- 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
2021 PA Oral Health Champion Awards: Now Accepting Nominations
PCOH is pleased to announce the 2021 PA Oral Health Champion Awards. Awardees will be selected by the Board of Directors of PCOH, upon recommendation of the Summit Committee, and are based on notable work on oral health progress in Pennsylvania. Awardees will have the option to accept their awards in-person or virtually at the 2021 PA Oral Health Summit on November 12th. All nominations must be submitted by September 27th at 5 p.m.
Award Categories
— Innovative Oral Health Champion (individual)
— Innovative Oral Health Champion (organization)
— Community Water Fluoridation Champion (individual or organization)
USDA Launches Grant Program to Help Expand Regional Economies and Create High-Wage Jobs in Distressed Rural Communities
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Karama Neal today unveiled a new grant program to help rural communities create good-paying jobs and support new business opportunities in high-growth fields.
Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) is intended to help rural communities identify and maximize local assets and connect to networks and industry clusters within their region. The new grant encourages a regional, innovation-driven approach to economic development.
“USDA is innovating the way we do business,” Neal said. “The RISE program ensures that critical funding supports long-term and sustainable economic growth in the rural communities and regions that need it most.”
RISE provides grants of up to $2 million to consortiums of local governments, investors, industry, institutions of higher education, and other public and private entities in rural areas. The funds may be used to form job accelerator partnerships and create high-wage jobs, start or expand businesses, and support economic growth in the rural areas of their region.
Funding may also be used to establish and operate innovation centers and partnerships, such as integrating rural businesses into new supply chains, providing workforce training and identifying community assets.
To help ensure long-term and sustainable community and economic development, award recipients must support projects for at least four years.
Applicants are encouraged to contact their nearest USDA Rural Development State Office ahead of the application deadline for more information about the program or the application process.
Starting June 16, 2021, applications will be accepted electronically at Grants.gov. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 2, 2021. Information about the application process is available in a notice in the Federal Register. For additional information about the program, see the final rule on page 31585 of the June 15 Federal Register.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
USDA Seeks Applications to Strengthen Rural Cooperatives and Improve Economic Conditions in Rural Areas
USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson announced that the Department is accepting applications for grants to help start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses in rural America.
USDA is making $5.8 million in grants available under the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) program to help improve economic conditions in rural areas through cooperative development.
Nonprofit corporations and institutions of higher education are eligible to apply for the available funds to provide technical and cooperative development assistance to individuals and rural businesses.
For FY 2021, the maximum award is $200,000. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis through a national competition.
Electronic applications must be submitted to grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 10, 2021.
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to discuss their project and ask any questions about the RCDG program or the application process. Additional information on the required materials and how to apply for the RCDG program are available on page 31266 of the June 11, 2021, Federal Register.
If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
New Resource: A Primer for Multi-Sector Health Partnerships in Rural Areas and Small Cities
The Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN) is thrilled to announce the release of our Primer for Multi-Sector Health Partnerships in Rural Areas and Small Cities. Designed for practitioners working or interested in these communities, this new tool is a guide to cross-sector collaborations between the community development, finance, public health, and healthcare sectors to support partnerships in rural areas and small cities. This primer is part of a larger BHPN commitment to incorporate resources that support multi-sector partnerships that lead to community-centered investments that foster healthier lives and more opportunities for all in rural areas and small cities.
Click here to access the primer.
Hunger Awareness Month Food Assistance is Available to Keep Pennsylvanians Fed, Healthy
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 12 percent of the U.S. population has limited access to nutritious food. Hunger can impact your health and wellbeing throughout your life, work performance, and the rate that children learn and grow. It is imperative that we reduce hunger and promote good health by ensuring that Pennsylvanians are able to access to fresh, healthy food as well as health and nutrition information and education.
In recognition of National Hunger Awareness Month in June, the Department of Human Services is highlighting some of the food and nutrition programs available for children, adults, and seniors in Pennsylvania. Check out some of the programs available below.
FIND A FOOD PANTRY NEAR YOU
GENERAL RESOURCES
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP helps Pennsylvanians by providing money each month that can only be spent on groceries, helping households have resources to purchase enough food for their household. - Farmers Market Nutrition Programs
The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provide WIC recipients and low-income seniors with fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs from approved farmers’ in Pennsylvania.
WOMEN & CHILDREN
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Woman, Infants and Children
WIC helps pregnant women, mothers and caregivers of infants and young children learn about good nutrition to keep themselves and their families healthy. It provides nutrition services, breastfeeding support, health care and social service referrals and healthy foods to eligible participants. - School Nutrition Programs | Find Meals for Kids near you!
Free school meals (breakfast/lunch) are available for children from families receiving food stamp benefits or TANF, and children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level. Reduced price school meals are available for children from families whose incomes are between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level. - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Also referred to as cash assistance, TANF provides cash assistance to pregnant women and dependent children and their parents or relatives who live with and care for them.
OLDER PENNSYLVANIANS
- Senior Food Box Program
The Senior Food Box Program works to improve the health of low-income seniors by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA Foods. In Pennsylvania, eligible participants include low-income individuals who are at least 60 years old and whose household income is at or below 130 percent of the U.S. poverty level.
Congregate and Home-Delivered Meals
Contact your local Area Agency on Aging
These programs provide nutritious meals to individuals age 60 or older, and their spouses, free of charge. Meals can be delivered directly to eligible individuals’ homes.
For additional resources and information on the Wolf Administration’s Blueprint to End Hunger in the Commonwealth, please go to www.dhs.pa.gov/ending-hunger.
Pennsylvania Governor: Counties, Cities, Local Governments Should Request American Rescue Plan Local Funding Allocations
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that counties, metropolitan cities, and local governments are now able to request their portion of federal Local Fiscal Recovery funding provided by the American Rescue Plan.
“Today, county and municipal governments are able to request the Local Fiscal Recovery funds that have been made available to them by the American Rescue Plan,” said Sec. Davin. “This funding provides immediate relief for local governments that have seen unprecedented fiscal challenges due to COVID-19. I encourage every county, city, and municipal government to take advantage of these funds that will help them recover from the pandemic and chart a course for long-term growth.”
As part of the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joseph R. Biden, the federal government is providing a total of approximately $6.15 billion to Pennsylvania counties, metropolitan cities, and local government units to support COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address systemic public health and economic challenges.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has established two separate methods for local governments to request these funds, depending on the type of local government:
- County governments and metropolitan city governments must request funds directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury via their Submission Portal webpage.
- Local governments that are NOT metropolitan cities or counties – called non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) – must request the funds through the commonwealth by visiting the DCED website.
Due to Treasury’s requirements that states disburse all Local Fiscal Recovery funding within 30 days of the state receiving the federal funds, DCED strongly recommends that NEUs request their funding in the next five days to allow adequate processing time for each request.
Information about how to request funds, eligible uses for the funding, and federal allocation amounts for counties, cities, and NEUs can be found on the DCED website and the U.S. Department of Treasury website. Local governments with further questions about accessing these funds should email covidarpa@pa.gov.
WHO Declares Oral Health a Global Health Priority
Oral health may no longer be low on the list of global health priorities. At a May 27 meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), health ministries around the world approved a resolution that puts achieving better oral health back on the global agenda. Click here to read the article.
USPSTF Final Recommendation: Behavioral Counseling Interventions for Healthy Weight and Weight Gain in Pregnancy
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released a final recommendation statement on behavioral counseling interventions for healthy weight and weight gain in pregnancy. The Task Force found that clinicians can help pregnant people and their babies by offering effective counseling on healthy weight and weight gain throughout pregnancy. To view the recommendation, the evidence on which it is based, and a summary for clinicians, please go here. The final recommendation statement can also be found in the May 25, 2021, online issue of JAMA.
Three New HIV Reports from CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published three new reports using HIV surveillance data:
- Estimated HIV Incidence and Prevalence in the United States, 2015–2019
- Monitoring Selected National HIV Prevention and Care Objectives by Using HIV Surveillance Data—United States and 6 Dependent Areas, 2019
- Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2019
To improve data interpretation and utility, these reports all feature data from the same timeframe: 2015-2019. HIV prevention partners can use these reports to monitor trends, determine successes, identify gaps in HIV prevention, and help direct prevention efforts and resource allocation.
GAO: Don’t Get Too Carried Away with Telehealth
The Government Accountability Office says the full effect of CMS waivers on telehealth coverage during the pandemic isn’t yet known, so agencies should wait until there is more research before expanding telehealth coverage for Medicare and Medicaid programs. The GAO made its case before Congress and in a May 19 report. It has concerns in four areas: spending, program integrity, patient health and safety and equity. Read more.