What's New
Service Area Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity Released for September 1 Starts
HRSA released the seventh fiscal year (FY) 2021 Service Area Competition (SAC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), HRSA-21-008. This NOFO announces service areas where the current award recipient is in a 1-year project period that ends August 31, 2021. Applications are due in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, and in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 18, 2021.
Current award recipients should refer to their most recent Notice of Award to obtain their project period length and end date. Technical assistance (TA) materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
Capital Grant Progress Report TA
HRSA will host a question and answer session for capital grant award recipients for the upcoming January 2021 Semi-Annual Progress Report (SAPR), which is due on Friday, January 15, 2021. The Capital Development Grant webpage also provides additional resources for award recipients on this reporting requirement.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-790-3290
Passcode: 9101658
Uniform Data System 2020 Reporting Period Begins Soon
The Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting period for 2020 begins on Friday, January 1, 2021. HRSA-funded health centers are required to submit complete and accurate UDS reports by Monday, February 15, 2021. Upon successful submission, we will assign your UDS report to a UDS reviewer who will work with you to finalize your data submission.
The 2020 UDS Manual includes detailed instructions for completing each of the tables and appendices, as well as information on how to submit the UDS through EHBs. The Manual and other UDS reporting resources are available on our UDS Resources webpage. The UDS Training website may also assist you in reporting.
Direct any electronic reporting questions to Health Center Program Support online or by phone: 877-464-4772, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday (except federal holidays). Direct all UDS content questions to the UDS Support Center: 866-UDS-HELP (866-837-4357) or udshelp330@bphcdata.net.
Maintaining Current Contacts in EHBs
Please make sure your health center’s contact listings in EHBs are accurate. Please be sure to double check:
- Names.
- Phone numbers.
- Email addresses.
- EHBs roles and rights.
Consider establishing a regular schedule to review this very important information. See guidance on updating contact information in EHBs. For assistance with updating EHBs roles and rights, contact Health Center Program Support online or by phone: 877-464-4772, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday (except federal holidays).
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Change in Project Director/CEO
Each health center must have a Project Director/CEO: the individual designated by the health center to be responsible for the programmatic aspects of the health center and for the day-to-day management of health center activities. Health centers must notify HRSA of any changes in that position and seek prior approval for this change. (See Health Center Program Compliance Manual, Key Management Staff - element e.) Such changes include situations in which the current Project Director/CEO will disengage from involvement in the Health Center Program project for any continuous period of more than three months, or will reduce time devoted to the project by 25% or more from the level that was approved at the time of the award/designation. If you’re seeking approval for a change in Project Director/CEO, and have questions about the documentation to include in your EHBs prior approval request, contact your Project Officer.
Announcing HRSA’s Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge: Supporting Innovations in Pediatric Primary Care to Improve Child Health
To respond to declining rates of childhood vaccination coverage and well-child visits due to COVID-19, HRSA has launched the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge competition. We invite pediatric primary care providers, community health providers, state and local programs, and creative health care professionals to sign-up and learn more about the P4 Challenge and how it will address this critical public health issue.
HRSA will award $1,000,000 in prizes for innovative approaches to increase access to and utilization of well-child visits and/or immunization services within primary care settings. Partnerships with state and local organizations are encouraged, and submissions must include a primary care provider who delivers health services to children. HRSA expects to select up to 50 Phase 1 winners and up to 20 Phase 2 winners. Submissions will open on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.
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HHS Releases First National Strategic Plan to Address Sexually Transmitted Infections
Last week, HHS released the first-ever national plan to address the public health crisis caused by alarming increases in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States over the past six years. The STI National Strategic Plan 2021-2025 sets national goals, objectives, and strategies to respond to the STI epidemic. The plan will serve as a roadmap to help federal and non-federal stakeholders at all levels and in all sectors reverse the sharp upward trends in STI rates.
TODAY: HHS Telehealth Innovation Summit
HHS leadership and leaders in the telehealth community will address challenges and opportunities in reimbursement, best practices, public-private partnerships, health care resilience, biosecurity, and the future of telehealth. Panelists will hold a general discussion about their experiences with telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and then there will be four breakout sessions where panelists will discuss particular topics in greater depth.
1:00-6:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Final Day: National Needs Assessment of Health Center Capital Plans
In an effort to better understand the current and emerging capital plans and needs of health centers across the country, Capital Link, a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP), is conducting a national assessment. We encourage all health centers to participate.
The information you provide will be used to inform policymakers, funders, capital sources, and the general public of health centers’ priority capital needs. This information will be invaluable to the development of capital funding sources from which your health center may benefit. The deadline to participate is TODAY (Tuesday, December 22).
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FY 2021 Primary Care Association and National Training and Technical Assistance Partner Non-Competing Continuation Progress Reports
HRSA released non-competing continuation (NCC) progress report instructions for both FY 2021 Primary Care Association (PCA) and FY 2021 NTTAP cooperative agreement award recipients. Organizations will be able to develop their NCC progress reports in EHBs starting Friday, December 18. Submissions will be due for both PCAs and NTTAPs by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. For more information, including the progress report instructions and TA resources, visit the PCA TA webpage and NTTAP TA webpage.
