropriate care. The program allows veterans to receive qualifying services outside of the current VA system and from private health care providers, including health centers.
On Thursday, June 6, the VA will replace its Choice Program with the MISSION Act-authorized Community Care Program. Health centers interested in learning more should read the fact sheet. Additionally, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), a HRSA-funded NCA, is holding a webinar on the topic:
Veteran Community Care
Wednesday, June 5
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register or get more information
 |
|
Contacted Health Center Program Support? Rate Our Service
Whether you've had a pleasant experience or feel we could do better, the Health Center Program Support team would like to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out the customer service survey embedded in the auto-generated email you receive after we resolve your issue or complete your request. |
Final Week: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Medication-Assisted Treatment Expansion
Next Monday, June 10, is the deadline to apply for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Medication-Assisted Treatment Expansion (RCORP-MAT Expansion). Apply in Grants.gov. HRSA plans to invest approximately $8 million in rural communities as part of this funding opportunity. Successful RCORP-MAT Expansion award recipients will receive up to $725,000 for a three-year period of performance to establish or expand medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in eligible hospitals, health clinics, or tribal organizations located in high-risk rural communities.
Comment Period: Potential Change to Poverty Line Inflation Measurement
The Office of Management and Budget is seeking comments on a proposal to change the measure used to adjust the poverty line for inflation each year by using a different index than the one that is currently being used. Comments are due by Friday, June 21.
Substance Use Disorder & Behavioral Health
NIDAMED Webinar: Provider Resources on Substance Use
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) provides an online repository of science-based resources for health professionals on SUD called NIDAMED. During this HRSA webinar, experts will deliver an overview of NIDAMED and its resources, including continuing medical education courses, patient resources, and clinical trial information. The discussion will also focus on available SUD screening guidance and tools.
Wednesday, June 5
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 800-369-1886
Passcode: 2623117
MAT 2.0: Evidence-Based Practices in Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Experts from the HRSA-supported University of California San Francisco Clinician Consultation Center’s Substance Use Warmline will share evidence-based practices and resources on MAT for patients with SUD. They will discuss the MAT model from assessment and induction to management and monitoring, provide case-based examples, and answer provider questions about patient considerations during a 30-minute question and answer session. (Note: This webinar was previously scheduled for Friday, May 10.)
Wednesday, June 12
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Trauma-Informed Care: A Case-Based Virtual Course for Providers
Many health center patients have been exposed to some form of trauma. HHS’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) has developed a case-based virtual course to help promote and improve the delivery of trauma-informed care. The free curriculum includes 42 patient case scenarios covering diverse settings and populations and offers over 10 hours of approved continuing education credit.
In this webinar, experts will provide an overview of the course and how it can help enhance providers’ knowledge and skills to interact effectively with all patients, particularly those with a history of trauma, to improve patient outcomes.
Thursday, June 13
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Join the webinar the day of the session
Call-in: 800-621-3587
Passcode: 5072178
Behavioral Health Workforce Planning Webinar Recording Available
HRSA recently hosted a webinar sharing evidence-based research and promising practices on behavioral health workforce planning, recruitment, and retention. If you missed it, watch the recording.
Final Week: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Medication-Assisted Treatment Expansion
See announcement above.
HIV
HIV and Health Centers
HRSA-funded health centers help to End the HIV Epidemic by serving as a key point of entry for people undiagnosed with HIV and caring for those with HIV. Check out the freshly updated Health Center Program HIV webpage to learn more about the innovative work done by health centers and to access useful resources that can support your efforts in this area. This is especially timely as many health centers gear up for National HIV Testing Day (Thursday, June 27). Our new content includes a TA resource on HIV testing.
|
Oral Health and Primary Care Integration for People Living with HIV
HRSA is hosting a two-part webinar series on oral health and primary care integration to support people living with HIV. The strategies we will cover are designed for all HRSA recipients serving people living with HIV regardless of whether the organizations deliver oral health care directly, refer out for all services, or are somewhere in between.
The second webinar is this Thursday:
-
Connecting Clients to Oral Health Services
Learn about the components of oral health and primary care integration and the best practices and challenges for developing and maintaining a dental referral network, making referrals, dental patient navigation, and communicating data effectively between primary care and oral health settings.
Thursday, June 6
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webinar the day of the session
Call-in: 888-843-9978
Passcode: 4959273
Workforce
National Health Service Corps Rural Community Loan Repayment Program Application Webinar
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Rural Community Loan Repayment Program will make fiscal year 2019 loan repayment awards, in coordination with HRSA’s RCORP initiative to provide evidence-based SUD treatment, assist in recovery, and prevent overdose deaths across the nation. Health care clinicians qualified to provide SUD treatment may be eligible for loan repayment in return for service at an NHSC-approved SUD treatment facility. The application closes Thursday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Join a webinar for additional information:
Thursday, June 13
1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 800-857-1286
Passcode: 4667956
HRSA will also hold several online question and answer sessions. Join a session anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET on these days to ask questions:
- Thursday, June 27
- Thursday, July 11
- Tuesday, July 16
If you join after a session starts, you’ll be able to scroll back to past questions.
Behavioral Health Workforce Planning Webinar Recording Available
See the announcement above.
Oral Health
A Smile is Worth a Thousand Data Points
Join us for the next session in HRSA’s Data for Decision-Making Speaker Series. We’re featuring Drs. Irene Hilton (from the National Network for Oral Health Access, a HRSA-funded NCA) and An Nguyen (from Clinica Family Health, CO, a HRSA-funded health center). These experts will discuss the importance of data infrastructure in improving dental practices to support quality improvement in health center oral health programs.
Monday, June 10
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-469-1051
Passcode: 5049610
Register here to receive updates about this webinar.
Oral Health and Primary Care Integration for People Living with HIV
See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
Navigating Social Media Risks
Patient engagement is an integral component of health center practice operations. Whether it’s done over the phone, in person at the health center, via patient portals or online, health centers need to be prepared to provide a positive and protected patient experience.
Watch a recording of a NACHC webinar (which took place in December) that demonstrates how to protect the patient and the health center online.
New Medicare Services for Health Center Patients
NACHC held a webinar last fall focused on new CMS policies. Watch the recording to learn from partners in the field who have worked to help health centers implement these provisions to better serve health center Medicare patients.
Patient-Centered Medical Home Teleconferences
HRSA contracts with The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to provide TA and training to health centers on the NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition process. We encourage health centers to attend upcoming TA sessions hosted by NCQA’s Government PCMH Recognition Programs (GRIP), which will address questions related to NCQA’s PCMH standards concepts and documentation requirements.
The contact information for ALL sessions is the same:
Call-in: 844-676-8471
Conference ID: 1400361
-
PCMH Standards, Part 1
Tuesday, June 11
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Speakers will cover the first part of this presentation (Concepts 1-3)
-
PCMH Standards, Part 2
Monday, June 17
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Speakers will cover the second part of this presentation (Concepts 4-6)
In case you missed it:
Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
Do you forward the Digest to others?
Encourage them to subscribe.
|
Connect with HRSA
