What's New
Deadline Reminders: Service Area Competition Applications for May 1 and June 1 Starts
Service Area Competition (SAC) HRSA-21-006 applications for May 1 starts are due in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 19.
SAC HRSA-21-007 applications for June 1 starts are due in:
- Grants.gov: Monday, November 16, by 11:59 p.m. ET.
- EHBs: Thursday, December 17, by 5:00 p.m. ET.
Technical assistance (TA) materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
TODAY! UDS Preliminary Reporting Environment
The UDS Preliminary Reporting Environment (PRE), accessible through the EHBs reporting portal, opened last week. As part of the UDS Modernization Initiative, it allows health centers and look-alikes earlier access to begin preparing their UDS reports. With this functionality, you can enter and validate available data before the UDS reporting period begins on January 1, 2021. We will push anything you enter in the PRE into the live reporting environment on January 1. Learn more at today’s webinar:
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here
Proposed Updates to the Service Area Needs Assessment Methodology and Unmet Need Score: Webinar Recording Available
We’ve posted the recording and slides of the recent "Proposed Updates to the Service Area Needs Assessment Methodology (SANAM) and Unmet Need Score (UNS)" webinar on our Strategic Initiatives webpage. We used the initial UNS in the 2019 New Access Points funding opportunity to quantify unmet need for preventive and primary care services in proposed service areas. The webinar provides an overview of the initial UNS and proposed updates for the next version of the UNS, including possible measure additions, deletions, and other modifications based on feedback from stakeholders.
Federal Health Insurance Exchange 2021 Open Enrollment
The Federal Health Insurance Exchange 2021 Open Enrollment Period runs until Tuesday, December 15, for coverage starting on Friday, January 1, 2021. Consumers can now visit HealthCare.gov to fill out an application and enroll in a 2021 Exchange health plan.
Consumers, and those assisting consumers with enrollment (licensed brokers and navigators), can preview 2021 health care plans and prices, and compare coverage options ahead of Open Enrollment on HealthCare.gov. CMS has updated and improved the website, incorporating integrated help and enhanced resources. HealthCare.gov also added a new planning resource for individuals to estimate their yearly income.
Submit Nominations to the 80% in Every Community National Achievement Awards
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT) invites health centers to submit nominations for the 2021 80% in Every Community National Achievement Awards, a competitive recognition program that seeks to highlight colorectal cancer screening success stories. Numerous health centers have received grand prize or honoree awards in past years. Nominations for individuals or organizations and self-nominations are accepted. The grand prize winner will receive a $3,000 donation from NCCRT to support their efforts. Learn more or submit a nomination by Friday, November 20.
COVID-19
NEW Health Center Dashboard: COVID-19 Survey Operational Capacity
Interact with the most recent health center COVID-19 survey operational data through a new dashboard! Data measures include: weekly testing capacity, temporary closures, and staff ability to work. The enhanced maps on the dashboard replace the static map images previously posted weekly.
Make sure your data is included in the dashboard by completing the weekly COVID-19 survey! The survey you received on Friday, October 30, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today. Last week, 67% of health centers and 55% of Health Center Program look-alikes submitted data through the weekly COVID-19 survey.
Deadline This Week! New Phase of Provider Relief Fund Opens for Applications
Safety net providers are encouraged to apply for the latest round of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) support. Applications will be considered regardless of whether your organization was previously eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or rejected prior PRF payments. For this newest phase, funding will be allocated to providers based on assessed financial losses and changes in operating expenses caused by COVID-19. Apply here through Friday, November 6.
Health Centered on COVID-19
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Health centers across the nation have distinguished themselves in responding to the current pandemic. Here’s a recent example:
Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc. (TVHC) (Union City, CA) has advanced contact tracing efforts through recruitment of bilingual staff. TVHC primarily serves Spanish speakers across Alameda County. In late May, just before COVID-19 cases surged in the region, county officials turned to the state for help building their team of bilingual contact tracers—but the availability was limited. Responding to the need, TVHC Spanish-speaking clinicians and staff took contact tracing into their own hands, calling relatives and other families in multigenerational households of positive patients when they realized patients might not otherwise participate in the state’s contact tracing efforts.
According to TVHC Chief Executive Officer Andrea Schwab-Galindo, many patients and families were afraid to allow county-run testing sites to perform contact tracing because of the requirement to provide personal information. However, community members trusted TVHC staff to safeguard their personal information and were willing to work with their contact tracing staff. Since August, TVHC has reached 487 cases and 416 contacts. They have also provided health education and resources for successful isolation and quarantine to these individuals. The Mercury News recently profiled TVHC’s contact tracing efforts.
Let Us Know about Your Efforts to Respond to COVID-19
Please share how your health center is helping your community address COVID-19 through use of HRSA funding. Here’s how you can tell us about your successes and innovative efforts:
- Send a brief description of your health center’s COVID-19 response to our Health Center Stories inbox.
- You’re welcome to include a photo of the staff involved. Please include names of everyone in the picture and make sure each person featured in your photo has signed a HRSA Photo Release Form. Include the signed forms in your email. NOTE: Picture should include ONLY health center staff—not patients!
We may share your photo or story in future editions of the Digest or on HRSA social media.
