What's New
Does your Health Center Have a January 1 Start Date? Review Your Patient Target
We recently updated patient targets for Health Center Program award recipients with a January 1 budget period start date. On Thursday, April 7, we sent an email message to the Authorizing Officials and Project Directors of these health centers, which indicated whether the health center would complete a fiscal year (FY) 2023 Service Area Competition (SAC) or Budget Period Progress Report. The email also included a direct link to the updated patient target. Health centers that will complete an FY 2023 SAC for awards starting January 1, 2023, should review their patient target and take appropriate action in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) by Thursday, April 21.
View the Patient Target Quick Reference Guide on the SAC TA webpage to learn how to access your patient target in EHBs.
Submit questions using the BPHC Contact Form (select “Patient Targets” under the Health Center Program heading).
FY 2021 American Rescue Plan – Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements Office Hour
Our Capital Specialist team will host an office hour to answer questions and provide additional assistance to FY 2021 American Rescue Plan Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements (ARP-Capital, C8E) awardees. Feel free to come with questions and/or listen and learn from others.
Wednesday, April 20
4:00-5:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Visit the ARP-Capital TA webpage for award recipient information, FAQs, and additional resources.
HRSA Announces Availability of New Funding to Support Community-Based Doulas
HRSA recently announced the availability of $4.5 million for hiring, training, certifying, and compensating community-based doulas in areas with high rates of adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. Learn more or apply by Tuesday, May 31.
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Black Maternal Health Week
Black Maternal Health Week is April 11-17. “Every maternal death is a tragedy,” according to HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, “But the fact that maternal deaths disproportionately happen to Black women is a national crisis.” HRSA is committed to improving Black maternal health and overcoming the social and structural inequities that contribute to the problem.
Read the White House Proclamation and a HHS news release describing recent HHS investments to strengthen maternal health, including HRSA investments in growing the community-based doula workforce, expanding the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, and supporting locally-led efforts to improve outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy.
National Telehealth Conference
Join HRSA for the inaugural National Telehealth Conference on Monday, May 16, and Tuesday, May 17. Experts and leaders in the field will examine the evolution of telehealth, discuss its place in an integrated health care delivery model, and review the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the future of telehealth.
Tools for Health Centers to Promote Continuity of Coverage in Medicaid and CHIP upon Conclusion of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
In March 2020, CMS temporarily waived certain Medicaid and CHIP requirements and conditions to help prevent people from losing their health coverage. States will soon be required to restart eligibility reviews. According to some estimates, up to 15 million people could lose their current Medicaid or CHIP coverage through a process called “unwinding.”
In an effort to minimize this number, CMS is working to inform people about renewing their coverage and exploring other available health insurance options if they no longer qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. We encourage health centers to explore resources and toolkits available on CMS’ website to promote awareness and provide assistance with re-enrollment for Medicaid, CHIP, and other affordable insurance options. For more information or questions, contact CMS.
Public Health AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps and CDC recently announced their new joint effort, which will support the recruitment, training, and development of the next generation of public health leaders who will be ready to respond to the nation’s public health needs. Several health centers and at least one HRSA-funded National Training Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP) are among the award recipients. Read more.
Join the Social Determinants of Health Information Exchange Learning Forum
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently began a learning forum to share lessons learned, promising practices, and challenges related to exchanging social determinants of health (SDOH) data. Join monthly webinars and smaller group sessions for discussions of priority topics like governance, technical infrastructure, interoperability, financing, and policy considerations. Register here (visit to see all dates and times).
COVID-19
COVID-19 Infection Control Guidance
Health centers have asked questions about where to get guidance on infection control measures related to COVID-19.
Health centers should look to CDC’s Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic for guidance. CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels recommendations do not apply in health care settings. Health centers should continue to use community transmission rates and follow CDC’s infection prevention and control recommendations for health care settings.
The CDC COVID-19 Community Level tool is intended to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital bed usage, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.
Provider Relief Fund: Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances
HRSA has established a process that accounts for extenuating circumstances that may have prevented providers from submitting a completed Provider Relief Fund report. Providers have the opportunity to submit a request to report late for Reporting Period 1 by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 22. Learn more.
Vaccine Confidence and Cardiac Risk
Concerns about cardiac risk are often the source of vaccine confidence issues. Data from 40 health care systems participating in a large network found that the risk for cardiac complications was significantly higher after COVID-19 infection than after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination for both males and females in all age groups. Read the CDC study.
Effort to Prevent, Detect, and Treat Long COVID
The White House released a fact sheet on a new effort to address long COVID. The Administration has mobilized to advance our nation’s understanding of long COVID and its associated conditions, promote high-quality care for patients, and help individuals access supportive services—especially for those from communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
COVID-19 ECHO Spring 2022 Webinar Series
Join Community Health Center, Inc., (CHC) for updates on the pandemic, best practices for using and dispensing Paxlovid, workforce retention and engagement strategies, and what is known about long COVID. Each session will include COVID-19 (and variant) updates at the beginning, and expert panelists will answer audience questions. Join to engage with a panel of experts and to hear from peers across the country. Visit to see dates and times and to register. CHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Health Center Presence in Priority Counties Most Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Two new HRSA-funded research briefs show that counties with the highest rates of concurrent COVID-19 mortality and social deprivation, as well as those with the lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccine confidence, are concentrated in the southeastern U.S. and the Dakotas. Health centers have significant presence in these hotspots and are uniquely situated to address demographic and socioeconomic health inequities related to the pandemic.
