This newsletter is brought to you by the Community Health Systems Development Team at the Georgia Health Policy Center, funded through a contract with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP).
Welcome to the Rural Health Link: Rural Health Services Quarterly Digest. This newsletter will share program updates, the technical assistance (TA) schedule of events, as well as a variety of resources focused on rural health services. Each issue will also feature two grantee spotlight articles. We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments or recommendations for future content, please reach out to us at chsdteam@gsu.edu.
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GHPC recently spoke to Naomi Wolcott-MacCausland, migrant health coordinator for University of Vermont (UVM) Extension's Bridges to Health program, about efforts to coordinate care and COVID-19 response for the roughly 1,500 migrant farm workers located throughout the state at any given time. UVM Extension, together with the Open Door Clinic, provides direct services to migrant farmworkers in Vermont and strategizes with Finger Lakes Community Health (New York) on ways to improve and sustain programming.
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The Georgia Health Policy Center recently spoke to Sheila Brandenburg, a registered nurse
certified in hospice and palliative care and director of clinical services at Okanogan Palliative
Care, about how palliative care is a critical piece of regional care coordination efforts.
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Rural Health Care Coordination
Program (Care Coordination)
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Making the Business Case for Addressing Social Determinants of Health
The recording and materials from the December 14 webinar, Making the Business Case for Social Determinants of Health, with Roger Chaufournier, from CSI Solutions, will be posted to the Rural Health Care Coordination grantee portal.
Care Coordination Grantee Meeting
Your technical assistance (TA) team and FORHP program coordinator are working to confirm the details for an in-person joint grantee peer conference for Rural Health Care Coordination and Rural Health Network Planning grantees. The conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in late February or early March 2023. This will be an opportunity to meet and interact with your peers, hear from subject matter experts, and hear from HRSA Leadership about the agency’s priorities. Each grantee may bring two team members to the conference.
Sustainability Formative Assessment Review Calls
Your project officer and TA provider will discuss the Sustainability Formative Assessment deliverables you submitted in November during January and February monthly calls.
Reminder:
Your year 3 Final Federal Financial Report (FFR) is due January 30, 2023. Carryover requests must be submitted within 30 days of submitting your FFRs.
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Delta States Rural Development
Network Program (Delta States)
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Sustainability Overview and Evaluation
Please join us for a Zoom call on Thursday, December 15 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT to get a jump start on your Sustainability Plan before the holiday break. During this call, we will also hold a group discussion on your evaluation efforts and outcomes, and how these connect to your program sustainability as well as plans for the next iteration of your grant programs. To join, click here. You do not need to pre-register for this Zoom call.
Sustainability Plan Deliverable
Just a reminder that your Sustainability Plan is due on February 17, 2023, in the electronic handbook system (EHB). To access the template, see here, under Resources.
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Small Health Care Provider Quality
Improvement Program (Rural Quality)
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Program Data and Measuring Outcomes Webinar
We look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday, December 14 at 1 p.m. ET for the webinar, Program Data and Measuring Outcomes. You should have received a recording and slides via email from the Quality program coordinator, Mew Pongsiri, in which she gave an overview of your program reporting requirements. Please bring any questions you have about what was shared in the pre-recording to the webinar. During the webinar, we will focus more in-depth on the data dashboard requirement, an optional tracking tool for use, and allow you to hear from a grantee from the last cohort who will share how they developed and made use of their dashboard during the grant period.
2019 Quality Program Sourcebook
We are working diligently to complete the program directory for this cohort, which will be a snapshot of the projects you and your peers are beginning to implement. In the meantime, we’d like to point you to the sourcebook from the last cohort to see some of the accomplishments and lessons learned from the most recent grantees funded under the program. The sourcebook may be found here.
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Rural Health Care Services
Outreach Program (Outreach)
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Adaptive Leadership for Complex Problems Webinar
Thank you to all of you that joined us for the webinar, Adaptive Leadership for Complex Problems, with Dr. Eric Baumgartner that was hosted on December 6th. The webinar recording and slides will be posted on the grantee website under Webinars soon.
Year 2 Non-Competing Continuation (NCC) Reporting
Description:
The Annual NCC Progress Reporting requirement opens in the EHB system on January 1 and is available to submit in the system through January 31.
All projects are required to submit the annual NCC progress report as this deliverable serves to demonstrate adequate progress on grant projects to date, prompting securement in receipt of next year of funding.
Where to Submit: Submissions are submitted electronically in the HRSA EHB system.
