Antibiotic Awareness Week, Ending the HIV Epidemic Webinar, and More! HRSA PHC Digest

A Newsletter from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)

HRSA BPHC Primary Health Care Digest

November 12, 2019

U.S. Antibiotics Awareness Week

Be Antibiotics Aware: Protect Your Patients
U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is November 18-24. In recognition, HRSA and CDC would like to share this important information.

Antibiotics are powerful tools to fight life-threatening bacterial infections, like those that can lead to sepsis. However, about 47 million antibiotic courses are prescribed for infections that don’t need them, such as colds and the flu, in U.S. doctors’ offices and emergency departments each year. That’s about 30% of all antibiotics prescribed in these settings.

It is important that providers prescribe antibiotics only when needed. You can do harm by prescribing antibiotics that aren’t needed.

Improving antibiotic prescribing is critical to effectively treat infections, protect patients from harms caused by unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic use, and combat antibiotic resistance.

What else can health centers do?

  • Tell your patients why they don’t need antibiotics for a viral infection, what to do to feel better, and when to seek care again if they don’t feel better.
  • Talk to your patients about possible harms from antibiotics, such as allergic reactions, C. difficile infection, and antibiotic-resistant infections.
  • Prescribe the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration, at the right time, when antibiotics are needed.

These resources may help your health center improve antibiotic prescribing:

Next week’s Rural Health Day activities include this relevant webinar co-hosted by CDC and HRSA's Federal Office of Rural Health Policy:

  • Improving Antibiotic Stewardship in Critical Access Hospitals:
    Strategies and Success Stories

    Wednesday, November 20
    1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
    Register here

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Jump To:  Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health  |  HIV  |  Diabetes  |  Workforce  |  Oral Health  | 
                Telehealth  |  Additional Resources


What's New

New Flexibility for Carryover of Unobligated Balances for Health Centers
Going forward, you do not need prior approval from HRSA to carry over unobligated balances of grant funds that are up to 25% of the amount awarded. This is part of a new “Expanded Authority” HRSA is providing to health centers.

Starting with the submission of fiscal year (FY) 2019 Federal Financial Reports, your health center only needs to submit a prior approval request for carryover for these situations:

  • If the amount of unobligated balances of grant funds are 25% or more of the amount awarded for the budget period.
  • If the carryover is from a prior project period.

This includes carryover from base operational funding and supplemental awards. We will post FAQs and resources on our website about the submission of Federal Financial Reports and carryover requests under expanded authority. Contact your Grants Management Specialist with questions.


Deadline Change: National Health Center Training and Technical Assistance Partnerships Funding Opportunity
HRSA has changed the Grants.gov application deadline for the National Health Center Training and Technical Assistance Partnerships (NTTAP) Cooperative Agreements funding opportunity (HRSA-20-022) to 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, November 18. The deadline for applying in HRSA's Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) has not changed (5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 17).


FY 2020 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention Funding Opportunity Update
HRSA modified the FY 2020 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention (PCHP; HRSA-20-091) funding opportunity to clarify the eligibility information. See the Eligibility Information section of the instructions.

Applications are due in EHBs by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 16. The funding start date is Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

HRSA will host a Q&A session for applicants next week:

Tuesday, November 19
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast day of the session
Call-in: 888-942-9686
Passcode: 5549121


Service Area Competition Application Deadline Reminder for May 1 Starts
Service Area Competition (SAC) HRSA-20-019 applications are due in EHBs by 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 20. Technical assistance (TA) materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.


TA Webinar: 2019 UDS Preliminary Reporting Environment Training
Participants will learn about the reporting functionalities for calendar year (CY) 2019 UDS. This session will cover the Preliminary Reporting Environment for early access to UDS reporting and two offline UDS reporting features: an Excel and an offline HTML feature. These features, first introduced with CY 2018 UDS reporting, support HRSA’s UDS Modernization Initiative focused on reducing reporting burden and improving the quality of data.

We will offer the same webinar on two different dates:


Stakeholders

Deadline Extended for Stakeholder Survey
We extended the deadline for grantees, look-alikes, and our cooperative agreement partners to complete the 2019 BPHC Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey. Project Directors now have through Tuesday, November 19, to complete the survey. Please take just 15 minutes to help inform BPHC about how we can better serve your organization.

If you’re a Project Director who did not receive a survey link, email BPHCreviews@hrsa.gov. Be sure to check your SPAM folder!


Change

BPHC All-Programs Webcast Date Change
We’ve changed the date of the November 12 BPHC All-Programs webcast to:

Tuesday, December 3
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Webcast link coming soon

Submit a question in advance by Wednesday, November 27.


2019 National Rural Health Day

HRSA Gears Up for National Rural Health Day, November 21
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health created National Rural Health Day as a way to applaud the ongoing efforts, contributions, and collaborations occurring in rural communities to address the unique challenges in accessing and delivering health care services. HRSA and other HHS entities will host events for this annual commemoration. Get more information, including a detailed schedule for HRSA’s day-long celebration.


