What's New
Capital Grant Progress Report Technical Assistance
HRSA will host a question and answer session for capital grant award recipients for the upcoming January 2021 Semi-Annual Progress Report, 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 day of the session
Call-in: 888-790-3290
Passcode: 9101658
Final Rule in Response to Executive Order 13937
Last week, HHS released a final rule to increase access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine for low-income Americans served by health centers. In response to Executive Order 13937, this final rule ensures future health center grants available under section 330(e) of the Public Health Service Act are conditioned upon health centers having established practices to make insulin and/or injectable epinephrine available at or below the discounted price under the 340B Drug Pricing Program. See the related fact sheet.
Updated CDC Guidelines for Treating Gonorrhea
CDC has updated its recommendation for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhea in adults. Gonorrhea should now be treated with just one higher dose (500 mg) injection of ceftriaxone, and dual therapy is no longer the recommended approach. This new recommendation supersedes the gonorrhea treatment recommendation included in the 2015 STD Treatment Recommendations.
COVID-19
CDC Vaccine Resources
CDC’s new vaccine site has resources for clinicians and patients and answers to common questions. This includes a link to the latest Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations. The information on the site helps set expectations about how the entire COVID-19 vaccination process will work. We encourage you to check it out and consider bookmarking so you can quickly get the latest information.
One resource available through the site is the COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit, which health centers and clinicians can use to build confidence about COVID-19 vaccination among your health care teams and other staff.
|
COVID-19 Survey Schedule Changes
We’re making some changes to the upcoming survey schedule due to the holidays.
- As a reminder, you have until 11:59 p.m. your local time on Wednesday, December 30, to complete the current survey.
- We will send out the January 1 survey (which covers December 26-January 1) a day early, on Thursday, December 31.
|
Coming in January: New Health Center/Look-Alike Survey Questions
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.
|
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.
Self-Care, Resiliency, and Stress Management for Healthcare Providers
Join the HRSA-funded AIDS Education and Training Center to learn how providers can optimize coping mechanisms and support services, and explore building resiliency in response to COVID-19.
Monday, January 11, 2021
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here
Visit AETC’s site for additional webinars (recordings of past and announcements of future sessions).
FAQs
We continually update our COVID-19 FAQs webpage. Other resources:
Substance Use Disorder & Mental Health
Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health Academy
The HRSA Behavioral Health Integration Technical Assistance Initiative invites health center staff to join a two-day, virtual Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health Academy. This highly interactive event will teach participants about the integrated care clinical model, building team-based care, building a primary care/behavioral health provider panel, financing integrated care, and the use of health information technology and data analytics. Please register for each day separately:
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Thursday, January 14, 2021
9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Final Days: HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center Survey
HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center at the University of Michigan and the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh have launched a survey to help us learn more about how HRSA-funded health centers integrate and bill for behavioral health care. We hope to better understand the clinical and administrative barriers to providing integrated behavioral health services.
The survey targets a specific audience based on Medicaid funding. If you work in a leadership position at a HRSA-funded health center in one of the following states, please consider taking this short (10-minute) survey: Alaska, Arizona, California, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Montana, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. The survey closes this Thursday, December 31.
Questions? Contact Brianna Lombardi, PhD MSW.
SAMHSA Report on Behavioral Health Workforce Needs
SAMHSA’s recently released report documents effective mental and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment models and pertinent staffing needs as part of the agency’s goal to increase access to evidence-based mental health and SUD care.
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 SUD 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.
|
Workforce
Final Days: HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center Survey
See the announcement above.
SAMHSA Report on Behavioral Health Workforce Needs
See the announcement above.
Self-Care, Resiliency, and Stress Management for Healthcare Providers
See the announcement above.
Advanced Nursing Education - Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program
HRSA is accepting applications for the FY 2021 Advanced Nursing Education – Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program. It will increase access to physical and mental health care treatment for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Grantees will train sexual assault nurse examiners to practice in rural and underserved health settings. Apply by Wednesday, February 17, 2021.
In case you missed it:
Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
Do you forward the Digest to others?
Encourage them to subscribe.
|
Sign up for eNews
Connect with HRSA
