Month: November 2022

Health and Human Services Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (HHDIEA) – COVID-19 Updates

November 28, 2022

HHSIEA COVID-19 Update Testing and Treatment

The Hotgen COVID-19 Antigen Home Test: The FDA  issued an emergency use authorization for the Hotgen COVID-19 Antigen Home Test , an over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 antigen diagnostic test that shows results in 15 minutes. The test can be used as a serial test for people within the first 7 days of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or for individuals without symptoms. The test should be repeated if a negative result is found – at least twice over 3 days with at least 48 hours between tests if the individual has symptoms, or at least 3 times over 5 days with at least 48 hours between tests if the individual does not have symptoms. The test can be used for people aged 14 years or older with a self-collected nasal swab sample and age 2 years or older when an adult collects the nasal swab sample.

Home Rehab Network: Online Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation

November 26, 2022

Home Rehab Network: Online Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Having difficulty breathing?

Shortness of breath with minimal exertion?

Have Cardiac or Lung disease?

Is cardiopulmonary rehab too far or too difficult to get to?

Solution: The Home Rehab Network

410-871-4601

Rehab with results!  Featuring Board-Certified Pulmonologists and Respiratory Therapists.

Exclusively online, right from your home or anywhere.

Full range of rehab without shortcuts; 98% Patient Satisfaction.

Most major insurances taken.

No computer experience required.

We can even give you an electronic device to use.

Alternatively, you can access our video library with hundreds   of videos and useful tips at mynewlungs.com

Take your life back!

The above program information is being forwarded by the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) as a service of this office.  ORHPC does not endorse or recommend any vendor or service. Please review for the appropriate use within your organization.

HHS Announces New $350 Million Initiative to Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations

November 26, 2022

HRSA Announces New $350 Million Initiative to Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2022
HRSA NEWS ROOM
newsroom.hrsa.gov
Contact: HRSA PRESS OFFICE
Phone: 301-443-3376
Email: Press@hrsa.gov

HRSA will distribute funding to health centers to support community-based vaccination events and outreach focused on underserved populations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced a new $350 million initiative for HRSA-supported health centers to increase COVID-19 vaccines in their communities, with a specific focus on underserved populations. This funding will support health centers administering updated COVID-19 vaccines through mobile, drive-up, walk-up, or community-based vaccination events, including working with community-based organizations, and other efforts to increase the administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Community health centers save lives,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We will continue to reach, vaccinate, and protect our most vulnerable people across the country working together with community health centers and community-based organizations. We have seen COVID infections increase in prior winters, and it does not have to be that way this year. We now have updated COVID-19 vaccines to protect communities against the Omicron strain. Our message is simple: Don’t wait. Get an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall. It’s safe and effective.”

“As community-based organizations that have built deep relationships with their patients and neighborhoods, health centers are uniquely positioned to increase COVID-19 vaccinations,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “These funds will ensure that people who live in underserved communities have access to updated COVID-19 vaccines this winter through community-based vaccination events hosted by health care providers and organizations they trust.”

The Expanding COVID-19 Vaccination initiative will provide resources directly to health centers throughout the country to increase COVID-19 vaccinations this winter by addressing the unique access barriers experienced by the underserved populations that health centers serve. HRSA anticipates these efforts will also increase flu and childhood vaccinations through combined vaccination events. All HRSA-funded health centers, as well as health center look-alikes that received American Rescue Plan funding, will be eligible. These funds build on the previous investments made to HRSA-funded health centers to combat COVID-19 and will help even more Americans have access to updated COVID-19 vaccines. To date, health centers have administered more than 22 million vaccines in underserved communities across the country, of which 70 percent to patients of racial and ethnic minorities.

To facilitate access to COVID-19 vaccination, the initiative will foster new and strengthened coordination, with community-based organizations that provide childcare, early childhood development, housing, food, employment, education, older adult, or behavioral health services. Health centers will be encouraged to support mobile, drive-up, walk-up, or community-based vaccination events; extend operating hours, outreach, and off-site vaccination locations to expand opportunities for COVID-19 vaccination; and support  access to COVID-19 vaccination by expanding transportation, translation, education, and interpretation services.

The nearly 1,400 HRSA-funded community health centers serve as a national source of primary care in underserved communities, providing services through more than 14,000 sites across the country. They are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver affordable, accessible, and high-quality medical, dental, and behavioral health services to more than 30 million patients each year, with specific initiatives intended to reach people experiencing homelessness, agricultural workers, and residents of public housing.

In 2021, HRSA-funded health centers provided care for one-in-five residents in rural areas and one-in-eleven people nationwide. One-in-three health center patients are living in poverty, and nearly two-thirds are racial/ethnic minorities.