Request for Public Comment: Recommendations for Hepatitis C Screening Among Adults
CDC invites public comments on proposed new recommendations for hepatitis C virus infection screening for adults.


Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health

AHRQ Releases Playbook for Medication-Assisted Treatment
This interactive resource provides the latest guidance, tools, and resources for organizations implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. It addresses the growing need for guidance as more primary care practices and health systems begin to implement MAT.


Vital Signs Report: Adverse Childhood Experiences
CDC’s latest report focuses on the connection between Adverse Childhood Experiences and adult health problems. Read more.


HIV

Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America New PrEP Donation Program
HHS invites health center staff to attend an informational webinar on its new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program, which provides PrEP to people with no prescription drug coverage.

Friday, November 15
2:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here

Registration is required, and participation is limited to the first 2,000 registrants.

The HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) will host this event, which will provide information on:

  • The Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative and how the PrEP program supports that effort.
  • Goals, qualifications, and resources for the program.
  • Ways in which the HIV community and stakeholders can share information about the program and help qualified individuals enroll.

The webinar will also include a Q&A session.

Invited speakers include:

  • Tammy Beckham, DVM, PhD, Director, OIDP, HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
  • Harold Philips, MRP, Senior HIV Advisor for OIDP and Chief Operating Officer for EHE
  • Federal officials from HRSA and CDC

To learn more about EHE, visit HIV.gov and sign up for email updates to stay up to date on the latest developments as the initiative unfolds.


Diabetes

New Promising Practice: Axis Community Health Uses Medical Assistants to Help Manage Diabetes
Axis Community Health in Alameda County, CA, serves an aging population with higher rates of co-morbidities and chronic illness. They received a FY 2019 National Quality Leader award in Diabetes Health. Their success with managing diabetes and other chronic conditions is attributed to pre-visit planning and using medical assistants to implement. Read more.

Axis Community health

Workforce

HRSA’s Virtual Job Fair for Health Centers in Rural Communities
In celebration of National Rural Health Day, HRSA is hosting a Virtual Job Fair specifically for health care facilities serving rural communities.

Wednesday, November 20
6:45-10:15 p.m. ET
Job seekers can register here.

HRSA's virtual job fairs connect job-seeking primary care trainees and practicing clinicians with employment opportunities at health centers.


Oral Health

Call for Applications: Sealant Learning Communities Collaborative
Is your health center interested in improving your UDS Sealant Measure number? The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA), a HRSA-funded National Cooperative Agreement (NCA), invites health centers to join a Sealant Learning Communities Collaborative from January to June 2020. For the past four years, NNOHA has provided individual health centers with training and TA on the UDS Sealant Measure. They’ll share what they’ve learned from that work, including promising practices in data collection, reporting, and measure improvement. Learn more or apply by 8:00 p.m. ET, Friday, November 22.


Oral Health Infrastructure Webinar Series
NNOHA is offering a series of webinars on strategies for oral health infrastructure enhancements. This webinar series is a companion to the NNOHA Oral Health Infrastructure Toolkit released in April. The webinars highlight health centers that have completed infrastructure enhancements and expansion of their dental programs to increase access to oral health care. Each session offers 1.0 Continuing Dental Education credit.

  • School-Based Dental Programs
    Wednesday, November 13
    1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
    Register here

Access recordings and slides for previous webinars.


Telehealth

Telehealth Office Hours
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), a HRSA-funded NCA, now offers a monthly opportunity for health center, Primary Care Association, and Health Center Controlled Network staff to ask questions and share information about telehealth-related policy and operational activities. Each session will focus on a specific topic, but the agenda will always include updates and time for Q&A.

Second Thursday of each month
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join office hours the day of the session
Meeting password: Telehealth1
Submit a question in advance


Additional Resources

Pilot Test Opportunity for Health Centers on Healthy Weight and Obesity Prevention
The American Academy of Pediatrics' Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight, in partnership with Bright Futures, is offering two virtual quality improvement projects for pediatric practice/clinic teams:

  • Optimize Infant and Toddler Feeding for Obesity Prevention Project: Improving early feeding assessment, counseling and obesity prevention (focused on children under age 2).
  • Childhood Obesity in Primary Care Project: Improving obesity risk assessment and prevention (focused on children ages 2 and above).

Both projects will kick off in January 2020. Participating teams will collaborate and receive education, coaching, and resources from national experts in obesity prevention, assessment, and counseling. Pediatricians who meet participation requirements may be eligible for Maintenance of Certification points and CME credits (if approved).

The Institute is recruiting teams that represent diverse types of patient populations, geographic locations, and practices/clinics (including health centers). Teams should be interested in making practice changes to improve their obesity assessment and prevention care. Get more information or apply by Monday, November 25.

Questions? Contact program manager Stephanie Womack by email or phone: 630-626-6612.


