- 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?
Public Inspection: HHS, CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs, Basic Health Program, and Exchanges: Additional Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and Delay of Certain Reporting Requirements for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program
This site serves as a pre-publication notice of interim final rule with comment period from the Health Resources and Services Administrations and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services giving flexibility to those providing services to Medicare, Medicaid, Basic Health Program, and Exchange beneficiaries in order to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a table outlining flexibilities and the dates in which they are applicable, including those for providers and facilities in rural areas. This interim rule is effective upon publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for May 8, 2020. Comments are due within 60 days of publication. Find the site here.
PACHC 2020 Annual Conference & Clinic Summit – Call for Proposals
PACHC is seeking presentation proposals for the 2020 Annual Conference & Clinical Summit. The conference will take place on October 6 – 8 at the Lancaster Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Last year, over 700 health center leaders, staff and partners attended the event which included 55 educational opportunities. Learn more about the benefits of presenting at the Annual Conference & Clinical Summit.
Presentations should be in one of the following categories:
- Medical, Dental or Behavioral Health
- Quality, Transformation, and Risk Management
- Administrative Policies and Practices
- Outreach and Enrollment
- Human Resources
- Finance and Billing
- Legislative and Policy
- Customer Service
- Marketing and Communications
Submit today by completing the online call for presentations module by Friday, May 29. Review these helpful tips and instructions for how to submit a presentation using the online module. PACHC also encourages you to view the topic suggestions submitted by health centers, however, your presentation is not required to focus on these topics.
For questions or additional information, please email the Events and Communications Manager, Amanda Tekely at amanda@pachc.org or call her at (717) 761-6443, ext. 205.
The deadline for proposals to be submitted to the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers is Friday, May 29, 2020.
2020 Data User Conference Goes Virtual
In order to keep users and attendees safe and to stay in line with guidelines from the CDC and PA Department of Health, the 2020 Pennsylvania Data User Conference will be held virtually.
The Pennsylvania State Data Center worked with the U.S. Census Bureau to provide four sessions including a training on the Bureau’s new dissemination platform, data.census.gov, new privacy standards in the 2020 Census, the 2017 Economic Census, and the Redistricting Data Program.
Sessions will be held from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on May 14. Due to limitations from the U.S. Census Bureau, attendance is capped at 90 registrants on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Click here to register today!
If you previously registered for the in-person conference, your existing registration will transfer to the virtual event. Please contact the Pennsylvania State Data Center if the date no longer works with your schedule.
WalkWorks Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Development of Plans and Policies to Establish Activity-Friendly Routes that Connect to Everyday Destinations
COVID-19 has confirmed what many of us already knew: walking and bicycling are critical modes of transportation that warrant attention and funding. Walking, biking and any form of wheeling are independent, reliable and resilient transportation modes that are healthy for our minds, bodies and the environment.
WalkWorks is pleased to announce its fourth round of assistance to advance policy development related to active transportation. Once again, grants will be offered to a limited number of municipalities and other governmental bodies to assist with the development of Active Transportation Plans, Complete Streets policies and/or Vision Zero policies. These plans and policies are essential to the efforts to establish activity-friendly routes that connect people to everyday destinations, thereby expanding opportunities for physical activity.
In the context of this Funding Opportunity, active transportation includes walking, wheeling and public transit. Eligible applicants include municipalities, Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations (MPOs/RPOs) and other governmental agencies with the capacity to accomplish the proposed project.
Because WalkWorks is sensitive to the environment in which we are presently living and working, the timeframe to develop and submit applications is longer than it has been in previous years. WalkWorks hopes that this affords all interested parties adequate time to address the possibility of applying with their governing bodies, colleagues, and others as well as to complete the application. Though detailed throughout the Funding Opportunity Announcement, which includes the application (Appendix E), the following are some pertinent dates:
May 14, 2020: A non-mandatory webinar will highlight aspects of the Funding Opportunity Announcement and provide an opportunity for potential applicants to ask questions. Log-in information is detailed on page 6 of the Announcement.
July 2, 2020: Applications must be received by this date/time or they will not be considered.
September 3, 2020: Grant recipients will be notified on or close to this date; those not being awarded funding in this cycle will receive notice shortly thereafter.
If interested, please consider whether your organization meets the eligibility requirements and share with the decision-making body of your municipality or agency. Let the elected officials know of your interest in and the rationale for wanting to apply. By doing so, you can ensure and expedite obtaining the support of your decision-makers — documentation of which must be included with your application.
WalkWorks is seeking broad distribution of this announcement and would very much appreciate your sharing it with others, such as municipal and county planners and MPOs/RPOs. Further, we hope that the MPOs/RPOs will inform the municipalities within their respective regions of this opportunity.
In addition to the link, above, the full announcement, including the application and appendices, will be available on the PA WalkWorks website.
All questions/comments should be sent to pawalkworks@pitt.edu.
Small Healthcare Provider Quality Improvement: Sourcebook, 2016-2019
This sourcebook provides detailed descriptions of 32 rural quality improvement initiatives funded through the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement grant program during the 2016-2019 grant period. Initiatives focused on enhancing chronic disease management, increasing patient and caregiver engagement, improving quality of care, and better health outcomes. Read more here.
Small Area Health Insurance Estimates: 2018
This resource reports on health insurance coverage in the U.S. in 2018 and changes between 2017 and 2018, as well as changes between 2013 and 2018. It includes maps showing county-level uninsured rates. Read more here.
Additional links: Visualizations and Reference Maps
The Opioid Crisis and Community-level Spillovers onto Children’s Education
This article presents a study on the link between the opioid epidemic and children’s educational outcomes. It evaluates community-level resources for handling the opioid crisis and how that correlates with educational outcomes, specifically in rural and underserved areas. Read more here.
Identifying Measures and Data Elements for the HRSA Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program
This research brief identifies the standardized set of measures used for data collection by the Evidence-Based Tele-Emergency Network Grant Program grantees. It explores ways in which emergency department-based telehealth services can be used in rural hospital emergency departments. Read more here.
Hospital Inpatient Stays Related to Opioid Use Disorder and Endocarditis, 2016
This statistical brief examines inpatient stays for adults 18 years and older related to opioid use disorder (OUD) and endocarditis, stays related to OUD but not endocarditis, and stays related to endocarditis but not OUD. It includes data by patient location for metropolitan, rural adjacent to metro, and rural remote areas. Read more here.
Geographic Variation in the 2018 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
This findings brief compares the profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, other rural hospitals, and urban hospitals in 2018 by census region, census division, and state. It examines the reasons for geographic variation in the profitability of urban and rural hospitals. Read more here.
Additional links: 2016‐18 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals by Medicare Payment Classification, Rural Hospitals with Long‐Term Unprofitability, Understanding the Broader Context of Rural Hospitals and Profitability