REGISTRATION OPEN: Addressing Meth Use in the Midwest: Primary Prevention

Date: January 27, 2022

Addressing Meth Use in the Midwest – Session #2: Primary Prevention

Use of methamphetamine impacts people across the Midwest in many ways. Join the HHS Region 7 Harm Reduction Workgroup for a series of brief, 30-minute webinars to explore strategies to address meth use, ranging from prevention to treatment and recovery. The second webinar in the series will feature discussions on primary prevention and increasing public awareness around meth use, including perspectives from the field.

Webinar Date: February 7, 2022 

Time: 11:30 am  – 12:00 pm CT

Register for the webinar hereAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the session. 

For questions, please contact Catherine Satterwhite at catherine.satterwhite@hhs.gov.

Rural-Urban Differences in Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences: Results from the National Survey of Children’s Health

Date: January 31, 2022

Rural-Urban Differences in Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences: Results from the National Survey of Children’s Health

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are events of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction occurring between birth and 17 years of age. Studies have found a direct correlation between ACEs and risky behaviors, poor physical health, and poor mental health outcomes in childhood. Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) include a nurturing, safe, and supportive environment allowing for health development and overall wellness. In prior research, rural-urban differences in PCEs have not been examined using all 50 states. This brief examines the types and counts of ACEs and PCEs for rural and urban children. The study also reports on the differences between rural and urban ACEs and PCEs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Contact Information:

Elizabeth Crouch, PhD
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Phone: 803.576.6055
crouchel@mailbox.sc.edu

Additional Resources of Interest:

Click to view Research Alert.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook

Date: January 31, 2022

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook and Webinars

With the signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in mid-November, President Biden marked a new era of building a better America together. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is historic in its size – the largest ever investments in broadband, rail and transit, clean energy, and water, just to name a few – as well as the breadth of programs and sectors included in the law.  Implementing the largest investment in the nation’s infrastructure in generations will require deep partnership alongside members of Congress, Governors, Mayors, Tribal leaders, local officials, and community members.
 
Today, the White House is releasing a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law guidebook to provide information so you know what to apply for, who to contact, and how to get ready to rebuild. This guidebook is a 465 page roadmap to the funding available under the law, as well as an explanatory document that shows direct federal spending at the program level. This resource will continue to be updated online at Build.gov.  The goal is for you—rural communities all across America—to take full advantage of the opportunity this new funding presents.
 
The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to building a better America—creating good middle-class jobs, supporting disadvantaged and underserved communities, advancing climate resilience and sustainability, and investing in American manufacturers. It is the White House Office of Public Engagement hope that this resource is another step forward in the work together to build a better America.

To help stakeholders better understand how to use this document and hear the latest updates on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law implementation, the White House Office of Public Engagement is hosting two webinars over the next week:

Weekly Rural Stakeholders Call

The White House Office of Public Engagement invites you to join the next weekly rural stakeholders call on Thursday, February 3 at 3:00 pm ET. USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Meryl Harrell, who will provide an update on the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s investments to address post-wildfire and hurricane recovery, will join the call. Additional speakers will be announced next week. Here are the details:

Date: February 3, 2022

Time: 3:00 PM ET

RSVP

The Deadline to Register and Attest for the 2021 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program Is Approaching Soon

Date: January 28, 2022

The deadline to register and attest for the 2021 EHR reporting year for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program is March 31, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Program participants from eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) are required to attest through CMS’s Hospital Quality Reporting system.

If your organization would like an attestation letter, please contact Joanne Jarvi, Senior Director of Outreach and Market Communications at joanne.jarvi@velatura.org.

Full details on the 2021 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program requirements, can be found here.

Free Webinar Learning Opportunity: Telehealth and the Impact of Community Health Workers (CHWs)

4-Part Webinar Series: The Role of Telehealth in Expanding Access to Health Care and Social Services

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs(IEA) invites you to a free webinar on: 

Telehealth and the Impact of Community Health Workers (CHWs) 

Please register here

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2022

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT

Webinar Description

The rapid expansion of telehealth services to access health care during the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns of widening gaps in health equity among populations at risk. This 4-part webinar series will address these concerns by identifying barriers and by highlighting sustainable models that have reduced inequalities and improved health outcomes. Presenters will describe the role of telehealth and what staffing, programmatic, and process changes have been implemented to increase access to health care, and social services.  

