HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program, Upcoming Survey Changes, and More! HRSA PHC Digest

A Newsletter from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)

HRSA BPHC Primary Health Care Digest

December 21, 2021

Testing Supply Program

HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program
HRSA-supported health centers (HRSA-funded health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes) and Medicare-certified Rural Health Clinics have been invited to join the HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program to order free, FDA-authorized COVID-19 at-home self-test kits for distribution at no cost to their patients and communities.

We’re continuing to onboard health centers into the program. The next order cycle deadlines are 11:59 p.m. your local time on Tuesday, December 28, and Tuesday, January 4, 2022. Additional order cycles will be announced by Tuesday, January 4, 2022, as health centers continue to join the program on a rolling basis.


Megaphone

Upcoming Changes for Health Center COVID-19 Survey
The survey you received on Friday, December 17, is due by 11:59 p.m. your local time today.

We want to let you know about changes coming with the survey you’ll receive next week:

  • The December 31 survey will be sent on Thursday, December 30, due to the federal holiday. The survey time period will be the same as always (it will cover Saturday, December 18, through Friday, December 31).

  • This survey will include questions for all health centers asking about their participation in the Testing Supply Program and, if they’re participating, their distribution of the test kits.

News

New HRSA Administrator
Last week, HHS announced that Carole Johnson will become the new HRSA Administrator in January. Ms. Johnson currently serves as the Testing Coordinator for the White House COVID-19 Response Team, where she has led efforts to enable access to COVID-19 tests at sites around the country. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, and she previously served for more than five years as the White House Domestic Policy Council’s public health lead in the Obama Administration. HRSA looks forward to a new year with a new Administrator.


Hand

Jump To:  COVID-19  |  Behavioral Health  |  HIV  |  Hypertension  |  Workforce


What's New

Technical Assistance Session for Fiscal Year 2022 Health Center Controlled Networks Notice of Funding Opportunity
HRSA will hold a second technical assistance (TA) question and answer session for the fiscal year 2022 Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (HRSA-22-009).

Tuesday, January 11, 2022
3:00-4:00 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: 160 639 5556

The NOFO and TA materials are available on the HCCN TA webpage.


UDS Logo

Uniform Data System 2021 Reporting Season Begins Soon
The Uniform Data System (UDS) calendar year 2021 reporting period is just around the corner. The official reporting period begins on Saturday, January 1, 2022. All Health Center Program awardees and look-alikes are required to submit complete and accurate UDS reports by Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

The Preliminary Reporting Environment (PRE) continues to be available through HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs). Data entered in the PRE are pushed into the live reporting environment when the reporting period officially begins.

Visit the UDS Resources webpage for the 2021 UDS Manual and other resources to help health centers submit accurate, timely, and complete UDS reports.

For additional assistance:

  • UDS Support Line: Provides assistance with UDS measures and requirements. Call 866-837-4357 (866-UDS-HELP) or email udshelp330@bphcdata.net.

  • EHBs Assistance: Helps with completing and submitting UDS reports via the EHBs. Call Health Center Program Support at 877-464-4772 (Option 1) or send inquiries via the BPHC Contact Form. Choose the requestor type (current award recipient, current look-alike) and question type (health center).

Financial and Operational Benchmarking Trends and Techniques
Speakers will share a data-based framework for identifying financial strengths and challenges for health center performance improvement. This webinar is based on Capital Link’s just-released Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) Financial and Operational Performance Analysis and Rural FQHC Financial and Operational Performance Analysis. Using benchmarking and comparative metrics from Capital Link’s audited financial database and UDS data, speakers will highlight the variances between rural, urban, and national FQHC performance, as well as selected target benchmarks that support long-term financial sustainability.

Wednesday, January 12, 2022
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Capital Link is a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP).


HHS Awards $82 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding to Expand Home Visiting Assistance for Families Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic
HHS, through HRSA, awarded approximately $82 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) emergency home visiting funds to 56 states, jurisdictions, and nonprofit organizations to support children and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program supports the delivery of high quality, voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to children and families living in communities at risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes.


STI National Strategic Plan

The HHS Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan
Over the past decade, the U.S. has witnessed alarming increases in the rates of sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea, amounting to a public health crisis.

