What's New
Today with Macrae Next Week
Join Jim to hear more about funding, COVID-19 vaccination, and more.
Tuesday, March 2
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
If you prefer to join by phone: 833-568-8864. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID: 161 317 0572.
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Due Monday: FY 2021 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention Funding
Through the FY 2021 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention (PCHP) NOFO (HRSA-21-092), HRSA will invest approximately $48 million in health centers in the 57 geographic locations identified by Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America to expand HIV prevention services.
FY 2021 PCHP applications are due in HRSA’s EHBs on Monday, March 1, by 5:00 p.m. ET. TA resources, including an eligibility list and a recording of the question and answer session for applicants, are available on the PCHP TA webpage.
Due Monday: 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).
Three Weeks Left! 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 immunization services within primary care settings. The submission deadline is 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 15.
Interested in learning more? Check out this new FAQ section on the P4 website, an informational webinar held in January, and the related presentation slides.
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Help Us Improve Our Website!
When you visit our website, you may see a pop-up asking you to take a short survey. Please click on “Provide Feedback” and give your honest input. We are in the process of redesigning our website, and your ideas and feedback are very important to inform our decision-making. Thank you for your help with this important project! |
Healthy Grants Workshop Begins in May
The 2021 Healthy Grants Workshop web series begins Tuesday, May 18. The web series is for current HRSA award recipients and will offer multiple presentations on how to successfully manage your HRSA award.
We reviewed your feedback from the 2020 workshop, we learned some valuable lessons, and we’re excited to make this year’s workshop even better! In addition to presentations by HRSA’s Office of Federal Assistance Management, the web series will feature presentations by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources and the Office of the Inspector General, as well as other HRSA bureaus and offices, including the Office of Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the Office of Information Technology.
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HHS recently announced a Special Enrollment Period for individuals and families to enroll in health insurance coverage through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace through Saturday, May 15, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Health centers should assess whether additional assister support would be helpful to meet the potential demands of individuals in your community seeking assistance in identifying affordable insurance coverage options, and supporting enrollment through the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid/CHIP, or Medicare. As a reminder, CMS provides guidance related to training, certification, and recertification for assisters.
HHS Telemedicine Hack: Recordings Available
HHS Telemedicine Hack (TM Hack) was a virtual, peer-to-peer learning community to accelerate telemedicine implementation for ambulatory providers. The TM Hack took place last fall, but the recordings and other materials are available online and we encourage health centers to view them. The TM Hack included TeleECHO sessions, virtual “office hour” discussion panels, and peer-to-peer learning sessions. Sessions included:
- Telemedicine: Where Do I Start?
- Workflows and Documentation
- Clinical Best Practices and the Art of the Tele-Physical Exam
- Overview of Telehealth Billing & Reimbursement Policies
- The New Normal: Tips to Make Telemedicine Part of Your Permanent Practice
COVID-19
CDC Article Highlights Trends in Health Centers’ Telehealth Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Using data from 245 health centers that completed the voluntary weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey, a new CDC article reviews trends in telehealth use, including by U.S. Census region and urban/rural classification, during a 20-week period. Study results underscore the need to sustain expanded telehealth use among health centers and to continue to address barriers to telehealth adoption, particularly in the south and rural areas.
For other articles about quality care delivered by health centers, visit our Health Center Library. For more information about survey results—including links to dashboards—visit our Health Center COVID-19 Survey page.
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Thank you to those who complete the weekly survey—you make research like this possible! As a reminder, the survey you received on Friday, February 19, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today.
If you have questions, check out the Survey Tool User Guide, which allows you to quickly “jump” to the instructions for any question.
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COVID-19 Communications Toolkit for Health Center Staff
This toolkit from NACHC is intended to provide health center staff with:
- Key messages (which can be tailored for use with specific populations).
- FAQs.
- Sample social media posts.
- Useful templates.
These and other communications materials can create confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage health center staff and the communities they serve to get the vaccine and help protect against COVID-19.
