Leading the way for a healthy tomorrow
throughout rural Tennessee.
Partnerships - Education - Advocacy - Resources
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Important News for RHCs and CAHs
HRSA Publishes HPSA List and Updates on HPSAs for Withdrawal. On July 7, HRSA published the complete lists of all geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as primary medical care, dental health, and mental health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) as of April 29, 2022. In this notice, HRSA also indicated that the agency will be providing a longer transition time for jurisdictions and facilities to prepare for potential change of HPSA designations given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, HPSA designations that are currently proposed for withdrawal will remain designated in “proposed for withdrawal” status until they are reevaluated in preparation for the publication of the 2023 HPSA notice. This additional time will allow jurisdictions to re-evaluate their HPSAs against the designation criteria, and plan for potential changes in staffing.
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Preferred Partner Spotlight: Vizient |
Vizient fuels individualized and sustainable performance improvement to the independent, rural and community health care member organizations. Vizient commits to building on the strengths that differentiate our company and best serve our members. Vizient provides neighbor-level service with the backing experience and scalability of the largest health care improvement company. By delivering integrated cost, quality and market performance solutions across the care continuum, Vizient is able to provide consistent and exceptional member experiences. Let Vizient help you to:
* Optimize your supply chain operation
* Improve Operations and quality
* Evolve strategies to grow and compete
* Maximize pharmacy performance
Vizient is the nation’s leading health care performance improvement company…let’s work together!
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In Case You Missed it: Important Reporting Requirements for TN Providers
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal is now open for reporting on use of funds in Reporting Period 3. Providers who received one or more PRF payments exceeding $10,000, in the aggregate, during the third Payment Received Period (January 1 to June 30, 2021) must report on their use of funds by September 30, 2022. New users can get started by registering in the PRF Reporting Portal (if not yet completed). If a reporting entity has previously reported, they do not need to register again and may log into the portal with their username, TIN, and password. For more information visit the PRF Reporting web page.
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Resources and Announcements for Rural Health Clinics (see also RHC Blog Updates at RHA of TN)
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Lunch and Learn on Behavioral Health and RHCs August 12 from 11AM to 12PM CT
Our third presentation in this series will be with special guest, Scott Robbins Midwest Healthcare, Inc..
See our calendar for registration information and specific dates.
Announcements and Opportunities
Health Care Access in a Post-Pandemic World August 10 | 11:00 AM CST
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government increased funding to hospitals and clinics and incentivized states to pause terminating enrollees from the Medicaid program to help increase access to health care and ease the financial burden caused by the global public health emergency. With the end of the pandemic in sight, we all need to prepare for the unwinding of the public health emergency (PHE). TennCare (our state’s Medicaid agency) has estimated that 300,000 people will lose their Medicaid health insurance after the PHE ends. Hospitals and clinics are bracing for a significant reduction in funding, particularly in rural areas where providers were struggling even before the pandemic to provide health care to many uninsured people. Join the Rural Health Association of Tennessee and the Tennessee Justice Center to learn how the PHE unwinding will impact access to health care in your community. Register here. https://www.tnjustice.org/event/health-care-access-in-a-post-pandemic-world/
New TennCare Web Resource Stay updated on the unwinding of the federal public health emergency. (Visit Here)
Date: Wednesday, August 3, 2022; Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM Central Time
There are many terms that are used in reference to improving clinical and non-clinical outcomes in a health care facility. Quality improvement, continuous quality improvement (CQI), quality assessment, quality assurance, and performance improvement are just a few.
MS Rural Health Association: Webinar: Rural Clinics’ Embrace of the CMS Medicare Chronic Care Management Program---Improving Patient Outcomes & Driving Up Reimbursement
August 3, 2022
Jul 8, 2022 -- Describes the challenges facing rural families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) finding and purchasing infant formula during the nationwide shortage. Highlights the experience of a mother living near the state border in Wisconsin and challenges for mothers in Minnesota.
Source: Kaiser Health News
NEW PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Division of Health Disparities Elimination is proud to present our three new Public Service Announcements thanks to the great work of this Task Force and will air statewide later this fall! To view the first commercial, click here. To view the second commercial, click here. To view the third commercial, click here. We are looking to each one of your organizations to help amplify these new PSAs.
VIRTUAL TRAINING ABOUT STIMULANTS IN TENNESSEE: The TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is now offering a free, virtual training about stimulants in Tennessee. Training is open to anyone! The 90-minute virtual training includes: Stimulant trends and data in Tennessee; Over the counter, prescription and illicit stimulants; and Illicit stimulant use, overdose and recovery. Registration is available on Eventbrite: Bit.ly/StimTraining. Flyer with more information attached. The following dates are available:
- Tuesday, August 23: 9:30-11c/10:30-12e
- Thursday, September 22: 12-1:30e/1-2:30c
TennCare Kids Stakeholder Webinar on August 12th at 11am CT. During this time, we will present statewide well child visit data and discuss TennCare’s strategy for improving well child visit rates. We will have time at the end for Q&A. We hope that you will be able to join us. Registration is NOT required. Please join using the Teams Meeting info at the time of the webinar.
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Access to Health Insurance
Do you or someone you know need help with finding health insurance? We are so excited to welcome our new agent, Andrew, to the team! He will be able to help navigate the process of finding health insurance. Find out more at http://
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COVID-19 Resources
NRHA updates Rural Vaccine Confidence Initiative toolkit You know better than anyone that vaccine hesitancy among rural Americans means COVID-19 will linger in rural communities – unless something more is done to increase vaccination rates. To help rural leaders communicate vaccine safety and efficacy in their own words at the local level, NRHA has recently added new and updated materials to our Rural Vaccine Confidence Initiative, including website landing page copy, frequently asked questions, and more. These free and easy-to-use communication tools are developed around three specific audiences: hospitals and senior leadership, business and community partners, and whole communities.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) public education campaign, We Can Do This, recently launched the Pediatricians and Family Physicians Toolkit to help physicians increase confidence in and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among their patients and in the communities they serve.
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Funding and Opportunities
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TN Department of Health: Two Request for Applications have been posted on the Tennessee Department of Health funding opportunities website. One is for Federally Qualified Health Center clinics or a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike commonly referred to as a health center or a Community Health Center clinic. The other is for community-based health and rural health clinics. To read details of each RFA and how to apply, click here.
The Tennessee Area Health Education Center Scholars Program is part of a national initiative to prepare tomorrow’s health professionals to become leaders in inter-professional, transformative practice settings, and to serve in areas and populations with the greatest needs.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline The resources and information on this page are designed to help states, territories, tribes, mental health and substance use disorder professionals, and others looking for information on understanding the background, history, funding opportunities, and implementation resources for strengthening suicide prevention and mental health crisis services. Click here for more information.
Ongoing Opportunities
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We would love to see you at our 28th Annual Conference! Registration has opened! Join us in Pigeon Forge on November 16-18, 2022 for "A Collective Impact: A Call to Action." Register here
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Thank you to our Preferred Business Partners!
for supporting our Rural Health Clinic Network
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Mailing Address:
PO Box 656,
Decaturville, TN 38329
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This service was supported by funds made available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, under GR-21-73441.The contents of this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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