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FAQs
We continually update our COVID-19 FAQs webpage. Other resources:
Finance Office Hours for Health Centers: Strategies for Managing COVID-19
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP), and its partners have joined forces to provide timely information and resources to support health centers through this challenging time. Topics will address real-time challenges based on health center input and feedback.
Wednesday, November 18
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Additional date: Wednesday, December 16. Submit questions in advance to trainings@nachc.org.
Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health
Prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Care for Children Affected by Them
Join a HRSA-funded, 10-session prenatal and/or pediatric ECHO® SAFEST Choice learning collaborative, which begins in March 2021. The prenatal cohort will learn how to screen for and counsel women about the risks of alcohol use during pregnancy. The pediatric cohort will learn how to identify and care for children and adolescents with suspected or diagnosed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Participating health centers will receive a stipend, TA, and free CE credits. Priority areas: New England (MA, VT, ME, RI, NH, CT) & Upper Midwest (MN, ND, SD, WI, IA, MI). Get more information about how to participate.
An Introduction to TA Services that Promote Behavioral Health Integration
Please join HRSA and our contractor, JBS International, for a webinar introducing the variety of TA services available to health centers to support the integration of behavioral health and substance use disorder services in primary care. In this time of increasing need for behavioral health care, we provide TA that is timely and unique to the needs of your health center. Integration topic areas include medication-assisted treatment (MAT); pain management; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) services; COVID-19; tele-behavioral health services; depression screening; social determinants of health; and workforce recruitment and retention.
Wednesday, November 4
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
eTraining: Symptom Recognition & Referral to Treatment for Eating Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care Settings
This training will provide pediatric primary care providers with skills to recognize, understand the associated risk, and manage and/or refer patients with pediatric eating disorders. This is a web-based, self-paced course with evaluation built-in, which can be completed anytime. The project is funded by HRSA’s Office of Women’s Health. The training provides 3 CME. View more information and register.
HIV
Improving PrEP Access through Monitoring and Engagement
In support of Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE), HRSA is collaborating with health center experts in the field to discuss how to improve access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) through monitoring and patient engagement. Speakers will address real-time challenges and solutions that health centers face daily as they integrate HIV care and testing into primary care settings.
Thursday, November 12
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Topics will include:
- Training providers to interact with patients, including taking a sexual history.
- How the clinic has maintained patient engagement during COVID-19.
- Overcoming barriers with getting patients on PrEP.
- Patient education and support when prescribing PrEP.
- Monitoring medication adherence.
AHEAD Dashboard Now Available
A new online data visualization tool, developed by HHS’ Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy, will guide work on the EHE initiative: America’s HIV Epidemic Analysis Dashboard (AHEAD). It provides the most up-to-date information available about EHE progress to help inform community, jurisdictional, and national decision-making. The dashboard tracks national and jurisdictional progress for the six EHE indicators leading to the overarching goals of the initiative. HHS will add new features and data based on stakeholder input.
Please visit HIV.gov for more information on the EHE Initiative.
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Workforce
Employer Registration Closes This Week: HRSA's Virtual Job Fair for Rural Communities
HRSA’s Virtual Job Fairs are free online recruitment events that connect students and clinicians with health care delivery organizations.
Wednesday, November 18
6:45-10:15 p.m. ET
Employer registration – If you are a National Health Service Corps- (NHSC) or Nurse Corps-approved facility with open opportunities (CLOSES Friday, November 6).
Job seeker registration – If you are a health care professional seeking a career helping rural and underserved communities.
Comprehensive Care Learning Collaborative
Community Health Center, Inc., a HRSA-funded NTTAP, presents a new four-month participatory learning experience. It will provide health centers that are beginning or restarting their move to high performance, team-based comprehensive primary care with knowledge about the basic principles and best practices of care and the strategies to plan for implementation. Apply by Monday, November 16.
Oral Health
Sealant Learning Communities Collaborative
The National Network for Oral Health Access, a HRSA-funded NTTAP, invites health centers to participate in the sealant learning communities collaborative. The collaborative commences in January 2021. Participants will engage in activities that will improve their UDS Sealants Measure outcomes. Learn more or apply by 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 20.
Additional Resources
Women’s Health Challenges
HHS is conducting two Challenge.gov challenges to reward innovations in women’s health. Submissions for both are open now through Monday, November 16.
- Through the HHS Hypertension Innovator Award Competition, HHS seeks innovative ways to ensure women with hypertension during pregnancy and/or postpartum receive appropriate monitoring and follow-up. The competition is offering $3,325,000 in cash prizes.
- Through the Reducing Disparities in Breastfeeding Innovation Challenge, HHS seeks innovative ways to increase breastfeeding initiation and/or continuation rates and decrease disparities among breastfeeding mothers in the United States. The competition is offering $800,000 in cash prizes.
80% in Every Community Conference
NCCRT invites health center staff to register for the inaugural 80% in Every Community Conference. This no-cost, virtual conference will take place November 16-17 and will feature presentations by nationally known experts, thought leaders, and decision makers on colorectal cancer screening policy and delivery. The goal is to further catalyze efforts to reach 80% in Every Community—this is NCCRT’s campaign to increase screening rates to 80% or higher in communities across the nation. Learn more or register.
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