- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
- Public Inspection: CMS: Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
- VA: Solicitation of Nominations for the Appointment to the Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
- 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
HRSA Celebrates National Rural Health Day
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will recognize the annual event with online activities on Thursday, November 19. HRSA Administrator Tom Engels will kick off the day, along with a welcome from Jeff Colyer, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. HRSA will host a variety of events throughout the week which are open to the public, including a virtual rural job fair and webinars focused on the rural response to COVID-19, social determinants of health, and telehealth.
Rural Infections Surge Past 110,000 for the Week, Breaking Another Record
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Rural counties had record-breaking numbers of new infections, for the sixth consecutive week.
Read more
Jobs Report, September 2019-2020: Most Rural Counties Lose Jobs but Do Better than Metro
By Bill Bishop
September’s employment numbers show the pandemic is hurting rural areas less than metropolitan ones.
Read more
Population Health Toolkit Released
In cooperation with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the Population Health Toolkit provides visualizations of data from multiple sources that answer questions that rural hospitals and communities have about the health of their communities.
Are you looking for data to support an idea or story for your rural community?
Do you wonder about the relationship with poverty, preventable hospital stays, and access to mental health providers? Have you examined the socioeconomic status of your community related to well-being?
These are just a few questions you can explore in the Toolkit.
- The Toolkit crosswalks multiple federal, publicly available datasets.
- Data visualizations provide a concise and easy to understand story of your data.
Explore your data further by downloading the information to create your own analysis and graphs.
Toolkit
Compare Metrics From 12 Scenarios
The 12 scenarios listed below include benchmarks for hospital or county-level users to compare their metrics to state and national benchmarks. All scenarios include explanations, visualizations, and instructional videos on how to use and export the data. Be sure to view the introductory tutorial video on how to use the data in the Population Health Toolkit.
- Diabetes Demographics
- Discharge Instructions
- Emergency Department Access
- Injury Demographics
- Patient Satisfaction
- Poverty, Preventable Stays, and Mental Health Shortage
- Social Determinants of Health
- Socioeconomic Status and Well-being
- Transportation and Health Status
- Understanding of Care and County Race Demographics
- Uninsured Rates, Behavior and Mental Health
- Using Claims Data
Introductory Tutorial Video
Where are you in the journey towards population health?
There is so much more to the Toolkit. Complete the Critical Access Hospital Population Health Readiness Assessment to connect with tools and resources targeted towards rural health organizations’ unique strengths and needs for transitioning towards population health.
The toolkit is continually updated with new resources to help your facility or county navigate the journey towards improved population health along each milestone.
Assessment
Questions? Want a demonstration?
Tracy Morton
Director of Population Health
(218) 216-7027
This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB1RH24206, Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Grantees, $1,009,120 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
CDC Adds COVID-19 Vaccine-Specific Content for Providers and Public
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added vaccine-specific content to their extensive Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Vaccines gateway page. These new resources include information on vaccination planning, how vaccine safety will be monitored, and FAQs. These resources are intended to clarify how COVID-19 vaccine recommendations will be made and how the vaccines will be monitored for safety, to build trust and confidence in future COVID-19 vaccines. As more information becomes available and as vaccines become authorized or approved and recommended for use in the U.S. updates will be added.
New Framework for Transforming Oral Health Care
The DentaQuest Partnership wants to know if you are ready to transform the oral health care system? They are proposing an innovative new Framework that focuses on prevention and healthy outcomes, facilitates value-based payment models, and addresses the deep inequities in care and access. They are inviting oral health leaders to join along with 110 other oral health leaders that have contributed to this framework and are ready for this transformation. Click here to explore the Domains Framework and learn more.
45th Annual Great American Smokeout Coming Next Month
Since 1976, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has hosted the Great American Smokeout (GASO), a public awareness event to encourage people to quit smoking. GASO is celebrated on the third Thursday of November and this year ACS celebrates the 45th annual GASO on Thursday, Nov. 19. GASO is an opportunity to commit to a smoke- and tobacco-free life–not just for a day, but year-round. Visit the GASO website to access resources to make a plan to quit or to support your own Great American Smokeout® event.
ACS Guidance on Cancer Screening During COVID-19
Cancer prevention and early detection are central to the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) mission to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer. Early detection of cancer through screening reduces mortality from many cancers. Far too many individuals for whom screening is recommended remain unscreened, and this situation has been aggravated by the substantial decline in cancer screening resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the pandemic-related disruptions will likely exacerbate existing disparities in cancer screening and survival across groups of people who have systemically experienced social or economic obstacles to screening and care. In response to these challenges, the American Cancer Society developed the ACS – Resuming Cancer Screening During COVID-19 Toolkit to summarize the current situation and to provide guidance on how public health agencies, healthcare providers, and screening advocates across the nation can promote and deliver cancer screening appropriately, safely and equitably during the pandemic.
Recent CMS Releases Related to Telehealth and COVID-19
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a preliminary report providing Medicaid and CHIP data on telehealth use during the COVID-19 public health emergency through June 30. It provides a snapshot of services delivered via telehealth to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries between March and June across various states and age groups, noting the significant increase in telehealth services compared to the same period last year. CMS also released a supplement to its State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit to help states navigate telehealth service delivery and reimbursement. The supplement’s updated FAQs include resources states may consider for FQHCs, specifically financing flexibilities in response to the pandemic.
If ACA Falls, So Could Coverage for Millions of Young People
Next month, the Supreme Court will consider whether to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA)–and with it, preexisting-condition protections. The Commonwealth Fund examines the potential impact on young people, who have made the largest insurance coverage gains of any age group since the ACA was passed. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the authors estimate 2.3 million people ages 20 to 39 who didn’t have prior underlying health conditions have tested positive for COVID-19. “Uncertainty about long-term health effects may be sufficient for health insurers to designate COVID-19 infection as a preexisting condition,” the authors write. “Some may go further and designate anyone who is tested regularly for COVID-19 as having a preexisting condition.” Read more.