Guidance/Template:
A program-specific template and instructions will be provided by your HRSA project officer. A copy of the template and instructions will also be made available on the Outreach Program’s TA Website. A request for an updated work plan demonstrating proposed versus actual progression of activities will be included as part of the NCC template.
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Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management
Strategies Program (RMOMS)
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Upcoming Opportunities for Peer Engagement
Mark your calendars for the first RMOMS peer call of 2023! The 2021 and 2022 RMOMS teams will meet on January 10, 2023, from 2-3 p.m. ET. The 2019 RMOMS teams will meet on January 10, 2023, from 3-4 p.m. ET. Peer calls offer an opportunity for you to share advice, ask questions, and learn with and from your peers. If you have specific topics you want to be sure to discuss, please share your ideas with your TA provider.
The Georgia Health Policy Center TA team is also preparing to restart cross-program peer groups in January 2023. Grantees from FORHP’s RMOMS, Care Coordination, Delta States, Network Development, Network Planning, Outreach, Rural Quality, and Workforce Training Network grant programs are invited to join one of several topic-focused peer groups. These quarterly calls will be led and facilitated by a member of the GPHC TA team, with the primary content for each call driven by your interests and experiences. If you are interested in joining one of these peer groups, but missed the deadline to sign up, contact your TA provider for more information and guidance.
2023 RMOMS Annual Grantee Meeting
The 2023 annual conference will be held in the Washington, D.C. area in Summer 2023! Please plan to use the travel funds set aside in your budget to attend this meeting in person. FORHP is still in the early stages of planning and will provide more details soon.
Maternal Health Innovation Podcast
This podcast series, hosted by the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, continues to be a success with new episodes released regularly. Check it out if you haven’t already signed up to listen.
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RESOURCES, NEWS AND OTHER UPDATES |
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This article summarizes results of a survey of 135 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) regarding cancer screening and treatment provided by CAHs. It describes the role of visiting providers and the use of telemedicine in cancer screening and treatment. Click here to access the article.
The Toolkit for Everyone Aligning and Measuring (TEAM) is designed to help people think about measurement in the context of health collaboratives and aligning efforts across sectors. People participating in collaboratives have different roles, needs, and perspectives. The TEAM contains four main parts that each help people think about measurement in a different way. Click here to access the toolkit.
This collection of resources supports health equity by focusing on health as a national priority advocated by collaborators from all sectors. Additionally, the resource offers a series of action areas to encourage cooperation, create healthier communities, strengthen integration of health services, and measure health outcomes and well-being. Lastly, the resource includes a searchable collection of rural and urban communities working to promote health equity. Click here to access the tool.
The Rural Health Information Hub recently launched a new resource developed in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, with support from HRSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The toolkit provides practical guidance for planning for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and emergencies. It also includes guidance and resources for different types of emergencies and considerations for special populations. Click here to access the toolkit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents a compilation of best practices for suicide prevention. The resource explores seven different approaches to suicide prevention for communities to implement, such as strengthening economic support, creating protective environments, and improving access and delivery of suicide care. Additionally, the report includes discussion about how different strategies function in rural communities. Click here to access the resource.
This report, recently published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, examines the available information on the behavioral health workforce, including federal data on the number of providers nationwide and the projection of the supply and demand for behavioral health providers in 2030. Additionally, the report Identifies key barriers to recruiting and retaining behavioral health providers, as well as actions federal agencies have taken to support recruiting and retaining these providers. Lastly, the report outlines federal loan repayment, scholarship, and training programs designed to address workforce challenges in rural and other underserved areas. Click here to access the report.
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Feb 7-9, 2023 | Washington, DC
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is hosting its 34th annual Rural Health Policy Institute. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop rapport with federal elected officials and staff, understand the importance and successes of NRHA’s advocacy, and learn the new ways NRHA is advancing the association’s priorities. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to Participate in NRHA’s Rural Health Disparities Summit and connect with congressional delegations to educate them on rural health policy priorities.
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Feb 19-22, 2023 | San Antonio, TX
The American Hospital Association is hosting their 36th annual Rural Health Care Leadership Conference. The conference will bring together health care leaders to share strategies and resources for accelerating the growth of a stronger rural health system. Attendees will participate in conversations that examine the most significant operational, financial and environmental challenges and present innovative approaches that will enable you to transform your organization’s care delivery model and business practices.
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Mar 20-23, 2023 | San Antonio, TX
More information to come!
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