Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcement

May 14, 2020

What’s New?

  1. New Funding Opportunity: Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Planning (RCORP-Planning) – July 13.  The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will be making approximately 50 awards of $200,000 each to rural communities to enhance capacity to address substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder.  Over the course of an 18-month period of performance, grant recipients will conduct a series of planning activities, engage multi-sector consortiums, and participate in the RCORP-Planning learning collaborative. All domestic public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit, are eligible to apply. Applicant organizations may be located in an urban or rural areas; however, all activities supported by this program must exclusively target HRSA-designated rural areas (per the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer).  FORHP will hold an hour-long webinar for applicants on Wednesday, May 27 at 3:00 pm ET.  A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend.  For call-in and recording playback information, see page (ii) in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (click the Package tab, then Preview, then Download Instructions). 
  2. USDA on Extreme Poverty Counties Found Solely in Rural Areas.  The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies trends in poverty using the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.  For the most recent year studied, 2018, there were 664 high poverty counties in which an average of 20 percent or more of the population had lived below the Federal poverty level since 2014. 
  3. Request for Comments: BPC Behavioral Health Integration – May 30.  The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a think tank combining ideas and solutions from both parties.  The organization’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force is inviting comments for solutions that support improving the bi-directional integration of primary care and behavioral health care.
  4. Federal Office of Rural Health Policy FAQs for COVID-19.  A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from our grantees and stakeholders, updated regularly. 
  5. COVID-19 FAQs and Funding for HRSA Programs. Find all funding and frequently asked questions for programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
  6. CDC COVID-19 Updates.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides daily updates and guidance. New this week: Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to Coronavirus was the subject of a recent webinar for clinicians, part of ongoing Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA).
  7. Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties.  The RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis provides up-to-date data and maps on rural and urban confirmed cases throughout the United States.  An animated map shows the progression of cases beginning January 21.
  8. Rural Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019.  The Rural Health Information Hub has created a guide to help you learn about activities underway to address COVID-19.