What's New
HHS Secretary Becerra Visits Atlanta Health Centers
At Southside Medical Center, Secretary Becerra joined in a discussion on health care coverage and access. From left to right: Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, Southside CEO Dr. David Williams, Secretary Becerra, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Rep. Nikema Williams, and Rep. Lucy McBath.
Discussion at the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS), focused on COVID-19’s impact on communities of color. From left to right: Rep. Bourdeaux, Secretary Becerra, CPACS Vice President Victoria Huynh, and Rep. Hank Johnson.
American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Interim Guidance on Preventing Hospitalization from Respiratory Syncytial Virus during Delayed Season An atypical summer spike in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has prompted the American Academy of Pediatrics to recommend clinicians consider using palivizumab for high-risk infants in affected areas. Typically, this becomes a focus in colder seasons. We encourage providers to think about RSV now: Identify children with risk factors, including certain premature infants, infants with chronic lung disease, congenital heart disease, or pulmonary, neurologic or neuromuscular abnormalities, and arrange for appropriate treatment.
New Health Center Research Briefs Offer Insights on Maternity Care, Clinical Quality Measures, and Medication-Assisted Treatment We’ve published new research briefs exploring health center capacity in maternity care deserts, differences in clinical quality measures among Appalachian and non-Appalachian health centers, and the role of health centers in providing medication-assisted treatment. The briefs were developed through the UDS Mapper—a tool that helps evaluate the geographic reach, penetration, and growth of the Health Center Program and its relationship to other federally-linked health resources. Visit the Health Center Research and Evaluation webpage to view the briefs and other resources that highlight ongoing health center research in a quick overview format.
Respond Today! 2021 Training and Technical Assistance Needs Assessment The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) invites all health center staff to complete a 20-minute National Training and TA Needs Assessment. This one-time assessment will inform the development of training and TA necessary to support health centers in improving access and advancing quality and impact over the next two to three years. NACHC is a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP).
Staffing Transformation Following Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition Join our webinar exploring how Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition at health centers has affected staffing capacity to deliver team-based integrated care. We’ll feature findings from a recent analysis of data from the UDS and the HRSA accreditation and PCMH recognition initiatives to identify changes in health center staffing infrastructure.
Thursday, August 26 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Register here
Pharmacy Operations Troubleshooting Guide Topic: Mitigating Manufacturer Actions Impacting 340B Financial Savings to Health Centers This publication, developed by NACHC, identifies promising practices and actions that health centers can take to mitigate the negative financial consequences of manufacturer actions on health center patients and health center 340B savings.
Get Involved in #WellChildWednesdays to Encourage Parents to Keep Up with Pediatric Checkups and Immunizations Each Wednesday this August, join HRSA’s #WellChildWednesdays social media campaign to encourage families to keep up with well-child visits and vaccinations. Participate by liking, retweeting, and sharing @HRSAgov Twitter and Facebook messages with the hashtag #WellChildWednesdays or create your own message using this hashtag. See our most recent Twitter post. Please help us amplify these critical messages.
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COVID-19
Hot Shot: What's the Deal with Delta? The National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) will co-host a webinar with HUD on how to collaborate with public housing agencies and other community organizations to support safe COVID-19 vaccination, masking, and social distancing practices in your community to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. NCHPH is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Wednesday, August 25 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Register here
Back to School, COVID-19, and the Value of School-Based Health Centers This NACHC webinar brings together national leaders in school-based health to discuss plans for a safe return to school, adolescent and COVID-19 vaccination efforts, the value of having a health center available within a school setting, and successful collaborations with government and community-based organizations to improve the wellbeing of the students and families they serve.
Tuesday, August 31 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
Vaccines and Safe Injection Practices for Community Health Centers Join the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care to learn how its accreditation standards apply to your vaccination programs and to review the CDC vaccination toolkit. The presenter will discuss how COVID-19 can impact other vaccination timelines and reflect on flu rates in 2020.
Thursday, September 9 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
Reduced Risk of Reinfection after COVID-19 Vaccination CDC recently completed a study of patients who previously had COVID-19. Researchers found that being unvaccinated was associated with 2.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with being fully vaccinated.
The Role of Dental Providers in Vaccine Delivery and Policy Recommendations The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) shares a new publication describing COVID-19 vaccine delivery strategies developed by health centers using dental providers for vaccine administration. It also highlights policy opportunities to consider for the future that support medical/dental integration and whole-person care in health centers. NNOHA is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
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These COVID-19 related items ran in previous communications from the Bureau of Primary Health Care.
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Webinar Recording: The Critical Role of Monoclonal Antibodies as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues Here is the recording for HRSA’s recent webinar on how monoclonal antibody therapeutics can help prevent serious illness from COVID-19. Learn more and see other resources in our bulletin from last week.
HHS Mask Distribution Program: Request Child-Size Masks by This Thursday In partnership with HHS, the Department of Defense has distributed more than 26 million free masks to health centers and food banks across the country. Read our bulletin from last week to find out how to request additional child-size masks on a first come, first served basis by this Thursday, August 19.
