What's New
New Patient-Centered Medical Home Badge
Our health center data pages include a badge for health centers who’ve received Patient-Centered Medical Home accreditation. We’ve updated the badge design to better reflect the concept: health centers working towards better care and lower costs for patients.
Check your health center data page to see what badges your health center has been awarded. If you need a high-resolution copy of the new badge, or another badge, contact Health Center Program Support online or by phone (877-464-4722).
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New Resource to Help Health Center Staff Understand Telehealth and the Health Center Program Scope of Project
HRSA’s new Telehealth Program Assistance Letter (PAL) 2020-01 will help you gain a better understanding of telehealth and the Health Center Program scope of project. It highlights issues for health centers to consider when using telehealth for patients and clarifies how to document telehealth within the scope of project. It does not establish new scope of project policy and is consistent with current scope policy (as outlined in Policy Information Notice 2008-01).
Health centers should continue to direct their health center-specific questions (including questions related to change-in-scope requests) to their Project Officers. Other external stakeholders should direct questions to Health Center Program Support online or by phone (877-464-4722).
Fiscal Year 2020 Health Center Controlled Networks Non-Competing Continuation Progress Report
The fiscal year (FY) 2020 Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) Non-Competing Continuation (NCC) Progress Report is now available. The NCC Progress Report must be submitted in the HRSA Electronic Handbooks by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 24.
Join a technical assistance (TA) webinar:
Thursday, February 6
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-989-9714
Passcode: 7744452
TA materials are available on the HCCN TA webpage. Contact the HCCN TA Response Team with questions using the BPHC Contact Form.
FY 2020 Health Center Program Funding: Status of the Health Center Program Continuation Awards
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 provides full discretionary funding (approximately $1.6 billion); however, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 only provides a portion of the anticipated mandatory funding (approximately $2.6 billion of the anticipated $4 billion) through Friday, May 22.
At this time, HRSA anticipates providing health centers with nine months of continuation award funding. HRSA issued application guidance for FY 2020 Health Center Program continuation awards and is in the process of reviewing the applications.
Webinar Series on Understanding Your Costs in an Evolving Payment Environment
The Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net is sponsoring a four-webinar series to assist health center finance and accounting staff to adapt their business models to succeed in value-based payment environments. Capital Link, a HRSA-funded National Cooperative Agreement (NCA), will facilitate the webinars. Here is the first one:
Cost Allocation: Getting the Basics Right
Tuesday, January 28
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
How One Health Center Increased Its Flu Vaccination Rate by 41%
South Boston Community Health Center (SBCHC) offers a comprehensive array of medical and support services. To protect its vulnerable population, SBCHC made the flu vaccination a priority by:
- Training staff extensively, leading to a 100% vaccination rate for staff.
- Setting Best Practice Alerts in the Electronic Medical Record for pediatric patients to remind providers when patients are missing vaccines and what vaccines are due.
- Publishing an informative webpage about flu vaccination and flu prevention.
- Using a mobile unit to reach more patients with the flu vaccine.
- Training staff to “stop everything” to give the vaccination to anyone who needs it.
These activities resulted in a 41% increase in flu immunization from 2017-2019 for patients aged 6 months and older.
What Can Health Centers Do About Flu?
It’s not too late for your patients to be vaccinated for the 2019-2020 influenza season. By increasing vaccination rates, health centers can have a great impact on protecting our communities.
- Educate both parents and patients about the need for annual flu vaccination. Research shows the strongest predictor of whether a patient gets vaccinated is a recommendation from their health care professional.
- Access patient education materials on HHS’ vaccines website or CDC’s flu website.
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Information about Coronavirus Now Available from the CDC
The CDC is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus. The CDC has developed clinical criteria for providers. Please visit the CDC’s coronavirus website for updates.
Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health
Screening for Alcohol Use with SBIRT: Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation
The HRSA Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health TA provides support for behavioral health professionals developing an integrated team for primary care and behavioral health services. The Center presents an opportunity for you to learn about Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for people with alcohol use disorder or at risk for developing alcohol use disorder. Presenters will share solutions for common barriers to SBIRT implementation and discuss their experience using SBIRT in a clinical setting.
Thursday, January 30
1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Register here
New Communities of Practice Available for Health Centers
The HRSA Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health TA invites you to join new Communities of Practice (CoP).
HIV
Ready, Set, PrEP Webinar
HHS is hosting a webinar on Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America – Ready, Set, PrEP. Join to hear answers to these questions: What is the new Ready, Set, PrEP program and how does it work? How does it fit into the federal plan to end the HIV epidemic in the United States? And how can you help implement it in your community?
