Category: Resources

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

 

March MBQIP Monthly

March 3, 2023

March MBQIP Monthly

Now Available! MBQIP Monthly – March 2023

MBQIP Monthly is an e-newsletter that highlights current information about the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) and provides critical access hospitals (CAHs) information and support for quality reporting and improvement. MBQIP Monthly is produced through the Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance program by Stratis Health.

February 2023 content:

  • CAHs Can! How Critical Access Hospitals Improved Patient Experience During the Pandemic
  • Data: CAHs Measure Up – HCAHPS Performance in 2021
  • Tips: Robyn Quips – CART
  • Tools and Resources – Helping CAHs succeed in Quality Reporting & Improvement

USDA Launches Rural Data Gateway to Strengthen Partnerships and Expand Access to Resources in Rural

March 3, 2023

USDA Launches Rural Data Gateway to Strengthen Partnerships and Expand Access to Resources in Rural

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development unveiled the Rural Data Gateway, a new resource to make the Department’s data for rural projects easier to access for its partners and people living in rural communities. The Rural Data Gateway will help USDA better target resources to those who most need them in rural places. It also will help the Department be a stronger partner to rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and other stakeholders.

Public Health Emergency (PHE) 1135 Waivers: Updated Guidance for Providers

February 24, 2023

Public Health Emergency (PHE) 1135 Waivers: Updated Guidance for Providers

On February 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 will end on May, 11, 2023. COVID-19 remains a significant priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and over the next several months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will work to ensure a smooth transition.  During the PHE, CMS has used a combination of emergency authority waivers, regulations, enforcement discretion, and sub-regulatory guidance to ensure easier access to care during the PHE for health care providers and their beneficiaries.

Some of the flexibilities that were created during the pandemic were recently expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.  Others, while critical during our initial responses to COVID-19, are no longer needed. CMS has made further updates to our CMS Emergencies Page with useful information for providers – specifically around major telehealth and individual waivers – that were initiated during the Public Health Emergency (PHE).

Please reference the following guidance in response to the PHE ending May 11, 2023:

Provider-specific fact sheets about COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) waivers and flexibilities: https://www.cms.gov/coronavirus-waivers

CMS COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities for Providers include:

  • Physicians and Other Clinicians
  • Hospitals and CAHs (including Swing Beds, DPUs), ASCs and CMHCs
  • Teaching Hospitals, Teaching Physicians and Medical Residents
  • Long Term Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities and/or Nursing Facilities)
  • Home Health Agencies
  • Hospice
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
  • Long Term Care Hospitals & Extended Neoplastic Disease Care Hospitals
  • Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
  • Laboratories
  • Medicare Shared Savings Program
  • Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies
  • Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans
  • Ambulances
  • End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Facilities
  • Participants in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program
  • Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

Department of Health & Human Services Fact Sheet

Customizable Communications Toolkit

February 15, 2023

Customizable Communications Toolkit

The Customizable Communications Toolkit provides rural health care organizations with free templates to support a range of internal and external communication campaigns focused on COVID-19 vaccine confidence, health care confidence, preventative screening, swing beds, telehealth, and pulmonary rehabilitation services.

Available templates include brochures, digital and print ads, direct mail postcards, infographics, posters, press releases, radio scripts, social media graphics and sample posts, tip sheets, and website copy.

View Here

Understanding Value-Based Models Resources

February 15, 2023

Understanding Value-Based Models Resources

It is hard to describe where you are going and feel motivated if the picture is unclear. Access resources to improve your understanding of the basics of population health and its relationship to current and future value-based models.

View Here

USDA Launches Rural Data Gateway to Strengthen Partnerships and Expand Access to Resources for People in Rural America

February 3, 2023

USDA Launches Rural Data Gateway to Strengthen Partnerships and Expand Access to Resources for People in Rural America

New Resource Makes It Easier for People to Access Data on USDA-funded Projects in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today unveiled the Rural Data Gateway, a new resource to make the Department’s data for rural projects easier to access for its partners and for people living in rural communities.

The Rural Data Gateway will help USDA better target resources to the people who need them most in rural places. It also will help the Department be a stronger partner to rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and other stakeholders.

“The Biden-Harris Administration knows that transparency is important for a free government,” Torres Small said. “It also drives innovation, accountability and more equitable outcomes for rural people everywhere. The Rural Data Gateway will highlight places where USDA has expanded access to capital for people in rural communities who need it most. It will demonstrate how Rural Development (RD) funds are being used across rural America. It will help business owners, farmers and ranchers better understand where RD resources have helped to modernize infrastructure and create economic prosperity. It will help rural people see where investments are being made to expand or improve access to health care, high-speed internet, and safe drinking water in their communities, and much more.”

To learn more, read the full news release.