What's New
New Health Center Stories Posted
Our Health Center Stories webpage highlights the strides HRSA-supported health centers have made to promote public health in underserved areas, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out new stories:
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Telehealth: When COVID-19 made in-person health center visits more challenging, Broward Community & Family Health Center brought their smoking cessation program online.
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Community Outreach:
- Choptank Community Health is launching a “produce prescription” program that includes vouchers students can use to buy $20 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables at local farmer’s markets and produce stands.
- In observance of National Nutrition Month, Central North Alabama Health Services, Inc. worked with the Food Bank of North Alabama to host two produce distribution events that included offering COVID-19 at-home self-tests.
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Health Center Staff:
- As the pandemic shifted, CommUnityCare Health Centers in Central Texas transitioned from drive-through testing to clinic-based point-of-care testing and curbside testing, facilitating a rapid linkage to care.
- East Georgia Healthcare Center, Inc. frontline staff have developed new ways to ensure patients are seen in-person and receive treatments as efficiently and quickly as possible.
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Share Your Story
Has your health center tried innovative approaches to improve patient care? Do you have a success story you’d like to share with other health centers? Send your stories to HRSA Health Center Stories for possible promotion in HRSA communications.
We are particularly interested in stories about:
- Mental health
- Workforce
- Maternal and child health
- Diabetes
- Outreach to people experiencing homelessness
- COVID-19 work
Health Centers and the Changing Policy and Payment Environment: Strengthening Health Center Value and Financial Performance
Explore the latest research findings on how cost and quality of care at health centers compare to other primary care providers, and how health centers adapt to the evolving health care delivery landscape. HRSA-funded researchers will present an overview of published research focused on strengthening health center value and performance.
Thursday, May 12
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
HRSA’s April Roundup
In April, HRSA announced investments to:
- Support community-based doulas;
- Strengthen home visiting supports for parents, infants, and children;
- Expand our investments in state responses to the maternal mortality crisis;
- Launch the largest investment we’ve ever made in Community Health Worker training; and
- Build new data tools to reduce health disparities through health centers.
Read more April highlights.
Upcoming National Telehealth Conference
Join HRSA and Telehealth.HHS.gov for a National Telehealth Conference to hear about best practices and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts in the field will examine the evolution of telehealth as part of the standard of care and the importance of its continued integration in an integrated care delivery model. Participants will also hear from HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson and other HHS leadership.
Monday, May 16,
and Tuesday, May 17
Register here
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HRSA’s New Health Equity Fellowship Program
This program will grow the next generation of HRSA leadership by providing recent graduates and others early in their careers with hands-on experience in implementing HRSA’s mission of addressing health disparities, improving health outcomes, and achieving health equity. Learn more or apply by Friday, May 6.
COVID-19
COVID-19 Response Programs Office Hours
While these sessions are geared toward participants in our COVID-19 Response Programs, any HRSA-supported health center is welcome to attend.
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TODAY’s session will feature speakers from HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau discussing how health centers and participants in the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program can collaborate to get COVID-19 supplies to those who need them.
- The next session (Tuesday, May 17) will feature representatives from the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response providing answers to health center questions about clinical delivery of COVID-19 oral antiviral pills.
Sessions are from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET. Register one time and you’ll have access to all Office Hour sessions from now until February 2023.
Second COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses
CDC recently added Clinical Considerations: Second COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses to their Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines webpage.
Mental Health Awareness Month
President Biden announced his strategy to address our national mental health crisis during his first State of the Union, which includes expanding and strengthening parity, pediatric mental health, expanding telehealth for mental health care, and promoting the mental well-being of our frontline health workforce. HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson also emphasized how our work aligns with that strategy.
THANK YOU, health centers, for all you’ve done to increase behavioral health services and for your creativity in integrating these services into your work. We encourage you to visit the BPHC Behavioral Health TA Resource Portal to take advantage of our TA activities that can support your behavioral health integration efforts.
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**
Hypertension
Million Hearts Learning Lab: Optimizing Use of the Expanded Care Team for Hypertension and Cholesterol Management
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, May 18
3:00-3:45 p.m. ET
Register here
The National Association of Community Health Centers (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
Workforce Resiliency and Retention Community of Practice
We invite HRSA-funded health centers to join and gain access to resources and approaches that can build primary and behavioral health care workforce resilience, as well as strategies for enhancing employee recruitment, engagement, and retention. Topics will include low- and no-cost approaches that health care settings can use to improve staff retention, boost morale, and reduce stress and burnout.
Participants will meet bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET beginning May 17 through August 23. Register here.
**Earn 1.5 continuing education credits for each session, with a maximum of 12 CEs for participation in all eight sessions.**
Aligning your Health Center Workforce Needs with National Training and TA Services
Join this NACHC learning collaborative to discuss and explore the workforce implications of the 2021 National Health Center Training and TA Needs Assessment, learn from health center peers, and inform the development of future training and TA provided to health centers by HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partners (NTTAPs). Get more information and register here.
Additional Resources
Healthy Together: A Toolkit for Health Center Collaborations with HUD-Assisted Housing and Community-Based Organizations
NCHPH and the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) are releasing “Healthy Together: A Toolkit for Health Center Collaborations with HUD-Assisted Housing and Community-Based Organizations.” It presents resources for partnering and for managing current HUD-assisted housing programs. Join a webinar to learn more.
Tuesday, May 24
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
NCHPH and NNCC are both HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
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