What's New
Discontinuation of Operational Site Visit Performance Analysis
In an effort to streamline Operational Site Visits (OSV) and focus on compliance assessment, OSVs will no longer include a focus on a health center’s diabetes or other clinical measure and root cause analysis. If you would like to request technical assistance (TA) related to strengthening a clinical measure and/or quality improvement activities, please contact your Project Officer.
Final Week for 2020 Uniform Data System Reporting
All HRSA-funded health centers are required to submit complete and accurate Uniform Data System (UDS) reports of calendar year 2020 data by Monday, February 15. The 2020 UDS Manual and other resources are available on HRSA’s website to help you complete an accurate report.
We recently added content to our UDS COVID-19 Resource Guide to address questions about 2020 UDS reporting elements related to COVID-19 including:
- Will health centers need to report on patients who received COVID-19 vaccines?
- If a health center does not spend the provider relief funds that they received, should we still report these funds (the full amount) on Table 9E?
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HHS recently announced a Special Enrollment Period for individuals and families to enroll in health coverage through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace from Monday, February 15, through Saturday, May 15, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
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Downtime for HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks
HRSA's Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) will be unavailable beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, February 19, until 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 21. During this time, HRSA will take HHS-recommended actions to strengthen information security. |
340B Recertification Takes Place February 1-March 1
Covered entities that do not recertify by the deadline of Monday, March 1, will be terminated from the HRSA 340B Program starting on Tuesday, March 2. They will require a new registration and will not be eligible to participate in the 340B Program until July.
To recertify, Authorizing Officials and Primary Contacts must first set up user accounts by visiting the HRSA 340B Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System (340B OPAIS) and choosing “I am a participant.” It is the covered entity’s responsibility to ensure they have created their accounts before recertification to allow successful completion of the process. For questions or assistance, email the 340B call center or call 888-340-2787 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET).
HRSA’s Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge
HRSA launched the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge competition to respond to declining rates of childhood vaccination coverage and well-child visits due to COVID-19. The P4 Challenge invites applicants to propose and implement innovative approaches to increase access to and use of well-child visits and/or immunizations services within primary care settings. The deadline to apply is 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 15.
Interested in learning more? Watch a recent informational webinar.
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HRSA Seeks Health Center Patients to Share Thoughts and Opinions on Health
HRSA seeks English-speaking health center patients to participate in virtual discussions about health. Patient feedback will help HRSA create easy to understand health materials for everyone. We’ll hold 90-minute Zoom sessions in March and May. Participants will receive monetary payment. If you have patients who may be interested, please have them email Heidi Palacios or call (972) 503-3100 x407.
Please respond by Sunday, February 28. Note: Not all who express interest will be able to participate, as we are aiming to speak with individuals representing a variety of backgrounds.
Systematic Review Shows Net Economic Benefits of Housing First Programs
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) finds that economic benefits exceed the intervention cost for Permanent Supportive Housing with Housing First programs (Housing First) in the U.S.
As detailed in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, the CPSTF recommends Housing First programs to promote health equity for people who are experiencing homelessness and have a disabling condition. Evidence shows the programs decrease homelessness, increase housing stability, and improve quality of life for homeless persons living with disabling conditions, including HIV infection.
NEW UDS Resource – Outreach and Enrollment Assists Reporting
Including responses to questions related to Outreach and Enrollment assists, this new webpage provides guidance on what qualifies for UDS reporting, health insurance coverage options, and where to report this information in the UDS.
COVID-19
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: Health Center Resource Clearinghouse
The Health Center Resource Clearinghouse now includes a COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution page. This new page includes a peer-sharing opportunity where health centers, Primary Care Associations, and Health Center Controlled Networks can submit templates, manuals, or other resources. The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and other HRSA-funded NTTAPs add new resources daily. Learn more in NACHC’s Health Center Resource Clearinghouse COVID newsletter.
Building COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has created an interactive web summary of their publication “Strategies for Building Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines.” It highlights opportunities for public engagement and communication strategies that can be implemented at the national, state, and local levels to change patterns of interaction with the public, address confidence about COVID-19 vaccines, and build trust.
