Office of Rural Health
Operations Team Newsletter
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This newsletter serves a repository of information relevant to State-Designated Rural Health Centers and CMS Rural Health Clinics. Please share any content suggestions or feedback with Caroline at Caroline.Collier@dhhs.nc.gov.
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New COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Expectations
North Carolina has shifted to a new allocation process where providers request the number of first doses of vaccine they would like for the coming week. There is no longer the 7-day requirement to use up all the first doses, and a provider can request doses on an as-needed basis. To be considered for additional requested doses, a provider should have administered at least 50% of the allocated vaccine.
Providers are encouraged to accommodate walk-in requests and to offer vaccines as part of regular patient visits. Because of how COVID-19 vaccines are packaged and their storage and use requirements, using every dose in a vial before it expires can be challenging in some settings. In these circumstances, getting vaccine to people who want the vaccine easily should be prioritized over ensuring that every dose is used in an open vial. Additional information can be found here.
Strategies to Fill COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments: Outlines the steps you can take to drive the strategies of vaccination adoption: developing partnerships, planning, pre-event communications, and during-the-event strategies.
Immigrant Rights & the COVID-19 Vaccine
Resources from the NC Justice Center can be found here.
Beating the Pavement to Vaccinate the Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone
In poor neighborhoods and desert towns, community activists — some unpaid — are signing up hard-to-reach people for vaccination appointments. Experts say these campaigns are key to building the country’s immunological armor against new outbreaks. Read in Kaiser Health News
Homebound Vaccine Providers
Are you looking for a vaccine for a person who is homebound? This is a list of vaccine providers in North Carolina who are able to vaccinate homebound people. Please reach out to vaccine providers on this list to ask about their current availability for homebound vaccinations - some may not currently be offering homebound vaccinations.
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Bring Back Summer Campaign |
COVID-19 vaccines are our best shot to bring back summer and get everyone safely back to the people, places and activities they love. So, we are launching the Bringing Summer Back initiative, a fun, flexible, community-centered approach to help every organization and individual stop the spread of COVID-19 by urging friends and neighbors to get vaccinated. Register to receive a toolkit of resources and materials.
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President Biden Announces Trio of RHC COVID-19 Initiatives
RHC COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program to Allocate $100,000 per RHC
Shipping New Allocations of Vaccine to Rural Health Clinics: The Administration will send vaccines directly to rural health clinics in some of our most underserved communities. This initiative will include clinics in areas with a limited number of other vaccination sites and enhance vaccine access in rural communities across the country. Send questions about the Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Program to ruralpolicy@hrsa.gov with RHC Vaccine Distribution in the subject line.
Increasing Vaccine Education and Outreach Efforts in Rural Communities: The President announced over $100 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to approximately 4,600 rural health clinics across the country to support vaccine outreach in rural communities. This funding will be used to assist rural residents in accessing vaccinations as well as education and outreach efforts around the benefits of vaccination.
Increasing Funding for Rural Health Clinics and Hospitals to Respond to COVID-19 with Testing and Mitigation Measures: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is providing nearly $860 million in ARP funding to help rural health clinics and rural hospitals broaden their COVID-19 testing and mitigation to slow the spread of the virus in their communities. HRSA will provide up to $100,000 per clinic to each of the 4,600 federally designated rural health clinics and up to $230,000 per hospital to 1,730 small rural hospitals to increase COVID-19 testing, expand access to testing in rural communities, and broaden efforts to respond to and mitigate the spread of the virus in ways tailored to community needs. Send questions about the Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program to RHCCOVID-19Testing@hrsa.gov.
Governor Cooper Issues New Executive Order
Executive Order 209 removes the outdoor face covering requirement, relaxes restrictions on gatherings, and extends the capacity and social distancing measures of Executive Order 204. Read more here.
NC Health Information Exchange Authority April 2021 Update
Check out updates and explore the NC HIEA website here.
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Healthcare & Funding Opportunities |
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NC Counts Coalition is releasing a Request for Proposals from community-based organizations to apply for grants ranging from $5,000 - $20,000 (or up to $50,000 for collaborative proposals). These short-term grants will support groups that have committed to vaccine equity and are ready to enhance and sustain their efforts to conduct activities to promote vaccine equity.
NC Medicaid and NC Health Choice are temporarily covering Healthy Opportunities screenings to encourage providers to gain capacity for screening Medicaid beneficiaries for unmet health-related resource needs and referring them to appropriate community-based resources prior to the launch of Medicaid Managed Care.
- Reimbursement is limited to Carolina Access II providers and is a time limited opportunity through June 30, 2021.
- Coverage of this code after Medicaid Managed Care launch will be at the discretion of the health plans.
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics offers this course designed to teach directors, clinic administrators and other RHC leaders how to offer a successful Rural Health Clinic.
Through the Small, Underserved, and Rural Support initiative, clinicians included in the Quality Payment Program can receive both program and practice-level support.
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State-Designated Rural Health Center
Program Reminders
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June Expense Reports
Please remember to submit your anticipated MAP and MER reimbursement request for June along with your May Monthly Expense Reports. June actual MAP and MERs will be due by July 10th.
AHEC Screening for Unmet Social Needs Curriculum
ORH and NC AHEC invite SDRHC grantees to participate in no-charge educational offerings to learn more about NCCARE360 and Screening/Intervening for Unmet Social Needs. Please be on the lookout for an email from the Operations team detailing how to access this exciting opportunity.
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Dorothea Brock
"I was a Certified Childbirth Educator for several years."
Program Manager
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Monifa Charles
"I enjoy collecting postcards from my travels, it's the best way to view favorite places, arts, and cultures."
South-Central NC
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Caroline Collier
"I love playing volleyball and used to coach a youth travel team."
Western NC
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Lomax Mizzelle
"When I travel, I always eat at new or local restaurants."
New Team Member
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We're hiring!
New team member coming soon.
Eastern NC
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The Rural Health Operations Team works to connect organizations and rural primary healthcare sites to resources to increase access to care, coordinate existing services, support quality clinical care and accomplish outcomes utilizing standard processes with the goal of building strong, coordinated networks in communities while avoiding duplication of efforts. The Rural Health Operations team is available to assist with inquiries regarding the following:
Healthy Opportunities – Telehealth – Clinical Quality – EHR Utilization – Chronic Care Management
For technical assistance or general inquiries, please contact your regional contract monitor.
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