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the unique challenges rural communities face in social vulnerability in addition to issues in access to specialty care and comprehensive services that may be mitigated through CHW’s skills in navigating health related social needs and resources to support chronic care management and behavioral health interventions.
  • Gain awareness of the strengths and limitations of prominent solutions to fill provider vacancies due to barriers in infrastructure, capacity, and patient resistance.
  • Understand the history of the CHWs’ role in team-based care in rural communities in addition to opportunities for their individual advancement through policy and workforce development; with telehealth as a potential vehicle to their increased participation.
  • Describe lessons learned in implementing, revising, and sustaining CHW programs financially featuring perspectives on state-wide reimbursement channels versus provider and practice ROI.

Featured Speakers

  • CAPT Christopher Bersani, PsyD, ABPP, Deputy Regional Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Region 1 Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Danielle Louder, Program Director, Northeast Telehealth Resource Center, Augusta, Maine.
  • Anne Perry, MPH Candidate Boston University School of Public Health, Boston Massachusetts
  • Reid Plimpton, Project Manager, Northeast Telehealth Resource Center, Augusta, Maine
  • Kari White, Northern Counties Health Care (NCHC) Director of Quality Initiatives, Compliance and Privacy Officer, St Johnsbury, Vermont
  • Webinar Moderator
  •  Veronica Roa, Public Health Analyst, Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Region 1 Boston, Massachusetts
This webinar is a close collaboration between HRSA IEA Region 1 and the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center. The series’ goal is to highlight sustainable models of telehealth and best practices to increase access to health care and reduce health disparities.

The PowerPoint presentations of The Role of Telehealth in Expanding Access to Health Care and Social Services webinar series will be e-mailed to all participants.

For more information about the series, contact Veronica Roa at vroa@hrsa.gov.

For more resources and tools about telehealth, visit:

https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/telehealth/index.html.

Social Cohesion and Social Engagement among Older Adults Aging in Place: Rural/Urban Differences

Date: January 27, 2022

Social Cohesion and Social Engagement among Older Adults Aging in Place: Rural/Urban Differences

For older adults aging in place, social cohesion and social engagement are essential to ensuring good health and quality of life. Rural residents may face structural barriers to remaining socially engaged and active as they age; however, differences by rurality are not well understood for older adults aging in place. This policy brief examines rural/urban differences in social cohesion and social engagement for older adults aging in place, as well as within-rural differences by race and ethnicity.

Contact Information:

Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, MPH, MSW
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Phone: 612.626.4512
henn0329@umn.edu

Additional Resources of Interest:

Click to view Research Alert.

Sister to Sister: Take Control of Your Health

Date: January 26, 2022

HealthHIV is pleased to announce the launch of Sister to Sister: Take Control of Your Health, a course developed for clinic-based providers to empower women to reduce their risk for acquiring HIV. This blended course entails a 60-minute, self-paced E-Learning module developed by HealthHIV, followed by an in-person or virtual classroom session hosted by CAI. 

Sister to Sister: TCYH is an adaptation of the 1993 original intervention, Sister to Sister: Respect Yourself! Protect Yourself! Because You Are Worth It! This NEW, blended course offered by the Capacity Building Assistance Provider Network (CPN) National HIV Classroom and eLearning Centers is designed for clinic-based providers. The training of facilitators course includes an eLearning module; live, instructor-led virtual training; and course evaluation.

