What's New
Congratulations to Community Health Quality Recognition Badge Recipients! We are recognizing Health Center Program awardees and look-alikes that have made notable quality improvement achievements with our new Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges. These recognize achievements in access, quality, health equity, and health information technology for the 2020 Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting period.
Badge recipient information is available at the national, state, and health center levels on the Health Center UDS Data webpages. If a health center has received one or more CHQR badges, the information is displayed on the health center’s profile page.
Learn more:
Join an upcoming CHQR program overview:
Thursday, September 16 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Register here
|
Service Area Competition-Additional Areas Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement Released for Colebrook, NH, and San Juan, PR HRSA released fiscal year 2022 Service Area Competition-Additional Areas (SAC-AA) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), HRSA-22-106, for the Colebrook, NH, and San Juan, PR, service areas. Find details for the announced service areas on the Service Area Announcement Table.
Applications are due in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, October 25, and in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, November 15. Technical assistance (TA) materials are available at the SAC-AA TA webpage.
Deadline Reminder: Service Area Competition Applications for March 1 Starts Service Area Competition (SAC) HRSA-22-004 applications are due in EHBs on Monday, September 13, by 5:00 p.m. ET. TA materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
UDS Clinical Tables Part 1: Screening and Preventive Care Explore 2021 reporting requirements for screening and preventive clinical quality measures across the UDS clinical tables. These include tobacco cessation and screenings for colorectal cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, depression, adult body mass index screening and follow-up, and HIV screening measures.
Thursday, September 23 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET Register here
View the full 2021 UDS reporting webinar schedule, including the session on counting visits on Wednesday, September 15.
|
Director of HRSA’s Office of Legislation HRSA is recruiting a director for its Office of Legislation. This person will be responsible for legislative planning within HRSA to advance the Administration's agenda. See the full job description and application requirements.
Using American Rescue Plan Funds to Build Health Center Value-Based Payment Capability This document, developed by NACHC, provides guidance on ways that health centers can use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to develop and expand their value-based payment capabilities. Areas of focus for short-term investments include improving data and IT, integrating services, and improving access and health equity.
Opportunity to Comment on CDC Contraception Guidance Key Questions CDC is encouraging public comments on revisions to the recommendations and implementation of the contraception guidance: U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use and U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use. See the notice in the Federal Register.
COVID-19
Special and Vulnerable Populations COVID-19 Forum Webinar Series Join several NTTAPs to hear discussion of how COVID-19 has impacted health centers and the special populations they serve. Suma Nair, PhD, Director of BPHC's Office of Quality Improvement, will join the sessions. She will provide up-to-date information about assistance for health centers as they recover and stabilize their workforce while continuing to respond to the pandemic. See session dates and register now.
|
Addressing Tobacco Dependency to Reduce COVID-19 Risks and Complications Early evidence has found that compared with non-smokers, smokers are more likely to develop serious COVID-19 disease. The National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) presents a webinar series where speakers will provide examples of cessation plans, best practices, and patient resources to encourage cessation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sessions take place from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET on:
Tuesday, October 12 | Tuesday, November 2 Register here
NCHPH is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
The Delta Variant: Five Ways Communities Can Protect People Experiencing Homelessness The recommendations from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and other federal and national partners are informed by CDC guidance to help communities protect people experiencing homelessness from contracting COVID-19 and becoming severely ill or dying.
CDC Communication Toolkit for Migrants, Refugees, and Other Limited-English-Proficient Populations This communication toolkit helps public health professionals, health departments, community organizations, health care systems, and providers reach populations who may need COVID-19 prevention messaging in their native languages.
Provider Relief Website Migration Congress provided $178 billion in funding to establish the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program that gives financial support to providers who have seen lost revenues and increased expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, HRSA has played a lead role in administering the PRF program and disbursing the funds as quickly as possible. With the expansion of the program, information previously hosted on the HHS website is now available on the HRSA website.
The migration of the content allows HRSA to manage, under its own website domain, all PRF information, announcements, and future funding availabilities including the $8.5 billion from the American Rescue Plan for rural providers. Stakeholders have already been notified of the website migration.
Users who visit hhs.gov/providerrelief (previous URL) will be automatically re-directed to hrsa.gov/provider-relief. All archived content will remain available to the public. For updates about the PRF and other HRSA programs, please subscribe to the HRSA eNews.
