What's New
COVID Awards – Project Periods Ending Project periods for awards provided to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency end soon:
- COVID-19 (H8C) ends on Sunday, March 14.
- CARES (H8D) ends on Wednesday, March 31.
- Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing (ECT) (H8E) ends on Friday, April 30.
- Look-Alikes ECT (L1C) ends on Wednesday, June 30.
If your health center has already completed award activity—and reported this in your quarterly progress reports—we may shorten your project period to complete a timely closeout of these grants. In that case, you will receive a Notice of Award shortening the project period. It will include a revised Federal Financial Report due date.
If you think your health center will not complete award activity by the end dates noted above, you may request an extension without funds (also known as a no-cost extension) for up to 12 months. You will be able to complete your projects using the remaining funds. Quarterly progress reports will continue through the extended period. If you expect to need such an extension, please contact your Grants Management Specialist and Project Officer to discuss the requirements for submitting the request in EHBs.
See You at The National Association of Community Health Centers Policy & Issues Forum! If you are planning to attend the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Policy & Issues Forum (March 15-18), we encourage you to attend the sessions featuring HRSA speakers. See the full conference schedule. NACHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Patient Safety Awareness Week Event: Becoming a High-Reliability Organization Please join HRSA and other federal partners for a special program in honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week. We’ll feature Kathleen Sutcliffe, PhD., a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University and an internationally recognized expert in management and organization theory. She will discuss high-reliability organizing as the next wave of innovation in keeping patients safe. She will cover the fundamentals of high reliability, helping health care organizations learn how they can operationalize these concepts.
Wednesday, March 17 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Register here
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FY 2020 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention Tri-Annual Progress Report Due Soon The third FY 2020 Ending the HIV Epidemic – Primary Care HIV Prevention (PCHP) tri-annual progress report opened yesterday in EHBs. Progress reports are due by Monday, March 15. Your progress report should cover the reporting period beginning Sunday, March 1, 2020, through Sunday, February 28. Find progress reporting TA resources on the PCHP TA webpage.
Get Answers! Health Insurance Marketplace Resources Available HHS recently announced a Special Enrollment Period for individuals and families to enroll in health insurance coverage through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (through Saturday, May 15). NACHC is cohosting a webinar with CMS to discuss a new tool that navigators and certified application counselors can use when trying to resolve complex consumer enrollment issues.
Thursday, March 11 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET Register here
CMS recently released technical guidance for Marketplace stakeholders and a memo on the current schedule of planned maintenance. The following resources may also be useful for assisters and consumers:
You’re Invited: Federal Panel Discussion on Rural Health HRSA’s Office of Regional Operations, in partnership with the New England Rural Health Association, invites you to an interactive facilitated federal panel discussion featuring speakers from HRSA and several other HHS agencies. Dr. Marcia Brand, former HRSA Deputy Administrator, will lead and moderate an engaging opportunity to learn about government resources, current priorities, and new and exciting upcoming initiatives. The event will include informal breakout sessions with panelists, for the audience to interact one-on-one with experts. Learn more about the event.
Thursday, March 25 Noon-1:30 p.m. ET Register here (requires free registration)
Final Week! 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. Visit the website for TA resources.
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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 by Monday, March 15.
Note: Not all who express interest will be able to participate, as we are aiming to speak with individuals representing a variety of backgrounds.
COVID-19
More Outpatient COVID-19 Treatment Research Interested in advancing the equitable development of outpatient COVID-19 treatments, like monoclonal antibodies and other therapies? The ACTIV-2* Study is still testing different therapies to see if they are safe and can help adults with COVID-19, and they could use your support. NIH invites you to hear from David Smith, MD, MAS, Professor and Vice-Chair of Research in the Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, and lead principal investigator for the NIH ACTIV-2 study. Dr. Smith will present an update on this research protocol. *ACTIV stands for Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutics Interventions and Vaccines.
Encouraging Health Center Engagement in the ACTIV-2 Clinical Trial Thursday, March 11 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
CDC Vaccine Resources CDC’s vaccine site has resources for clinicians to get the answers they need, including:
We encourage you to check out the site. Consider bookmarking it so you can quickly get the latest information!
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New Resources from NACHC NACHC encourages health centers to check out these resources:
Opportunity to Contribute to COVID-19 Research NIH is recruiting participants for the NIH COVIDcode Study, to understand how genetics influence the severity of COVID-19 disease. The eligibility questionnaire will take approximately two minutes to complete. Please share with potential volunteers who live in the U.S. and have tested positive for COVID-19. If you are a leader within a HRSA-supported setting of care or HRSA stakeholder group, NIH would like to collaborate with you to distribute information about the study. Reach out for more information.
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New Janssen Vaccine - Health Center COVID-19 Survey Update The FDA recently granted emergency use authorization for the Janssen COVID-19 (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine. Here’s how you should capture administration of this single-shot vaccination in the weekly survey:
- Questions about “initiating” the vaccine should include only administration of the first shot for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine series. If you administered the Janssen vaccine, do not count that for these questions. These are questions 15 and 17 (and 22, 24, and 26 in the addendum for Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program participants who received vaccine in the past week).
- Questions about “completing” the vaccine should include administration of the Janssen vaccine, as well as administration of the second shot for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series. These are questions 16 and 18 (and 23, 25, and 27 in the addendum for Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program participants who received vaccine in the past week).
If you still have questions about how to complete the survey, visit our Survey User Guide. Thank you to those who complete the weekly survey! As a reminder, the survey you received on Friday, March 5, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today.
Veterans Get New Chance to Serve on Vaccination Campaign Six veterans organizations are coming together to form the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination. Any veteran – anywhere in the U.S. – can register to help get the vaccine distributed in their communities. Learn more.
