- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
How Dental Health Affects Overall Health at Every Age
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health released a new infographic and video summarizing the connection between dental health and overall health. The resources cover the specific connections during pregnancy/postpartum, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and older adulthood.
Click here to view the infographic.
Click here to watch the video.
Oral Health Equity Research Award Funding Opportunity Announced
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the Delta Dental Institute are now accepting applications for the second annual Oral Health Equity Research Award. This award supports research that advances recommendations for greater oral health equity in populations that lack access to dental care or improves oral health literacy for underserved populations. Submissions must represent original research that addresses social determinants of health and oral health disparities, and promotes oral health equity in the areas of access to care or oral health literacy. Two grants will be awarded at $25,000 each. Applications are due before October 17.
Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority Approves Comprehensive Five-Year Action Plan To Expand Access Across the Commonwealth
After meeting with hundreds of Pennsylvania residents, businesses and industry partners, PBDA incorporates feedback and finalizes plan to expand broadband infrastructure using $1.16 billion in federal funding
Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced the approval of the five-year action plan to expand internet access across the Commonwealth using $1.16 billion in funding through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Governor Josh Shapiro recently announced the Commonwealth’s BEAD allocation as part of President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. Shaped by feedback from Pennsylvanians, the BEAD five-year action plan is now with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for approval.
The PBDA’s findings encouraged collaboration across the Commonwealth through direct engagement with residents, businesses, and industry partners and the plan was developed with input from 21 community conversations across the state and more than 500 participants. Three roundtable sessions gathered feedback from digital equity stakeholders, workforce development professionals, and internet service providers. The Five-Year Action Plan also includes a survey that collected 5,920 responses in-person and online in several different languages and a public comment period that ran from July 26th through August 8th yielded 526 comments on the draft Action Plan. Together, this public feedback will allow the Commonwealth to drive out resources in an affordable and equitable way for all Pennsylvanians.
“Everyone in the Commonwealth should have access to affordable, high-speed internet,” said Executive Director Carson. “There are more than 276,000 Commonwealth households without internet access and over 52,000 without reliable access. The adoption of this plan puts us another step closer to making sure every Pennsylvanian has access to reliable, high-speed internet. Under the leadership of Governor Shapiro, we look forward to connecting communities across the Commonwealth.”
Since day one, Governor Shapiro has said extending and expanding access to broadband across the Commonwealth and making connections more reliable and affordable for Pennsylvanians is a top priority of his Administration. Just last month, Governor Shapiro announced that the Commonwealth will receive $1.16 billion in federal funding to extend broadband infrastructure to communities that currently lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access in order to connect Pennsylvanians and ensure they can go to school, start and grow businesses, and access telemedicine no matter where they live.
Following NTIA approval, the PBDA plans to begin awarding BEAD subgrants to approved, eligible applicants in 2024. The plan is a critical step toward achieving universal, affordable broadband access that meets and exceeds federally defined broadband speeds across the commonwealth.
The Five-Year Action Plan identifies expected obstacles to full deployment and discusses various implementation strategies. Additionally, it details how PBDA will work with a myriad of partners with the shared goals of improving digital access, generating equity, removing obstacles and barriers, acquiring digital skills and devices, fostering resilience, and enriching the benefits of connectivity.
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) requires the Five-Year Action Plan be submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on August 12th for its approval. BEAD also requires a Digital Equity Statewide Plan, which is currently under development as well. As the PBDA awaits NTIA’s approval on the Five-Year Action Plan, the public involvement process continues with additional community conversations, focus groups, and the online survey. These additional public involvement efforts will continue to inform the Digital Equity Statewide Plan. The Five-Year Action Plan aligns its Goals and Objectives with the Digital Equity Plan to produce sustainable outcomes and a long-term solution to lack of high-speed connectivity and access to literacy programs and devices.
The Shapiro Administration is dedicated to expanding broadband access across the state Gov. Shapiro recently travelled to Beaver and Luzerne counties to emphasize the importance of expanding broadband infrastructure across Pennsylvania.
Visit the PBDA’s website to learn more about its work to close the digital divide in the Commonwealth.
