What's New
County Health Rankings for 2022. The annual ranking of health for nearly every county in the nation takes a closer look at four specific social determinants that impact health outcomes: living wage, gender pay gap, childcare cost burden, and school funding adequacy. References to rural areas throughout the report highlight major geographic disparities before and after the pandemic.
COGME Reports on Strengthening Rural Health Workforce. The Council on Graduate Medical Education, COGME, provides ongoing assessment of physician workforce trends and makes recommendations to federal policymakers. In this new report, COGME focuses on gaps in rural health care and makes six recommendations for federal policy and investment, including programs such as the National Health Service Corps, Rural Residency Planning and Development, and other training programs funded by HRSA.
Evaluating the Million Hearts Model. In 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model. Designed by the CMS Innovation Center to test if health care costs could be lowered by prevention, the program called on participants to reduce the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes among Medicare beneficiaries. A little more than a third (36 percent) of the original participants – primary care and specialty practices, health centers, and hospitals – were rural providers. While this report only evaluates the first four years of a five-year program, results show improved preventive care for cardiovascular disease.
HRSA News Round-Up for April. In case you missed it, HRSA announced investments to: support community-based doulas; strengthen home visiting supports for parents, infants, and children; expand investments in state responses to the maternal mortality crisis; launch the largest investment ever made in Community Health Worker training; and build new data tools to reduce health disparities through health centers.
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COVID-19 Resources
New: CDC on Supporting Patients with Post-COVID Symptoms. On its weekly Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) call, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will discuss the wide range of health consequences that are present four or more weeks after infection.
Provider Relief Fund. HRSA supports health care providers facing solvency challenges that affect their ability to respond to emerging health crises in an equitable manner.
Spread the Word About Vaccine Boosters. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) provides resources – posters, flyers, videos, and talking points – to help promote the extra protection from COVID-19 boosters.
HHS/DoD National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network. A joint program of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is available at no cost to hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients. Teams of critical care clinicians - critical care physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialized clinical experts – are available to deliver virtual care through telemedicine platforms, such as an app on a mobile device. Hear from participating clinicians, and email to learn more and sign up.
Reaching Farm Communities for Vaccine Confidence. The AgriSafe Network is a nonprofit organization that provides information and training on injury and disease related to agriculture. Their health professionals and educators created a social media toolkit that aims to provide clear messages about COVID-19 vaccination for agriculture, forestry, and fishing workers.
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Funding and Opportunities
Apply to Become a New Site for the NHSC – Deadline extended to June 7. Eligible rural health care facilities can expand clinician recruitment by applying to become an approved site for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Eligibility includes health care sites providing outpatient, ambulatory and primary health care services (medical, dental, and behavioral health) in high-need areas, including rural communities. Eligible site types also include facilities providing general substance use disorder treatment or an opioid treatment program.
ACF Demonstration Grants for Human Trafficking in Native Communities – June 25. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will support culturally appropriate services for victims of severe forms of human trafficking. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, states, Tribes, and local governments that may receive up to $333,333 per year for a five year project.
DOI Native American Business Development Institute – June 27. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) will make 20-35 awards of up to $75,000 each to conduct feasibility studies and form business plans for economic development. Eligible applicants include federally recognized tribes listed as entities recognized by and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.
SAMHSA Tribal Opioid Response Grants – June 27. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA) will make 150 awards with total funding of $55 million. The funding is meant to support culturally appropriate prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services for opioid use disorder.
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Policy Updates
CMS Issues New Policies for MA and Part D Plans. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D prescription drug programs. The final rule makes a number of changes, including rural-relevant provisions to support network adequacy. Network adequacy standards, requirements for health plans’ provider networks, can support access to care in rural areas. In this rule, CMS is requiring that MA applicants demonstrate they have a sufficient network of contracted providers to care for beneficiaries before CMS will approve an application for a new or expanded MA contract.
CMS Announces Health Insurance Marketplace Policies for 2023. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)issued the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023 Final Rule to finalize standards for issuers and Marketplaces, as well as requirements for agents, brokers, web-brokers, and issuers assisting consumers with enrollment through Marketplaces that use the federal platform. The final rule includes policies pertaining to plan options, network adequacy, health equity, risk adjustment, and consumer experience. Recent rural-centric research on health insurance marketplaces is available on the Rural Health Research Gateway.
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Learning Events and Technical Assistance
AgriSafe: QPR Mental Health for Farmers and Farm Families – Each Thursday in May. Over the last decade, farmers and farm families have experienced increasing pressures resulting in high levels of stress, mental health, and suicide. QPR training teaches laypeople and professionals to recognize and respond to mental health crises using the approach of Question, Persuade, and Refer.
HRSA Funding Opportunities for Nurses and Nursing Students – Thursday, May 12 at 3:00 pm. HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce will hold a two-hour session to discuss benefits of each program and eligibility requirements for training grants, student loans, scholarship programs, and loan repayment programs.
Long COVID ECHO Webinar Series – Thursday, May 12 at 3:00 pm ET. The Health Centers of San Diego, the ECHO Institute, University of Washington, and University of Colorado have collaborated to provide CDC-funded monthly webinar-style ECHO learning sessions to rapidly disseminate findings and best practices related to patients experiencing ongoing health challenges after COVID-19 infection, a condition generally known as “Long COVID.” This is a monthly webinar series with sessions currently scheduled from February through June. Project ECHO (pdf) began as an effort to support the management of patients with the hepatitis C virus in rural New Mexico, and has since been adapted to a number of other health conditions and settings.
National Telehealth Conference – May 16 & 17. Register now to join HRSA for the inaugural event. Experts and leaders in the field will examine the evolution of telehealth, discuss its place in an integrated health care delivery model, and review the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the future of telehealth.
Building Rural Recovery Ecosystems Summit – June 8-10. Registration is now open for the upcoming Summit that will take place over two days in Memphis, TN. The event will bring together rural recovery housing operators, owners, and other rural recovery champions to learn about the latest innovations and best practices that will expand the capacity and effectiveness of recovery housing in rural America. This event is supported by the Fletcher Group, one of three FORHP-funded RCORP-Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders.
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NC DHHS Office of Rural Health
2009 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-2009
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