HRSA will host NCC-specific PCA and NTTAP question and answer sessions:
NTTAP Q&A Session
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
Call-in: 888-566-5785
Passcode: 8699157
PCA Q&A Session
Friday, January 8, 2021
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
Call-in: 800-857-4265
Passcode: 7677880
Quarterly 340B Program Registration
Quarterly 340B Program site registration is open from January 1 to 15, 2021. Health centers will be able to register a site that has been verified as implemented and with a site status reflected as “active” in EHBs Form 5B through Friday, February 26, 2021. After that date, the system will close to prepare for the April 1 start.
Email the 340B Prime Vendor Program or call 888-340-2787 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET) to register a new site or ask questions. You will need to provide the following information when calling:
- Health center name.
- Site/clinic name.
- Site IDs for all sites.
- HRSA/BPHC grant number.
- Contact name and email address.
- Authorizing official name and email address.
The authorizing official will receive an email message that the account is unlocked and a registration may be submitted.
CMS’ New Beneficiary Care Management Program
“Original Medicare” beneficiaries, family members, and/or caregivers may be referred to the program by their regional Beneficiary Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organizations at any time during the review of a discharge appeal.
The program offers assistance, at no cost, to beneficiaries, family members, and caregivers to help them:
- Review discharge instructions and post-treatment plans.
- Coordinate follow-up care with primary care physicians and/or other providers.
- Assist with referrals to community resources or person and family engagement partners.
Learn more.
COVID-19
TODAY: Preparing Your Health Center to Administer Outpatient COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibodies
HRSA, Operation Warp Speed, and the FDA will host a webinar to share information about preparing your health center to administer outpatient COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). What does readiness entail? What staff do I need? How many patients can I serve? Which patients can benefit from mAb? Does our insurance cover this practice? Speakers will answer these and other questions. We’re featuring speakers from health centers that are already providing infusion therapy, as well as HRSA leadership.
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Eli Lilly and Regeneron both received emergency use authorizations (EUA) from FDA for COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) indicated for at-risk patients with mild to moderate symptoms to reduce disease progression and hopefully prevent hospitalizations. Eli Lilly’s product (bamlanivimab) is a single mAb therapy. Regeneron’s product (casirivimab and imdevimab) is a therapy consisting of two mAbs that must be administered as a single infusion. HHS is currently allocating both treatments to states/jurisdictions on a weekly basis.
To learn more about how you can prepare your health center for outpatient administration of these products, join us for this webinar and see the Operation Warp Speed Therapeutics Monoclonal Antibodies Playbook.
COVID-19 Survey Schedule Changes
We’re making some changes to the upcoming survey schedule due to the holidays.
- We will delay the December 25 survey (which covers December 19-25), sending it out instead on the morning of Monday, December 28. We are also extending the deadline for that survey—you will have until 11:59 p.m. your local time on Wednesday, December 30, to complete that survey.
- We will send out the January 1 survey (which covers December 26-January 1) a day early, on Thursday, December 31.
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UPDATED: Coming in January: New Health Center/Look-Alike Survey Questions
**Please note: This is updated from the information we published in a bulletin last Friday.**
We want to give you advanced notice of four questions we’re adding to the survey next month. These will appear beginning in the survey you receive on Friday, January 8, 2021.
- How many health center staff members have initiated their COVID-19 immunization series in the last week?
- How many health center staff members have completed their COVID-19 immunization series in the last week?
- By race and ethnicity, how many patients have initiated their COVID-19 immunization series in the last week?
- By race and ethnicity, how many patients have completed their COVID-19 immunization series in the last week?
At the same time, we will remove two existing questions about tests for antibody detection (serology).
We are also in the process of updating the survey user guide to be more user-friendly. Beginning in January, you’ll see question numbers and other improvements within the survey. Visit the user guide where you can quickly “jump” to instructions related to a specific question.
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Increasing Staff Capacity to Respond to Intimate Partner Violence/Human Trafficking during COVID-19
Futures Without Violence’s National Health Network on Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking invites you to a webinar offering a combination of self-care and organizational practice strategies to help prevent provider burnout and bolster staff readiness for implementing CUES (Confidentiality, Universal Education + Empowerment, Support). Speakers will also share information on trauma-informed and healing-centered practices.
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Futures Without Violence is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Webinar Recording and Presentation Available: Provider Recruitment and Retention Training for Health Centers
In October, we held a webinar on staffing-related shortages—a common barrier identified by health centers, especially in light of the pandemic. Speakers from HRSA, HRSA-funded NTTAPs (Community Health Center, Inc., and the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved), and a health center discussed recruitment and retention promising practices and provided resources. Both the recording and the slide deck are available on our COVID-19 Information for Health Centers and Partners page (under Health Center Program Resources).
CDC Resources for Limited-English Proficient Populations
Two recent CDC resources provide information that may be of interest for organizations serving populations with limited English proficiency, including migratory and seasonal agriculture workers (MSAWs).
