Category: FORHP

Webinar – New Medicare Behavioral Health Providers: Incorporating MHCs and MFTs Into Your RHC – May 9, 12:00 p.m. CT

April 25, 2024

Webinar – New Medicare Behavioral Health Providers: Incorporating MHCs and MFTs Into Your RHC – May 9, 1:00 p.m. ET

The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) is hosting a free, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)-supported webinar with information on incorporating Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) and Mental Health Counselors (MHCs) into Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).

Medicare coverage of Marriage and Family Therapists and Mental Health Counselors in RHCs began January 1, 2024. This webinar will feature representatives from the National Board for Certified Counselors and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, who will provide information to ensure RHCs are equipped to consider expanding behavioral health services. Additional time for Q&A will be provided. Advanced registration is required.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, May 9, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CT

Register Here

Call for Speaker Proposals: SORH Regional Partnership Meetings

January 5, 2024

Call for Speaker Proposals: SORH Regional Partnership Meetings

Are you passionate about driving positive change in rural health? Here’s your chance to share your experiences and insights with State Offices of Rural Health (SORH).

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) invites you to participate in the 2024 SORH Regional Partnership Meetings in collaboration with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP). Your unique insights and expertise can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of rural health.

Proposals are due on January 19, 2024.

Region Specific Topics

  • Region A
    • Role in New England Health Association
  • Region B
    • Georgia legislative tax credit program to address hospital closures
    • Community Paramedicine
  • Region C
    • Presentations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) specifically related to State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) work and implementation
    • Rural Maternal and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOM) grant experiences
    • Presentations on addressing Dental Access/Care – low-income access to care, especially for children and in more rural areas
  • Region D
    • Presentations on Artificial Intelligence (AI) specifically related to State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) work and implementation
    • Developing Partnerships
  • Region E
    • Rural Veterans Initiatives

See Complete Topic List

Submission Guidelines

  • Proposals should align with one or more of the stated topics
  • Submissions must include a clear objective and outline of the presentation
  • Proposals should offer:
    • practical,
    • innovative
    • and actionable insights
  • Collaborative presentations showcasing partnerships and multi-stakeholder initiatives highly encouraged
  • Presentations designed to fit a 45-minute session format

Additional Information

  • The planning committee, comprised of SORH members and FORHP representatives will review the proposals.
  • Notifications of acceptance sent out by early March 2024.
  • Speakers are responsible for their registration, travel, and accommodation arrangements.
  • Selected presenters will submit their Travel Pre-approval form at least eight (8) weeks before anticipated travel.
    • Eligible presenters will receive one night’s lodging and associated expenses.
    • Must request a second night’s lodging in advance.

For questions about the meeting please contact Caroline Wroczynski, NOSORH Education Manager at carolinew@nosorh.org

For technical questions regarding submission proposal please contact Trevor Brown, NOSORH Program Coordinator, at trevorb@nosorh.org

New Information for Rural Emergency Hospitals

January 2, 2024

New Information for Rural Emergency Hospitals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their fact sheet on the new provider-type designation that allows hospitals at risk of closure to remain in operation with Emergency Department services, observation care and a limited number of outpatient services. CMS recently added details for:

  • Indian Health Service and other tribal-operated hospitals making the change to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH);
  • Changes to monthly payment amounts to REHs and how they’re reported
  • The HRSA supported REH Technical Assistance Center that is helping hospitals meet the requirements for converting to this new provider type.

Click Here to View Fact Sheet

REH More Information

 

Upcoming Webinar – NOSORH State of the Healthcare Industry – Market Updates for Rural, Monday, August 28 at 3:00 p.m.

August 25, 2023

Upcoming Webinar – NOSORH State of the Healthcare Industry – Market Updates for Rural, Monday, August 28 at 3:00 p.m.

You are invited to attend the webinar: State of the Healthcare Industry – Markey Updates for Rural on August 28, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORN) will cover new regulations and market dynamics and explain their effect of rural providers.