The HHS Sexually Transmitted Infections National Strategic Plan sets a vision for the next four years, outlining goals, objectives, and strategies to respond. It includes indicators with measurable targets to track progress.


Comment Now: Screening for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) invites public comments on its draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review on screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Submit comments until Tuesday, January 18, 2022.


HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge
HHS’ Office on Women’s Health seeks innovative strategies to improve postpartum care for Black or African American and American Indian/Alaska Native women enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP. The emphasis will be on follow-up care for diabetes, postpartum depression and/or postpartum anxiety, hypertension, and substance use disorders (SUD). Total cash prize is $1,800,000. Apply by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, January 31, 2022.


COVID-19

Health Center COVID-19 FAQs


CDC Endorses ACIP’s Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
CDC recently endorsed updated recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the prevention of COVID-19, expressing a clinical preference for individuals to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine. ACIP’s unanimous recommendation followed a robust discussion of the latest evidence on vaccine effectiveness, vaccine safety, and rare adverse events, and consideration of the U.S. vaccine supply. Read the media advisory.


Advancing Health Center & School Partnerships to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Administration for Children and Adolescents
This short TA document developed by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) provides tips and promising practices for health centers partnering with schools to vaccinate the pediatric and adolescent populations, with a focus on COVID-19 vaccinations. NACHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.


Share Your Story

Family Vaccination Days
See our December 10 bulletin for information about the White House’s announcement of Family Vaccination Days. We hope that you’ll share stories profiling the ways your health center is holding Family Vaccination Days. We encourage you to use the #familyvax hashtag to promote your events and efforts on social media.

You can also send us your stories:

You may see your story featured in our newsletter, on a webcast, or via HRSA social media.


Behavioral Health

Health Center Clinician Office Hours: Leveraging Telehealth for SUD Care
HRSA and the HRSA-funded National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) invite health center clinicians to bring their questions to this interactive office hour.

The pandemic accelerated the use of telehealth, including for treatment of SUD. As health centers begin to plan for a post-pandemic environment, we know you’re considering what strategies should continue. Clinicians from NCCC’s Substance Use Warmline will deliver an overview of promising practices and considerations for SUD care through telehealth.

Thursday, January 20, 2022
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here – Submit questions during registration.

NCCC provides free consultation and guidance to clinicians on medical management of SUD and harm reduction strategies. Connect by phone toll-free at 855-300-3595, or upload patient cases securely. The Warmline operates from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday.


Surgeon General’s Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health
In a new Surgeon General’s Advisory, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for immediate action to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis. See the press release.


Practical Tools for Prescribing and Promoting Buprenorphine in Primary Care Settings
SAMHSA’s new resource provides information for primary care providers and practices on how to implement opioid use disorder treatment using buprenorphine.


Talking about the Link between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Overdose, and Suicide
CDC announced a new website, developed in collaboration with the American Public Health Association, intended to increase awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their connection to high rates of overdose and suicide. It explains how exposure to certain events and conditions in childhood have lasting effects on health, well-being, and prosperity far into adulthood.


HIV

National HIV/AIDS Strategy 2022-2025
Health centers are playing a significant role in the national effort to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2022-2025) provides stakeholders with a roadmap to accelerate efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S by 2030. It reflects President Biden’s commitment to re-energize and strengthen a whole-of-society response to the epidemic while supporting people with HIV and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and mortality.


Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
CDC recently updated clinical practice guidelines for using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV prevention. See what's new. Scroll to “What are the guidelines for prescribing PrEP?” to access the clinical providers’ supplement.


Hypertension

Heart Health Office Hours

Prevention and Treatment of Carotid Artery Stenosis
Our recent Heart Health Office Hours included an overview of carotid artery stenosis, including ways health center staff can help prevent, identify, and treat the disease in their patients. If you missed it, watch the recording.


Workforce

NOFO: Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network
HRSA recently announced the availability of nearly $48 million in ARP funding for community based-organizations to expand public health capacity in rural and tribal communities through health care job development, training, and placement. Read more.


