December 28, 2023

Washington University Currently Recruiting Study Participants

Washington University, in St. Louis, is currently recruiting study participants to take part in a 60 – 90-minute interview. Participants will be compensated with a $200 e-gift card upon completing the interview.

Purpose:

• To examine the implementation of evidence-based interventions for increasing engagement in substance use treatment and HIV care for patients in the state of Missouri.
  • This study will provide critical insights into understanding the delivery of medication treatments for opioid use disorders, HIV prevention, and other resources.

Recruiting for the following groups:

• Health Center Staff and Providers (MD, DO, PA, APRN)
  • Must be working at an FQHC, RHC, or facility eligible for HRSA funding
  • Must be working in a rural county of Missouri
• People with lived experience with Opioid Use Disorder
  • Either actively using or not
  • Must be currently living or working in a rural county of Missouri
• Community Advocates
  • Must have work or volunteer experiences as an advocate for those receiving support or treatment for substance use disorder
    • Examples include but are not limited to:
      • Mobile outreach,
      • Harm Reduction,
      • Leading a peer support group,
      • Community organizing
      • Public speaking
• Regional Leaders
  • Must have work or volunteer experience in a leadership capacity seeking to address issues related to substance use disorder within your community
    • Examples include but are not limited to serving in public office, as a faith leader, or as program director/executive director

If interested, please complete the eligibility screener here

*The Institute of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health are funding this research study, grant #R21DA057136. If you have any questions about this study, you may contact Phillip Marotta directly at phillip.marottaWwustl.edu or you may contact the Human Research Protection Office at 1 800 438-0445 or hrpo@wustl.edu.

December 11, 2023

Rural Horizons Spotlight is Now Available Online

The latest issue of NRHA’s Rural Horizons, the association’s quarterly magazine, is now available online featuring three new articles on topics including how students choose rural health.

For three rural medical and public health students who recently spoke with NRHA about their career choice, finding their “reason to care” was a huge deciding factor in pursuing small town practice – but they also believe exposure can help more students become interested in rural medicine, and rural living has a lot to offer the younger generation.

Rural Horizons features articles carefully selected to engage and inform everyone working to improve rural health care. You can subscribe by becoming an NRHA member.

Become an NRHA Member

Read NRHA’s Rural Horizons

December 5, 2023

Webinar – Safe by Design: ER Designs to Accommodate Behavior Issues

Emergency rooms serve as a single entry point for a variety of patients into a hospital. From sick children and expecting mothers to victims of violent crime and traumatic incidents, the ER has to accommodate a wide range of needs, and increasingly, this includes behavioral health patients. Intentional design is critical to the overall safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors.

When designing Emergency Rooms for behavioral health patients, preserving security for patients and staff security should be the number one priority. Crucial security considerations during design include:

• The direct linking of the ED to the behavioral health ward
• Controlling access to all spaces, anti-ligature and tamper-proof features
• Limiting or enhancing patient privacy with clear sight lines depending on patient acuity
• Administration of bathroom access
• Designing nurse stations close by the ED holding rooms

These elements and more will be discussed in this lecture by two subject-matter experts:

• Connor Crist
• Megan Vaeth

When: Tuesday, January 23, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. CST

Register Here

October 31, 2023

Optimizing Missouri’s Managed Care Plan Benefits for Maternal & Infant Health

Please join the MO HealthMet Division (MHD) and meet the MHD Managed Care Health Plan Representatives. This is a unique networking opportunity to showcase valuable benefits, incentives, and resources available to perinatal patients and families including individualized Gestational Care Management for eligible patients.

When: November 13, 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Where: Governor’s Office Building, 200 Madison Street, Jefferson City, Conference Room 450

Note – Parking is available at the Governor’s Office Building, across the street. You may use cash, debit or credit:

• $0.50/hr for first 2 hours
• 1:00/hr thereafter
• $6.00 max per day

There are also meters available.

Each attendee should register individually, for this meeting. All registered persons will receive a confirmation email prior to the meeting.

Providers and Community Health Workers (CHWs) are encouraged to join the in-person networking opportunity.

Agenda

Register Here

October 17, 2023

Funding Opportunity – Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health – HRSA-24-033

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health (Healthy Start or HS) Program. The purpose of HS is to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce the well-documented racial/ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes. HS is intended to support projects in communities and populations experiencing the greatest disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.

HS has two focus areas:

1) providing direct and enabling services (for example, screening and referrals, case management and care coordination, health and parenting education, and linkage to clinical care) to enrolled HS participants; and

2) convening Community Consortia (formerly known as Community Action Networks or “CANs”) comprised of diverse, multi-sector partners to advise and inform HS activities as well as to develop and implement plans to improve perinatal outcomes within the selected project area.

HS continues to have an increased emphasis on addressing social determinants of health, such as:

• access to adequate food
• housing and
• transportation

to improve disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.

Based on stakeholder feedback, this FY 2024 HS competition also provides recipients with increased flexibility to tailor interventions to the unique needs of their community and/or target population.

The goals of HS are to:

1) Continue reducing infant mortality rates in the United States, and

2) Decrease disparities in infant mortality and poor perinatal health outcomes in  areas where those rates are high.

You can apply if your organization is in the United States and is:

• Public or private Community-based Tribal (governments, organizations)

Additional Notes:

• If you are a recipient of the Healthy Start Initiative – Enhanced (HRSA-23-130) (HSE) you are still eligible to apply for this grant if you are proposing a new project area, that is, an area not currently served by your or an existing HSE award. HSE grant project areas have been settled and it is not HRSA’s intent to alter or reset existing HSE project areas. Therefore, if you propose to serve a project area that fully overlaps with your own award or another HSE award, your application will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered.
• Please see Appendix H for a list of Healthy Start Initiative – Enhanced project areas.

Still have questions? Please contact Mia Morrison: MCHBHealthyStart@HRSA.gov

Applications due by December 15, 2023

View Grant Opportunity

Apply Here

October 6, 2023

CDC’s State of Vaccine Confidence Insights Report: Vaccination in Rural America Special Report

This report examines vaccine confidence and uptake among rural populations in the United States, between 2017 and 2023, with a focus on COVID-19 vaccination. The report also covers differences in vaccine uptake among rural, suburban, and rural populations, including discussions around concerns about vaccination and identifies strategies for successful outreach to rural areas.

Read Report

September 15, 2023

Upcoming Webinar – First Rural Physician and Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey Results

Earlier this year, Stroudwater partnered with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) to develop a physician and advanced practice provider compensation survey for rural organizations. This survey provided much-needed insight into provider compensation by state and region.

During this webinar, Stroudwater in partnership with NRHA will share:

• The results of the first rural-focused compensation survey
• How being a part of a health system impacts compensation
• How compensation competitiveness is impacted by state practice environments

The results of this survey will allow rural hospitals to use data to make more informed decisions when considering provider compensation and additional benefits.

Register Here

August 30, 2023

New Resource – Building a rural Nursing Workforce with Fisher-Titus Medical Center

Check out this podcast episode, Building a Rural Nursing Workforce with Fisher-Titus Medical Center, featuring a discussion with clinical leaders from Fisher-Titus Medical Center in rural Ohio. Hear discussions on recruitment and retention strategies with a concentrated effort on recruiting international nurses, to ensure patient care in the community.

Listen to Podcast

Related Resources:

Retaining a Rural Nursing Workforce: It Takes a Village

Advocating for Rural Health Providers

AHA Health Care Workforce Scan

Leadership Dialogue Series: Peggy Abbott from Ouachita County Medical Center

Surging Input Costs Create Many Challenges for Hospitals and Health Systems