What's New
No Surprises Act: New Requirements Effective Saturday, January 1
Visit CMS’ website for information about the new requirements related to surprise medical bills. It includes provider and consumer resources. Anyone can call the No Surprises Help Desk to ask questions or file complaints at 1-800-985-3059.
Note: See the sidebar for a webinar on Thursday, January 20, about providing good faith estimates for health center dental programs.
Health Center Activities and Innovations - ARP (H8F) Funding
Join HRSA to hear from three health centers about how they are using ARP funding to confront and overcome challenges related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination. We’ll feature speakers from East Harlem Council for Human Services, Inc. (New York, NY), Fairfield Community Health Center (Lancaster, OH), and Oak Orchard Health (Brockport, NY).
Wednesday, January 19
1:30-3:00 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: 161 586 3466
Deadline Change: FY 2021 ARP – Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements Progress Report
The first quarterly progress report for the FY 2021 ARP Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements (ARP-Capital, C8E) is due Tuesday, February 15. It will open in EHBs on Tuesday, February 1.
The reporting period for this first quarterly report is Wednesday, September 15, 2021, to Friday, December 31, 2021. Visit the FY 2021 ARP-Capital technical assistance (TA) webpage for more information and TA resources.
Billing, Coding, Documentation, and Quality Web Series
The National Association of Community Health Centers’ (NACHC) two-part webinar series offers health center clinical providers, revenue cycle, coding, billing, and IT staff guidance on clinical documentation, professional coding, and medical billing processes.
Thursday, January 20,
and Thursday, January 27
2:30-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
NACHC is a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP).
Patient-Centered Medical Home Health Equity Technical Assistance Symposium
Join the upcoming event to hear about and discuss best practices and lessons learned from peers and experts in the fields of health equity, quality improvement, and accreditation/recognition. More than 20 health center representatives, HRSA Associate Administrator Jim Macrae, and Director of HRSA’s Office of Health Equity Michelle Allender are among the speakers.
Monday, January 31,
and Tuesday, February 1
11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET
Register here with key: PCMH2022
NIH Listening Sessions to Inform Efforts on Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity
NIH launched the UNITE initiative in March to address structural race and ethnicity-based discrimination in NIH-supported entities and the greater scientific community. Now they are holding listening sessions to learn from external stakeholders about the full range of issues and challenges in advancing racial and ethnic equity in the biomedical research enterprise.
COVID-19
CDC Updates on Boosters and Additional Doses
CDC recently reduced the wait time for a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to five months.
They also authorized an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (to complete the primary series) for some immunocompromised children ages 5-11. Read more about both of these announcements.
Last week, CDC also expanded booster eligibility to include children ages 12-17.
HHS’ We Can Do This site offers materials that you can use to encourage your community to get boosted—including new additions tailored to adolescents!
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CDC Study of 1,200,000+ Confirms Vaccine Effectiveness
A recent study of more than one million people confirms that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against COVID-19-associated hospitalization and death. Highlights:
- Severe COVID-19-associated outcomes (0.015%) or death (0.0033%) were rare.
- Nearly 80% of those who died had at least four risk factors.
Leveraging the Power of Social Media Influencers to Combat COVID-19 Misinformation among Parents of Unvaccinated Youth
Learn about social media influencer culture and how your health center can build its capacity to successfully engage with local or “micro” social media influencers in disseminating health information to parents in your communities. This NACHC webinar is funded by CDC.
Tuesday, January 18
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Legal Lessons Learned from the Pandemic for Health Center Boards
This resource developed by NACHC highlights legally-focused governance lessons learned during the pandemic. It also details considerations for assuring and maintaining a reasonable level of flexibility in the health center’s bylaws and key board-approved policies.
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.
The next session is on Friday, January 28. Speakers will share resources on staff burnout/resiliency. See session dates and register now.
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Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal Open
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting portal is open for providers required to report on PRF payments during Reporting Period 2. The portal will remain open until Thursday, March 31. Learn more about reporting requirements.
 Your Stories: A Year in Review
During 2021, health centers across the nation made remarkable strides to support patient health during the COVID-19 pandemic – administering over 18 million vaccinations and 8.5 million tests for COVID-19 and implementing innovative approaches to reach special populations, such as people experiencing homelessness. We showcased some of your stories in our Health Centered on COVID-19 feature. Here are some highlights:
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Chinatown Service Center (Los Angeles, CA) implemented telehealth visits, modified existing work areas to allow for social distancing, initiated curbside testing, and expanded their ability to travel to hard-to-reach areas with new medical mobile vans. Read more.
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OneWorld Community Health Centers (Omaha, NE) has a promotora/Community Health Worker team that includes a Spanish-language translator, and they hit the streets in late July with vaccines in a special cooler so they could administer shots on the spot. Read more.
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Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (Waianae, HI) approached encampments where people experiencing homelessness were living in the area to offer on-site vaccinations. Read more.
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Alcona Health Center (Lincoln, MI) took action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in adolescents, including through school-based health centers, by administering tests, vaccinating adolescents as well as faculty and staff, and distributing masks and hand sanitizer. Read more.
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Cervical Health Awareness Month
The Current State of Cervical Health Domestically and Internationally: An Opportunity for Knowledge Exchange and Bidirectional Learning
HRSA’s Women’s Health Leadership Series highlights innovative women’s health practices by and for HRSA-funded and other safety net settings of care. The HRSA Offices of Global Health and Women’s Health present a webinar in observance of Cervical Health Awareness Month.