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 call-in information for ALL sessions is the same:
Call-in: 844-676-8471
Conference ID: 1362694

  • PCMH Standards, Part 1
    Speakers will cover the first part of this presentation (Concepts 1-3) during these calls:

    Thursday, November 14
    2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

    Tuesday, December 10
    2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

    Note: You only need to attend one of these sessions.
  • PCMH Standards, Part 2
    Speakers will cover the second part of this presentation (Concepts 4-6) during these calls:

    Tuesday, November 19
    1:00-3:00 p.m. ET

    Tuesday, December 17
    2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

    Note: You only need to attend one of these sessions.

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Technical Assistance & Training

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Visit the training calendar to learn details about or register for events.

Through November 19

Tools and Techniques to Assess Your Health Center’s Market and Community Needs
Hosted by Capital Link, a HRSA-funded NCA
Tuesday, November 12
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Hepatitis C Return on Investment Calculator Pilot Meeting
Hosted by the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, a HRSA-funded NCA
Wednesday, November 13
11:00 a.m.-noon ET
Register here

Health Network: A Care Coordination Program for Mobile Patients
Hosted by Migrant Clinicians Networks, a HRSA-funded NCA
Wednesday, November 13
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Oral Health Infrastructure Series: School-Based Dental Programs
Hosted by NNOHA, a HRSA-funded NCA
Wednesday, November 13
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
**1.0 CDE available**

Vaping: Talk to Youth about the Risks
Hosted by The National Center for Health in Public Housing, a HRSA-funded NCA
Wednesday, November 13
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Technical Assistance Webinar: 2019 Uniform Data System Preliminary Reporting Environment Training
Wednesday, November 13
1:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here

OR

Wednesday, December 11
1:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here

Housing is Health Care: Prevalence and Considerations across the Housing Spectrum
Hosted by The National Center for Health in Public Housing, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, all HRSA-funded NCAs
Thursday, November 14
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here

NACHC Telehealth Office Hours
Hosted by NACHC, a HRSA-funded NCA
Thursday, December 12
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the office hours the day of the session
Meeting password: Telehealth1
Submit a question in advance

PCMH Teleconferences: PCMH Standards, Part 1
Hosted by NCQA
Call-in for all sessions: 844-676-8471
Conference ID: 1362694

Thursday, November 14
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

OR

Monday, December 9
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

Physical Health Monitoring for Diverse Populations with Serious Mental Illness: Opportunity to Fill Gaps in Care
Hosted by SMI Adviser, a SAMHSA-funded organization
Friday, November 15
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America New PrEP Donation Program
Hosted by HHS
Friday, November 15
2:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here

Addressing the Opioid Crisis in Rural Communities: Leveraging Technology Innovations to Support Maternal and Child Health Care
Tuesday, November 19
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast day of the session
Call-in: 888-989-5313
Passcode: 6171831

Patient-Centered Medical Home Teleconferences: PCMH Standards, Part 2
Hosted by NCQA
Call-in for all sessions: 844-676-8471
Conference ID: 1362694

Tuesday, November 19
1:00-3:00 p.m. ET

OR

Tuesday, December 17
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

PCHP Funding Opportunity Q&A Session
Tuesday, November 19
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast day of the session
Call-in: 888-942-9686
Passcode: 5549121

Agriculture Workers Mental Health Twitter Chat
Tuesday, November 19
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join HRSA by using the hashtag #AgMentalHealth


Upcoming

Improving Antibiotic Stewardship in Critical Access Hospitals: Strategies and Success Stories
Wednesday, November 20
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Rural Substance Use Disorder Twitter Chat
Wednesday, November 20
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join HRSA by using the hashtag #RuralSUD

HRSA’s Virtual Job Fair for Health Centers in Rural Communities
Wednesday, November 20
6:45-10:15 p.m. ET
Job seekers can register here

HRSA's Celebration of National Rural Health Day
Thursday, November 21
9:45 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session

Supporting Aging in Place Programs: The Role of Community Health Workers
Hosted by MHP Salud and the National Center for Equitable Care for Elders, both HRSA-funded NCAs
Thursday, November 21
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here

NACHC Pharmacy Office Hours
Hosted by NACHC, a HRSA-funded NCA
Thursday, November 21
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join office hours the day of the session
Submit a question in advance

Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality Center (HITEQ) Highlights: Enhancing the EHR for Suicide Prevention
Hosted by HITEQ, a HRSA-funded NCA
Thursday, November 21
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here

UDS Mapper Advanced Topic: Rural Areas
Friday, November 22
11:00 a.m.-noon ET
Register here

BPHC All-Programs Webcast
Tuesday, December 3
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Webcast link coming soon
Submit a question in advance, by Wednesday, November 27.

Introduction to the UDS Mapper
Thursday, December 5
11:00 a.m.-noon ET
Register here

2019 Annual Update on the UDS Sealant Measure
Hosted by NNOHA, a HRSA-funded NCA
Friday, December 6
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
**1.0 CDE available**

NACHC Telehealth Office Hours
Hosted by NACHC, a HRSA-funded NCA
Thursday, December 12
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the office hours the day of the session
Meeting password: Telehealth1
Submit a question in advance

UDS Mapper Advanced Topic: Assessing Your Community
Friday, December 13
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Webinars are hosted by HRSA unless otherwise noted.