What's New
Monkeypox Updates
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Health Care for the Homeless Health Centers may especially be interested in a recent CDC study discussing severe cases in hospitalized patients. Nearly a quarter of all cases were in persons experiencing homelessness. Federal partners responded to the study, including HUD: See discussion of how to use the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program to respond.
- CDC’s website includes communication resources that health centers and their partners can use to educate their communities. Toolkits include social media and graphics, messaging, and resources for specific settings, including a Spanish-language resource on vaccine equity.
White House Cancer Moonshot Event Last Week
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra poses with HRSA’s Jane Segebrecht (left) and Dr. Jannette Dupuy (right). The event launched the American Cancer Society’s National Roundtables on Breast and Cervical Cancer, which aim to improve prevention, screening, and treatment and to reduce barriers to care, eliminate disparities, reduce harms, and promote new technologies.
Watch a recording of the event.
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Deadline Reminder: National Training and Technical Assistance Partner Applications Due
National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP) HRSA-23-029 applications are due in EHBs by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, November 14.
TA resources are available on the fiscal year 2023 NTTAP TA webpage.
2021 UDS Data Correction: Number of Medication-Assisted Treatment Providers
We discovered an error in the 2021 UDS data set deriving from one data entry error. The correct number of providers with a Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) 2000 waiver for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is 8,869 – not 16,769.
The affected pages in HRSA’s Data Warehouse are Table ODE: Other Data Elements: National Data for Program Awardees and Table ODE: Other Data Elements: Alaska State Summary. We’re correcting these pages as well as affected reports in EHBs: 2021 UDS Rollup Report and 2021 UDS Rollup Report – Alaska for UDS Table ODE: Other Data Elements. We will publish an announcement in the Digest when the updated reports are available for download.
If you have questions about this error, submit them through the BPHC Contact Form (UDS/UDS Data Request/UDS Data Access).
TODAY: Webinar with HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on President Biden's Executive Order on Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Healthcare Services
Under federal law, patients have the right to access health care, free of discrimination. Join Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights. She and other speakers will discuss President Biden's Executive Order on Securing Access to Reproductive and Other Health Care Services, with a focus on issues of concern for health centers and Ryan White clinics and compliance with federal law.
1:45-2:45 p.m. ET
Registration page
Two Weeks to Provide Feedback on the Draft Telehealth PIN
We’re asking for comments on the Draft Scope of Project and Telehealth Policy Information Notice (PIN). Access the draft PIN and instructions for commenting on the Scope of Project and Telehealth PIN Public Comments webpage. Thanks to those who have already submitted input. If you haven’t yet, comment by 11:59 p.m. your local time on Monday, November 14.
If you have technical questions or feedback submission issues, call us at 877-464-4772, 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday (except federal holidays). If you have general questions about the draft Telehealth PIN, submit them via the BPHC Contact Form.
Philanthropic Funding for Contraceptive Care Available for Health Centers
Upstream, a national nonprofit that provides free training and TA on patient-centered contraceptive care, has asked HRSA to share a unique opportunity for health centers to apply for philanthropic funding.
For a limited time, Upstream is offering up to $75,000 in unrestricted funds to health centers that commit to partnering to implement Upstream’s contraceptive care practice transformation model. Upstream has worked with nearly 50 community health centers to date and is seeking to expand partnership efforts with interested organizations.
Learn more at an upcoming webinar featuring health centers with experience in Upstream’s model:
Monday, November 14
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Registration page
If you aren't able to attend the webinar but would like to learn more about partnering with Upstream, reach out here or contact Susan Abernethy.
HHS’ Reproductive Health TA Resources
The guidelines described in “Providing Quality Family Planning Services – Recommendations from CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs (OPA)” (PDF) continue to be a fundamental resource to help health centers coordinate care for high-quality family planning services.
OPA supports two training centers that provide training and TA to family planning providers:
All of Us Research Program Enrollment Update
NIH’s All of Us Research Program now has more than 542,000 participants, including more than 389,000 who have provided physical measurements and biospecimens. All of Us works with more than 100 funded partner organizations including FQHCs and has 540 sites collecting biosamples and physical measurements. Learn more by viewing Data Snapshots.