This course is for a variety of HIV care providers in clinics and primary health care settings including:

  • Community health workers
  • Health educators
  • Nurses
  • Social workers
  • HIV case managers
  • Patient navigators

Background About This Intervention

Sister to Sister: TCYH is a one-on-one brief intervention between provider and patient that gives women the skills and information they need to reduce their risk of HIV. The intervention seeks to empower women to take control of their health by choosing PrEP and/or using condoms consistently to prevent HIV and uses CDC’s new #ShesWell campaign to help reinforce a variety of healthful messages. Providers seeking to implement Sister to Sister: TCYH at their sites can register for the Training of Facilitators,
which includes two components:

  • A self-paced prerequisite E-Learning module
  • A two-day live, instructor-led virtual training

Submit a request through the CBA Tracking System: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/CTS

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

Date: January 27, 2022

More Provider Relief Funds Being Distributed. This week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is making more than $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 7,600 providers across the country. These payments come on the heels of nearly $9 billion in funding released in December 2021. With this announcement, HHS has distributed a total of nearly $11 billion in PRF Phase 4 payments to providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and five territories.

Health Workforce Fact Sheet – 2021 HRSA Highlights (pdf). Learn more about the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) health workforce efforts to help recruit and retain personnel during the pandemic, promote health equity, and support and build the health workforce, including funding that went to rural residency programs and Teaching Health Centers in rural communities.

Spread the Word About Vaccine Boosters. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released new resources – posters, flyers, videos, and talking points – to help promote the extra protection from COVID-19 boosters. All vaccinated adults aged 18+ are eligible for a booster. A few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded booster eligibility to include adolescents ages 12 to 17, recommending that they receive a booster shot five months after their initial vaccination. The CDC also released a new resource, based on input from rural health departments and organizations, with 12 strategies to increase vaccine uptake in rural communities (pdf). Search by zip code to find nearby locations providing adult and pediatric vaccines and boosters for COVID-19 and the flu at vaccines.gov.

HHS Reports to Congress on Federal Diabetes Programs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, and another 88 million have prediabetes. In addition to its health impact – increased risk of stroke, heart attack, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputations – the economic cost was estimated to be $327 billion in 2017. In this report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) examined the efficacy of federal diabetes programs, detailing the challenges that remain, particularly in rural areas. 

Alaska Native Elders Assess Government Social Services. Researchers share insights voiced by Alaska Native Elders in the Yukon-Kuskowkwim region and their perceptions of regulations, assistance, and the impact that government programs have had on their culture. 

Prescription Drug Affordability Among Medicare Beneficiaries. The report examines the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who had difficulty affording their medications in 2019, including race/ethnicity, gender, family income, presence of certain chronic conditions, and urban vs. rural counties. Overall, women, people with lower incomes, and beneficiaries diagnosed with chronic conditions such as diabetes had higher rates of affordability problems.

Ongoing: HRSA Payment Program for RHC Buprenorphine-Trained Providers. In June 2021, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched an effort to improve access to substance use disorder treatment by paying for providers who are waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) still have the opportunity to apply for a $3,000 payment on behalf of each provider who trained to obtain the waiver necessary to prescribe buprenorphine after January 1, 2019.  Approximately $1.5 million in program funding remains available for RHCs and will be paid on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Send questions to DATA2000WaiverPayments@hrsa.gov. There is ongoing availability of a free online course for waiver eligibility training from the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine and the Providers Clinical Support System.

Health Workforce Fact Sheet – 2021 HRSA Highlights

Date: January 27, 2022

Learn more about the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) health workforce efforts to help recruit and retain personnel during the pandemic, promote health equity, and support and build the health workforce, including funding that went to rural residency programs and Teaching Health Centers in rural communities.

Click to view the Fact Sheet.

Spread the Word About Vaccine Boosters

Date: January 27, 2022

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released new resources – posters, flyers, videos, and talking points – to help promote the extra protection from COVID-19 boosters. All vaccinated adults aged 18+ are eligible for a booster. A few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded booster eligibility to include adolescents ages 12 to 17, recommending that they receive a booster shot five months after their initial vaccination. The CDC also released a new resource, based on input from rural health departments and organizations, with 12 strategies to increase vaccine uptake in rural communities (pdf). Search by zip code to find nearby locations providing adult and pediatric vaccines and boosters for COVID-19 and the flu at vaccines.gov.