Leadership from the Pennsylvania Departments of Human Services (DHS), Health (DOH), and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) joined Black Maternal Health Caucus Members Rep. Morgan Cephas and Rep. Gina Curry for a roundtable discussion centered on improving maternal health outcomes in Pennsylvania. During the roundtable, the Shapiro Administration officials met with maternal health advocates and community members at North 10 Philadelphia to collect feedback and develop strategies for Pennsylvania’s maternal health. The strategic plan will address health disparities, the high rates of maternal mortality – especially among black women – and help pregnant women in Pennsylvania get the prenatal and postpartum care they need to live healthy lives for both them and their children. The maternal health strategic plan will include priorities centering on equity and diversity, with a focus on increasing access to high-quality care, expanding and diversifying the maternal health care workforce, and addressing behavioral health and substance use disorder services and supports. The Shapiro Administration will launch an online survey and host additional community events throughout Pennsylvania this fall to help gather input from Pennsylvanians with lived experience in maternal health. The survey and events will help the departments inform and expand the planned strategies to improve maternal health outcomes across the state. Learn more.

The nonprofit Addiction Policy Forum explains the risks of fentanyl exposure and steps communities and families can take to prevent overdose. The evidence-based resources are available in 12 languages to ensure all communities have access to the information.

This guide from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services covers the advantages of telehealth accreditation, clinical and technical standards, and educational and training standards.

The toolkit is intended to help Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other rural providers improve workforce recruitment and retention efforts with resources that address four topics: organizational culture and leadership, leveraging partnerships, emergency medical services workforce, and administrative and support staff workforce. The Flex Monitoring Team is a FORHP-supported consortium of researchers who evaluate the impact of HRSA’s Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal agency that examines how taxpayer dollars are spent, issued a new report with recommendations on rural communities known as Colonias.  These are predominantly rural, Hispanic communities near the U.S.-Mexico border. Many have poor access to drinking water, inadequate sewage systems, and substandard housing.

– Submit by December 6. If you are a clinician or health official with a background in primary care, oral health, or mental/behavioral health, we invite you to apply for the National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Rural communities are often the least represented on the board, and the NHSC wants your input! Self-nominations are accepted.

A study published in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education evaluates the outcomes of 25 grantees in cohort 1 of HRSA’s program to create new residency training programs in rural areas.  Results indicate sufficient success to support program continuation; about a third of placed residents were from the states where the residency programs are located, and these residency programs filled at similar rates as more established residency programs. View a list of RRPD grantees from 2019 to 2024.

On Tuesday of this week, HRSA and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced new funding administered by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy that will:

• Expand rural access to services for pregnant women and new mothers.  Cooperative agreements between HRSA and rural organizations within the federal Delta Regional Authority will help build community-level networks that support care coordination for perinatal health.
• Help rural hospitals stay open. Over the next three years, the Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program will provide in-depth technical assistance to rural hospitals to enhance or expand service lines to meet local needs.
• Launch and expand services for SUD.  New awards extend the federal effort to improve access to treatment and recovery for substance use disorder (SUD) in rural communities in 13 states.

How will building community capacity help us strengthen Appalachia? 🌱

Many organizations serving the region do not have enough resources, or “capacity,” to plan, strategize or steer complex projects. Organizations often need training and funding to hire more staff, build organizational skills and expand services to create the greatest positive impact in their communities. 💚

That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of READY Grants to Grow. This new $9M funding opportunity will award grants of up to $500K to organizations seeking to build individual, organizational or community capacity in Appalachia.

Any organization that is eligible to apply for an ARC grant is eligible to apply for READY Grants to Grow. Join us at a pre-application webinar on October 10 to learn more!