FAQs
We continually update our COVID-19 FAQs webpage. Other resources:
Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health
Clinicians: Get Support to Prevent Overdose
Health center clinicians are uniquely positioned to prevent overdose through person-centered care and education, including harm reduction. With the ongoing pandemic and winter holiday season, many patients are experiencing high levels of distress and risk of returning to use.
Through its Substance Use Warmline, the HRSA-funded National Clinician Consultation Center provides free tele-consultation and guidance to clinicians on medical management of substance use disorders and harm reduction strategies. Staffed by addiction medicine-certified physicians and expert clinical pharmacists, consultations are evidence-based and practical. Same-day consultation is available and tailored to individual callers’ practice capacity and patient care scenarios, including when doing telemedicine and when teleprescribing. Connect by phone toll-free at 855-300-3595, or upload patient cases securely. The Warmline operates from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.
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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.
HIV
HHS Releases First National Strategic Plan to Address Sexually Transmitted Infections
See the announcement above.
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C Capacity Development Program
HRSA is accepting applications for the FY 2021 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part C Capacity Development Program. NOFO HRSA-21-058 is available in Grants.gov, and applications are due by Friday, February 19, 2021. The program aims to strengthen organizational infrastructure to respond to the changing health care landscape and to increase capacity to develop, enhance, or expand access to high quality HIV primary health care services for low income, uninsured, and underserved people with HIV. Interested applicants should join a webinar:
Thursday, January 7, 2021
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
Call-in: 888-810-4794
Passcode: 5350312
Workforce
Several HRSA-funded NTTAPs offer these learning collaborative opportunities:
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Deadline Today: Building Community Centered Health Homes
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is partnering with the Prevention Institute to provide trainings and peer learning sessions to assist health centers in the adoption of the Community Centered Health Home model to address social determinants of health (SDOH) and support participating health centers as they build community partnerships to accomplish this goal. Applications for this 3-year learning collaborative are due TODAY.
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Workforce Well-Being Learning Collaborative
Are you interested in participating in a learning collaborative focused on promoting workforce well-being and satisfaction? As part of the HRSA contractor-led HRSA Workforce Survey Project, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved will conduct a six-month learning collaborative from March to August 2021. Twenty health center teams will come together to learn and discuss the drivers of burnout and how these affect staff well-being and quality of care. The lessons learned will influence future workforce-related TA addressing this important priority. Participating health center teams should include a C-suite leader, a human resources representative, a clinical provider champion, and other clinical or non-clinical support staff working to reduce drivers of burnout and increase staff satisfaction and wellness. Apply by Friday, January 8, 2021.
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SDOH Community Partnerships Learning Collaborative
Health Outreach Partners, Farmworker Justice, and the National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH), invite health center staff to join in a 3-year learning collaborative. Participants will join four sessions each year to explore and develop effective strategies for establishing community partnerships that address and provide solutions to address MSAW-specific SDOH. In partnership with the Ag Worker Access Campaign Task Force, participants will contribute toward the advancement of the Ag Worker Access Campaign’s goal of increasing access to quality health care for MSAWs and their families by 1) identifying partnership development promising practices that address SDOH and 2) developing resources specific to coalition building that will be broadly disseminated on a national basis. Apply by Wednesday, January 13, 2021.
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Governance Learning Collaborative
NCFH invites consumer board members and key health center leadership staff to join a five-session learning collaborative. Participants will consider how enhancing the delivery of governance training can increase consumer board member engagement, specifically for health centers providing care to MSAWs and their families. You will have access to newly developed training modules designed to support and enhance board roles and responsibilities. Learning sessions will focus on the effective role and responsibilities of board members; access to digital e-learning tools; and development of an ongoing training plan for board members. Apply by Friday, January 15, 2021.
Increasing Staff Capacity to Respond to Intimate Partner Violence/Human Trafficking during COVID-19
See the announcement above.
Webinar Recording and Presentation Available: Provider Recruitment and Retention Training for Health Centers
See the announcement above.
Telehealth
TODAY: HHS Telehealth Innovation Summit
See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
New Cervical Cancer Guidelines for Screening and Management during COVID-19 and Beyond
In observation of Cervical Health Awareness Month, join HRSA's Office of Women's Health and Office of Regional Operations for a webinar. You’ll get practical information to implement new clinical guidelines for cervical cancer screening and management. These guidelines were developed in a large consensus effort that involved several clinical organizations and federal agencies and patient representatives.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Presenters will also offer related health center perspectives from the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers include Rebecca Perkins, MD, of Boston Medical Center, and Sue Ghosh, MD, of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
This will be the first of our Women's Health Leadership series of talks on innovations in women's health throughout HRSA and HRSA-supported settings.
Tuberculosis Prevention Demonstration Project
The National Organizations of State and Local Officials, a HRSA cooperative agreement, supported a National Association of County and City Health Officials demonstration project on local health department and health center collaboration on tuberculosis prevention, highlighting the importance of sharing resources for improved community health.
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