For more information about the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
New! Rural Innovation Profile of Nebraska ACO
The Rural Health Value team is pleased to release a new Rural Innovation Profile: A Rural Accountable Care Organization’s Journey
For more than a decade, South East Rural Physicians Alliance Accountable Care Organization (SERPA‐ACO), a physician‐led ACO that includes 16 physician-owned clinics in Nebraska has been leveraging health care payment and delivery models to provide high quality, comprehensive, coordinated, and patient‐centered care at a lower cost.
Related resources on the Rural Health Value website:
- Demonstrating Your Value: A Guide to Potential Value-based Care Partnerships for Rural Health Care Organizations. This Rural Health Value resource assists rural health care leaders in demonstrating the value their organizations can bring to networks, affiliations, payers, systems, or accountable care organizations.
- Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers – One-page summaries describe rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), primarily by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
- Medicare Shared Savings Program: Rule Changes and Implications for Rural Health Care Organizations – A summary of the changes made to the Medicare Shared Savings Program taking effect January 2023 and 2024. This Rural Health Value analysis outlines how the changes would reduce barriers to participation for potential or reentering ACOs that operate in rural contexts.
For more information, contact Clint MacKinney, MD, MS, Co-Principal Investigator, at clint-mackinney@uiowa.edu
New Report: Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Hispanics in the U.S.
The Hispanic Dental Association and CareQuest Institute for Oral Health released a new report, “Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Hispanics in the U.S.,” which explores the oral health status, dental needs, utilization of dental services, and workforce. The report found that higher percentages of gum disease and tooth loss were reported among Hispanic people compared with other racial groups, and Hispanic children ages 6 to 11 had more decayed and filled teeth than others in that age group. The report also found that Hispanic dentists only represent 6% of the U.S. dentist workforce.
HPV Provider On-Demand Video Series Launched
The American Cancer Society, the National HPV Roundtable, and the Indiana Immunization Coalition launched a new HPV Provider Video Series which features on-demand sessions with expert insight, the latest information and vaccination guidelines for HPV, and strategies to implement in order to increase vaccination rates. Users must register for the series, but will have access to all sessions with registration.
Just Released! Results from 2022 Pennsylvania Dental Assistant Survey
PCOH recently completed the “2022 PA Dental Assistant Survey” and created a resource to share the results. Dental assistants provide a key role in dental offices and health care settings. Like other health care and dental professionals, dental assistants have been affected by the rise in workforce challenges in recent years.
In 2022, PCOH sought to understand the state of dental assistants in Pennsylvania through disseminating a survey to dental assistants across the commonwealth. The survey was shared with dental assistants who had passed the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) between 1982-2021.
The findings of this survey outline next steps for recruitment and retention of Pennsylvania dental assistants.
The Managed Care Program Annual Report (MCPAR) Has Been Released
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations at 42 CFR § 438.66(e) require states to submit a Managed Care Program Annual Report (MCPAR). Under the regulation, each state must submit to CMS, no later than 180 days after each contract year, a report on each managed care program administered by the state. In June, Pennsylvania submitted four MCPA Reports: Behavioral HealthChoices, Community HealthChoices, Physical HealthChoices, and Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP).
Senator Fetterman Speaks Out on His Battle with Depression
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman graced the cover of the July 28, 2023, edition of Time magazine. In the accompanying cover story, How John Fetterman Came Out of the Darkness, Sen. Fetterman discusses his treatment for and recovery from severe depression. Also, in a recent interview with The New York Times, Sen. John Fetterman talked about missing his family, national interest in him, voting in a sweatshirt and shorts and the prospects of a second term for President Joe Biden, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
What Are We Doing to Address Loneliness as a Social Driver of Health?
The U.S. is experiencing an epidemic of loneliness, and studies suggest that cultivating better relationships with the people who live nearby is crucial for your happiness. An early 2023 Gallup survey found that 17% of American adults said they felt lonely “a lot of the day yesterday.” A lack of social connections is linked to poor mental health and even premature death. But living within a mile of a happy friend increases the likelihood that you’ll be happy by 25%, according to a multi-generational study. The problem is that a majority of Americans don’t know most of their neighbors. This sounds like a challenge that FQHCs as community-based organizations are up to! What can you do to support meaningful human connections in the communities you serve?