Thursday, January 20
10:00-11:00 a.m. ET
Register here
Hear about the Cervical Cancer Moonshot Project spurred by HRSA, learn from partners of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative, understand recent innovations in cervical health, and more. For questions or follow-up, contact HRSA's Office of Women's Health.
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Cervical Cancer Prevention throughout the Lifespan
HRSA will also host a webinar to discuss cervical cancer screening challenges and successes experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers will address the impact of the pandemic and how we can recover and sustain screening rates moving forward. Experts in the field will discuss the benefits and limitations of screening modalities, human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) protection and safety, and best practice guidelines. Join us to get your questions answered.
Thursday, January 27
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: 161 522 6175
Behavioral Health
Cherokee Health Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health Academy
HRSA will feature Cherokee Health Systems in an upcoming two-day virtual training. Speakers will discuss the integrated care clinical model, building team-based care, building a primary care provider/behavioral health provider panel, financing integrated care, and using health information technology and data analytics. See the agenda.
Wednesday, January 19,
and Thursday, January 20
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
**Earn 12 CE credits for attending this two-day training.**
Health Center Clinician Office Hours: Leveraging Telehealth for Substance Use Disorder Care
HRSA and the HRSA-funded National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) invite health center clinicians to bring their questions to this interactive office hour. Clinicians from NCCC’s Substance Use Warmline will deliver an overview of promising practices and considerations for substance use disorder (SUD) care through telehealth.
Thursday, January 20
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.
Hypertension
Million Hearts® Learning Lab: Ensuring Health Equity in Preventing Cardiovascular Disease
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, quality improvement, and other interested staff across the country, but with a focus on community health centers. The next session is:
Wednesday, January 19
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
NACHC (through a cooperative agreement with Million Hearts®) and the American Medical Association co-host this series. CDC and CMS fund Million Hearts®.
**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.**
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Workforce
All-Hazards Emergency Preparedness and Response Competencies for Health Center Staff – Paid* Focus Groups
Health centers must prepare so that their patients can continue to receive quality care in any emergency or disaster. Eligible health centers are invited to join a paid* focus group to provide your insights as a health center staff member (across disciplines and skill levels) regarding the training you and your colleagues need to be properly prepared. Feedback collected will be used to define the essential competencies for preparing health center staff via an all-hazards emergency preparedness approach. Register for a 90-minute focus group by Friday, January 21.
*While the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) is a HRSA-funded NTTAP, the $50 gift card is provided by NNCC directly and is not supported by the HRSA U30 award.
Needs Assessment: Dental Assistant Workforce in Health Centers
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) is conducting a brief needs assessment to better understand the needs of health centers' dental assistant workforce. The results will inform the development of national resources to assist with the recruitment, retention, and training of dental assistants. It is intended for dental leadership and dental assistants working in health centers. Please take five minutes to complete this quick survey. NNOHA is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
HRSA-funded NTTAPs present the following learning collaboratives:
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Diabetes in Special and Vulnerable Populations: The Special and Vulnerable Diabetes Task Force announces four opportunities that span the diabetes care continuum. Gain strategies, tools, and resources needed to create positive change in diabetes control among health center patients. Learn more or register by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 16.
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Supporting Family Caregivers of Older Adults with Dementia: The National Center for Equitable Care for Elders invites you to focus on skill-building in supportive care approaches for older adult patients with dementia and their caregivers. Participants will be provided access to a one-year membership to the Center to Advance Palliative Care's full library of online training courses at no charge, including free CE credit. Apply by Friday, January 21.
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Quality Improvement Strategies for Latent Tuberculosis Infection Screening, Testing, and Treatment in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Health Centers: Electronic Health Record Template Development: The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations’ Tuberculosis Elimination Alliance invites you to this opportunity to learn the critical role that electronic health records play in optimizing care for latent tuberculosis infection. Learn from clinical experts. Apply by 5:00 p.m. your local time on Friday, January 21.
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Screening for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): The Farmworker Health Network (several HRSA-funded NTTAPs) invites health centers to integrate best practices on screening for and addressing SDOH factors that impact migratory and seasonal agricultural workers. Register now.
Deadline Extended: HRSA’s Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program
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 27.
Oral Health
Needs Assessment: Dental Assistant Workforce in Health Centers
See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
Climate Health and Equity
HRSA presents a webinar to raise awareness of the intersection of climate, health, and equity issues. Speakers from George Mason University will focus on the how climate dynamics are affecting temperatures, and the measurable impacts on human health. They will discuss circumstances that increase vulnerability (e.g., age, prior medical conditions, or previous environmental injustice) and the importance of equitable climate solutions.
Monday January 24
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Focus Groups for Consumers and Providers: Healthy Cooking & Diabetes
Diabetes continues to be a priority health concern for many individuals experiencing homelessness and their providers. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) is holding focus groups to learn more about what would be helpful to include in a cookbook that could be used by people with diabetes, and how this cookbook could be presented in a way that is useable by consumers.
The first focus group is for providers:
Thursday, February 17
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
NHCHC hopes that health centers can recruit patients to participate in one of these two (identical) consumer focus groups.
Tuesday, February 22
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Wednesday February 23
5:00-6:00 p.m. ET
Register here
NHCHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
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