What's New
Health Center Stories Now Online
Our new webpage showcases the significant strides HRSA-supported health centers have made to promote public health and provide primary care services in underserved areas, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Story categories include vaccines and immunizations, COVID-19 response efforts, telehealth, community outreach, and health center staff.
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Interested in sharing your health center’s story? Email HRSA Health Center Stories to submit your story for possible promotion on our new website, in a HRSA newsletter, or on HRSA social media. If sharing a photo, please include a high-resolution image and a HRSA Photo Release Form for each person featured. |
Patient Safety Awareness Week Event: Harnessing Individual Power to Effect Positive Change
Patient Safety Awareness Week is March 13-19. HRSA is hosting an event in partnership with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Practitioner Data Bank, the Indian Health Service, FDA, NIH, and CDC.
Thursday, March 17
2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here
Amelia Brooks from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement will provide strategies that health care organizations can implement immediately to improve the safety culture in their organizations. She will share how to focus on safety within the context of global health and staffing crises, how to reduce burdens on frontline providers, eliminating tasks that do not add value, and implementing practical strategies to support staff. There will also be a virtual exhibit hall at the end of the session.
Webinar Recording Available: Health Center Activities and Innovations – American Rescue Plan (H8F) Funding
Watch the recording of this recent webinar featuring health centers from NY and OH sharing how they are using American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to confront and overcome challenges related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination. We will also add this to the resources available on the H8F TA webpage.
Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program
HRSA recently posted a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) 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.
Share Lifeline with Qualified Patients
Lifeline is a federal government program that offers a monthly discount on phone, internet, or bundled package bills to qualified low-income people, which can give them the tools to access services like telehealth. Customers living on Tribal lands can receive an additional benefit. Share this website with patients so they can learn about the benefits and assess if they may qualify.
Comment Now: Interventions for Weight Management in Children and Adolescents
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted a draft research plan on interventions for weight management in children and adolescents, which is available for public comment. We encourage you to review it and submit comments until Wednesday, March 9.
COVID-19
Special COVID-19 Omicron Webinar
Join HUD and the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) to hear the latest from CDC on key issues including boosters and additional doses*, tests (PCR, rapid, and at-home), quarantine and isolation, masking, and the possible expansion of youth vaccines to children ages 6 months through 4 years. A speaker from NEW Health Center (Charlestown/Boston, MA) will share their COVID-19 initiatives and community collaborations to serve residents of public housing and other underserved populations. NCHPH is a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP).
Wednesday, February 16
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Register here
*HHS’ We Can Do This website offers materials you can use to encourage your community to get boosted, including social media posts, print materials, and more.
American Heart Month
Congratulations to the 2021 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Exemplars
Congratulations to the health centers who are among the 2021 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control Exemplars! Exemplars are health care practices, health centers, and supporting health care organizations that demonstrated excellence in prioritizing and improving hypertension control during the pandemic.
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Jessie Trice Community Health Center, Inc. (Miami, FL) set up a drive-through hypertension clinic and implemented a self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring platform. Patients received Bluetooth-enabled devices to take readings at home. The devices securely transmitted the readings to the health center, where they were automatically saved in the patient’s medical records. Staff could then act on the data as needed (adjusting medications or setting up an appointment).
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Community Health & Wellness Partners (West Liberty, OH) experienced a 40% decline in visits when the pandemic hit. In response, they bolstered participation in their virtual Chronic Care Management program (helping patients manage high blood pressure at home) and used a tele-pharmacy.
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Philadelphia FIGHT (Philadelphia, PA) called patients taking medications for chronic health conditions. If at-home delivery from a pharmacy wasn’t an option, staff personally delivered medications. Philadelphia FIGHT’s staff called more than 5,000 patients and delivered medication to 600 patients.
Learn more about their stories on the Million Hearts® website.
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Behavioral Health
Harm Reduction, Treatment, and Recovery Support Funding from SAMHSA
SAMHSA’s new grant opportunity may be of interest to health centers. Funding will support targeted strategies for the provision of substance use disorder or co-occurring disorder harm reduction, treatment, and/or recovery support services to support an under-resourced population or unmet need identified by the community.
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.
Workforce
Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program
HRSA recently released a dental faculty loan repayment program NOFO to increase the number of dental and dental hygiene faculty in the workforce. This funding is designed to help attract and retain faculty to dental and dental hygiene training programs through the operation of a loan repayment program.
HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
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Community Food Mapping to Promote Diabetes Prevention
For people experiencing homelessness at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, finding healthy food options can be a challenge. This opportunity is for health centers of all funding types serving people experiencing housing insecurity. Participants will develop food maps that document resources to resolve food insecurity. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) invites case managers, community health workers, peer educators, care coordinators, social workers, and all health center staff who assist clients in navigating community food resources to join this examination of food insecurity. Apply by Friday, March 4.
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Lessons Learned: Implementing and Expanding Social Needs Screening Programs in Health Centers
Discuss promising practices and key considerations to support the collection, monitoring, and addressing of social needs data. See health center exemplars and explore the levels of maturity in the social needs screening implementation process. Learn concrete strategies and IT solutions that can improve internal systems (e.g., electronic health record use and care team workflows). Presented by the Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality (HITEQ) Center. Apply by Friday, March 11.
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Supporting Mental Health Needs of Migratory and Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Focus on the current and future landscape of mental health among migratory and seasonal agricultural workers (MSAWs), as well as recommendations for how best to support this community. This opportunity from MHP Salud is designed for health center staff, community health workers, and other enabling service staff who interact with the MSAW community. Register by Friday, February 18.
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.
Oral Health
Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program
See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
When Everyone Benefits: A Virtual Symposium on Health Care, Homelessness, and Public Safety
NHCHC will host an exploration of the future of public safety and the intersecting issues of unsheltered homelessness, criminalization, crisis response, street outreach, and health care. We encourage health centers to join and to invite community stakeholders.
Wednesday, April 6
Noon-3:30 p.m. ET
Register here
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