December 31, 2020
UPCOMING TPCA
TRAININGS & EVENTS
Happy New Year!

The TPCA office will
be closed.
Considerations in Contract Pharmacy Agreements



Led by Judy Lapinski, PharmD
Tri-State Oral Health Summit: Oral Health in the Face of COVID-19


Led by
Timothy L. Ricks, DMD, MPH, FICD
Behavioral + Physical Health Integration
in HIV Care 



Led by Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH 
H. Jack Geiger, Leading Proponent of “Social Medicine,” Dies at 95
Dr. H. Jack Geiger, a lifelong civil rights activist, who helped to bring medical care and services to impoverished regions died on Monday.

Geiger was a pre-med student returning from from WWII in 1947 when he chaired a civil rights committee which carried out protest strikes against the university hospital’s refusal to admit black patients. As a physician ten years later, Geiger secured a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship and went to South Africa to learn about community-oriented primary care. After completing his fellowship in South Africa's Pholela Health Center, Geiger wrote a thesis that is often considered the founding document of the Community Health Center movement. Geiger is often referred to as the “father” of CHCs in the U.S.

In the 1960s, Geiger was a co-founder, with Dr. Count Gibson, of community health centers in South Boston and in Mound Bayou, in the Mississippi Delta.

Geiger saw his mission as finding a way to fuse his civil rights activism and social justice with being a physician, what he described as “caring for patients, but not being restricted only to caring for patients and sending them back into political, social, and economic environments that guaranteed they would become sick again.”

Deemed a "visionary advocate for health and human rights," Geiger was a founding member of two advocacy groups, Physicians for Social Responsibility, which shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to end the nuclear arms race, and Physicians for Human Rights, which shared the 1997 prize for working to ban land mines.

Read more about Dr. Geiger at:

COVID-19 RESOURCES
COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Update
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Health released an updated version of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan in response to new recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Tennessee’s COVID-19 plan prioritizes different groups for vaccination including those most at risk and critical infrastructure workers with direct public exposure or higher risk of exposure to COVID-19. Counties may progress through different phases of the plan at different times based on supply and demand of the vaccine. Health center staff members have begun to receive the vaccine and health centers are eager to begin vaccinating patients. 
WEEKLY Open COVID-19 Webinar for Healthcare Professionals
Join the TN Department of Health for a weekly open Q&A webinar hour for health care professionals to ask questions about the Tennessee COVID-19 vaccine allocation and distribution plan and COVID-19 vaccines.

Due to the holiday, the next TDH provider call will occur Friday, January 8th.
Additional Resources for COVID-19 Vaccines
TDH has put together a set of resources including FAQs and information about getting the second dose of the vaccine. These are being updated frequently. TDH is interested to know if there are additional resources or messages that you need for your providers or patients.

TPCA and other groups have already provided some suggestions but if you think of something you need, please reach out to libby.thurman@tnpca.org and we will pass the message on to TDH.
TPCA COVID-19 Resources Page
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.
TPCA MEMBER NEWS
Community Health Center Staff Members
Begin Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine
Community health center staff began receiving the COVID-19 vaccine last week! Many chose to publicly share their experiences to raise awareness about the importance of vaccination for staff members and their patients. 


STATE POLICY UPDATES
Governor Lee Calls for Special Session on Education

This week, Governor Lee called for a special legislative session to address education challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tennessee General Assembly is set to reconvene in Nashville on January 12 and the special session will begin on January 19. Following the special session, the General Assembly will take up business for the regular session. 
FEDERAL POLICY UPDATES
Health Center Funding Included in Year-end Spending Package

President Trump signed a spending package on Sunday, averting a government shutdown and providing an additional $900 billion in COVID-19 relief. The legislation included level funding for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps and Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program through FY2023. An additional $3 billion in general allocation will be included in the Provider Relief Fund. Senator Alexander and Representatives Roe (R-1), Fleischmann (R-3), Cooper (D-5), Kustoff (R-8), and Cohen (D-9) voted in favor of the measure.