At the conclusion of the webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Understand new regulations and laws that have occurred during the last 90 days
  • Describe the current market dynamics of the healthcare industry
  • Evaluate the effects of these trends on rural providers
  • Apply this understanding to their own organization

Click here to register

Upcoming Webinar – NHSN Antibiotic Utilization Option: Using Data for Action in Critical Access Hospitals

August 4, 2023

Upcoming Webinar – NHSN Antibiotic Utilization Option: Using Data for Action in Critical Access Hospitals

This webinar is co-hosted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Speakers will describe requirements for meeting the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Measure within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Promoting Interoperability Program and using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antimicrobial Use (AU) data for action in critical access hospitals.

Objectives

  • Describe requirements for meeting the NHSN AUR Measure within the CMS Promoting Interoperability Program
  • Illustrate using NHSN AU Option data to inform and implement antibiotic stewardship activities
  • Identify tracking and reporting resources to enhance your antibiotic stewardship program

Continuation education for pharmacists, nurses and physicians is pending.

When: Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 3:00 p.m. ET

Register Here

Save the Date: SHIP Webinar: System and Independent Hospitals

July 6, 2023

Save the Date: SHIP Webinar: System and Independent Hospitals

You are invited to save the date for the next SHIP Webinar on Thursday, August 3rd, 2023. In this webinar you will hear from Clint MacKinney, Co-Principal Investigator of Rural Health Value. This webinar will focus on the financial and operational differences between system and independent hospitals. Understanding the similarities and differences between system and independent hospitals is an important part of effective administration of SHIP funds to small rural hospitals.

Topic: System and Independent Hospitals

Date: Thursday, August 3rd, 2023

Time: 2:00 p.m. CT

Duration: 60 minutes

Audience: SHIP Coordinators and other SHIP staff

Speakers: Clint MacKinney, Rural Health Value

Ship Contact: Caroline Bell, cbell@ruralcenter.org

By participating in this webinar, attendees will be able to:

  • Identify the key financial and operational differences between system and independent hospital operations.
  • Develop strategies for communicating and building relationships with system and independent leadership/contacts
  • Understand methods of applying allowable investments for system hospitals

This event will be recorded, and playback will be available on the SHIP website. This event is supported by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and coordinated by SHIP, a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center).

Join Meeting Here

EMS Community Benefit Pilot Project for Rural Ambulance Services- Apply By April 7, 2023

March 24,2023

EMS Community Benefit Pilot Project for Rural Ambulance Services

The Department of Health and Senior Services’ Office of Rural Health and Primary Care and the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, in coordination with Health Resources and Services Administration and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, requests your participation in the federal EMS Community Benefit and Financial Distress Pilot Project for Rural Ambulance Services.

The Rural Ambulance Community Benefit and Financial Distress tool, provided by the National Rural Health Resource Center, is designed to quantify and standardize the value rural EMS services provide to the community for free or at a reduced rate, by calculating the benefits the community receives from the ambulance service.

Click Here to Learn more about the EMS Community Benefit & Financial Distress Pilot Project for Rural

Ambulance Services

 Contact Nicole Clement at nclement@ruralcenter.org

By April 7, 2023 to participate
 Click Here to Learn more About the Project and Financial Distress Tool

https://youtu.be/tRMkzbZkTOE

 Click Here to Learn more about the National Rural Health Resource Center
Please see attachment for more information: EMS Community Benefit Pilot Project for Rural Ambulance Services

 

COMING SOON! Funding Opportunity for Delta Hospitals

March 14, 2023

COMING SOON! Funding Opportunity for Delta Hospitals

The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) has a new funding opportunity coming soon.

Delta Health Systems Implementation Program

This program provides funding to critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals (inpatient prospective payment system facilities with up to 100 beds) in the Mississippi Delta region that have received previous technical assistance (TA) through the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program or another similar TA program within the last five years.

Hospitals will implement projects aimed to improve health care in rural areas through projects focused on:

  • Financial and operational improvements;
  • Implementation of quality improvement initiatives;
  • Expansion of telehealth services and financial/operational systems enhancements;
  • The development of new service lines to address the needs of the community, including populations in the community that have been historically underserved.

Visit grants.gov to learn more about this opportunity and to subscribe for updates. FORHP expects the notice of funding opportunity to be available by the end of March. 

Please note the application window will be shorter than typical.

 Interested applicants should start registrations in grants.gov and sam.gov ASAP.

 For questions, please reach out to Suzanne Snyder at ssnyder1@hrsa.gov.