ARP Tax Credit for Paid Leave Due to COVID-19 The ARP allows small and midsize employers, and certain governmental employers, to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees due to COVID-19, including leave taken by employees to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccinations. These tax credits are available to eligible employers for wages paid for sick and family leave from Thursday, April 1, 2021, through Thursday, September 30, 2021. Learn more.
Advancing Health Center and School Partnerships to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Administration for Adolescents NACHC and the School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA) recently released a short TA document that provides practical strategies and sample resources for advancing health center and school system partnerships, including tips on maximizing summer break and preparing for back to school opportunities. SBHA is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Behavioral Health
Intensive TA for Practice Change BPHC’s Behavioral Health TA provides support to health centers to integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings through site visits. Our contractors will:
- Work with your integrated care team in advance to craft an agenda that carefully considers not just the TA needs, but also the unique characteristics of your organization and how they impact planning for practice change.
- Pinpoint areas where TA for integrated services would be most effective.
- Ensure the time invested by staff pays dividends for your organization: building in a concrete plan for progressing the team’s approach to providing services.
TA site visits can be provided virtually or onsite to fit your needs. Get more information.
Supporting Implementation of Smoking Cessation Programs in Public Housing Primary Care Settings Learning Collaborative NCHPH's learning collaborative will discuss group and individual strategies and best practices to help health center patients to quit smoking. Topics such as stress management, relapse, and quitting strategies for people with substance use and behavioral health disorders will be addressed. Sessions will take place from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesdays in September. Register here.
Health and Housing Partnerships E-Learning Course This self-paced e-learning course developed by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (a HRSA-funded NTTAP) offers strategic guidance in building, assessing, and/or strengthening various types of partnerships between Health Center Program grantees, behavioral health providers, and supportive housing providers. Whether you represent one of these types of organizations or you are merely curious about health and housing partnerships, you can use this course as your roadmap.
Intersection of Substance Use, HIV, and HCV Office Hour: Come Meet the National Clinician Consultation Center HRSA is co-hosting this office hour with the National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC). Clinician consultants will describe how they provide timely clinical decision support and discuss insights and best practices for providing care to people living with HIV/hepatitis C virus, and substance use disorders.
Submit questions ahead of time during registration or during the live session.
Wednesday, August 25 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register here
Mapping Patient Journeys in Drug Addiction Treatment Challenge NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites health centers (organizations, teams, or individuals) to participate in a new challenge that has cash prizes totaling $100,000. The goal is to create actionable patient journey maps that might further the understanding of the obstacles that patients face in getting treatment for drug addiction. NIDA invites participants to identify specific points during the patient journey where patients encounter the most difficulty, enabling NIDA to focus new research efforts into alleviating those areas of difficulty in patients’ drug addiction treatment journeys.
Hypertension
Quarterly Heart Health Office Hours: 2020 Heart Health UDS Findings Our quarterly Heart Health Office Hours is a web-based learning series highlighting evidence-based interventions to improve patients' heart health.
August's session will feature a summary of the 2020 heart health UDS measures, trends over the years, and evidence-based strategies to improve heart health in patients. HRSA representatives will be available to answer your questions about the 2020 UDS findings.
Thursday, August 26 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET Register here
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Workforce
Supporting Implementation of Smoking Cessation Programs in Public Housing Primary Care Settings Learning Collaborative See the announcement above.
Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Funding Available HRSA, through the ARP, released two funding opportunities to support primary care residency programs in rural and underserved communities and create new community-based residency programs. Applications are due by Monday, August 30. Read more.
Provider Workforce Resiliency Training Funding Available HRSA announced the availability of approximately $103 million from the ARP to reduce burnout and promote mental health among the health workforce. Applications are due by Monday, August 30, in Grants.gov.
Oral Health
The Role of Dental Providers in Vaccine Delivery and Policy Recommendations See the announcement above.
Integrating Diabetes and Oral Health Learning Collaborative NNOHA invites health centers to participate in a virtual learning collaborative on integrating diabetes and oral health. The goal is to improve outcomes for people with diabetes by increasing the number of dual users of medical and dental services. Apply by 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, August 27.
Telehealth
Now Available: Turn to Telehealth Partner Toolkit A new partner toolkit on Telehealth.HHS.gov helps organizations communicate with their audiences about telehealth. The toolkit includes downloadable sample newsletter articles, social media content, tip sheets, graphics, and web badges that connect patients and providers to the most current information about telehealth and its benefits.
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Telehealth Optimization Quick Guide for Health Centers This updated resource guide from NACHC is intended to support health centers that want to advance telehealth or virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic response and operational recovery.
Additional Resources
Health and Housing Partnerships E-Learning Course See the announcement above.
HRSA’s National Organizations of State and Local Officials Cooperative Agreement Program supported these projects by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials:
Diabetes Patient Education during the Pandemic Webinar Recording HRSA’s Region 5 Office of Regional Operations recently hosted a webinar on current patient education challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics included strategies to overcome patient education barriers due to the pandemic, components of a patient education program and best practices in diabetes patient care. Use the passcode JA=8@=jy to view the recording.
In case you missed it: Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
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