Visit the Health Center Research and Evaluation webpage for additional research results.
National Donate Life Month
April is National Donate Life Month, and we are celebrating how sweet life can be when someone who needs an organ transplant finds a match! “Bee a donor!” Join HRSA in celebrating and honoring the generosity of organ, eye, and tissue donors, donor families, as well as the lives saved through donation.
Health centers can share HRSA’s websites with patients to help them learn more and sign up as donors: organdonor.gov (English) and donaciondeorganos.gov (Spanish). You can also follow (and share) Organdonor.gov and Donaciondeorganos.gov on Facebook.
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Behavioral Health
Strategies for Addressing Health Disparities in Medication-Assisted Treatment for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder
Speakers will briefly review racial health disparities in the availability of medication-assisted treatment and the importance of an integrated care model. They will focus on strategies to enhance access to all treatment services, including buprenorphine and naloxone along with methadone. Participants will learn about the disparities in opioid overdose and access to treatment in African American communities, the barriers that contribute to health disparities, and strategies to address multi-level barriers.
Monday, May 16
1:00-1:30 p.m. ET
Register here
**0.5 CE available**
NIDA Challenge Competition Soliciting Prototypes to Address Drug Craving and Reduce Recurrence
NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has launched a Product Prototypes to Combat Drug Craving Challenge competition. NIDA seeks working product prototypes that will help people address drug craving in a personalized, on-demand, and long-term manner. The prototypes can use anything from low- or no-tech approaches to high-tech mobile apps or augmented reality approaches that are easily accessible, available just-in-time, and suitable for use by patients at different stages of recovery.
Individuals, teams, and organizations are invited to submit their prototypes by Wednesday, August 31. Share the website above with anyone who might be interested and email NIDAChallenge@nih.gov with questions.
National Prevention Week: May 8-14
This is a national public education platform bringing together communities and organizations to raise awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. Learn more or register for SAMHSA’s Prevention Week events.
Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Symposium
Join an all-day symposium on Monday, May 16, that will empower professionals with the latest tools to improve the lives of older adults in their communities. It is sponsored by the National Council on Aging, the HHS Administration for Community Living, SAMHSA, HRSA, and the E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging. Learn more or register now.
HIV
Implementation Tools and Resources for Enhancing Equity-Focused PrEP Services Series
Join the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) for a learning collaborative about available resources and tools health centers can leverage to plan and implement best practices for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) activities. Participants will use this opportunity to plan and test PrEP activities with the benefit of coaching and group support. Apply here. NACHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
2022 National Ryan White Conference Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the virtual 2022 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment, which will take place from Tuesday, August 23, through Friday, August 26. This is the largest national conference for HIV care and treatment providers, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipients, subrecipients, stakeholders, and people with HIV. HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau requires that staff funded by the RWHAP attend the biennial conference.
Workforce
Three Weeks Away! Workforce Symposium and Retention & Recruitment Workshop
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved’s (ACU) STAR2 Center invites health center staff to Nashville, TN, for a deep dive into promoting resilience and transformations in care to effectively support health center teams. Following the Workforce Symposium, join a Retention & Recruitment Planning Workshop. Sessions take place on Monday, May 2, through Thursday, May 5. ACU is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
HRSA-funded NTTAPs present learning collaboratives:
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Centering Trauma Literacy in the Health Center Medical Home
Join the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing to explore the definition and importance of trauma literacy as it relates to staff and patient well-being, particularly for health centers serving residents of public housing and other special populations. Apply by Monday, April 18.
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Collaborating to Address the Health and Legal Needs of Patients Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence and Exploitation
Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation and the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnerships (NCMLP) invite health centers to learn about partnering to address the health and legal needs of patients and clients experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and exploitation. Apply by 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 28.
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The Road to Patient Engagement
NNCC and the Migrant Clinicians Network invite health centers (individuals and care teams) to join them, as well as the Institute for Family and Patient Centered Care. You will improve your knowledge and skills around evidence-based strategies for patient engagement and activation. You will also explore a continuum of engagement that examines individual interactions, institutional design, and larger policy design implications. Apply by Wednesday, May 11.
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Implementation Tools and Resources for Enhancing Equity-Focused PrEP Services Series
See the announcement above.
Find other NTTAP learning collaboratives in the Health Center Resource Clearinghouse.
Additional Resources
Webinar Recording: Climate Change and Health: The Risks to Community Health and Health Care Utilization
Last month, HRSA and CDC’s Climate and Health Program held a webinar discussing the impacts of climate change on the U.S. health care system. CDC shared its work to build resilience to the public health effects of climate change. If you missed it, watch the recording.
Collaborating to Address the Health and Legal Needs of Patients Experiencing IPV and Exploitation
Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation and NCMLP are co-hosting a webinar on collaborations between health care providers and legal services providers to address IPV and exploitation and promote prevention.
Thursday, April 21
1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Register here
The intended audience is both medical-legal partnerships and other health and legal services partners.
Eyes on Access: Comprehensive Vision Services in Health Centers
Join NACHC, Prevent Blindness, and ACU for a two-part webinar series to learn strategies and models of investment from vision care experts and peers from health centers across the country. Visit to see dates and times and to register.
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