What's New
A New Identity to Reflect the Focus of the Office of Health Center Investment Oversight
BPHC’s Office of Health Center Investment Oversight announces a new identity for the Project Officer, whose title will now be Investment Oversight Advisor (IOA). The new name aligns the role with the office’s focus on performance and outcomes.
IOAs are unique to this office. They are responsible for monitoring and oversight of supplemental awards and Health Center Program investments other than the H80 grant. Whether newly assigned, or a familiar voice, your IOAs are looking forward to partnering with you as your trusted advisors for Health Center Program investments.
Deadline Reminder: Service Area Competition Applications for September 1 Starts
Service Area Competition (SAC) HRSA-22-008 applications are due in:
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Grants.gov: Monday, February 7, by 11:59 p.m. ET.
- HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs): Wednesday, March 9, by 5:00 p.m. ET.
Technical assistance (TA) materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
Deadline Reminder: SAC-Additional Areas (Lexington, KY and Worcester, MA) Applications
SAC-Additional Areas HRSA-22-125 applications are due in:
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Grants.gov: Monday, February 7, by 11:59 p.m. ET.
- EHBs: Wednesday, March 9, by 5:00 p.m. ET.
TA materials are available on the SAC TA webpage.
Fiscal Year 2022 Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act Non-Competing Continuation Progress Reports
HRSA released fiscal year (FY) 2022 non-competing continuation (NCC) progress report instructions for Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act (NHHCIA) award recipients. Organizations are now able to develop their NCC progress reports in EHBs. Submissions are due by 10:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 14.
For more information, including the progress report instructions and TA resources, visit the NHHCIA TA webpage.
HRSA will host a NHHCIA NCC question and answer session:
Wednesday, February 9
4:00-5:00 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: 161 755 9739
NEXT WEEK: Patient-Centered Medical Home Health Equity TA Symposium
Join 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, using key: PCMH2022
National Advisory Council on Migrant Health Seeking Member Nominations
HRSA seeks nominations of qualified candidates to be considered for appointment as members of the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health (NACMH) to fill seven open positions. NACMH advises and makes recommendations to the HHS Secretary on policy, program development, and other topics related to Migrant Health Centers and other organizations that serve migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families.
Visit the NACMH webpage to access the Federal Register Notice and learn more about this call for nominations. Email Esther Paul, Designated Federal Official, NACMH, if you have questions or need more information.
How Alternative Payment Models Can Help Community Health Centers Improve Patient Care
This article from The Commonwealth Fund profiles health centers that have begun dipping their toes into new payment approaches by joining programs run by their state Medicaid agencies, Medicaid managed care organizations, or Medicare. An interview with HRSA Associate Administrator Jim Macrae supplements the article.
Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program
HRSA recently posted a Notice of Funding Opportunity for its Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program. This initiative began three years ago to address persistent disparities and lack of obstetric services in rural areas. For this round, applicants can request up to $1 million per year for a four-year program, subject to available funding. Applications are due Tuesday, April 5.
HRSA Updates the Affordable Care Act Preventive Health Care Guidelines to Improve Care for Women and Children
HHS, through HRSA, has updated comprehensive preventive care and screening guidelines for women and for infants, children, and adolescents. Under the Affordable Care Act, certain group health plans and insurance issuers must provide coverage with no out-of-pocket cost for preventive health services within these HRSA-supported comprehensive guidelines. Among a number of updates, for the first time the guidelines will require such group health plans and insurance plans to provide coverage without a co-pay or deductible for double electric breast pumps. Read more.
Comment Now: Behavioral Counseling to Promote a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults Without Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) invites public comments on its draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review on behavioral counseling to promote a healthy diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease prevention in adults without cardiovascular disease risk factors. Submit comments until Monday, February 14.
COVID-19
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of Medications for Treatment of COVID-19
A CDC report documents lower use of monoclonal antibody treatment among certain racial and ethnic minority patients with positive COVID-19 results, relative to white and non-Hispanic patients. Racial and ethnic differences were smaller for inpatient administration of remdesivir and dexamethasone.
Special and Vulnerable Populations COVID-19 Forum Webinar Series
Join several HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partners (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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 Health centers across the nation have distinguished themselves in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a recent example:
Providing COVID-19 Vaccine Education to Increase Confidence
Tepeyac Community Health Center (Denver, CO) has focused on reaching underserved residents and talking to people who may be hesitant about receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. Their community health workers have knocked on more than 4,000 doors and spoken to more than 2,800 people at their homes or community events, reaching people in neighborhoods that are diverse in socioeconomic status and ethnicity.