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:
Beginning in January, eight of HealthLinc Inc.’s (IN) clinics began offering COVID-19 vaccines to their patients in accordance with state protocol. During the first two weeks, their clinical pharmacists, nurses, and medical assistants administered approximately 4,000 vaccines, and nearly 3,000 people pre-registered to receive the vaccine.
HealthLinc took a proactive approach to contact patients eligible to receive the vaccine and schedule appointments. They actively communicate with community members on the waiting list who are eligible to receive the vaccine.
These COVID-19 vaccination efforts require coordination between every HealthLinc department and clinic. Their site operations directors focus on maximizing appointment availability, and staff members have cross-trained to assist with scheduling. To optimize their work, HealthLinc created a task force that meets regularly to review new state recommendations, evaluate their own effectiveness, and make changes as necessary to vaccinate as many people as possible to help bring the pandemic to an end.
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If you would like to share how your health center is helping your community address COVID-19, please contact us via our Health Center Stories inbox. We are especially interested in hearing about your efforts to promote equity in vaccine distribution and overcome vaccine hesitancy. 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
Funding Opportunity: Medication Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction SAMHSA is accepting applications for FY 2021 Medication-Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction grants. The purpose of this program is to expand and enhance access to medication-assisted treatment services for persons with an opioid use disorder. SAMHSA plans to issue approximately 89-135 awards of up to $1 million per year for states and up to $525,000 per year for other domestic public or non-profit entities, for up to 5 years. Learn more or apply now.
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 substance use disorder, mental health, homelessness, human trafficking, and interpersonal violence. Apply by Friday, March 12. Both organizations are HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Diabetes
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
SDOH Academy 2021 Breakthrough Series The SDOH Academy offers health center staff a “Breakthrough Series” of webinars and office hours where their faculty will help you break through the clutter to access resources, experts, and peer linkages. The series takes place in April and will equip participants with the tools needed to increase their competency in four core SDOH response strategies. Learn more or register for the series. The SDOH Academy was founded by the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Several HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
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Building Staff Resilience and Response during Public Health Disasters
Join the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium for five sessions on building staff resilience during public health disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This interactive (ECHO) learning collaborative is being offered in collaboration with the National Council for Behavioral Health and will use the teachings and principles of trauma-informed approaches and resilience to address how participants can create sustainable culture change in their organizations and communities. Register before the first session on Tuesday, March 23.
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Supporting Providers and Centering Survivors: Rethinking Success through Partnerships and Innovations to Support People Experiencing Homelessness
See the announcement above.
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Expanding Diabetes Prevention and Management through Health Center Outreach Learning Collaborative
See the announcement above.
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SDOH Screening Tools for Public Housing Residents
The National Center for Health in Public Housing will guide participants through a range of evidence-based SDOH screening tools that are relevant for public housing residents. The learning collaborative will include five learning sessions. Each session will focus on a specific domain such as housing, health literacy, maternal and child health, and behavioral health. Apply now.
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Building Capacity for Care Coordination Through PACE
Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) promote safe community living for the growing population of older adults, many of whom have complex health needs and varying levels of social support. The National Center for Equitable Care for Elders invites you to join speakers to discuss the features and benefits of this model within a health center context and explain the PACE provider application process. Apply by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 2.
HRSA Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program Funding Does your institution want to increase the number of dental and dental hygiene faculty in the workforce? The HRSA Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program (DFLRP) wants to help! DFLRP funds institutions to create and manage a loan repayment program for individuals who serve as full-time dental and dental hygiene faculty.
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Congratulations to the 2021 80% in Every Community National Achievement Awards Honorees As part of its annual observance, the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT) announced the 2021 80% in Every Community National Achievement Awards honorees, which include a HRSA-funded health center: Esperanza Health Centers (Chicago, IL). Esperanza raised its screening rates from 43% in 2015 to 80% in 2017—and they have stayed above 80% since.
Join NCCRT’s webcast to celebrate these and other national achievements and to hear the latest state of the field updates. Hear from the NCCRT co-chairs and speakers from CDC and the American Cancer Society.
Tuesday, March 16 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET Register here
At last week’s Today with Macrae session, we shared resources that can help your health center increase its screening rate:
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Additional Resources
Housing and LGBTQIA+ Older Adults: A Webinar Series This two-part webinar series will explore the impact of housing as a SDOH, 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.
Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking: Collaboration between Medical-Legal Partnerships, FQHCs, and Domestic Violence Programs to Support Patients Two HRSA-funded NTTAPs—the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership and Futures Without Violence—are joining forces to share strategies on how medical-legal partnerships can successfully partner with health centers and community-based domestic violence programs to improve health outcomes, decrease isolation, and support health care for survivors. Presenters will highlight how civil legal service providers partner with health centers to address the increased needs of individuals affected by intimate partner violence/human trafficking (IPV/HT) during COVID-19. The audience can ask questions about their challenges or share successes as health care, social service, and legal services staff in addressing the needs of patients experiencing IPV/HT.
Wednesday, March 24 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Register here
Suggested reading ahead of the session: "Medical-Legal Collaboration and Community Partnerships: Prioritizing Prevention of Human Trafficking in Federally Qualified Health Centers."
Heart Health Office Hour Recording is Available Missed the inaugural session of our quarterly Heart Health Office Hours? Watch the recording. The session, with a focus on controlling hypertension, featured presentations from the CDC Million Hearts® Initiative, the North Hudson Community Action Health Center (NJ) and Lorain County Health & Dentistry (OH).
Heart Health Office Hours advance evidence-based interventions and promotes best and promising practices that allow for access to comprehensive, culturally competent, and quality primary health care services and improved heart health. The next quarterly Heart Health Office Hours, surrounding innovative approaches to lifestyle modification referral pathways, will be in May.
In case you missed it: Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
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