COVID-19
Express Your Interest: Possible Additional Product Available through the HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program
We are trying to evaluate the level of interest related to a product that is potentially available through the HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program.
We created a quick two-question poll that assess your usage (current or potential) of the Cepheid Point-of-Care Analyzer (called Xpert Xpress) and related cartridges.
We invite one representative from your health center to complete the poll in the Health Center Program Community by 11:59 p.m. your local time on Thursday, November 3.
HRSA may have an opportunity to provide the Cepheid Multiplex cartridges through our program. This would ONLY be the cartridges – NOT the analyzers. If this product does become available through the HRSA COVID-19 Testing Supply Program, we will announce it in the Digest.
If you are not participating in the program and would like to begin ordering at-home self-test kits or testing supplies, submit a request through the BPHC Contact Form so that we can assist you.
COVID-19 Response Programs – Holiday-related Schedule Changes
Health centers in our HRSA Health Center COVID-19 Response Programs should log into the Health Center Program Community to view important Program Updates (look for, and click on, the picture to the right once you have logged in).
The October 25 Program Update includes details about how upcoming holidays will shift ordering schedules for all the programs.
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Partnerships to Promote COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
Last month, HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, other HRSA speakers, and experts from other federal agencies led a town hall discussion on ways to promote partnerships as a strategy to stop the spread of COVID-19. We produced a one-pager (PDF) summarizing key takeaways. You can also register to watch the recording of the town hall or view the slides (PDF).
Special and Vulnerable Populations COVID-19 Forum
HRSA-funded NTTAPs have extended this ongoing series again (note that a January 2023 date is now included).
Join to hear discussion of how COVID-19 has impacted health centers and the special populations they serve. Representatives from BPHC's Office of Quality Improvement, will provide up-to-date information about assistance for health centers.
Friday, November 18
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Registration page
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Behavioral Health
Concurrent Treatment of Smoking Cessation and SUD in Primary Care
Join the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) and the National Nurse-led Care Consortium (NNCC) in a webinar focused on strategies to support smoking cessation and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in primary care for residents of public housing. Speakers will present gaps in knowledge regarding policy related to public housing and smoking and vaping. They will also discuss the importance of clinical interaction, readiness to change, and implementation of motivational interviewing in mental health treatment while addressing SUD. NCHPH and NNCC are HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Wednesday, November 9
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Registration page
Workforce
New Nursing Workforce Dashboard
HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce released a new nursing workforce dashboard. Users can access data from the latest National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses through multiple visualizations that can be customized by nurse type, status, and area.
Health Center Comprehensive Workforce Plan Template
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved’s (ACU) STAR2 Center has updated its Retention and Recruitment Plan Template. It’s now called the Health Center Comprehensive Workforce Plan and it includes an instruction guide, a template, and an action plan, as well as in-depth detail related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The plan is meant to be a working, living document that users can easily modify to stay up to date with changing workforce needs and the evolving health care environment. ACU is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
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Motivating Healthy Habits in Older Adults
Speakers from the National Center for Equitable Care for Elders (NCECE) will highlight the importance of working with older adults to set realistic goals for chronic disease management. Participants in this learning collaborative will review special considerations for this patient population when adopting or modifying lifestyle behaviors related to diet and exercise. Visit the registration page for details or apply by Monday, November 7. NCECE is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Telehealth
Environmental Scan of Telehealth TA Resources
In this publication, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and the Center for Connected Health Policy provide a curated list of top telehealth TA resources for health centers interested in implementing, operating, expanding, or sustaining a telehealth program. NACHC is a HRSA-funded NTTAP.
Additional Resources
Curated SDOH Training for Health Care for the Homeless Health Centers
HRSA has released a new curated packet of training and TA materials for health centers funded under the Health Care for the Homeless Program (Section 330(h) of the Public Health Services Act (42 U.S.C. 254b)). This TA will support health centers to develop processes for collection and use of social risk factor data to improve patient-centered health care delivery. Resources are all developed by HRSA-funded NTTAPs. They are organized by format—for example, recorded sessions, publications, and combined resource types.
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