Health Center Resource Clearinghouse

Discover Learning Collaboratives on the Health Center Resource Clearinghouse
Looking for small group learning opportunities with other health centers around the country? HRSA-funded NTTAPs design and implement learning collaboratives. These opportunities allow health center peers to come together to study and apply operations, leadership, and quality improvement methodology to focused topic areas. Use this new portal to learn about almost 100 collaboratives. Watch this video to learn about the new feature.


Here are several learning collaboratives from HRSA-funded NTTAPs:

  • Intimate Partner Violence + Exploitation during COVID-19 in Farmworker Communities
    Join Farmworker Justice, Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation (Futures Without Violence), and Migrant Clinicians Network to examine intimate partner violence (IPV) and exploitation in farmworker communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will focus on tools and strategies that health centers and community-based organizations can use to prevent and respond to IPV and exploitation among agricultural workers. All tools will be based on principles of universal education and partnerships among community programs. Learn more or apply by Friday, February 11, 2022.

  • Implementing and Responding to Staff Satisfaction Surveys
    Many organizations are already conducting staff satisfaction surveys, but others could use support to get started or improve their process. Health center teams are invited to gain an understanding of, as well as action steps for, how best to conduct and follow up on staff satisfaction surveys. Apply by Friday, January 7, 2022. Presented by the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved’s (ACU) STAR2 Center.

  • Strategic Workforce Planning for Health Professions-Education and Training Retention and Recruitment
    Health centers will develop a strategic workforce plan focusing on health professions-education and training (HP-ET) strategies to enhance capabilities to recruit, develop, and retain their provider workforce. Apply by Friday, January 14, 2022. Presented by ACU’s STAR2 Center.

  • Rights, Equity, and Health: The Legal Needs of Agricultural Workers and LGBTQIA+ People
    Develop strategies for screening and documenting legal issues related to social determinants of health (SDOH), particularly for agricultural workers and LGBTQIA+ people. Learn how to use screening tools that incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection. Collaborate with peers and expert facilitators to implement best practices for screening, identifying, and referring patients with legal needs. Apply today. Presented by the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (NCMLP), and Farmworker Justice.

HRSA’s Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program Now Open
The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program offers funding to registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and nurse faculty toward payment of their qualifying educational loans in exchange for a two-year service commitment at a health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses or at an eligible school of nursing in the case of nurse faculty. Additional loan repayment is available for a third year of service. Apply by Thursday, January 13, 2022.


In case you missed it:
Visit the Primary Health Care Digest archive.

Do you forward the Digest to others?
Encourage them to subscribe.

Training & Technical Assistance

Mouse

Visit the training calendar to learn details about or register for events.

Upcoming

Better Assess Your Community Using the UDS Mapper
Thursday, January 6, 2022
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here

HCCN NOFO Q&A Session
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
3:00-4:00 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: 160 639 5556

Financial and Operational Benchmarking Trends and Techniques
Hosted by Capital Link, a HRSA-funded NTTAP
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here

The SDOH Academy Innovations Showcase Competition: Helping Health Centers Build Healthier Communities
Hosted by The SDOH Academy, which was founded by NCMLP, a HRSA-funded NTTAP
Thursday, January 13, 2022
3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Register here

Processing Trauma and Moral Injury through COVID-19
Part of the Medical Ethics in a COVID Aware World: Listening Session Series
Hosted by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), a HRSA-funded NTTAP
Friday, January 14, 2022
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here

A Deep Dive on Laying the Foundation and Funding the Model: Session 1 in the MLP in Health Centers Toolkit Webinar Series
Hosted by NCMLP, a HRSA-funded NTTAP
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Register here (visit to see series information)

Promoting Safety in Street Outreach
Hosted by NHCHC, a HRSA-funded NTTAP
Thursday, January 20, 2022
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Health Center Clinician Office Hours: Leveraging Telehealth for SUD Care
Hosted by HRSA and the HRSA-funded NCCC
Thursday, January 20, 2022
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here

UDS Mapper Advanced Topic: UDS Mapper and SDOH—Transportation
Friday, January 21, 2022
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here

Today with Macrae: Health Center Program Updates
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Access details coming soon

Webinars are hosted by HRSA unless otherwise noted.