- 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
HRSA Request for Information: Maternity Health Professional Target Areas – September 18
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeks public input to develop criteria for identifying Maternity Care Health Professional Target Areas. These are areas within Health Professional Shortage Areas that have a shortage of maternity care health professionals. Email responses to RFIComments@hrsa.gov and reference “Maternity Care Health Professional Target Area Criteria RFI” in the subject line. Read more here.
HRSA Request for Information: Health Professional Shortage Area Criteria – September 18
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) seeks feedback from the public on scoring criteria for Health Professional Shortage Areas. These designations indicate areas with health care provider shortages in primary care, dental health, or mental health. Email responses to RFIComments@hrsa.gov and reference “Health Professional Shortage Area Scoring Criteria RFI” in the subject line. Read more here.
Three Federal Departments Team Up for Rural Health Initiative
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a new effort to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Communications Commission to promote broadband services and technology to rural areas. Read more here.
Deadline for COVID-Related Provider Relief Fund Extended to September 13
Providers participating in state programs for Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Children’s Health Insurance Program, dental providers, and certain Medicare providers may still apply for emergency funding related to the pandemic. Read more here.
The Rise of Primary Care Transformation
Through HRSA’s cooperative agreement with National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) published a brief on the roles state primary care offices (PCOs) have in addressing primary care transformation. Through transformational practices like primary care integration, workforce development, and partnership opportunities, PCOs can increase access to care and improve health outcomes for states.
HHS Launches the AHEAD Dashboard
Last month, HHS launched AHEAD. America’s HIV Epidemic Analysis Dashboard (AHEAD) is a data visualization tool that displays jurisdictional, state, and national data on the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative six indicators:
- Incidence,
- Knowledge of status,
- Diagnoses,
- Linkage to HIV medical care,
- Viral suppression, and
- PrEP coverage.
AHEAD produces easily consumable graphics and tables to help inform national and local decision-making. Using this data, we can work towards meeting the goals of the EHE initiative: reduce the number of new HIV transmission in the U.S. by 90 percent by 2030.
Learn more at ahead.hiv.gov.
HRSA’s National Survey of Children’s Health Highlighted
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) recently highlighted the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) with a post on its ASTHOExperts blog by Dr. Reem Ghandour, Director of the Division of Epidemiology in MCHB’s Office of Epidemiology and Research, and the NSCH Director. The post highlights how NSCH data can inform critical policy and program planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation processes conducted by state and territorial health officials.
The annual survey includes questions on a wide range of factors that influence children’s health—from the prevalence and impact of special health care needs, to health care quality and access, to adverse childhood experiences. It is the only source of both national- and state-level data on several key measures of infant, child, and adolescent health and development. The next set of NSCH data will be available in October.
Learn more about the National Survey of Children’s Health.
HRSA Releases Study on Rural and Urban Older Populations
A new study found that rural populations are older, on average, than urban populations. Across the U.S., people 85 and older make up 1.9 percent of the population. In rural counties, they make up 2.4 percent of the population.
Researchers studied rural-urban older adults based on four different domains: demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, health care access and use, and health characteristics.
The study revealed that the proportion of older adults is increasing more quickly in rural communities due to declining birth rates and migration patterns among younger adults.
Given that the likelihood of living alone increases with age (PDF – 1 MB), research in this area is vital to ensure people have appropriate support and resources.
The study was released by the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, which is funded by HRSA.
Living at Home in Rural America: Improving Accessibility for Older Adults and People with a Disability
HHS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Agriculture have released a joint bulletin (PDF – 283 KB) describing federal resources available to improve health and housing outcomes for older adults and those with disabilities in rural America.
The bulletin supports the HHS Rural Health Task Force, an HHS-wide effort to improve health care and access for rural America. Read the full announcement.
HRSA was part of the HHS team that worked on the bulletin with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Administration for Community Living, and the CDC.
HHS Awards $117 Million to Support Health Center Quality Improvement
On August 25, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced over $117 million in quality improvement awards to 1,318 health centers across all U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia. HRSA-funded health centers will use these funds to further strengthen quality improvement activities and expand quality primary health care service delivery.
“These quality improvement awards support health centers across the country in delivering care to nearly 30 million people, providing a convenient source of quality care that has grown even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “These awards help ensure that all patients who visit a HRSA-funded health center continue to receive the highest quality of care, including access to COVID-19 testing and treatment.”
Read more here.