COVID-19 Vaccine Family Interview
In a virtual family interview, Dr. Monica Webb Hooper, deputy director of the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, shares a family conversation with her parents-in-law who volunteered for a COVID-19 vaccine trial. Their personal perspective sheds light on why some African Americans see hope in the vaccine and take pride in being a part of the way forward.
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Health Center and Look-Alike COVID-19 Survey
The survey you received on Friday, February 5, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today.
Last week, 60% of health centers and 48% of health center look-alikes completed the survey. We’re grateful to those who shared their invaluable insights and we encourage everyone to participate. This data enables us to better understand your challenges!
If you have other questions, check out the Survey Tool User Guide, which allows you to quickly “jump” to the instructions for any question.
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The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, a HRSA-funded NTTAP, invites health center staff and clinicians to two upcoming webinars:
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Health Equity and COVID-19
COVID-19 has been shown to disproportionately affect people from racial and ethnic minority groups. Join a discussion of the unique challenges and barriers to care faced by members of these communities in the time of a global pandemic, including best practices for culturally responsive care.
TODAY
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
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COVID-19: The State of the Vaccine
Participants will learn more about the status of clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine, discuss strategies for a culturally responsive pandemic response, and explore the challenges surrounding safe, reliable, and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Thursday, February 18
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Coping with COVID-19: Trauma-Informed Care for Frontline Maternity and Pediatric/NICU Providers
Free continuing education credits are being awarded for a 1-hour online education program on providing trauma-informed care during the COVID pandemic. Credits are available for nurses, physicians, social workers, and marriage and family therapists. All others, including health care providers, community workers, and anyone working with birthing people and new parents will receive completion certificates. Giving Birth during the COVID-19 Pandemic and two other trainings were developed as part of the HRSA-funded Maternal Telehealth Access Project.
FAQs and Resources
We continually update our COVID-19 FAQ webpage. Other resources on HRSA’s site include our coronavirus-related funding FAQ page and COVID-19 Information for Health Centers and Partners.
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:
Thanks to its HRSA funding, Miami Beach Community Health Center (MBCHC) has been instrumental in helping Miami, FL, respond to the pandemic. Most recently, they began distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
From the start, MBCHC transitioned quickly, moving from in-person visits to telehealth for non-essential patient visits. Nearly 40% of patient visits are now conducted through telehealth.
HRSA funding also allowed MBCHC’s patients to obtain their prescription medications through a delivery service, rather than picking them up in-person at the health center. During a four-month period early in the pandemic, 838 patients had their prescriptions delivered.
As demand for testing increased, HRSA’s funding enabled MBCHC to hire additional staff for testing and educational outreach. MBCHC conducts drive-up and walk-up testing at all three of their locations, and tests 100 to 150 patients daily. As of Thursday, January 28, they had tested 20,613 patients. The COVID-19 positivity rate among their patients is nearly 16%, which is significantly higher than the positivity rate reported for the state, according to the Florida Department of Health.
MBCHC received the Moderna vaccine in early January and has since administered 900 first doses, at no cost, to health care workers with direct patient contact and people age 65 and older. They sent a mass text message communication to eligible patients informing them of the availability of the vaccine and describing how to make an appointment. They received another allotment of 900 doses last week.
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If you’d like to share how your health center is helping your community address COVID-19 and advance COVID-19 vaccine distribution, please contact us via our Health Center Stories inbox. We may share your story in future issues of the Digest or on HRSA social media.
If sharing a photo, please include names of everyone in the picture and make sure each person featured has signed a HRSA Photo Release Form. NOTE: Picture should include ONLY health center staff—not patients!
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HIV
African Americans and HIV
HRSA-funded health centers play an important role in Ending the HIV Epidemic by serving as a key point of entry for people undiagnosed with HIV, including minority populations. In 2018, Black Americans accounted for 13% of the U.S. population, but 42% (16,002) of the 37,968 new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. and U.S. territories. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was Sunday, February 7, but let’s extend the observance through all of Black History Month! Visit our website for TA resources and data on how health centers have made an impact in this area.