TPCA is grateful for all of the efforts by health center advocates to secure a long-term extension of health center funding and our Members of Congress for their support of health centers!
340B Discounts

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of General Counsel issued an advisory opinion on Wednesday stating that manufacturers must provide 340B discounts to contract pharmacies acting as agents of covered entities. HHS’s opinion is in response to recent actions by drug manufacturers for their refusal to distribute drugs through contract pharmacies. While advisory opinions are not legally binding, they do signal HHS’s position on issues. 
ADDITIONAL NEWS & RESOURCES
Uniform Data System 2020 Reporting Period Begins Friday

The Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting period for 2020 begins on Friday, January 1, 2021. HRSA-funded health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes are required to submit complete and accurate UDS reports by Monday, February 15, 2021. Upon successful submission, we will assign your UDS report to a UDS reviewer who will work with you to finalize your data submission.

The 2020 UDS Manual includes detailed instructions for completing each of the tables and appendices, as well as information on how to submit the UDS through HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks. The Manual, COVID-19-specific guidance, and other UDS reporting resources are available on our UDS Resources webpage. The UDS Training website may also assist you in reporting.

Direct any electronic reporting questions to Health Center Program Support online or by phone: 877-464-4772, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday (except federal holidays). Direct all UDS content questions to the UDS Support Center: 866-UDS-HELP (866-837-4357) or udshelp330@bphcdata.net.
TN State Loan Repayment Program (TSLRP)

TSLRP provides educational loan repayment to qualified primary care practitioners in exchange for an initial 2-year service obligation to practice full-time or part-time at an ambulatory public, non-profit or private non-profit primary care site located in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or a facility designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) or Rural Health Clinic (RHC).

Eligible Practitioners 
  • Primary Care: Physician, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Mid-Wife, Physician Assistant, Pharmacist
  • Dental: General Practice or Pediatric Dentist
  • Behavioral & Mental Health: Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Nurse Specialist, Health Service Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Marriage & Family Therapist or Licensed Professional Counselor 

Award Amount 
Eligible applicants can receive a maximum of up to $50,000 for an initial 2-year service obligation. TSLRP award amounts are determined by annual funding availability which may cause variations in the final award amount from year-to-year.

The deadline to apply online is Tuesday, January 5, 2021 .
Tennessee Financial Assistance Programs

The Tennessee Center for Health Workforce Development (TCWD) staff have created concise descriptions of available financial incentives for select physicians and nurse practitioners in Tennessee (including those of TCWD).
Tennessee Justice Center and University of Tennessee College of Nursing present
2021 Healthcare Advocacy Series

Kick off 2021 with fresh advocacy skills! Build your advocacy knowledge, learn about the healthcare challenges across Tennessee, and participate in a media engagement workshop. This series is geared toward healthcare providers and those interested in tackling healthcare challenges across Tennessee. Each session is free and open to all.

Advocacy 101
with Kinika Young, JD from the Tennessee Justice Center 
January 7, 2021
6:30 - 7:30 PM Central

Register in advance for this webinar:


Tennessee Healthcare Landscape in 2021
with Kathryn Crawford, RN from the University of Tennessee College of Nursing
January 14, 2021
6:30 - 7:30 PM Central

Register in advance for this webinar:


Media Engagement Workshop
with Carole R. Myers, PhD, RN from the University of Tennessee College of Nursing
January 23, 2021
9:00 - 11:30 AM Central

Register in advance for this webinar:
RCORP Policy Forum

Join RCORP for an online policy forum where community leaders will share their perspectives about telehealth, the opioid crisis in East TN, and possible policy solutions.

Friday, January 22, 2021
1:00-3:30 PM Eastern
CHC Boot Camp: Revenue Cycle Management

Join BKD and Achieve Revenue Management for this four-day virtual training event, where our healthcare pros will cover revenue cycle management issues specific to community health centers (CHC). This session is tailored for CEOs, CFOs, finance directors, controllers, and CHC revenue cycle managers.

January 25-29, 2021
10:00 AM - 1:30 PM Central
Medicare for Health Centers

Are you getting the most out of your Medicare program and payments? Join Feldesman + Tucker + Leifer + Fidell attorney Susannah Vance Gopalan and revenue cycle management expert Rebekah Wallace Pardeck for this leadership workshop designed specifically for community health centers.

February 9-11, 2021
Each day will begin at 11:00 AM Eastern  
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We want to help spread the word about what's going on at Tennessee's health centers.
This publication is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,830,669, with 15 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.