TODAY: BPHC All-Hands
Join Jim for our last BPHC All-Hands of 2021 to hear about return to the workplace, BPHC REACH, and more.

3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Join the session
If you prefer to join by phone: 833-568-8864. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID: 161 467 3662.

Updated Slide Deck Available: Primary Health Care Update
Visit the Speakers Bureau web page on BPHC’s Information and Resources (BIR) site for an updated presentation on BPHC and the Health Center Program. The Primary Health Care Update slide deck is 508-compliant and includes an overview of the Health Center Program, 2020 UDS data, information on how health centers have addressed COVID-19, changes to compliance, and new initiatives. We encourage you to use this deck as you create your upcoming presentations!

Section 508 Compliance Responsibilities
All HHS employees are responsible for ensuring that electronic products meet the requirements set forth in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. To support employees in creating accessible products, the BIR has a variety of tools including Power Point Accessibility Top 10, Power Point Accessibility Basics, Webinar Accessibility Top 10, and more. To learn how to create more accessible products, bookmark the Section 508 Remediation Process page on the BIR.

Announcing the BPHC Style Guide
OSBO’s Communications Division has developed a new style guide for use by bureau staff when developing all types of formal written products. It consolidates guidance from HRSA, HHS, GPO, and AP, and describes how this guidance should be applied for different types of writing.

The Style Guide also contains a table of commonly used BPHC-specific terminology, clarifying preferences for capitalization and acronym usage, as well as a list of COVID-19 terminology and special guidelines for the PHC Digest and BPHC Insider newsletters.

The BPHC Style Guide is available in the Communications section of the BPHC Information and Resources (BIR) website and will be updated regularly. We recommend you bookmark it (rather than downloading the PDF) so that you’re always seeing the most updated version.

Length of Service Anniversaries
This year, we’ve recognized 28 BPHC staff with milestone length of service anniversaries.

CONGRATULATIONS to BPHC staff who reached a milestone length of service anniversary between October 1-December 31! See some of them in the fourth quarterly staff bulletin issued earlier this week.

Upcoming Newsletter Deadline Changes
We are off on Friday, December 24, and Friday, December 31, due to federal holidays. For both weeks, we’re moving up the newsletter deadline: Newsletter submissions must be approved by COB Wednesday, December 22, or COB Wednesday, December 29, to be published in the subsequent week’s issue. Anything not approved by the deadline will be held.

These holidays do not impact publication schedules for our newsletters. Questions? Email the Digest mailbox.

Four Days Left! 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season
Find Open Season resources, frequently asked questions, premium information, plan comparison tools, and more on the Office of Human Resources’ Open Season site. More resources:

• Virtual Benefits Health Fair (site works only in Chrome).
• On-Demand 2021 insurance plan videos and carrier events.
• OPM’s Open Season website includes plan comparison tools

Fun Hat and Festive Sweater Contest Closes Tomorrow!
Consider participating in BPHC’s CFC Fun Hat, Festive Sweater Contest. Upload a picture of yourself wearing a fun hat, festive, sweater, or both, to our 2021 Fun Hat Festive Sweater Contest folder by close of business tomorrow, Friday, December 10. Please ensure your sweater and outfit are workplace appropriate. Within the file name, tell us who you are and what cause you care about. Use this format for the file name: Name_Cause.  For example, JaneDoe_AnimalRights.  (Do not list a specific charity.)

Judging takes place next week:

Thursday, December 16
2:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session 

The CFC Cause of the week is Human Rights. You can Be the Face of Change by pledging to support causes that help to ensure that all individuals are treated equally and with dignity. Register and make your pledge today. Please remember to use the BPHC Donation Number: 6J8H1Q, to ensure that BPHC receives the credit for your donation. See our CFC bulletin for information on how to donate to a cause that is meaningful to you. For questions, contact your BPHC CFC Coordinators (Nancy Gebhart and Joanie Rowley-Hill) or CFC Office Keyworkers.

Update Your Outlook Signature
Need to update your Outlook signature? These tools can help. If you have questions on how/when to make changes, check with your supervisor.

• View a job aid that walks you through the steps.
• View the updated HRSA template.
• Consider including your pronouns after your name: learn more.

Getting to Know: David Spett
Meet David Spett, Chief Data Officer, OSBO:

One thing my coworkers would be surprised to learn about me: I had a short career in journalism and worked at a few media outlets, including a daily newspaper in Cape Town, South Africa.

Dream vacation: A remote location with tall mountains, scenic vistas, and grueling day hikes, followed by good food and a comfortable bed.

Best advice I ever received: Adopt a daily meditation and mindfulness practice.

I am happiest when: Working on a project that might make someone else’s life better, now or in the future.

Learn more about David, and email BPHC Insider to submit your name for a future Getting to Know.

HRSA Pride Holiday Party & December Membership Meeting
You’re invited to HRSA Pride’s holiday party and final membership meeting of the year! Come celebrate the holiday season, hear about HRSA Pride’s accomplishments in 2021, and start planning events and activities for 2022. Be sure to wear your fun hat and festive holiday sweater!

Thursday, December 16
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session

Contact pride@hrsa.gov for more information and to receive the calendar invite.

Due Soon! Mandatory Trainings
HHS has launched four mandatory 2021 trainings that all employees must complete by Friday, December 31:

• Emergency Preparedness
• Ethics Training
• No FEAR Act
• Records Management

You are automatically registered for all four of these trainings in the Learning Management System (LMS). Please login to the LMS to complete these trainings as soon as possible. If you plan to take off in late December, please be sure to complete these trainings prior to your leave.

In Case You Missed It

A Round-Up of Previously Announced Items

• Project Officers: The May 25 updates to the Change in Project Director Standard Operating Procedure clarifies who can serve as a project director for a supplemental award with a separate activity code.
• HRSA is standardizing Microsoft OneDrive for cloud storage and sharing on a secured infrastructure. For a detailed migration schedule, see the OneDrive Migration Plan.
• Unsure who to contact about ITAS, travel, human resources, and more? Visit the DWM Menu of Services.
• New MS Teams Functions: Click on a function to learn more: Live Captions/Transcript, PowerPoint Live, Whiteboard, and Praise App.
• HRSA created official templates you can use as backgrounds for MS Teams and Zoom.
• COVID-19 Leave Options: Read a summary of leave options and resources available to staff.
• Need to visit 5600 Fishers Lane for an appointment? You can enter the building after notifying your supervisor. No need to submit a workflow request.