- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- 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
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
DOL H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program – November 13
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will make up to 40 awards with a total investment of $40 million to train health care professionals working in rural areas. The H-1B Skills Training Grants fund projects that train workers for high-skill jobs in underserved areas of the country to allow employers to meet workforce needs. Find more information here.
New Report on Post-Acute Care in Rural America
This week, the National Rural Health Resource Center released findings from their May 2020 Virtual Summit, which focused on the issues, challenges, and strategies related to the integration of acute and post-acute care in rural areas. The report covers the current state of rural post-acute care, including the impact of COVID-19, and explores strategies and tactics to address key issues, such as payment, workforce, and community care coordination. Read more here.
Census Report on Income and Poverty in the United States, 2019
The report from the U.S. Census Bureau presents data based on information collected every month in the Current Population Survey (CPS). Findings show a median household income of $68,703 in 2019, with a 1.3 percent decline in the official poverty rate. Read more here.
SAMHSA: National Survey on Drug Use and Health
In its annual report, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) presents data on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as trends in mental health and access to treatment. Statistics cover a range of demographic and geographic characteristics, including comparison of urban and rural. Read more here.
CDC: Urban-Rural Differences in Suicide Rates, 2000-2018
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used data from the National Vital Statistics System to find that suicide rates increased overall for urban and rural areas for the years studied, with the pace of increase greater for rural suicide rates. On Wednesday, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released their findings from a survey on Mental Health Treatment Among Adults in 2019. Results show that overall, as the level of urbanization decreased, the percentage of adults who had taken medication for their mental health increased, and the percentage who had received counseling or therapy decreased. Read more here.
Comments Requested: Modifications to the Definition of Rural for FORHP Grants – October 23
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) proposed modifications to the definition of ‘rural’ used to designate areas to be eligible for its rural health grants. The proposed definitions are based on a data-driven methodology that will allow community organizations serving rural populations within metro areas to be able to apply for grants as well as allow more of the rural populations within metro areas to access services provided using grant funds. Find more information here.
Tool for Rural Grant Eligibility Updated
The Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer tool has been updated to include the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised delineations for metropolitan, micropolitan, and combined statistical areas. Find more information here.
Rural Hospitals Without Obstetrics Units Worry About Emergency Births
By Liz Carey
When rural moms can’t reach distant maternity services in time, the local emergency room may be the only option. Hospital staff say they wish they were better prepared to deal with such emergencies, a new study shows.
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Red-Zone Report: New Rural Infections Jump 30% in Last Week
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Nearly half of all rural counties have new-infection rates that the White House task force defines as out of control.
Read more
CDC Says Don’t Expect Broad Vaccine Availability Until Mid-2021
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield warned Congress this week that it could take six to nine months after approval to get enough people vaccinated to control the pandemic. President Trump has promised a vaccine fast, but Redfield said the U.S. will struggle to distribute an eventual vaccine. Redfield also offered a bridge between now and vaccine availability:
- “[F]ace masks are the most important, powerful public health tool we have.”
- “[W]e have clear scientific evidence they work, and they are our best defense.”
- “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID-19 than when I take a COVID-19 vaccine, because the immunogenicity might be 70%, and if I don’t get an immune response, the vaccine’s not going to protect me. This face mask will.”
- “I do want to keep asking the American public to take the responsibility — particularly the 18- to 25-year-olds. … because we haven’t got the acceptance of personal responsibility that we need for all Americans to embrace this face mask.”