What's New
Advancing Health Center Excellence
The Advancing Health Center Excellence Framework aims to help HRSA and health centers advance health center maturity and innovation in key domain areas that align with HRSA’s mission and the mission of the Health Center Program.
The seven domains are: Access and Affordability; Patient Experience; Quality, Patient Care and Safety; Population Health and Social Determinants of Health; Financial Sustainability; Workforce; and Governance and Management.
The basic level of performance builds on Health Center Program requirements, while integrating meaningful activities to assess performance along a four-level continuum of health center maturity within each domain. The framework will assist health centers to:
- Self-assess their current state of performance across the seven domains.
- Identify a desired future state of performance.
- Identify data-driven and evidence-based capabilities, activities, behaviors, and resources needed to reach and sustain a higher level of domain performance.
The framework will also help HRSA make decisions about deploying resources, including providing technical assistance (TA) and funding, with more intention and transparency.
Join a webinar to learn more:
Wednesday, August 26
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-989-6520
Passcode: 3855256
Natural Disaster Reporting
We are thinking of our colleagues who are impacted by wildfires and, potentially, tropical storms or hurricanes.
HRSA has asked Primary Care Associations (PCAs) to take the lead in gathering critical health center information and reporting impact data back to us on the operational status of delivery sites. For health centers in areas impacted by natural disasters, we ask that you report site-level operational status to your PCA.
Please also visit the HRSA Health Center Program Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Resources website for important guidance documents and resources to help health centers, including information on change in scope for temporary sites, 340B Program enrollment under emergency declarations, and FTCA coverage in emergency events, including volunteer health professionals.
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2020-2021 Influenza Season: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices updated its recommendations for prevention and control of seasonal flu with vaccines for the 2020-2021 flu season. Influenza vaccination of persons aged ≥6 months to reduce prevalence of illness caused by influenza will reduce symptoms that might be confused with those of COVID-19.
Related, the National Center for Health in Public Housing, a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP) is holding an informational session on Flu LEAD (Linkages to End Access Disparities). Flu LEAD is a pilot project from HRSA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase influenza vaccination coverage among residents of public housing agencies.
Wednesday, August 26
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
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Service Area Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity Released for May 1 Starts
HRSA released the FY 2021 Service Area Competition (SAC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), HRSA-21-006. This NOFO announces services areas where the current award recipient is in a 1-year project period that ends April 30, 2021. Applications are due in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, October 19, and in EHBs by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 19.
Current award recipients should refer to box 6 of the most recent Notice of Award to obtain their project period length and end date. TA materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
New Resource to Help Health Center Staff Prepare for Site Visits
HRSA has released the Health Center Program Site Visit Protocol: Sampling Review Resource Guide. It guides health centers in understanding the sampling process when the health center has flexibility in deciding which subset of documents (samples) to provide to the site visit team. Use this resource in conjunction with the Site Visit Protocol and other resources available online to support a successful and smooth site visit.
Funding Opportunity for Rural Health Network Development Planning
HRSA recently released the NOFO for the Rural Health Network Development Planning Program (Network Planning) (HRSA-21-021). HRSA plans to award 20 grants to rural communities as part of this funding opportunity. Read more.
2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule Open for Public Comment
CMS recently released the calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. Comments are due on the proposed rule by Monday, October 5. CMS seeks public input on telehealth services that should be permanently added to the telehealth list beyond the public health emergency. Submit a comment.
COVID-19
Health Workforce Connector
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many clinicians and clinical staff out of work, while at the same time their services might be desperately needed elsewhere. Through the Health Workforce Connector, organizations can search for staff available for COVID-19 response activities. You can search for and contact “emergency volunteers,” and can also post free listings for available positions. Visit the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps: COVID-19 FAQs webpage to learn more.