Tepeyac partners with CREA Results, a local organization that works with the Latino and immigrant communities, as well as the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to bring the state’s mobile units to different areas, especially where it may be difficult for an individual to receive a vaccine. The mobile units have been essential to meeting people where they live in their local neighborhoods and at community gatherings, including at churches, a craft fair, and even a Native American pow-wow where 205 people received a COVID-19 vaccination. Tepeyac promotes COVID-19 vaccination events in multiple ways, including through door-to-door canvassing, text messaging, and social media.
Tepeyac’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence have made an impact. As of early January, Tepeyac staff and partners had administered COVID-19 vaccinations to 2,201 people at mobile vaccination clinics, including 121 adolescents and 191 children younger than 12. Learn more about their work.
Share Your Story
For health centers participating in the HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program, we’re eager to hear how your health center is distributing tests. We’d like to know how your participation has positively impacted your patients and recipients.
Send your story to our Health Center Stories inbox. If sharing a photo, please include a high-resolution image along with the names of everyone in the picture and make sure each person has signed a HRSA Photo Release Form.
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Behavioral Health
Findings from the Report, “Building the Evidence Base for Social Determinants of Health Interventions”
Speakers will provide an overview of findings from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation report published in September 2021. They will discuss specific intervention components that improve health, and which interventions might achieve sustained and lasting improvements.
Wednesday, February 16
1:00-1:30 p.m. ET
Register here
**0.5 CE available**
Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Behavioral Health Care Support
HRSA recently announced the availability of $13 million in funding to increase access to quality behavioral health care services in rural America.
Webinar for SAMHSA’s Harm Reduction Grant Funding Opportunity
SAMHSA is accepting applications for the first-ever SAMHSA Harm Reduction grant program, and expects to issue $30 million in grant awards. Applications are due Monday, February 7. Join a TA webinar tomorrow:
Wednesday, January 26
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join the day of the session
Register Now for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®
NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse invites health centers to join in during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® (March 21-27). This is a week-long national health observance highlighting the science-based facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. Learn more and register your event.
HIV
Knocking Out HIV/AIDS and Chronic Disease with a Jolt to the Heart
HRSA’s webinar will highlight the history of HIV, the impact of cardiovascular disease in people with HIV, and best practices to identify, prevent, and manage cardiovascular disease in people with HIV.
Speakers will include Dr. Paul E. Sax, Clinical Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Renslow Sherer, Professor of Medicine in Infectious Disease at University of Chicago.
Thursday, January 27
1:00-2:15 p.m. ET
Register here
Hypertension
Comment Now: Behavioral Counseling to Promote a Healthy Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults without Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
See the announcement above.
Knocking Out HIV/AIDS and Chronic Disease with a Jolt to the Heart
See the announcement above.
Workforce
Health Workforce Research Center Funding Available
HRSA’s Health Workforce Research Center funding opportunity application is now open through Thursday, April 14. HRSA anticipates funding up to nine cooperative agreements for a total $4.95 million investment. The awards will support and disseminate rigorous research that strengthens evidence-based policy and enhance understanding of issues and trends in the health workforce.
HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
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Planning and Financing a Capital Project to Accommodate Integrated Care
Capital Link invites health centers anticipating the need for a capital project during the next one to five years to join this opportunity. You will receive practical direction and tools for planning, financing, and completing a capital project. Apply by Friday, February 11.
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Sustaining and Increasing Access to Care in Rural Communities
Capital Link and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) will explore community needs, growth planning, and financing options for health centers serving rural communities. Learn more or apply by Wednesday, January 26.
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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.
Additional Resources
Housing is Health Care
This video from the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) explores the importance of housing as a social determinant of health and why housing equals health care. Health centers will learn how they can play an integral role through partnership and direct services to secure housing for patients. CSH is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Diabetes and Stress: Reimagining Health Education Intervention Strategies
This article is part of the quarterly "Diabetes Prevention Across the Lifespan" series produced through a collaboration of Health Outreach Partners and MHP Salud. It explores the impact that stress can have on diabetes outcomes for those experiencing or at-risk for diabetes. Stress can be felt at all stages of life, and its detrimental impacts are magnified by experiences of racism, financial insecurity, and lack of health insurance, to name a few. Health Outreach Partners and MHP Salud are HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Health Care Considerations for Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ Indigenous Communities
This publication by the National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center will guide health centers in providing affirming care and services for Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ AI/AN people. Readers will explore key concepts, terminology, and the effects of historical trauma. Discover best and promising practices for care that incorporate Indigenous holistic models of wellness and focus on resilience and protective factors, including links to resources for further exploration of these topics. The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
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