- 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
- 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.
- Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
- 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
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Sunsets, Wildlife and Limited Care: Challenges of Aging in Place in Rural America
- City-Country Mortality Gap Widens amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access
Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration Partners with United Way of Pennsylvania to Offer Local Grant Opportunities to Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy
The Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration and the United Way of Pennsylvania launched the Local Innovations in Vaccine Equity in Pennsylvania project (LIVE PA) to administer $4 million in mini-grants to local organizations aimed to reduce vaccine hesitancy and ensuring an equitable vaccine distribution throughout the commonwealth. With a reimbursement rate of $10 per shot achieved, the grants are designed initially to range from $200 to $20,000 per vaccination event. It also includes a requirement that the nonprofits and the local United Way chapters involved promote the events using traditional and digital media to help fight vaccine hesitancy. The pilot phase of LIVE PA will target the zip codes and census tracts with the highest levels of health disparities, poverty and vaccine inequity in the commonwealth. After the pilot phase is complete, the grant opportunity will scale to cover the entire commonwealth over time, targeting vulnerable populations with barriers to vaccination in rural, urban, and suburban communities. Individuals or organizations interested in learning more about eligibility and the application process should reach out to their local United Way chapter or the United Way of Pennsylvania at info@uwp.org. Click here to learn more.
DoorDash Donating $2 Million in Gift Cards to Health Centers
DoorDash is donating $2 million in gift cards to be distributed by Direct Relief to Community Health Centers across the country as incentives to support vaccine outreach and participation. More than 300 FQHCs have already signed up and some Pennsylvania health centers have already received their gift card supply. Health centers that are part of Direct Relief’s network of FQHCs received direct emails on earlier this month and notifications on Direct Relief’s process for ordering the cards. Other health centers can click here to learn how your health center can participate.
“Back to School” Vaccinations
The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign aims to get children and teens vaccinated so they are protected when they go back to in-person learning. Whether your organization is looking to catch children up on missed vaccines or promoting the COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents, you can find the Campaign’s many resources to promote well-child visits and vaccines on InsureKidsNow.gov.
Medication Organizer Packages & Children Study
A new study that focused on the presence of medications in many medication organizers that could prove fatal to a child, reveals that nearly three-quarters of medication organizer packages contain a drug class from which a single pill could be lethal. The “one pill that can kill” (1PCK) drugs include tricyclic antidepressants, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, sulfonylureas, opioids and many others. These organizers are used to help support treatment adherence, particularly in older adults.
2021 West Nile Virus Season in Pennsylvania
The PA Department of Health has issued Health Advisory 576 regarding 2021 West Nile Virus (WNV). The first WNV-positive pools were identified in Pennsylvania in Lebanon and Beaver counties for the 2021 arbovirus season through the routine seasonal monitoring conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance program. This indicates that WNV may have begun to circulate in Pennsylvania. Risk of human WNV infection is likely to remain elevated over the next several months. This is a reminder to consider the diagnosis of arboviral infection in persons presenting with undifferentiated febrile illness or signs of meningoencephalitis. To read more on this advisory, click here. Additional surveillance data is available by clicking here. For questions, please call your local health department or DOH at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.
Newly Updated: Dental Workforce Manual
This updated chapter of the NNOHA Operations Manual provides helpful tools and resources for tackling issues related to workforce in health center dental programs, including recruitment and retention strategies, academic partnerships, and staffing ratios.
HHS Offers Telehealth Best Practices and Important Updates
Trying to stay on top of telehealth policy or billing changes during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic? Telehealth.HHS.gov has the latest updates on changes that may affect your practice. The one-stop resource also provides helpful guidance on telehealth legal issues, materials to help you prepare patients for successful virtual visits and more.
New Loan Repayment Program Expands Eligible Substance Use Disorder Disciplines, Facility Types
HRSA’s new Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program expands access to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment by adding several new disciplines. These include bachelor’s-level SUD counselors, behavioral health paraprofessionals, and clinical support staff. The program also broadens the clinical best practice of a warm handoff while recognizing the effectiveness of integrated SUD treatment teams. Eligible health professionals can receive up to $250,000 in exchange for a six-year, full-time service commitment at a variety of SUD facility types. Apply by 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 22. Eligible sites may also apply to become approved for the program.
New Report on Medicaid’s Role in the Resilience of the Nation’s Children
The National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) released a new report, Medicaid Forward: Children’s Health, the second in a three-part series that looks at how Medicaid can and will, inevitably, play a critical role in the hard work of recovering from the pandemic and establishing a “new normal” for American health care. The report provides a close look at the realities the country is facing to aid the recovery of its children, as well as the innovations Medicaid programs across the country have made and are continuing to make to help millions of kids.
Nutritious Foods from Local Farms Available to Pennsylvania Students and Schools
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is encouraging schools, child care centers and summer meal sites to participate in the Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month Program and other programs that connect farms with schools to get more fresh, locally grown food on students’ plates. Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month is coordinated by Project PA, a collaboration between PDE and Penn State University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences. A Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month calendar identifies a Pennsylvania-grown agricultural product each month. To facilitate connections between schools and farms, links to resources to find PA farms and growers are provided along with recipes that incorporate the designated item of the month.