Congratulations to Suma Nair of HRSA's Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) for making it to the top six finalists for the People's Choice Award. 

The prize recognizes excellence in the federal workforce. A nearly 20-year veteran of the agency, Nair is the Director of the BPHC Office of Quality Improvement. She was instrumental in launching an entirely new program that funneled thousands of test kits, masks, and vaccine doses to the nation's most remote, exposed, and vulnerable populations during the pandemic.

Please vote for Suma for the People's Choice Service to America Medal from now until Friday, July​ 1. The winner will be announced in the fall.

“This Pride Month, we celebrate the LGBTQI+ community as we also stand together to address the challenges ahead,” said Carole Johnson, HRSA Administrator. “We’ve made important strides in expanding equitable access to health care through HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and HRSA-supported community health centers, but the work is far from done. We’re committed to reaching individuals who aren’t yet engaged in care, helping all individuals with HIV live longer, healthier lives, and partnering with community leaders to make high-quality and culturally-responsive health care welcoming, available, accessible, and affordable for the LGBTQI+ community.”

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded nearly $115 million to 60 recipients to help implement the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative, which is  part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by at least 90 percent by 2030. Awards will support innovative strategies that help people with HIV access care, support, and treatment services to live longer, healthier lives. 

“With this investment, we’re increasing our efforts to end the HIV epidemic,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Today’s awards reaffirm our Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program work in communities that need it most as we continue to ensure everyone with HIV receives the care they need to thrive.”

Read the press release.

Open to broad public participation with a total of $1 million in cash prizes for up to 30 winners.

June 9 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the launch of the Building Bridges to Better Health: A Primary Health Care Challenge, a national competition with a total of $1 million in cash prizes to encourage innovation through technical assistance to health centers.

Competition participants will accelerate the development of low-cost, scalable solutions to help HRSA-supported community health centers improve patient access to primary care and strengthen the link between health care and social services. It is part of an ongoing effort of the Biden-Harris Administration to address social determinants of health and advance health equity.

Read the press release.

For more information, join our webinar on Wednesday, June 29, 3-4 p.m. ET.

Funding aims to curb increase in psychostimulant misuse and overdose deaths.

June 8 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced nearly $15 million in funding for rural communities to address psychostimulant misuse and related overdose deaths. Psychostimulants include methamphetamine and other illegal drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy, as well as prescription stimulants for conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or depression. Today’s funding helps support the President’s National Drug Control Strategy and deliver on his Unity Agenda priority of beating the overdose epidemic.

Read the press release.

National HIV Testing Day

On Monday, June 27, we will observe National HIV Testing Day. This day is an opportunity to encourage and emphasize the importance of HIV testing, which is essential to reducing HIV infections, improving health outcomes for people with HIV, and helping to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. This year’s theme is “HIV Testing is Self-Care.” This acknowledges that HIV testing is an act of self-care because when people know their HIV status, they can access the HIV care and medications they need to live a long, healthy life. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our communities, public health departments, and health care facilities, our Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and Health Center Program recipients remain committed to conducting HIV testing across the country, and connecting people to HIV care and treatment if they test positive. Join our HAB You Heard webinar on Wednesday, June 29, 2-3 p.m. ET, where we'll recognize National HIV Testing Day.

In 2021, only 12% of physicians practiced in rural areas yet 20% of the U.S. population resides in rural areas. Tune in for a podcast discussion about the rural health workforce with Tom Morris, Associate Administrator of HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and Jessica Nicholson, senior economist at The Conference Board’s Committee for Economic Development.

Learn about the unique challenges rural residents face in accessing quality health care and HRSA programs that are working to increase health equity and access in rural communities. Listen for free through The Conference Board.

HRSA awarded $1.9 million for the one-year, community-driven Rural Health Network Development Planning Program (Network Planning), designed to assist in the planning and development of an integrated health care network at the local level.

The incoming cohort of Network Planning grantees have projects that focus on:

• Care coordination
• Health information technology/data analytics
• Behavioral health (including substance use disorder)
• Elder care
• Telehealth

Visit the Rural Health Information Hub to learn more about successful program models and evidence-based toolkits based on the work of HRSA-funded projects.

This week, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (JAIDS), published an article highlighting the HIV/AIDS Bureau’s (HAB) collaborative efforts to enhance federal collaborations in implementation science to address HIV prevention and treatment needs. 

Antigone Dempsey, HAB Division of Policy and Data Director, co-authored this article that shares how federal partnerships have driven the use of implementation science to scale up evidence-based HIV prevention and care programs in the United States.

The article outlines how HRSA uses “…a systematic approach for not only implementing strategies in real world settings, but to collect the right information to document the environment, organizational and staffing structures, attributes of those providing the service, demographics and HIV outcomes of those being served, and the costs related to implementing the intervention or emerging strategy.

New HRSA-funded research from the University of Kentucky Rural & Underserved Health Research Center finds that the family physician workforce is becoming increasingly more diverse across the United States.

However, these gains in workforce racial diversity have not reached rural areas. The research, based on data from over 24,000 family physicians, provides insight for health care organizations and policymakers to help increase racial and ethnic diversity within the health workforce in rural communities.

Regular appointments can help patients with HIV slow the progress of the disease, reduce risk of transmission, and improve health outcomes.

The Best Practice Guide on Telehealth for HIV Care (also available in Spanish) explains how telehealth can give primary care patients a safe, convenient way to access HIV prevention and care services to take control of their health.