RHC COVID-19 Testing Funds – What You Need to Know

NARHC will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday May 26th at 2 PM Eastern regarding the Funds most RHCs received this week for COVID-19 Testing and related activities. We will also be providing a brief update on telehealth.

When: Tuesday, May 26 at 1:00 PM Central
Topic: RHC COVID-19 Testing Funds – What You Need to Know
Speakers: Bill Finerfrock, Nathan Baugh and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Staff

The webinar is free of charge and open to everyone, so please feel free to share this information with others whom you believe could benefit from participation in this webinar.

To register for the webinar go to this link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4208080995700665868

Webinar: 2020 Asthma Award Winners – Sharing Successful Strategies to Reduce School Absenteeism and Improve Health Outcomes

Date: May 28, 2020

Time: 1:00 PM Central

Click here to Register.

Attend this webinar to hear winners of EPA’s 2020 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management share information about—

  • The evolution of their asthma programs and how they’ve adapted during the current COVID-19 crisis.
  • Successful strategies for effective in-home interventions and critical asthma education.
  • Innovative school- and community-based partnerships to further program impacts.
  • Data usage to measure key program outcomes and improve return on investment.

Learn from featured expert speakers:

  • Michele Bosworth, M.D., FAFFP, Executive Director, The Center for Population Health, Analytics, and Quality Advancement, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (UTHSCT) School of Community and Rural Health; Associate Professor of Family Medicine; Associate Professor of Healthcare Policy Economics and Management
  • Paul Sharkey, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Allergy and Immunology, UTHSCT
  • Monica Federico, M.D., Medical Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO) Asthma Program
  • Melanie Gleason, PA-C, Senior Instructor, Department of Pediatrics and Associate Director, School-Centered Asthma Program, CHCO

Connect with the featured speakers through a live question-and-answer session in the AsthmaCommunityNetwork.org Discussion Forum! Webinar attendees are encouraged to contribute to the discussion forum before, during and after the webinar.

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

May 21, 2020

Funding: HHS Provides $225 Million for COVID-19 Testing in Rural Communities; $17,360,958 Allocated for Missouri RHCs

May 20, 2020

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided $225 million to Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) for COVID-19 testing.  These investments will support over 4,500 RHCs across the country to support COVID-19 testing efforts and expand access to testing in rural communities. RHCs are a special designation given to health care practices in underserved rural areas by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that help ensure access to care for rural residents.

This funding is through the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act that President Trump signed into law on Friday, April 24, 2020 which specifically directed these monies to be allocated to RHCs. HRSA funded RHC organizations based on the number of certified clinic sites they operate, providing nearly $50,000 per clinic site.

“Today’s funding provides rural health clinics with resources and flexibility to boost their testing capabilities to fight COVID-19,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “Further expanding testing capacity, including at RHCs, is a crucial element of safely reopening our country and helping Americans return to work and school. A safe reopening is vital for Americans’ health and well-being, and especially so for those living in rural areas, who may have struggled with access to healthcare long before COVID-19 and found care even harder to access during this crisis.”

HRSA is also awarding $500,000 to support technical assistance efforts to the RHCs as they expand testing capabilities. This includes activities such as conducting webinars, providing resources and guidance for implementation and management of testing programs.

To view a state-by-state breakdown of this funding, visit: https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/coronavirus/rural-health-clinics-covid-19-testing-fy20-awards