Governor Lee announced $150 million in grants to Tennessee non-profits through the Tennessee Community CARES Program. These grants will be awarded to nonprofits providing coronavirus-related services surrounding education needs, economic support and various types of support for community members and vulnerable populations. Nonprofits may also be eligible for reimbursement for expenses related to the pandemic, including increased payroll costs and personal protective equipment expenses.

The WITH Foundation and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry seek to address the challenges primary care providers experience in serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities during pandemic or emergency situations.

Learn more about the Request for Proposals.

TPCA held a COVID-19 update call on Friday, July 24, 2020 with Dr. Fiscus from the Tennessee Department of Health to discuss the state response and COVID-19 testing. Below are the links to the recording and resources mentioned during the call.

TPCA created a COVID-19 Resources page that contains information and tools for health centers and the general public on a variety of COVID-19 related topics including TPCA’s COVID-19 Updates, human resources & operations, telehealth, and PPE.

Negotiations between the House and Senate regarding another COVID-19 relief package stalled over the weekend. The House released its next COVID-19 relief bill, the HEROES Act in Mid-May, while the Senate released its version, the HEALS Act just last week. Both bills contained $7.6 billion in in emergency supplemental funding for community health centers and additional funding for the Provider Relief Fund. The HEALS Act would also extend Medicare telehealth policies for health centers and rural health clinics for 5 years after the public health emergency ends. It is not clear when Members of Congress may come to an agreement on another COVID-19 relief bill.

NACHC has released a 340B Toolkit with more detailed information on each of these developments. If you would like to receive a copy of the template, please contact Emily Waitt at [email protected].

Thank you to all of the health center staff members who joined us for virtual meetings with our Members of Congress in honor of National Health Center Week. We are grateful you shared your ‘on the ground’ perspectives with our Members of Congress and raised issues that are critical to your patients, staff members, and communities.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you follow up with your Members of Congress by emailing [email protected].

We recently received a communication from Tennessee Department of Health and TennCare regarding EPSDT visits. Given that there is likely a backlog of children who need immunizations and school readiness exams, and in support of the patient-centered medical home model, TDH clinics will now prioritize connecting TennCare members to their assigned primary care providers for EPSDT visits.

Don Gibson, M.D. has been named chief medical officer (CMO) of Mercy Community Healthcare. He will oversee all medical aspects of the organization including adult and pediatric primary care services, mental health and care coordination.

As CMO, he joins the Mercy Leadership Team, which is responsible for day-to-day operations as well as the strategic planning and growth of the nonprofit community health center.