What's New
UDS Preliminary Reporting Environment Now Open The UDS Preliminary Reporting Environment (PRE) is now open, giving HRSA-supported health centers early access to enter and validate data before the UDS reporting period begins on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
Access the PRE through the reporting portal in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs). Two offline reporting tools are also available to help health centers submit UDS data: offline Excel files and HTML files. Find instructions for accessing the PRE and the reporting tools in our Accessing Uniform Data System (UDS) Reporting Guidance (PDF).
Learn more about the PRE by attending the upcoming technical assistance (TA) webinar:
Thursday, November 10 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET Registration page
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Deadline Reminder: American Rescue Plan – Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements Semi-Annual Progress Reports Due Fiscal year 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP)-Capital semi-annual progress reports are due in EHBs by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 15.
These resources can guide your progress report submission: ARP-Capital (C8E) Progress Report User Guide and Completing the Capital Award Progress Report video. Additional TA resources are available on the ARP-Capital TA webpage.
Recording Available: Fostering Workplace Wellness through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond In September, HRSA presented a webinar to share practical strategies for addressing burnout and promoting employee wellness and resilience. We featured the director of the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and a panel discussion with health center staff from across the country describing specific strategies they use to foster workplace wellness. If you missed it, watch the recording.
Monkeypox Updates
2021 UDS Data Correction: Number of Medication-Assisted Treatment Providers We recently 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. We have now corrected the error in EHBs reports and in HRSA’s Data Warehouse.
If you have questions about this error, submit them through the BPHC Contact Form (UDS/UDS Data Request/UDS Data Access).
It’s Health Center Week of Action for Open Enrollment Participate in this Health Center Week of Action. Spread the word, share resources, and assist patients in enrolling in insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. CMS’ Outreach and Enrollment webpage makes it easy for you to get the word out and their TA webpage has resources for anyone providing enrollment assistance.
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 from 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.
National Rural Health Day Events Next Week HRSA will celebrate National Rural Health Day with events beginning next Monday. Join us on Thursday (November 17) at 3:00 p.m. ET for a discussion with HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson and other HHS leaders about what the federal government is doing to increase behavioral health equity in rural communities, including substance use disorder treatment. View the schedule of virtual events to register or join.
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2023 Rural Health Network Development Program Applications are due soon (Tuesday, November 22) for a HRSA funding opportunity that addresses gaps in service, enhances systems of care, and expands the capacity of the local rural health care system. See a bulletin from HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) for more.
A related funding opportunity that supports the planning and development of integrated health care networks seeking to expand access and improve quality of care in rural communities is open for applications until early next year. Learn more in FORHP's bulletin.
HRSA Roundup Last month, HRSA took action to bolster nursing education and training, improve and expand mental health care for kids, increase access to maternal health care, and enhance understanding of children’s health needs. Learn more on the October in Brief webpage.
Billing Medicare for Telehealth as a Safety-net Provider This page on HHS’ Telehealth website includes updated information on billing codes and reimbursement rates for Federally Qualified Health Centers providing telehealth services. Resources include the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and current guidance on billing for audio-only visits.
COVID-19
COVID-19 Response Programs – Holiday-related Schedule Changes A new one-pager summarizes holiday-related schedule changes for health centers in the HRSA Health Center COVID-19 Response Programs. It includes the impact on deliveries and, for bivalent boosters only, changes to order caps ahead of ordering pauses.
CDC MMWR: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Outpatient Treatment of COVID-19 Expansion of programs to increase awareness of and access to available outpatient COVID-19 treatments can help protect persons at high risk for severe illness and facilitate equitable health outcomes. Read more.
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
CDC Updates Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain CDC updated its guidance for opioid prescription. Their new website links to the guidance and details changes from the 2016 guideline.
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Recommendations and Guidance for Implementing Oral and Behavioral Health Integration Speakers at HRSA’s upcoming webinar will discuss NNOHA’s systems-level framework for implementing behavioral health and oral health integration and will also present lessons from the field based on their work supporting health centers' efforts to integrate oral and behavioral health within their clinical setting.
Tuesday, November 22 11:00 a.m.-noon ET Registration page **1.0 CE available**
New Funding Opportunity in Rural Communities Opioid Response Program As part of the multi-year Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), HRSA is offering $12 million in new grant funding for Overdose Response. Approximately 40 grants, each $300,000, will go toward immediate community-level needs related to the drug overdose crisis. Applicant organizations may be located in an urban or rural area; however, all activities supported by the program must occur exclusively in HRSA-designated rural areas.
Join a TA webinar:
Thursday, November 10 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Join the day of the session
Workforce
Health Professional Students’ Loan Repayment Application Open Now HRSA’s 2023 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service (S2S) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) application cycle is now open. Final-year students studying to become a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, medical doctor, or dentist can apply for awards of up to $120,000 in exchange for a three-year commitment to provide primary care services at NHSC-approved sites in high-need underserved areas. The NHSC S2S LRP application cycle closes at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 1.
Oral Health Workforce Learning Collaborative NNOHA and the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved’s (ACU) STAR2 Center invite health centers to join. You’ll develop a recruitment and retention plan for oral health team members. Visit the registration page to apply by 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, December 9. NNOHA and ACU are both HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Introducing the Organizational Leadership and Resiliency Toolkit Join ACU’s STAR2 Center and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) to learn about their upcoming Organizational Leadership and Resiliency Toolkit. This webinar and accompanying toolkit will connect organization leaders with the understanding and strategies they need to support the health and well-being of their workforce and address some of the structural problems plaguing the health care industry even before the pandemic.
Thursday, November 17 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET Registration page
ACU and NHCHC are both HRSA-funded NTTAPs.
Oral Health
Recommendations and Guidance for Implementing Oral and Behavioral Health Integration See the announcement above.
Oral Health Workforce Learning Collaborative See the announcement above.
Telehealth
Environmental Scan of Telehealth TA Resources In this publication, 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.
Billing Medicare for Telehealth as a Safety-net Provider See the announcement above.
Additional Resources
Diabetes in Special & Vulnerable Populations: National Learning Series All 14 NTTAPs will collaborate again for a four-part national learning series to engage health centers, Primary Care Associations, and Health Center Controlled Networks and to increase foundational knowledge of effective strategies to prevent, treat, and manage diabetes among special and medically underserved populations.
Participants will explore diabetes management in relation to the following topics: 1) Social determinants of health (SDOH) and structural barriers; 2) intersectional identities of health center workforce and patients; 3) emergency preparedness; and 4) environmental impacts on access to care.
Visit the series information page for more information and registration links.
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