- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- Outlining the Intersection between Health Care and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Critical More Than $1.5 Billion State and Tribal Opioid Response Funding Opportunities
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- Farmers Don't Do Mental Health
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
- Rural Telehealth Extension Reintroduced in Congress
- Students From Across the State Emphasized the Need for Mental Health Resources in Rural Alaska During a Conference
- The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
- How HHS SUD Confidentiality Regulations Will Impact Rural Providers
- VA Announces Expansion of "Close to Me" Cancer Program as Part of the Cancer Moonshot, Bringing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Closer to Thousands of Veterans
- Navajo Psychiatrist Bridges Gaps Between Native American Culture and Behavioral Health Care
- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
COVID Vaccination Begins!
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that Pennsylvania received 97,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for 66 counties, with Philadelphia County receiving its own allotment of 13,650 doses, for a total of 111,150 doses for healthcare workers identified in the state’s vaccine distribution plan. The initial 97,500 doses were delivered to 87 hospitals across the state. The vaccine will be available in phases beginning with critical populations due to the limited supply. The first phase is divided into two parts, with the first doses of vaccine administered to healthcare workers, EMS first responders and residents and staff in congregate care settings. After these priority populations can receive the vaccine, and once a sufficient supply of vaccine exists (likely late spring), everyone will be given access to the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is a suspension for intramuscular injection administered as a series of two doses given 3 weeks apart and must be stored in ultra-low temperature freezers (between -112 degrees Fahrenheit and -76 degrees Fahrenheit), with vials of the vaccine kept frozen and protected from light until ready to use. A second vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, has less stringent storage requirements and is expected to receive FDA emergency use authorization as early as this week with distribution following shortly thereafter.
HHS Increases and Begins Distributing Phase 3 COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding
On December 16, 2020, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced it had completed the review of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 3 applications. HRSA has begun distributing $24.5 billion to over 70,000 providers, which is up from the $20 billion originally planned to be distributed. Payment distribution will continue through January 2021.
Report: The Future of State Telehealth Policy
The National Governors Association released a report highlighting policy issues that states may consider when deciding which COVID-19-related telehealth flexibilities should remain permanent. The webinar was produced through HRSA’s cooperative agreement with National Organizations of State and Local Officials.
New HRSA Challenge Competition to Address Declining Vaccination Coverage and Well-Child Visits
HRSA and MCHB officially launched the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge competition this week to respond to declining rates of childhood vaccination coverage and well-child visits due to COVID-19. This challenge will award $1 million in prizes for innovative approaches to increase access to and use of well-child visits and/or immunization services within primary care settings. Partnerships with state and local organizations are encouraged, and submissions must include a primary care provider who delivers health services to children. HRSA and MCHB expect to select up to 50 Phase 1 winners and up to 20 Phase 2 winners. The submission period will open in January.
Respirators for Health Care during COVID-19
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Healthcare Resilience Working Group has developed the Respirators for Healthcare during COVID-19: Authorized Use & Avoiding Fraudulent Products Fact Sheet (PDF – 155 KB), which provides an overview of key practices and resources to help consumers to understand approved and authorized use of respirators, to avoid purchasing fraudulent products, and to report fraud or potentially fraudulent distributors, resellers, or other suppliers.
Caring for Women with Opioid Use Disorder
The HRSA Office of Women’s Health is excited to announce the availability of Caring for Women with Opioid Use Disorder: A Toolkit for Organizational Leaders and Providers (PDF – 5.8 MB). Communities throughout our nation continue to be impacted by the opioid epidemic, which has been exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women are uniquely impacted by opioid use: women who use opioids progress to dependence more quickly than men, experience more cravings, and are more likely to relapse. Because opioid use disproportionately impacts those living in medically underserved areas, HRSA-supported settings are uniquely positioned to address this health crisis.
The toolkit developed by the HRSA Office of Women’s Health, with support from the HHS Office on Women’s Health, provides resources and information to bolster care coordination services for women with opioid use disorder. A webinar introducing this toolkit and how to navigate it will be held on January 28. For questions or comments related to the toolkit, please contact HRSAOWH@hrsa.gov.
NHSC Loan Repayment Program Applicants Can Receive Award Preference
As part of its efforts to recruit highly qualified providers, HRSA’s National Health Service Corps (NHSC) continues to collaborate with the Providers Clinical Support System to connect behavioral health clinicians to free medication-assisted treatment training and professional development resources. Providers can then obtain a DATA 2000 Waiver, which will increase access to evidence-based substance use disorder or opioid use disorder treatment in rural and underserved communities.
Two HRSA NHSC Loan Repayment programs – the NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program (LRP) and NHSC Rural Community LRP – give award preference to program applicants who have obtained DATA 2000 waivers. These programs provide opportunities for clinicians working at NHSC-approved sites to receive up to $100,000 in loan repayment funds in exchange for three years of service. The application cycles open in early 2021.
Learn more about the NHSC-PCSS Collaboration and be ready to apply to an LRP with award preference.
Webinar Series: HRSA on Federal Funding Opportunities for Rural Communities
Earlier this year, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) hosted two webinars about rural-specific programs. In the first of these one-hour presentations, speakers from the Universal Service Administrative Company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development discuss telehealth and telecommunications connection, broadband and infrastructure development, and financing for hospitals facilities. The second presentation features speakers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on mental health programs, vaccine and syringe distribution initiatives, and aging and disability support services.
New CDC Health Outcomes Data
The interactive mapping system is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the CDC Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It provides data related to chronic disease and unhealthy behaviors at the county, place, census tract, and ZIP code levels.
Comments Requested: Proposed Changes to HIPAA Privacy Rule – 60 days from publication in the Federal Register
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks comment on proposed changes to the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy and security of individuals’ medical records and other PHI.