Month: February 2021

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

February 11, 2021

HHS Adds Categories of Those Allowed to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine. On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued an amendment to the emergency Declaration made last March in response to COVID-19. The amendment allows additional categories of health care professionals – including physicians, registered nurses, and practical nurses with recently expired licenses – to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. 

Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. On February 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released new guidelines used to determine financial eligibility for certain federal programs. Programs using the guidelines include Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

ERS: Rural Residents More Vulnerable to COVID-19. The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture examines trends in COVID-19 case rates and death rates for urban and rural areas. 

Research: Impact of COVID-19 Shutdown on Mental Health in Appalachia.  A study published in the Journal of Appalachian Health examines whether there were higher levels of anxiety, fear, and depression among those who continued working outside the home compared with those who began working remotely during the shutdown. A separate article in the same issue, A Description of COVID-19 Lifestyle Restrictions Among a Sample of Rural Appalachian Women, gives findings of a survey that asked about social interactions, doctor visits, child care, and substance use recovery. 

Research: Minority Race/Ethnicity and Cancer Disparities in Rural Areas of the United States. The Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) is an international organization providing open access to more than 300 academic journals. In an article published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers examine how racism and related social determinants of health expose rural Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations to greater risk of developing cancer. 

CRS Backgrounder on Federal Broadband Programs. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides objective policy and legal analysis to committees and members of the U.S. House and Senate. This report provides an overview of federal programs designed to accelerate broadband deployment and adoption in minority communities, rural and tribal areas, and among other eligible households. 

Rural Health Briefing with White House Staff

To wrap up the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) Rural Health Policy Institute events, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) is excited to invite rural stakeholders to a special briefing this Friday, February 12 at 10:00 am CT. White House staff will be joining to provide a briefing on the American Rescue Plan, and to answer questions.

Rural Health Briefing with White House Staff

Date: Friday, February 12, 2021

Time: 11:00 am ET/10:00 am CT/9:00 am MT/8:00 am PT

Who:

  • Will McIntee, White House Office of Public Engagement
  • Catherine Oakar, White House Domestic Policy Council
  • Kelliann Blazek, White House Domestic Policy Council
  • Alexander Cox, White House Domestic Policy Council

RSVP: https://pitc.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItcOurpjgiHNjF7q1yxPtboA_DWfsUbXg

Just in Time Training Resources for Vaccination Programs Using EMTs

Resources include videos, reference guides and a skills checklist to prepare EMTs to administer coronavirus vaccine

Many communities across the nation are recognizing the important role EMS clinicians can play in expanding access to coronavirus vaccines. The NHTSA Office of EMS, in coordination with federal partners, national EMS organizations and state and local officials, has compiled resources to help EMS systems train EMTs and other clinicians to administer the available SARS-CoV-2 vaccines safely and effectively.

The Just in Time Training for EMT Vaccination Programs includes:

  • Descriptions of the required skills and how to properly teach and evaluate them
  • Downloadable skills assessment checklist
  • Links to training videos
  • And other important information about the vaccines and EMS vaccination programs

You can access all the resources here or by visiting the COVID-19 resources page on EMS.gov.

Webinar: Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Billing and Claims Webinar

Date: February 11, 2021

Time: 2:00 PM CT

This webinar will provide an overview on the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) Billing and Claims process. During this webinar, participants will become familiar with the key terms and entities involved in the billing and claims process, understand the MDPP payment structure and how it applies to billing, and learn how to successfully submit claims to Medicare for MDPP services.

This webinar is meant as a resource for all MDPP suppliers, especially those with no or little familiarity with the claims and submission process.

Pre-registration is not required. The webinar will link will be active at the time the webinar is scheduled to begin. Please set a reminder in your calendar. Use the link and dial in number listed below to join.

Audio Call in number: 888-972-9334

Passcode: 6069321

NOTE: There will be no computer audio available.

To view the live webinar at the time of the event, click here: MDPP Billing and Claims Webinar

To access the replay, visit here 24 hours after the event ends.

For additional information about the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, please visit the MDPP web page.

Individualized Recruitment and Retention Readiness Assessments to Missouri’s Small Rural Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).

The Missouri Primary Care Associations offers Individualized Recruitment and Retention Readiness Assessments to Missouri’s Small Rural Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).  Your Health System is invited to participate in a recruitment and retention assessment project.  The goal of the assessments is to evaluate how your health system and communities engage and retain healthcare professionals.  In addition to recognizing all the great processes you already have in place, the assessment will provide additional resources for best practices, help identifying Unique Selling Points and ideas to invest in challenges.  There is No Cost to participate and it only takes about 1-2 hours of your time, no prep work or paperwork needed!   Learn more, contact Joni Adamson: jadamson@mo-pca.org.

FREE Grants 101 Workshops

The Office of Regional Operations – Region 7, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) invites you to two free half-day Grants 101 workshops.

Date:  Monday, March 8th and Tuesday, March 9th

Time:  9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST (both days)

Location:  Zoom

Who Should Attend:  Community and Faith-based Organizations, Hospitals, Health Centers, Colleges and Universities, Public Health Departments, Tribes and Tribal Organizations or any Organization/Individual who wants to learn more about working with Federal Funders, as well as Foundations.

Topics at a Glance:

  • The Federal Grant Application Process
  • Federal Funding Opportunities Panel
    • Health Services and Resources Administration
    • Administration for Community Living
    • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
    • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
    • U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Technical Resources Demonstration
    • HRSA Data Warehouse
    • Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub)
    • Uniform Data System (UDS) Mapper
  • Engaging and Collaborating with Foundations
    • Missouri Foundation for Health

Please register here on Eventbrite.

For more information, contact HRSAORORegion7@hrsa.gov.

MBQIP Quality Measures National Annual Report and State Annual Reports

The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) has released its MBQIP Quality Measures National Annual Report and State Annual Reports based on 2019 data from Critical Access Hospitals.
 
The 2019 report uses MBQIP (Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project) quality data including measures in all four MBQIP domains:

  • Patient Safety/Inpatient
  • Outpatient
  • Patient Engagement
  • Care Transitions

This report combines data that in past years were distributed through separate Hospital Compare and HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) data reports. The FMT also produces state-level annual MBQIP reports for each of the 45 states participating in the Flex Program.
 
The national annual report may be accessed here and state reports may be accessed through the State Profiles section of the FMT website.
 
All Flex Monitoring Team publications can also be found on the FMT website.

Click to VIEW REPORT.

Veterans’ Rural Health Advisory Committee

The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) is seeking qualified candidates to be considered for appointment as members of the Veterans’ Rural Health Advisory Committee (VRHAC). Nominations for membership on the Committee must be received by February 19, 2021, no later than 3:00 PM CT. All nomination packages should be emailed to Ms. Judy Bowie, Committee Manager, at judy.bowie@va.gov and cc: Dr. Thomas Klobucar, Designated Federal Officer, at Thomas.Klobucar@va.gov. A full list of requirements can be found here. 


For questions, contact National Rural Health Association (NRHA) Vice President of Government Affairs Carrie Cochran-McClain at ccochran@nrharural.org.