The National Rural EMS & Care Conference's newest sponsor, the American Ambulance Association (AAA), is offering every attendee a FREE one-year membership to the AAA! This membership includes free webinars on ambulance operations and advocacy, free publications including the 2021 Medicare Reference Manual and HR Manual, a subscription to the Daily Digest, and more. Your $300 registration cost will give you access to over $2000 worth of resources. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and register for the conference today!

The virtual conference will take place April 20-22 from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm EST each day. Click here for more information about the conference, including the agenda and how to register.

Know a CMS Certified Rural Health Clinic (RHC) that received COVID-19 Testing Funds and needs help reporting? Need help understanding allowable use of the funds? Have no fear, the Connections for Community Care Team (C3) is here!

Supported by a national network of State Offices of Rural Health (SORH), the C3 Team has made over 2,000 contacts to help guide RHCs and their Tax Identification Number (TIN) organizations through reporting (RHCcovidreporting.com), understanding the terms and conditions, allowable use of funds, as well as other topics related to this program. Each eligible RHC was funded nearly $50,000 to their TIN organization. Required reporting and maintaining appropriate financial documentation to support fund allocation are outlined in the program terms and conditions and FAQ.

“We’d love the chance to share program experiences as well as provide needed assistance. We appreciate the opportunity to provide capacity building and support for this effort!” said Tammy Norville, NOSORH Technical Assistance Director and C3 Team leader.

This work is done through the fifty SORH to all RHCs and their TIN organizations as they work every day to make the communities they serve more well. Please reach out to Lynette Dickson ([email protected]) with questions or further assistance.

To register or for more information including the agenda with learning objectives, visit NARCH'S events page at narhc.org.

Appropriations Update: The White House is expected to release a skinny budget on April 2, with the full budget request being submitted to Congress later in the month. The House Appropriations Committee has extended its deadlines for submissions by members for the Labor-HHS spending bill to April 28. For the first time since 2010, the House will allow members to request dedicated-funding projects, also known as “earmarks” for the FY 2022 appropriations process. NOSORH has been asking Congress to increase funding for the State Offices of Rural Health grant program to $15 million for FY 2022. Read More

Earlier this year, Wipfli, a NOSORH investing partner, convened a virtual panel discussion on business issues facing rural healthcare executives. Wipfli’s healthcare group provides consulting and strategic advisory to rural hospitals. Panel members were comprised of state and national association leaders. Here is a recap of top themes rural healthcare leaders are focused on for 2021, including telehealth and retail competition. Read More