Esri's Chief Medical Officer Este Geraghty leads a roundtable discussion about COVID-19's impact on the Navajo Nation and how they're using geographic information system (GIS) to make a difference for their people. A recording of the roundtable discussion is available here.

To learn more about the TECs year 2 progress, read more here.

To raise awareness about the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond, the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Minority Health (OMH) is proud to support National Influenza Vaccination Week (December 6-12). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 45 million people in the U.S. get sick from the flu each season. Flu vaccination is especially important for people from racial and ethnic minority groups, who are often less likely to be vaccinated against flu and more likely to be hospitalized with flu. During 2020-2021, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A flu vaccine this season can also help reduce the burden on our medical system and save medical resources for the care of COVID-19 patients. Read more here.

What's the goal of infection control? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Project Firstline launches Inside Infection Control, a new video series featuring content every frontline healthcare worker should know. Videos are hosted by Dr. Abby Carlson, an infectious diseases doctor with experience on the frontlines of COVID-19 and a Project Firstline staffer. In the first episode, Dr. Carson breaks down why infection control matters, and how it can protect healthcare workers, their patients, and their communities. Follow @CDC Project Firstline on Facebook to make sure you never miss an episode. Watch the first episode here.

If you are interested in providing additional feedback on this proposed product, please email Jessica Fisher at the Public Health Accreditation Board at [email protected]

To learn more about Tribal public health accreditation, visit NIHB’s Strengthening Tribal Public Health Systems Website here.

To learn more about public health accreditation overall, visit PHAB here.

This year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced a partnership with the Morehouse School of Medicine to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in racial and ethnic minority and vulnerable communities. Through this cooperative agreement, the Morehouse School of Medicine launched the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN), which will share important messages and linkages to healthcare and social services in communities across the nation and areas hardest hit by the pandemic. The NRCN will focus on identifying and engaging disproportionately impacted communities, nurture existing and develop new partnerships, disseminate culturally and linguistically appropriate information, leverage technology to connect communities to resources, monitor and evaluate outcomes, and apply broad and comprehensive dissemination methods. Read more here.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Project Firstline — a comprehensive infection control program designed to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases in U.S. healthcare settings. With Project Firstline funding, NIHB will implement a multi-pronged approach to providing infection prevention and control (IPC) training and technical assistance to Tribal health officials and Tribal health systems. To help guide the development of the training NIHB is creating a steering committee. The steering committee will assist with reviewing and advising on program materials and developing and implementing the infection control project. In addition to the steering committee, NIHB is offering a mentorship program and scholarships to those interested in completing online IPC courses and/or completing the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) certification. Anyone interested in applying for the Steering Committee, mentorship program or scholarship, please contact Carmen Sanders at [email protected].

WITH Foundation Grant Cycle Open for Bolstering Healthcare for Adults With Developmental Disabilities

The WITH Foundation's grant cycle is now open to fund U.S. nonprofit organizations seeking to improve the delivery of healthcare to adults with developmental disabilities. Programs must address at least one of the specified areas of support to be considered for funding. Online letters of interest must be submitted by December 11, 2020; invited proposals will be due February 3, 2021. Read more here.

The Home Depot Foundation: Veteran Housing Grants program will award funding to nonprofit organizations throughout the US and Puerto Rico for the new construction or rehabilitation of permanent supportive housing for veterans. Nonprofit organizations that have been in existence at least five years and have a current operating budget of at least $300,000 are eligible to apply. Grants ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 are available for the physical construction or repair of housing for veterans. Requests are reviewed three times per year; the upcoming application deadlines are December 18, 2020, and March 26 and July 9, 2021. Read more here.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on two Emergency Operations Center (EOC) toolkit documents. The two EOC toolkit documents, “EOC How To Quick Reference Guide” and “EOC References and Tools,” are a collection of guidance and best practices for emergency management, specifically EOC communities. The National Integration Center is hosting a series of three, 60-minute webinars to discuss the two EOC toolkit documents and answer related questions. All stakeholder webinars are open to the whole community. Advance registration is required due to space limitations.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) seeks feedback on the updated “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.” This document provides guidance on developing emergency operations plans and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a threat or hazard and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans. FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to discuss changes to the updated CPG 101 and gather feedback from whole community partners. The sessions will include facilitated discussions with stakeholders to help improve the existing draft. A line numbered version of the CPG 101 is available to allow individuals to provide comments on specific areas within the document. The comment matrix can be used to capture any recommendations. Email feedback or any questions to [email protected].

Job descriptions are available at www.nihb.org.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) office hosted a webinar on Tribal Nations and IPAWS. IPAWS is a national system for local alerting that enables public safety officials the capability to deliver a single alert simultaneously through multiple communication devices, reaching as many people as possible to save lives and protect property. For additional information, check out the IPAWS Fact Sheet on How Tribal Governments Can Sign Up for Public Alerts and Warnings. Tribal governments interested in becoming an IPAWS Alerting Authority can also contact Harland Cleveland at [email protected] about the Navajo Nation's experiences with public alerting. A webinar recording is available for download here.

New! COVID-19 Resources:

The National Indian Health Board is committed to serving Tribal Nations in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Visit our COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center for more information and resources.

Do you have a headache just from reading the phrase “Logic Models”? If yes, we are here to help! Please join the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) for a climate learning community webinar: Logic Models 101. This virtual webinar will provide an in-depth look at how to develop logic models as they apply to American Indian and Alaska Native Health and Climate Change. Register here.

Today! Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 5:00 PM EST

The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) is hosting a briefing call with Senior Administration Officials for an update on Operation Lady Justice, including a report from the Presidential Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Native's report that is available here. Read more here.

The National Indian Health Board NIHB) humbly invites Tribes to join a virtual Tribal Nations Health Summit on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 to identify the consensus requests for the Biden-Harris Administration.

Through advocacy and events, NIHB ensures that the unified voice of all federally-recognized Tribes is heard at all levels of decision-making – in the Congress, at the White House, and at the federal agency level. At this time of presidential transition, it is more important than ever to be ready to engage with the new Administration and federal agency leaders charged with interpreting and implementing legislation that will impact the health of Tribal people. Register here.