Month: October 2020

HHS Awards Nearly $500 million to Support Primary Health Care Workforce Nationwide

October 15, 2020

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced nearly $500 million in awards to support, recruit and retain qualified health professionals and students through its National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps programs.

“National Health Service and Nurse Corps clinicians have been heroic frontline providers in high-need rural, urban and tribal communities for decades, and their service has proven only more essential during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “This year’s nearly half a billion dollars in awards will help Corps clinicians continue their work as part of HHS’s efforts to address health disparities, tackle substance abuse, and expand access to care for vulnerable Americans.”

Read the release.

National Prescription Take Back Day is October 24

Nearly 9.9 million Americans misuse prescription pain relievers, and over half of these drugs are either given, bought, or taken from a friend or relative, according to a 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. October 24 is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which offers a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused prescription drugs and educates the public about potential medication abuse.

Click here to find a National Take Back Initiative Collection Site.

Expanded List of Telehealth Services

October 15, 2020

Yesterday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified Congress that they have, “Released an expanded list of telehealth services that Medicare will pay for during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Effective immediately, Medicare will begin paying eligible practitioners for 11 additional services delivered via telehealth, including certain cardiac rehabilitation and monitoring services.”

Information on newly added Medicare telehealth services and codes is available here.

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Updates

October 15, 2020

HRSA Releases 2019-2020 Report on Health Equity. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released a report on health equity across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health equity is achieved when no one is disadvantaged from achieving their full health potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances. 

CDC: Motor Vehicle Traffic Death Rates Among Adolescents and Young Adults Aged 15–24. A new data brief from the CDC reports that motor vehicle traffic (MVT) deaths generally declined between 2000 and 2018, but rates were about twice as high in rural than urban areas for both males and females.

CDC: Increase in Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine. In a separate brief, the CDC reports that, between 2009 and 2018, the rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine rose significantly across all age groups, gender identities, and racial/ethnic categories. The overdose death rate in 2018 involving cocaine with concurrent use of opioids was triple the rate of those without any concurrent opioid use. Among all regions of the country—Northeast, Midwest, South, and West—rates were significantly lower in rural counties than in urban counties; however, the rate in Northeastern rural counties was about triple the rates of Midwestern, Southern, and Western rural counties.

Webinar: Understanding the Ground: Social Determinants of Health in Rural Populations

Date: November 17, 2020

Time: 12:00PM Central

Social determinants of health are defined by the World Health Organization as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.” For rural populations, many of these elements are less favorable than within urban areas. Building on work conducted by the Rural and Minority Health Research Center, this presentation will review some of the key elements associated with health across rural White and minority populations, such as education, income, and health facility availability.

Connection Information

The webinar is free, no registration is required, but participation is limited to the first 500 to log-on that day. If the webinar reaches capacity, you will be able to access the recording, archived on the Gateway website.

Guidance for Health Centers to Promote Flu Vaccination

During the 2020-2021 influenza season, flu vaccines are more important than ever to protect patients and communities. Public health experts are concerned that the spread of another respiratory illness in addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could overburden the health care system. However, flu vaccines can flatten the curve of flu infection, protect essential workers, and conserve medical resources for the care of patients with COVID-19.

To promote flu vaccines, here are some important reminders for health centers to keep in mind:

  • CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. However, vaccines should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.
  • More than 124 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed so far this season.
  • This season, flu vaccines are especially important for racial and ethnic minorities, seniors, people with disabilities, and people with underlying conditions. That’s because these individuals are at higher risk of being exposed to, or developing, serious flu and COVID-19.

To support efforts to increase flu vaccination rates, health centers and Health Center Program stakeholders are encouraged to leverage the CDC resources below:

  • CDC Health Care Provider Fight Flu Toolkit — Provides tools to equip health care providers to make strong flu vaccine recommendations and facilitate productive conversations with patients. Includes fact sheets, slides, materials for patients, and more.
  • Make a Strong Flu Vaccine Recommendation — Provides guidance for health care providers on how to make a strong flu vaccine recommendation and help their patients make informed decisions about vaccinations.
  • CDC Vaccination Guidance During a Pandemic — Provides resources to guide vaccine planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • CDC Digital Media Toolkit: 2020-21 Flu Season — Includes social media images and messages, videos, a vaccine finder, print-ready materials, and other resources to convey the importance of flu vaccinations. We encourage health centers to share these resources on their webpages and social media pages, as well as in physical settings.
  • Recommendations for the 2020-21 Flu Season — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends influenza vaccination of persons aged ≥6 months.