Month: August 2022

Missouri’s Maternal Mortality Report Published

Date: August 3, 2022

Missouri’s Maternal Mortality Report Published

Findings compiled by Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review board

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has published A Multi Year Look at Maternal Mortality in Missouri: 2017-2019 Annual Report on behalf of the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) board. The report is an aggregate of three years’ worth of work of the PAMR and is based upon the most recent data available.

PAMR is a multidisciplinary board of experts from across the state tasked with examining the causes and contributing factors associated with maternal mortality and ultimately forming recommendations that could prevent these deaths from occurring in the future.

The 2017-2019 annual report contains data including the timing and leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths, and factors that contributed to these deaths, such as mental health conditions and substance use disorder (SUD). The report also reflects the disparities that exist in our state and among our most vulnerable populations, including our Black and publicly insured communities.

Report highlights include:

  • Mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths, followed by cardiovascular disease.
  • All pregnancy-related deaths due to mental health conditions were determined to be preventable.
  • Black women living in Missouri are three times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women.
  • Women on Medicaid in the state of Missouri are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than those with private insurance.

The PAMR board found that the pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRMR) in Missouri was 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births from 2017-2019 and that 75 percent of these deaths were determined to be preventable.

The PAMR board continues to review cases and is nearly finished reviewing 2020 deaths and will begin reviewing 2021 deaths soon after. These reports will be made available once all cases have been reviewed. The 2017-2019 annual report can be viewed at Health.Mo.Gov/data/pamr.

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About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at Health.Mo.Gov or find us on Facebook and Twitter at @HealthyLivingMo.

HRSA Announces Availability of Nearly $15 Million to Expand and Support the Nursing Workforce

Date: August 1, 2022

HRSA Announces Availability of Nearly $15 Million to Expand and Support the Nursing Workforce

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

HRSA NEWS ROOM
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2022

CONTACT: HRSA PRESS OFFICE 301-443-3376
Press@hrsa.gov

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is announcing the availability of nearly $15 million to grow the nursing workforce, improve access to nursing education, and advance health equity.

“In community after community across the country, nurses have and continue to deliver life-saving and life-sustaining care and treatment in response to the pandemic,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “We have learned a great deal from their leadership, including the importance of continuing to modernize and advance nurse training. Today’s announcements demonstrate our continued commitment to supporting the nursing workforce and building a robust training pipeline for the future.”

Experts suggest that one significant factor constraining admissions to nursing schools is the limited availability of nursing preceptors. Nursing preceptors are a critical bridge between training and practice, as these nursing experts provide direct instruction to nursing students in the clinical setting. Without sufficient preceptors, nursing schools cannot admit as many students, new students are delayed in starting their clinical rotations, and prospective nursing students may be stymied and choose other career paths.

Today’s announcement includes $10 million for a new initiative to invest in the nursing preceptor workforce in order to help unclog this challenge in the nurse training pipeline. A second funding initiative announced today will invest in directly increasing the number of nursing students trained in acute care settings, with a specific focus on training in addressing social determinants of health in order to advance health equity in underserved areas.

The funding opportunities announced today are:

  • The Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies Program: This funding opportunity will provide awards totaling $10 million over four years to grow the nursing workforce by recruiting, training and supporting clinical nursing faculty and preceptors.
  • The Registered Nurse Training Program: This funding opportunity will provide awards  totaling $4.75 million over three years to increase the number of nursing students trained in acute care settings, with an emphasis on addressing and responding to social determinants of health factors and improving health equity.

To apply for these funding opportunities, visit Grants.gov. Applications are due August 19, 2022.

Learn more about HRSA’s funding opportunities.

HUD Announces New Initiative for Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness Funding Opportunity

Date: August 1, 2022

July 1, 2022), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it has released a first-of-its-kind package of resources to address unsheltered homelessness and homeless encampments, including funds set aside specifically to address homelessness in rural communities. The $365 million package includes grant funds along with additional vouchers that will enhance communities’ capacity to effectively address unsheltered homelessness by connecting individuals and families to housing, health care, and supportive services. Eligible HRSA recipients and community based organizations are encouraged to apply. Applications are due on October 20, 2022, at 8:00 PM ET. Link to grant is here.

Learn more.

Types of Rural and Urban Hospitals and Counties Where They Are Located

Date: August 1, 2022

Types of Rural and Urban Hospitals and Counties Where They Are Located

This brief provides a snapshot of the types of rural and urban hospitals and the counties where they are located.

Key Findings
As of December 2020, there are 4,306 acute hospitals in the U.S.—1,334 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), 11 cancer hospitals, 1,924 Prospective Payment System hospitals (PPS-only), and 1,037 PPS hospitals with special payment designations. 2,176 hospitals are in rural locations and 2,130 are in urban locations.

  • There are CAHs, PPS-only hospitals, and PPS hospitals with special payment designations in both urban and rural locations.
  • Hospitals in rural locations are primarily CAHs and hospitals in urban locations are primarily PPS-only hospitals.
  • Counties with < 50K population are primarily served by CAHs and counties with > 50K population by PPS-only hospitals.
  • The acute average daily censes (ADCs) in hospitals in counties with < 50K population are much lower than the acute ADCs in hospitals in counties with > 50K population.

Contact Information:

George H. Pink, PhD
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Phone: 919.843.2728
gpink@email.unc.edu

Additional Resources of Interest: