Rural Spotlight

HRSA Needs Rural Reviewers for Grant Applications

March 21, 2025

HRSA Needs Rural Reviewers for Grant Applications

Are you an expert in certain subjects related to health care? If so, you may be able to help the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) review grant applications.

What is a grant application reviewer?

  • Professionals who use their health care knowledge and experience to evaluate grant applications.
    • Their feedback is part of HRSA’s process in deciding who receives grant awards.

Expectations:

  • Get trained on how to evaluate applications and use HRSA’s online portal – the Application Review Module (ARM),
  • Review applications using published evaluation criteria,
  • Provide scores and comments in the ARM, and
  • Discuss scores and evaluation with other reviewers on your panel.

How to Become a Grant Reviewer:

  • If you have experience in health care, register via HRSA’s Reviewer Recruitment Module (RRM).
  • HRSA is looking for people who are experts in these areas:
    • Behavioral health
    • Health workforce training
    • HIV/AIDS
    • Maternal and child health
    • Primary care delivery
    • Rural health
    • Health equity
  • HRSA also wants reviewers who have:
    • Lived experience, such as:
      • A member of an underserved community,
      • Having a disability or health condition.
    • Expertise in social determinants of health,
    • Experience working with underserved communities, and
    • Familiarity with social, cultural, or health care issues of people in rural areas, migrants, or Native Americans.

Does a grant reviewer get paid?

  • HRSA compensates nonfederal reviewers

Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to Access HRSA’s Reviewer Recruitment Module (RRM)

Informational Webinar on NASHP Maternity Care Deserts Policy Academy, March 25

March 21, 2025

Informational Webinar on NASHP Maternity Care Deserts Policy Academy, March 25

With support from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) will provide an overview and answer questions about the NASHP policy academy, Advancing State Strategies to Address Maternity Care Deserts.

Teams of state health officials

  • public health,
  • Medicaid,
  • behavioral health,
  • provider groups, and
  • others

will receive technical assistance to support and advance innovative state-level policy initiatives that address the growth of maternity care deserts and improve access to maternal and child health care.

Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to Register for Webinar

Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Due Dates Released

March 21, 2025

Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Due Dates Released

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that want to begin participating in the Medicare Shared Saving Program starting January 1, 2026, must apply between May 29 and June 12 at noon Eastern.

The Shared Savings Program is a voluntary program that encourages groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers to come together as an ACO to give coordinated, high-quality care to Medicare beneficiaries.

After submitting an application, new ACOs that serve rural areas may be eligible for Advanced Investment Payments, upfront funds to build infrastructure and address beneficiary needs.

Click Here to Learn More About Medicare Shared Saving Program

Click Here to Learn More about the Advanced Investment Payments

CMS Innovation Center Ending Four Models Early

March 21, 2025

CMS Innovation Center Ending Four Models Early

Last week the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (also known as CMMI) announced they are terminating four models early to align with its statutory obligation and strategic goals.

Innovation Center Models are intended to be time-limited experiments to determine what approaches should be:

  • expanded nationwide,
  • what components need further testing, and
  • what approaches are not viable for expansion.

The models are ending early are:

Termination of the ETC model will be proposed through rulemaking. Subject to discussions with State authorities, Maryland will transition to the AHEAD model and begin its implementation period in January 2026.

Click Here to Learn More

CMS Proposes Updates to ACA Marketplace Rules, Comment by April 11

March 21, 2025

CMS Proposes Updates to ACA Marketplace Rules, Comment by April 11

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released for public inspection the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule, which proposes additional safeguards meant to protect consumers from improper enrollments and changes to their health care coverage, as well as to establish standards that aim to ensure the integrity of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. It was formally published on Wednesday, March 19, with comments due April 11.

Click Here to Read More and Comment

Application Deadline Extended: HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals, Now Apply by April 1

March 21, 2025

Application Deadline Extended: HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals, Now Apply by April 1

The purpose of the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Paraprofessionals, HRSA-25-066 is to develop and expand community-based experiential training such as field placements and internships to increase the skills, knowledge and capacity of students preparing to become mental health workers, peer support specialists, and other behavioral health paraprofessionals.

The funding will go to community-based organizations, including Rural Health Clinics, for training that prepares students to become mental health workers, peer support specialists, and other behavioral health-related paraprofessionals.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Bureau of Health Workforce will award approximately $10.9 million to up to 29 awardees over a period of four years.

The original deadline of March 18 has been extended to April 1.

Click Here to Learn More

CDC Updates Urban-Rural Classification for Counties

March 21, 2025

CDC Updates Urban-Rural Classification for Counties

Last week, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the new NCHS Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties.

For this update, the NCHS used delineations of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas from the Office of Management and Budget as well as estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau to classify counties and county equivalents into six categories – four metropolitan and two nonmetropolitan.

This scheme allows researchers, policy makers, and others to study the health of U.S. residents according to how urban or rural their county is.

Click Here to Learn More

Click Here to Read More about how FORHP uses several federal data sources to define for rural for programs.

Registration Open: Missouri Immunization Conference 2025, April 24-25

March 19, 2025

Registration Open: Missouri Immunization Conference 2025, April 24-25

The Missouri Immunization Conference, 2025 brings together bright minds to give talks that are action-oriented on a wide range of subjects related to immunizations to foster learning and inspiration, as well as provoke conversations that matter and actions that lead to increased vaccination rates for Missourians.

The purpose of the conference is to provide immunization education to increase immunization rates and protect all Missourians.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will:

  • Self-report increased confidence in their ability to provide effective education by delivering a strong recommendation to patients when discussing vaccines;
  • Self-report increased knowledge about evidence-based strategies designed to address vaccine hesitancy, and combat misinformation;
  • Self-report increased confidence in their ability to advocate for and effectively educate patients on vaccine preventable diseases;
  • Self-report increased knowledge of how state legislative actions play a role in Missouri’s immunization rates; and
  • Self-report increased knowledge of the increasing number of vaccine exemptions and the potential community health implications.

Presented by:

When: April 24-25

Where: Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake of the Ozarks, MO

Click Here to Register

Register Now: Missouri Rural Healthcare Workforce Summit, April 1 – 2

March 19, 2025

Register Now: Missouri Rural Healthcare Workforce Summit, April 1 – 2

The Missouri Rural Healthcare Workforce Summit offers interactive experiences and leadership development coaching on Stay Interviews including:

  • How to implement;
  • How to integrate into your Broader Workforce Development Strategies; and
  • Measuring and Evaluating Effectiveness.

Most importantly, you will leave with tangible resources to assist you in leading your organization!

The Rural Health Workforce Conference provides professional development, sharing of best practices, and mentorship opportunities that are key to successful recruitment and retention of rural health professionals.

This will be an avenue to provide:

  • Hospital administrators with information on rural recruitment/retention strategies, and community engagement;
  • Faculty development for individuals who teach health-profession students;
  • Networking for rural-health professionals to share and showcase best practices;
  • Residents and students with information on rural opportunities and to prepare them for rural practice (i.e., rural residencies, rural leadership, etc.);
  • A venue for residents/students to present relevant rural-focused research projects;
  • Professional development for rural-health professionals, administrators, and preceptors;
  • Recruitment opportunities for rural hospitals, and
  • Recognition of rural-health champions in Missouri.

When: April 1 – 2

Where: Wyndham Executive Center Columbia, Columbia, MO

Click Here to Register

Time to Register: PROMPT Learning Network

March 19, 2025

Time to Register: PROMPT Learning Network

The next PROMPT Learning Network Meeting will be held in person, on April 24, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Missouri Soybean Association.

The goal of PROMPT is to:

  • Support Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)/rural provider practices in transforming rural clinic practices to meet the ever-changing demands within the healthcare landscape,
  • Improve clinical quality data capture and reporting, to better meet the needs of funders, payors, and patients, and
  • Improve quality performance and patient care in rural Missouri.

When: Thursday, April 24, 2025

Where: Missouri Soybean Association, 734 South Country Club Drive, Jefferson City

Funding is available to cover a one-night hotel stay for up to 2 rooms and mileage for one vehicle. Contact Lisab@cabllc.com for more information.

Click Here to Register and See Agenda