CDC Report on Vaccination Status and Hospitalizations CDC recently completed a study quantifying the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on decreasing hospitalizations. See the report.
|
|
These COVID-19 related items ran in previous communications from the Bureau of Primary Health Care.
|
OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard: Clinical, Operational, and Compliance Impact for Health Centers This archived webinar, hosted by NACHC, provided an overview of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard and a discussion of COVID-19 safety precautions that recognize workforce fatigue. Watch it to learn about finding the appropriate balance between regulatory requirements and workforce capacity.
Reminder: Health Center COVID-19 Survey Due Today As a reminder, the survey you received on Friday, August 27, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today.
Given the changing nature of the pandemic, we added new questions on monoclonal antibody therapies. Read the details in a recent bulletin. We did not make any changes to the survey addendum.
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
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.
DATA 2000 Waiver Training Payment Program We are accepting applications for payment from Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) employing buprenorphine waivered providers under a new program, the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) Waiver Training Payment Program. This program gives FQHCs and RHCs the opportunity to apply for a $3,000 payment for each eligible employed provider who attained a DATA 2000 waiver on or after January 1, 2019.
There is no application deadline, but funds are limited and will be paid on a first-come, first-served basis until all available funds are exhausted. We are collaborating with SAMSHA to process these applications. Watch a video on how to apply, and access FAQs.
Addressing Tobacco Dependency to Reduce COVID-19 Risks and Complications See the announcement above.
Hypertension
Million Hearts® Learning Lab Registration is Open The Million Hearts® Learning Lab is a bi-monthly learning series focused on cardiovascular disease prevention and management topics. The series is open to clinicians and quality improvement/other interested staff, with a focus on community health centers. Clinicians may earn 1.0 CME credit per session and up to 5.0 credits for attending the full series through the American Medical Association's EdHub.
Learn more about the 2021-2022 curriculum, see prework and session dates, and register. The first session is Wednesday, September 15.
|
Recording Available: 2020 Heart Health UDS Findings Our recent session featured a summary of the 2020 heart health UDS measures, trends over the years, and evidence-based strategies to improve heart health in patients. Watch the recording.
|
Workforce
Virtual Engagement for Professionals: Center of Excellence Web Series This web series will identify and promote promising practices for optimal, virtual training and TA engagement. Collaborators will host facilitated discussions, offer peer-learning opportunities, and publish training and TA highlights and successes. See dates and times and register today. This series is hosted by the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium and the Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality (HITEQ) Center, both HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Several HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
-
Childhood Diabetes Prevention
Hosted by Farmworker Justice, Health Outreach Partners, and the School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA), this opportunity is for community health center primary care and behavioral health providers and outreach staff. The sessions will teach strategies and best practices for identifying and addressing diabetes risks and share experiences with health center peers and experts. Learn more and apply by Wednesday, September 15.
-
Expanding Mobile Medical Units
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council encourages health centers using ARP funds to expand use of mobile units, or who currently provide this service, to join. Participants will focus on expanding the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) model of care using mobile service sites. HCH health centers having a history of providing mobile unit health care will serve as mentors and subject matter experts for learning collaborative participants. Apply by Tuesday, September 14.
-
Supporting Implementation of Smoking Cessation Programs in Public Housing Primary Care Settings Learning Collaborative
See the announcement above.
OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard: Clinical, Operational, and Compliance Impact for Health Centers See the announcement above.
Oral Health
Teledentistry User’s Guide The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) has worked with health centers since spring of 2020 to develop and test a variety of strategies to deliver dental services via synchronous teledentistry.
Their new User’s Guide gives an overview of teledentistry, describes its use in health center dental programs, and includes practical tools for implementing teledentistry. NNOHA is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
|
Telehealth
Teledentistry User’s Guide See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
Healthy Starts, Healthy Hearts: Understanding and Addressing Adolescent Relationship Abuse SBHA is excited to share this new resource, designed to help health centers collaborate with schools and community organizations to promote healthy relationships and better serve adolescents impacted by relationship abuse. Visit SBHA’s website to download the resource.
In case you missed it: Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.
Do you forward the Digest to others? Encourage them to subscribe.
|