May 22, 2023

HRSA’s National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

HRSA recently celebrated the first anniversary of the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline. Since its launch on Mother’s Day 2022, the Hotline’s professional counselors have provided emotional support, resources, and referrals to almost 12,000 pregnant and postpartum individuals who struggled with mental health concerns, and their loved ones.

HRSA is also introducing an updated toll-free number for the Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1 833-852-6262). The former number (1-833-9-HELP-4-MOMS or 1-833-943-5746) will continue to work for another year.

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides 24/7, free, confidential emotional support, resources, and referrals before, during, and after pregnancy. The Hotline is accessible by phone or test in English and Spanish and offers interpreter services in more than 60 languages. Pregnant and postpartum individuals and their loved ones can get the help and resources they need when they need it.

Read the full press release.

May 22, 2023

Free Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkits and Resources

The American Hospital Association (AHA) – This Mental Health Month, challenge yourself to examine your world and how it can affect your overall health. Look around, look within – from your neighborhood to genetics, many factors come into play when it comes to your mental health. AHA’s Mental Health Month toolkit includes information about how an individual’s environment impacts their mental health, suggestions for making changes to improve and maintain mental well-being, and how to seek help for mental health challenges.

Download AHA’s Mental Health Awareness Toolkit

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – Check out what SAMHSA is doing and share their materials. Remember we all play active roles in caring for our mental health!

The SAMHSA toolkit is a one-stop shop:

• Social media content to help spread awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our well-being, promote acceptance and support of anyone living with a mental illness, and share key resources.
• Best practices for engaging in healthy discussions about mental health.
• Promotional materials for mental health awareness in May and beyond.

All of the SAMHSA materials are designed to be shared with your audiences and across your media channels; they are downloadable and shareable, and some of the material is customizable.

How to Use the Toolkit:

• Copy, download, and share our social messages, graphics, and promotional materials in ways that fit the needs of your audiences and channels.
• Use SAMHSA hashtags, including #MHAM2023, when sharing any Mental Health Awareness Month-related content.
• Use SAMHSA tools in tandem with the actions recommended in Best Practices with your communities and networks.

SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit:

• Key Messages and Weekly Themes
• Social Media Sharables
• Hashtag Guidance
• Stickers
• Resources for Content Development
• Tips for Engaging in Respectful Conversations Around Mental Health

Click here for SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Toolkit

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) – During National Mental Health Awareness Month, be part of the conversation about mental illness and raise awareness about the National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) resources related to mental health.

Click here to download the NIH Digital Toolkit for Mental Health Awareness Month with sample messages for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and for Email content.

The Joint Commission releases new public education campaign, Speak up For Your Mental Health, to help consumers understand the signs and symptoms of mental illness, as well as how they can receive help and advocate for their care.

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an increase in rates of anxiety, depression and substance use disorder,” says Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS, chief patient safety officer and medical director, The Joint Commission. “It is more important than ever to reduce the stigma of mental illness and made sure that individuals speak up to get the help they need. I encourage anyone who feels that they may need help to talk with a family, friend or someone they trust, and reach out to a provider who can work with them to navigate the best treatment and journey forward.”

Click Here for Joint Commission Resources

May 2, 2023

Rate of STDs continues to rise nationally and in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates are at an all-time high according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nationally, there has been a 74% increase in syphilis over five years, as well as more than 2,800 congenital syphilis cases in 2021, with 220 resulting in stillbirths and infant deaths. This STI Awareness Week, the CDC released Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2021, which provides the most current and complete data for nationally notifiable sexually transmitted infections.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused disruptions nationally in STD-related prevention and care activities, numbers of STDs continued to rise. Missouri is experiencing the same rate increases, especially in syphilis and congenital syphilis (when a mother passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy). In 2015, Missouri recorded two cases of congenital syphilis. In 2021, this number increased to 63.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) encourages the public to practice safe sex and routine testing for STDs as Missouri continues to see a significant increase in syphilis. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that, without treatment, can cause serious health problems. Syphilis is curable with the right antibiotics from a health care provider.

A person can get syphilis by direct contact with a syphilis sore during sexual activity. Each stage has different signs and symptoms. Syphilis can be treated and cured with antibiotics yet many cases go undiagnosed and untreated, leading to increased transmission and future negative health consequences.

Syphilis can also spread from a mother with syphilis to her unborn baby (congenital syphilis). Having syphilis during pregnancy can lead to a baby born with a low birth weight and can increase the chance that the mother will deliver her baby too early or stillborn. All pregnant women in Missouri should be screened for syphilis. Pregnant women should be tested at the first prenatal visit, in the third trimester (28 weeks), and at delivery regardless of perceived risk. No infant should leave the hospital without the mother’s serological status having been documented at least once during pregnancy and preferably again at delivery.

Condoms can lessen the spread of syphilis by preventing contact with a sore; however sometimes contact with any unprotected areas can be the cause of spread. The only way to completely avoid STDs is to abstain from any sexual activity.

DHSS continues to work with the St. Louis STI/HIV Prevention and Training Center to inform and educate health care providers about current evidence-based prevention, diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Additionally, DHSS has been working to increase the number of Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) who conduct contact tracing, investigations, and partner services for syphilis and HIV. The department is also continuing to expand its STD and HIV testing sites offering free testing. To find an STD and HIV testing site near you, go to Health.Mo.Gov/Testing.

Public education and outreach also continues, and a social and digital media kit for syphilis is available for partners to use to inform their local communities.

April 28, 2023

CMS Releases Intermediate Policy on Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Rurality Determinations

In late March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the interim process that will be used in determining Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) rural location determination following the Census Bureau’s definition changes.

The interim process is as follows:

• RHC applicants or relocating RHCs will meet the rural location requirement if the physical address is “non-urbanized” or in an “urban cluster” per 2010 Census Bureau Data, OR if the physical address is not an urban area per the 2020 Census Bureau Data
• Both 2010 and 2020 Census Bureau Data can be found here

For questions, please contract Nathan Baugh, NARHC Executive Director at Nathan.Baugh@narhc.org or Sarah Hohman, NARHC Director of Government Affairs at Sarah.Hohman@narch.org 

Click Here for Full Details