New Provider Relief Resources Available
While hundreds of thousands of health care professionals who have been impacted in the fight against COVID-19 have received billions of dollars from the federal Provider Relief Fund (PRF), there are still many more who have not yet applied. Check out our PRF resources and watch our PRF webcast to learn more about the program.
FAQs
We continually update our COVID-19 FAQs webpage. Other resources:
Did You Complete Your Survey? Complete It Today to Help Us Help You
Did you know that your survey responses help inform the ongoing federal response to COVID-19? That’s right, your invaluable input allows us to track COVID-19’s impact on health center operations, staff, and patients to better understand and respond to your needs with funding, as well as TA and training.
Last week, 71% of health centers and 52% of health center look-alikes submitted data through the weekly COVID-19 survey. Please help us boost that percentage this week by completing your survey today!
The survey you received on Friday, August 21, is due by 11:59 p.m. ET today. Questions on how to complete the survey? Check out our User Guide. As always, thank you to all of the health centers and look-alikes that complete these weekly surveys!
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COVID-19 and Dentistry: Challenges and Opportunities for Providing Safe Care
This recent article by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality identifies patient safety challenges in infection control and prevention in the dental office setting. HRSA recommends that health centers follow CDC guidelines for dental settings.
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s Playbook on Colorectal Cancer Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic
This new resource from the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable provides an action-oriented playbook for health centers to address colorectal cancer screening efforts appropriately, safely, and equally for all communities throughout the pandemic. It provides snapshot statistics on COVID-19’s impact on screening, new messages for colorectal cancer screening efforts, and aligning statements for health centers role in reducing mortality, morbidity, and ensuring health equity.
HIV
Ending the HIV Epidemic: USPSTF HIV Recommendations and PrEP Resources for Health Centers
Learn about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF’s) Final Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Recommendations and PrEP implementation guidelines, as well as resources from The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, a HRSA-funded NTTAP. Experts will share the latest guidelines and recommendations for HIV screening and PrEP prescribing practices for HIV-negative patients that may be at risk for contracting HIV.
Thursday, September 17
2:00- 3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Workforce
STAR2 Center High-Functioning Managers Learning Collaborative
High-functioning managers play a pivotal role in employee retention and are vital to a health center's success and growth. The Association for Clinicians for the Underserved's* STAR2 Center invites health center managers to apply for the High-Functioning Managers Learning Collaborative, which begins next month. You’ll learn the core components needed to become a high-functioning manager and develop a personalized manager training plan to enhance your skills. (*The Association for Clinicians for the Underserved is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.)
Telehealth
Maternal Telehealth Access Project
HRSA funds will be used for new mini-grants providing time-limited funding around maternal health care services before, during, or after pregnancy. We encourage organizations delivering or interested in delivering maternal health care services via telehealth during COVID-19 to apply by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, September 14.
Additional Resources
Social Determinants and Health Status: A Data for Decision-Making Speaker Series Webinar
Join HRSA for a webinar focused on better understanding SDOH and their impact on the health status of patients served by health centers. Many existing SDOH models are anchored around place-based constructs. Learn how we’re incorporating a population-based model and assessing the social determinants contributing most to patient health.
Tuesday, August 25
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Adopting the PCMH Helps Your Health Center Align With Medicaid
Medicaid is a principal third-party payer for almost half of all health center patients. PCMH recognition can help health centers align with Medicaid requirements that are designed to monitor and improve patient access, utilization, health care costs, clinical quality outcomes and the patient experience—domains found in key PCMH competencies. For more on overlapping requirements between PCMH and Medicaid, check out thecheck out the National Committee for Quality Assurance PCMH Toolkit for Health Centers.
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New Resource from the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center
The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center recently published, “Supportive Housing and Health Services for LGBTQIA+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Promising Practices.” It highlights health disparities faced by LGBTQIA+ youth experiencing homelessness as well as notable programs in three U.S. cities that have developed culturally-tailored programs to engage and support these youth. It also includes promising practices based on common themes across the programs.
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