SPEED Enrollment Guide for FQHCs
The Special Projects for Equitable and Efficient Distribution (SPEED) of COVID-19 Outpatient Therapeutics program supports direct federal allocation of COVID-19 outpatient therapeutics (i.e., monoclonal antibodies) to priority settings that care for populations at high risk for hospitalization. Any FQHC with the capacity and capability to administer monoclonal antibodies to their patients is eligible to participate in SPEED. FQHCs that do not have on-site capabilities to administer monoclonal antibodies can partner with local hospitals or community infusion centers approved to receive SPEED allocations directed for use with FQHC patients only.
ACTIV Update: Making Major Strides in COVID-19 Therapeutic Development
In a recent blog post, NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, discusses how the chances of surviving COVID-19 have significantly improved in the year since the start of the pandemic.
This improvement stems from several factors, including the FDA’s emergency use authorization (EUA) of a number of therapies found to be safe and effective for COVID-19, such as remdesivir (an antiviral), dexamethasone (a steroid), and monoclonal antibodies. He discusses how NIH’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative, a public-private partnership, has been essential to these achievements.
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:
Using their HRSA funding, Chinatown Service Center (CSC) in Los Angeles, CA, quickly adapted to the changing needs of the local Chinese American community by implementing telehealth visits, modifying existing work areas to allow for social distancing, initiating curbside testing, and expanding their ability to travel to hard-to-reach areas with new medical mobile vans. CSC is testing more than 150 patients per day.
Partnering with local councilmembers and agencies, CSC also helped launch a hot meal delivery program for seniors and disabled residents of Chinatown. This program was initiated several weeks after the city’s shelter-in-place order went into effect. Seniors and disabled residents found it challenging to prepare meals, as many live in facilities with shared kitchens. CSC’s program has provided approximately 15,000 meals.
Recently, CSC has been designated a point of dispensing, meaning it will become a center to provide mass COVID-19 vaccinations for Los Angeles County.
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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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Behavioral Health
STAR2 Center Recruitment Boot Camp: Mental Health Edition
Building on the success of previous Recruitment Boot Camps, this learning collaborative will focus on the special considerations needed to recruit a diverse, mission-driven, and patient-centered mental health workforce. This boot camp will leverage the STAR2 Center’s expertise in recruitment and retention and provide real world examples through the facilitation provided by expert faculty Dr. Adijat Ogunyemi, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 13 years of health center experience. Apply by Friday, March 5. The STAR2 Center is part of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, which is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Mental Health Needs of Migratory and Seasonal Agriculture Workers Learning Collaborative
MHP Salud presents a four-session learning collaborative focused on the current and future landscape of mental health among migratory and seasonal agriculture workers (MSAWs), as well as recommendations for how best to support this community. The collaborative is for health center staff, Community Health Workers, and other enabling service staff who interact with the MSAW community. Register here. MHP Salud is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Supporting Providers and Centering Survivors: Rethinking Success through Partnerships and Innovations to Support People Experiencing Homelessness
The National Health Network on IPV and Human Trafficking and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council present a learning collaborative addressing the intersections of gender and homelessness. This eight-session learning collaborative focuses on a constellation of intersecting issues, including SUD, mental health, homelessness, human trafficking, and interpersonal violence. Apply by Friday, March 12 (new deadline). Both organizations are HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Register Now for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®
Your efforts to empower teens and young adults to make informed decisions about drugs and alcohol are more important than ever. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites you to register your event for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® (NDAFW), March 22-28. NDAFW is a week-long national health observance highlighting science-based facts about how drugs and alcohol affect the brain and body.
HIV
Enhanced AHEAD Dashboard Now Available
Yesterday, HHS released an enhanced version of the America’s HIV Epidemic Analysis Dashboard (AHEAD). This online visualization tool tracks Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative data. The recent update allows you to filter national data, view updated HIV diagnoses and linkage to care data, and compare data across county-level EHE geographic areas. Read more about AHEAD and the latest enhancements.