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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. Notice of funding opportunity HRSA-21-058 is available in Grants.gov, and applications are due by Friday, February 19. 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. Visit the TargetHIV website for slides and a recording from the recent TA session for potential applicants.
Diabetes
Facilitating Healthy Eating for the Whole Family
The second in Health Outreach Partners/MHP Salud’s series on “Diabetes Across the Lifespan," this article focuses on supplementing health education efforts through innovative ways to provide access to healthy foods. It also highlights real health center examples, including creating a food distribution site, partnering with farmers markets, and offering a nutrition and cooking class. Both organizations are HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Expanding Diabetes Prevention and Management through Health Center Outreach Learning Collaborative
This learning collaborative, hosted by the National Center for Health in Public Housing, a HRSA-funded NTTAP, will provide diabetes resources for Community Health Workers (CHWs), and explain the roles and competencies of CHWs in diabetes prevention, with an emphasis on nutrition, physical activity programs, and other lifestyle interventions. Participants will identify screening tools and resources for diabetes prevention. Apply now.
Workforce
Community Housing Asset Mapping Learning Collaborative
The Corporation for Supportive Housing, a HRSA-funded NTTAP, presents a learning collaborative for health centers interested in expanding their knowledge and access to local homeless and housing resources for their patients. Participants will learn:
- How to understand local housing resources and support systems.
- Different housing models that best support patients based on their needs.
- How to create health and housing partnerships to support patients with housing needs.
Learn more or apply by Friday, February 26.
HIT and Job Satisfaction/Burnout
HRSA will deploy a national Health Center Workforce Survey later this year to assess well-being, satisfaction, and burnout. As part of the survey development, a HRSA-funded TA provider conducted a literature review and came to several conclusions:
- Health information technology (HIT), while having many benefits, can contribute to burnout among providers.
- From dissatisfaction with electronic health record (EHR) systems to time spent on clerical tasks associated with EHRs and computerized physician order entries, stress and inefficiency can lead to lower job satisfaction and higher burnout.
- Increasing satisfaction with an EHR system, including workflow redesign to in-visit scribing, can improve HIT-related causes of burnout and loss of job satisfaction.
See the literature review summary for more information.
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.
National Donor Day
This Valentine’s Day, share the love by celebrating National Donor Day! This annual observance focuses on five points of life: organs, tissues, marrow, platelets, and blood. Join us in supporting the donors and their families who made the decision to give the gift of life to thousands of people in the U.S. and the medical professionals who made it possible.
Signing up as an organ donor is the ultimate gift of love and hope to the 100,000+ people currently on the national transplant waiting list. By registering, you can potentially save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of 75 more through organ, eye, and tissue donation. Keep love alive: learn more about organ donation and register at organdonor.gov or donaciondeorganos.gov today!
American Heart Month
Three Goals to Control Hypertension
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a key risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Control Hypertension outlines three goals and strategies to improve hypertension control across the U.S.
- Goal 1. Make hypertension control a national priority.
- Goal 2. Ensure that the places where people live, learn, work, and play support hypertension control.
- Goal 3. Optimize patient care for hypertension.
CDC developed several tools to implement the evidence-based hypertension control strategies found in the Call to Action. NACHC also created a Hypertension Screening and Control Action Guide.
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Heart Health Office Hours
HRSA is celebrating American Heart Month this year by launching our quarterly Heart Health Office Hours: a web-based learning series highlighting evidence-based interventions to improve patients’ heart health.
During our inaugural session, two health centers will share their experiences implementing team-based care to improve hypertension control.
Are Hypertension Control Interventions
that Maximize Team-Based Care Effective?
Thursday, February 25
3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Register here
Additional Resources
Diagnosing HPV-Related Cancers, Screening Guidelines Development, and Improving Screening Measures
At our webinar last month, experts discussed the role of primary care providers and dentists in diagnosing human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer, including via telehealth; an overview of the development of American Cancer Society’s updated cervical cancer screening guidelines; and the steps one health center took to improve their screening measures. Watch the recording.
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