Month: July 2021

Maternal Health Webinar Series

Date: August 12, 2021

Time: 2:00 PM  – 3:00 PM CT

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA), Office of Regional Operations (ORO) in Regions 5, 6, and 7 invite you to a webinar on Racial Equity and Maternal Health. This webinar is part of ORO Regions 5, 6, and 7’s Maternal Health Webinar Series. The series’ goal is to highlight innovations and promising practices as well as resources to promote and further maternal health and well-being across the lifespan. 

Topics at a Glance

  • Share an overview of maternal morbidity and mortality data from Michigan
  • Describe alignment of Fetal Infant Mortality Review and Maternal Mortality Review Committee recommendations issued and dissemination process
  • Share innovative practices implemented by the Southeast Michigan Perinatal Quality Improvement Coalition (SEMPQIC) to improve black maternal health outcomes
  • Explain Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center’s work in relation to the broader maternal health field
  • Identify ways that the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center’s resources and technical assistance can be utilized in maternal health work
  • Identify ways that the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center has sought to center equity in its work

Featured Speakers

  • Dawn M. Shanafelt, Director, Division of Maternal & Infant Health, & Director, Title V Maternal Child Health, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
  • Audra Brummel, Infant Health Consultant, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
  • Melissa Limon-Flegler, Michigan Maternal Mortality Surveillance (MMMS) Program Coordinator, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
  • Lynell Hodges, Core Manager, Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center (MHLIC), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health

Register for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive the confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar on August 12th.

For more information about the webinar, contact Amanda Waldrup at AWaldrup@hrsa.gov.  

For more resources and tools about maternal health, visit https://www.hrsa.gov/maternal-health.

Reasonable Accommodations

If you would like to request an auxiliary aid such as Sign Language Interpretive Services, please contact the HRSA Office for Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion at RA- Request@hrsa.gov at least 5 business days prior to the date of the event.

Healthy People 2020 Progress

The Healthy People (HP) 2020 Progress Table now has interactive pie charts highlighting the final progress of HP2020 objectives and targets. The pie charts  provide a summary by objective type and final progress status of the 1,111 measurable and 985 trackable objectives. 

Explore the data.

Rural Healthy People 2030 Initiative

Rural Health Clinics (RHC) have an unprecedented opportunity to help influence the future direction of health policy in this country via the Rural Healthy People 2030 initiative.  

The RHC Community has been invited to work with researchers at the Southwest Rural Health Research Center to ensure that the voices of the RHC community are included in this information gathering process.  The responses you and others provide will be incorporated into a report that will be shared with policy makers as they seek to identify the rural health agenda for the next 10 years.  

Please take a few minutes to participate in this research study by completing this on-line survey: https://tamu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_73qcXw58n1Z2LRk

In order to amplify the RHC voice, please feel free to share this link with your patients or others you may know who have an opinion about rural health care.  It should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete the survey. If you have any questions about this study, please feel free to reach out to Timothy Callaghan from the Southwest Rural Health Research Center at callaghan@tamu.edu. 

Three Provider Resiliency Workforce Training Programs Accepting Applications

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the availability of $103 million in American Rescue Plan funding over a three-year period to reduce burnout and promote mental health among the health and public safety workforce. 

Deadline for all applications is August 30, 2021

The funding opportunities accepting applications are: 

Promoting Resilience and Mental Health Among Health Professional Workforce (HRSA 22-110): Approximately 10 awards will be made totaling approximately $29 million over three years to health care organizations to support members of their workforce. This includes establishing, enhancing, or expanding evidence-informed programs or protocols to adopt, promote and implement an organizational culture of wellness that includes resilience and mental health among their employees.
Visit Grants.gov to apply.

Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program (HRSA 22-109): Approximately 30 awards will be made totaling approximately $68 million over three years for educational institutions and other appropriate state, local, Tribal, public or private nonprofit entities training those early in their health careers. This includes providing evidence-informed planning, development and training in health profession activities in order to reduce burnout, suicide and promote resiliency among the workforce. 
Visit Grants.gov to apply.

Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Technical Assistance Center (HRSA 22-111): One award will be made for approximately $6 million over three years to provide tailored training and technical assistance to HRSA’s workforce resiliency programs.
Visit Grants.gov to apply.

Visit BHW Grants for more information.

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

July 8, 2021

HRSA Makes Awards for the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RRPD). The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded $6.7 million to support the creation of new accredited and sustainable rural residency programs to expand the physician workforce in rural areas. The RRPD program is a multi-year collaborative initiative between HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) to increase physician training opportunities in rural communities and focus on improving access to high quality health care providers. The incoming RRPD cohort will collaborate with the RRPD-Technical Assistance Center throughout the duration of their three-year grant. To learn more about the RRPD-TA center, please visit www.RuralGME.org.

New Information and Webcast on Provider Relief Fund Reporting.  HRSA has released a number of new resources to help recipients of Provider Relief Funds (PRF) comply with reporting requirements. Those who received funds prior to June 30, 2020, can access the portal through September 30 for reporting purposes. There is a fact sheet, a data entry workbook, and a webcast July 8, 2021 at 3 p.m. ET to provide technical assistance.

Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Distribution (RHCVD) Program.  There’s still time to join the RHC COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Program. Medicare-certified RHCs can receive direct shipments of COVID-19 vaccines. Contact RHCVaxDistribution@hrsa.gov for more information. 

Advancing Equitable Strategies to Address the Health-Related Social Needs of Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries during the Public Health Emergency

July 12, 2021

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model assesses whether bridging the gap between clinical care and social services can reduce health care utilization and costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. In February 2021, CMS hosted its third annual AHC Meeting virtually to convene 28 bridge organizations participating in the AHC Model and key partners, including community service providers, state Medicaid agencies, and advisory board members. The meeting participants collaborated and shared insights to sustain their screening, referral, and navigation strategies to address the health-related social needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Learn more about their insights in the brief, “Planning for Sustainability and Advancing Health Equity during the Public Health Emergency.” 

Webinar: Recruiting, Funding, and Training an Effective and Innovative Maternal Behavioral Health Workforce

Date: July 21, 2021

Time: 12:00 PM CT

REGISTER

Join this Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)-Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) national webinar to hear from subject matter experts on effective and innovative strategies for building the maternal behavioral health workforce.

The webinar will highlight best practices in behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention, discuss traditional and non-traditional funding sources for maternal behavioral health, and share innovative models and programs that address maternal behavioral health.