Learn more about the Health Center Program: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/about-health-centers/health-center-program-impact-growth

Read the White House FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Announces Six-Week Campaign to Get More Americans their Updated COVID-⁠19 Vaccine Before End of the Year.

 

See additional News & Announcements on HRSA.gov.

Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program: HRSA-23-015

November 23, 2022

Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program

HRSA-23-015

The Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program is a unique opportunity to establish new primary care medical and dental residency programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers in underserved and rural communities. Recent research has demonstrated that residents with rural exposure during residency training are associated with a 5 to 6-fold likelihood of practicing in rural. However, unlike hospital-based residency programs that rely primarily on Medicare funding, many teaching health centers receive federal funding through HRSA’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (GME) program.

This two-year grant will award 47 grants, up to $500,000 each to eligible applicants, including Rural Health Clinics (RHC) or health centers operated by a tribal organization. Community-based ambulatory patient care centers (e.g., RHC) may also apply under a GME consortium model forming partnerships with stakeholders, such as Critical Access Hospital or medical schools to serve as an institutional sponsor for the residency program. Applications are due on grants.gov on December 12, 2022.

If you have further questions, please contact THC@hrsa.gov or read the FAQs here.

Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) – New Rural Emergency Preparedness Response Toolkit

November 21, 2022

Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) – New Rural Emergency Preparedness Response Toolkit

Please visit the RHIhub to see the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit that may be of value to you and your organization.

Emergency planning, response, and recovery has never been more important for rural communities, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders and organizations with an interest in rural health. This toolkit describes unique considerations and issues rural populations face when responding to disasters and public health emergencies but also the strengths and assets they can leverage to support their emergency preparedness efforts. This new toolkit was developed in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. It compiles evidence-based and promising models and resources to support organizations implementing emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts in rural communities across the United States.

All resources on the RHIhub website are available without charge.

NRHA Executive Training and Certification

November 21, 2022

National Rural Health Association

Empower your hospitals with current state and rural specific foundational modules and the leadership skill to manage even the toughest stations. 

How to make the best possible decisions in the most complex scenarios.

Guide and motivate forward-thinking executives to learn from a cutting-edge curriculum that reflects current industry trends as well as longstanding leadership methods. 

Give your leaders the support they need to keep their rural hospitals open and thriving:

  • Nation wide network of rural hospital executives
  • Learning from rural focused subject matter experts
  • Share best practices and boost confidence

Keep rural hospitals open by investing in their leaders – support them in their journey to becoming the best leaders they can be!

Now enrolling for the Spring 2023 CEO, CNO, and CFO Cohorts!

CDC Foundation Mini-grant Award Application Due November 23, 2022

November 18, 2022

CDC Foundation Mini-grant Award Application Due November 23, 2022

CDC Foundation is accepting applications for up to 20 mini-grant awards for up to $25,000 each from community-based organizations, state, territorial, local, or tribal health departments, or tribal organizations to reduce monkeypox vaccination disparities.

The CDC Foundation issues requests for proposals (RFP) to sub-grant funds received for a specific project. These RFPs will seek:

  • providers of products or services required for a specific CDC Foundation program with CDC, or
  • eligible nonprofit or governmental organizations that wish to participate in a CDC Foundation program addressing a specific health issue.
  • a consultant/independent contractor (i.e. a sole proprietor, company, nonprofit, etc.) whose services are retained for a specified activity/project during a set time frame. The consultant/independent contractor works independently and is paid according to the terms of their written agreement with the Foundation. The consultant/independent contractor is not an employee of the CDC Foundation.

The request for proposal information is available online. Applications are due November 23, 2022 by 11:59PM EST.

Please contact radeboyejo@cdcfoundation.org for any questions about this opportunity.

National Rural Health Association today

November 10, 2022

As cardiac arrest deaths fall, black, rural communities lag

Cardiac arrest deaths have dropped significantly in the U.S. except in Black and rural communities, according to new research. According to coauthor Marina Del Rios, further research is needed to evaluate interventions aimed at removing “structural barriers and implicit bias in our management of cardiac arrest.” Additionally, HHS aims to continue the Biden-Harris administration’s progress in promoting health equity in rural care access through outpatient hospital and surgical center payment system final rules. NRHA is accepting presentation proposals through Dec. 8 and research posters through Feb. 9 for the association’s 28th Health Equity Conference May 16 in San Diego, Calif.

Health and Human Services Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (HHSIEA)

November 18, 2022

HHSIEA Monkey Pox Briefing Dates

Please join the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, the White House National Monkeypox Response team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) for a Monkeypox briefing Thursday at 2:00 PM EST. These briefings are held every other week.

Register Here