- 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
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
- Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Historic Action to Increase Access to Quality Care, and Support to Families and Care Workers
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Miles for Milk: How Student-Run Grocery Store Reshaped Rural Community's Food Access
- Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans, and It's Not Just Due to Lack of Health Care
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
Healthy People 2020 Final Review
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released the Overview of Health Disparities, the final component in the Healthy People 2020 Final Review suite of products. This component displays changes over time in disparities for a subset of measurable objectives by six selected characteristics: sex, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, family income, disability status, and geographic location.
The Overview of Health Disparities is interactive and includes a chart and table that can be filtered by Healthy People 2020 topic area(s) and population characteristic(s).
Tips from Former Smokers® Campaign Launch
2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign from CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. This year, ads will appear on network broadcast television and national cable television, Monday–Friday, from February 28 to March 27. Ads will feature Christine B., who quit smoking after she was diagnosed with oral cancer. CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health has developed an online toolkit that includes images and messages about the campaign. CDC Tobacco Free Twitter and Facebook accounts will also be sharing more about Christine B.’s story throughout the month. Dental professionals can play a critical role in helping their patients quit tobacco use. We encourage you to learn more about the Tips® campaign by accessing the toolkit and engaging with the social posts. Learn more.
Dental professionals can also learn effective strategies on how to talk to patients about tobacco use and referring to QuitLine resources by taking Integrating Nicotine Dependence Treatment with Oral Health: For Dental Professionals (INDTOH). This free, two-part webinar series is hosted by PCOH and presented in partnership with Nicotine Free NWPA and includes 2.5 CEUs.
Mission of Mercy in Pennsylvania (MOM-n-PA) Volunteer Registration Now Open!
MOM-n-PA is an annual two-day free dental clinic for Pennsylvanians who cannot afford dental care. MOM-n-PA provides dental care for the relief of pain to thousands of the most needy, many of whom are from working families who do not have access or cannot afford dental insurance.
This year’s event will be held in York, PA on June 10 and 11, 2022.
No Surprises Act: Consumer Stakeholder Listening Sessions Announced on the Implementation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to host a series of listening sessions to obtain feedback on CMS’ efforts to help ensure robust awareness, outreach, and education for consumers and consumer stakeholders of important new No Surprises Act (NSA) protections. We are pleased to announce that we have added an additional session for June 2, 2022 at 3:00 PM ET.
In this series of listening sessions, we wish to first understand from consumer advocates the role they can play to help educate consumers about the protections in the NSA as well as to receive input from the field about the consumer experience so far. We also want feedback from consumer advocates on the tools, consumer website, guidance, social media, paid media, marketing, word of mouth awareness, and other resources necessary to help educate consumers on their rights and protections under NSA.
The sessions will have a question and answer chat and we will address as many on-topic comments, ideas, and questions as time permits. We will likely not be able to respond to all comments individually, but all those we receive will be used to improve our efforts and help plan future sessions.
During the sessions we will be focusing on consumer outreach, education, and implementation and will not be addressing technical questions specific to NSA provisions or policy, or from a provider’s perspective. We really want your feedback and innovative ideas to help educate consumers and we encourage you to participate.
To learn more about the No Surprises Act, visit: https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises.
When: 3:00 PM ET on April 7, May 5, and June 2.
If you have already registered for this series, you must re-register to sign up for the June 2nd session.
Who should attend: This series is designed for organizations who advocate for and/or assist healthcare consumers.
RSVP: click here
Registering for the listening sessions will register you for all sessions. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
This meeting is closed to press.
The Pennsylvania EMS Conference Announced
We’re back!! The PA EMS Conference is excited to announce the dates for this year’s event will be September 6-9, 2022!
For the past 45 years, PEHSC, in conjunction with the PA Department of Health, has maintained a mission of presenting high-quality, valuable EMS continuing education. Last year, our “virtual” conference was able to reach thousands of EMS providers across Pennsylvania and beyond.
Based on overwhelmingly positive feedback, we’ve decided to once again keep the event “virtual”. Yes, we miss seeing everyone in-person too, but given the current state of the EMS industry, we feel that this format is far and away the best way to keep affordable, high-quality, education accessible to as many of Pennsylvania’s EMS providers as possible.
Stay tuned, we’ll have more info coming out soon!!
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at conference@pehsc.org.
Click HERE to submit your session for consideration!
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Highlights Practices for Behavioral Health Supports
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal, which aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live everyday life. This edition focuses on effective behavioral supports and how they affect the populations DHS serves. “Part of DHS’ mission is to ensure that people have the resources and information they need to live an everyday life,” said Acting DHS Secretary Meg Snead. “We hope that this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal will provide some insight into best practices and methods so we can all work together to ensure that the people we serve can all be better off.” Read more.
The Health Advisory on Powassan Surveillance Confirms Rates
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has confirmed higher than expected rates of Powassan (POW) virus in ticks located in multiple Pennsylvania counties during the 2021 surveillance season, including Clearfield, Centre, Wyoming, Bradford, and Schuylkill counties. Although no human POW virus cases were reported in Pennsylvania in 2021, ten cases of POW virus have been reported since surveillance started in 2011. This health advisory provides healthcare providers with background information on POW virus disease including transmission, clinical signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention along with how to contact the PA Department of Health or your local health department for assistance with POW virus disease and diagnostic testing as DEP closely monitors this situation. Read the health advisory.
2022 Nurse Corps Scholarship Program Application Cycle is Now Open
If you know someone headed to nursing school, let them know that the 2022 Nurse Corps Scholarship Program (SP) application cycle is now open. This year up to $2 million will be set aside for career pathways health professionals such as Certified Nursing Assistants, Home Health Aides, Medical Assistants, Licensed Practical (Vocational) Nurses, and other entry-level health professionals. Nurse Corps provides financial support to students accepted to or enrolled in a nursing degree program at an accredited school of nursing in the United States. After graduation from nursing school, scholarship recipients serve a minimum two-year commitment at an approved health care facility with a critical shortage of nurses. For this application cycle, the Nurse Corps has reserved special funding in psychiatric mental health, women’s, and obstetrics. Review the Application and Program Guidance (APG) for information on eligibility and requirements. The application cycle closes on May 5.
A Study Finds Even Mild COVID-19 Causes Brain Damage
New research on the impact of COVID-19 on cognitive functioning and the brain is the first to reveal striking differences in areas of the brain based on scans taken before and after a coronavirus infection. Researchers identified COVID-19 associated brain damage months after infection, including in the region linked to smell, and shrinkage in size equivalent to as much as a decade of normal aging. Read more.
400,000+ Patients Will Be Impacted by New HealthChoices Physical Health Zone Assignments
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is moving forward toward a goal of July 1, 2022 transition to 2022 managed care organization (MCO) assignments. The changes are significant in several ways: the current plan assignments have been in place since 2012 because of disputes, court cases, and more; there are more MCOs that will be serving all zones statewide, including some like Geisinger Health Plan and HealthPartners Plan that have previously only served a single zone; and perhaps most importantly, more than 400,000 individuals will either need to choose a new plan or will be auto-assigned to one.