Wednesday, January 29
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here
Speakers will also share resources and describe different models and strategies for PrEP implementation.
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Exploring Cultural Competence and Humility in the Care of HIV Patients
The National Center for Health in Public Housing, a HRSA-funded NCA, presents a learning collaborative designed to help move organizations past cultural stereotypes and biases (e.g., based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity) to offer HIV patients preventive and health care services with cultural humility. Learn more or register before the first of four sessions on Monday, February 10.
Diabetes
New Study Connects A1C Level Increase to Risk for Heart Attack and Stroke
We recently asked health centers to focus on improving A1C data. This study shows why A1C control is important to prevent complications in patients with diabetes. Visit the Diabetes and Health Centers webpage for resources on creating a Diabetes Action Plan to improve your patients’ A1C levels.
Focusing on Patients Experiencing Homelessness
Special and vulnerable populations, including those experiencing homelessness and housing instability, are disproportionately affected by diabetic complications.
The Corporation for Supportive Housing and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (both HRSA-funded NCAs) present two learning collaboratives aimed at addressing these challenges. These opportunities are for both clinical representatives (i.e., health center staff and clinicians) and non-clinical representatives (i.e., housing service providers and case managers).
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Improving Outreach and Engagement of Patients with Diabetes Experiencing Homelessness
Learn about effective population-specific approaches, document efforts and effectiveness of community partnerships, and establish new goals using the framework of a Change Map to guide your work. Get more information or apply by Friday, February 14.
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Addressing Nutrition for Diabetes Management in Homeless and Vulnerable Populations
Boost your knowledge of nutrition, cultural competence within diabetes treatment, tracking client and program data regarding dietary practices, and the use of a Change Map to guide program work. Get more information or apply by Friday, February 14.
Workforce
Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program Notice of Funding Opportunity
HRSA plans to invest approximately $26.7 million through the Addiction Medicine Fellowship (AMF) program to increase access to board certified addiction professionals who are practicing in underserved, community-based settings that integrate behavioral health with primary care services. Applications are due by Tuesday, February 25.
HRSA plans to fund an estimated 33 eligible grantees. AMF award recipients will receive up to $800,000 annually, over a five-year period of performance, to foster robust community-based clinical training of addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry physicians to provide opioid and other substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
Cervical Health Awareness Month
TODAY: "We’re In! 2020" Initiative for HPV Cancer Prevention
The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable invites you to join the launch event of the HPV cancer prevention initiative, “We’re In! 2020.” Featured speakers include HHS representatives and members of the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable. Learn about free resources available to support the initiative.
Tuesday, January 28
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
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Supporting Cervical Health Through Data and Practice
Join us for the next session in HRSA’s Data for Decision-Making Speaker Series focused on cervical health. Speakers from CDC, the American Cancer Society, and a health center will share cervical health surveillance data, as well as experiences promoting cervical health.
Thursday, January 30
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Additional Resources
U.S. Surgeon General Releases New Smoking Cessation Report
U.S. Surgeon General VADM Jerome M. Adams has released Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. Accompanying resources include The Key Findings Fact Sheet, which provides highlights from the report, and a consumer’s guide, which provides an overview of the report and smoking cessation resources. This is the first Surgeon General’s report since 1990 to focus solely on smoking cessation.
What Are Heated Tobacco Products?
CDC recently published a primer on heated tobacco products (which are different than e-cigarettes). These products heat processed tobacco leaves to create a harmful inhalable aerosol. They are NOT an FDA-approved method for quitting smoking. Visit CDC’s site to learn about the health effects associated with the use of heated tobacco products, who is using them, and how these products compare to traditional cigarette and e-cigarette use.
What Do the Data Tell Us?
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable presents a webinar examining key colorectal cancer screening national data sets:
- Uniform Data System.
- CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
- National Health Interview Survey.
- National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set.
Experts from HRSA, CDC, the American Cancer Society, and NCQA will give an update on progress made and needed areas of focus to help inform future work.
Thursday, January 30
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Five Things Physicians Can Do to Stay Emotionally Present During Patient Encounters
Staying purposefully present and creating connections with patients can be difficult for physicians given growing demands, but there are five evidence-based practices physicians can adopt to promote meaningful connections, according to a special communication in JAMA.
ECRI Institute can help. Person-Centered Care provides information and resources that risk managers can use to help their organizations.
ECRI Institute works on HRSA’s behalf and its resources are free for health centers, look-alikes, free clinics, and Primary Care Associations. Contact ECRI Institute for access or assistance.
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