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Diabetes
Strategies to Increase Diabetes Screening among Asian American Populations Learning Collaborative
Join this learning collaborative to gain in-depth knowledge about diabetes and body mass index screening for Asian American populations. Clinicians, health center staff, and Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) facilitators will provide context, promising practices, and data from a national perspective. The collaborative takes place across four sessions in March. Register now. AAPCHO is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Workforce
National Shortage Designation 2.0: Update Preview Auto-HPSA Portal Training
HRSA is updating all automatically designated Health Professional Shortage Area (Auto-HPSA) scores as part of the Shortage Designation Modernization Project (SDMP), also called National Shortage Designation 2.0, tentatively planned for summer of 2021.
Register now for a training session on Thursday, March 4, or Tuesday, March 9, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET to access your facility-specific Update Preview within the Auto-HPSA portal.
Several HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
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Aligning the Health Center Resource Clearinghouse Structure and Diversifying Clearinghouse Resources to Meet Health Center Needs
This NACHC learning collaborative focuses on how to align the Clearinghouse’s content and delivery with health centers’ specific needs. Participants will take a deep look into the Clearinghouse site and provide feedback and recommendations to make its resources more accessible and relevant for health center staff, leadership, and boards. Apply or learn more.
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Board Governance
Governance training can positively impact engagement of consumer board members of health centers providing care to MSAWs and their families. The National Center for Farmworker Health invites consumer board members and key leadership staff to join a five-session learning collaborative. Participants will have access to newly developed training modules designed specifically 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 Monday, March 1.
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See the Behavioral Health section for learning collaboratives on related topics.
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Strategies to Increase Diabetes Screening among Asian American Populations
See the announcement above.
Bringing Lawyers onto the Health Center Care Team to Promote Patient and Community Health
The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, a HRSA-funded NTTAP, is hosting a five-part webinar series to disseminate their Health Center Guide toolkit. The toolkit provides the health center community with information and resources to start, strengthen, and sustain a medical-legal partnership (MLP). Visit the webinar series page to see recordings of parts 1-2 or register for the remaining sessions. The next sessions are:
Part 3: Advancing Workforce Goals for
Health Center and Legal Services Staff
Thursday, February 25
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Part 4: Creating Screening, Referral, and Service
Delivery Workflows for a Medical-Legal Partnership
Thursday, March 11
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Part 3 will focus on how the MLP approach advances workforce goals for both health center and legal services staff working to address the social needs of patients and communities. Subject matter experts from MLPs will share how they addressed the training needs of the health care workforce and community during and/or in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Part 4 panelists will discuss how to overcome barriers to integration by sharing successful models of information sharing between health care and social services.
Telehealth
HHS Telemedicine Hack: Recordings Available
See the announcement above.
CDC Article Highlights Trends in Health Centers’ Telehealth Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic
See the announcement above.
American Heart Month
CDC Facebook Live Event Highlighting Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Champions
Join Million Hearts® Executive Director Larry Sperling, MD, and some of the 2020 Hypertension Control Champions for a conversation about hypertension control. Health care experts from Bon Secours Charity Health System Medical Group (NY) and PrairieStar Health Center (KS), as well as Saulius J. Skeivys, MD, PC (NY), will share strategies that work and the importance of heart health during uncertain times.
Wednesday, February 24
1:00-1:30 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
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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
Housing and LGBTQIA+ Older Adults: A Webinar Series
This two-part webinar series will explore the impact of housing as a social determinant of health, particularly for LGBTQIA+ older adults. It will explore multiple factors that can lead to increased challenges for LGBTQIA+ older adults when securing safe and stable housing. This webinar series is presented by several HRSA-funded NTTAPs: the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, the National Center for Equitable Care for Elders, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
The one-hour sessions begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on:
Tuesday, March 16
Tuesday, March 23
Register for the series.
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