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Health Center News

Health Center Funding 

Amidst the chaos of the pandemic and negotiations for another COVID-19 stimulus bill, Congress worked this week to pass a funding extension to avert a government shutdown. On Wednesday, the Senate approved the House-passed bill, and President Trump signed the bill early Thursday morning after a brief lapse in funding. The Continuing Resolution will fund the government at its current levels through December 11, 2020.

The legislation also included an extension of mandatory funding for the Community Health Center Fund, National Health Service Corps, and Teaching Health Centers at their current levels. View the bill summary here.

 

Policy & Advocacy

COVID-19 Stimulus Bill

Talks have been stalled for months on another COVID-19 stimulus bill. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted  214-207 to pass a "skinny" version of the HEROES Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill that is not expected to pass the Senate. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says the White House has agreed to a $1.62 trillion package, but there is still a wide gulf between the proposals. 


Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Executive Order on Insulin

Last week, HHS released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in response to an executive order President Trump signed in July. The aim of the NPRM is to increase access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine for low-income Americans at health centers. The NPRM is available for public comment for 30 days. Interested parties can submit comments electronically to the Federal eRulemaking Portal by following the instructions. Comments must be identified by HHS Docket No. HRSA-2020-0004. View talking points from the National Association of Community Health Centers.
 

Public Charge Regulation in Effect for Outstanding Green Card Applications

The Public Charge regulation, which was finalized last year, makes it highly unlikely that an immigrant will be approved for a Green Card if they have used, or are expected to use, public benefits such as Medicaid or SNAP. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the regulation, leading to a “litigation roller coaster” of conflicting decisions. As of September 11, the Public Charge rule is in effect throughout the country (including in NY, VT, and CT, which were previously exempted.) On Tuesday, September 22, the Federal government stated on its website that public charge regulations will be applied to all applications submitted on or after February 24, 2020.

 

Trainings and Webinars

Identifying the Enabling Services Workforce for SDOH Screening and Documentation
Use link to access pre-recorded webinar

Privacy Webinar
Hosted by OKPCA
Wednesday, October 7
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

HITEQ Highlights: Telehealth Considerations and Strategies for Special and Vulnerable Populations
Hosted by the HITEQ Center
Thursday, Oct 15
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Motivational Interviewing for Behavioral Health staff and Leadership - Part 1
Hosted by OKPCA
Thursday, Oct 15
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

UDS Training
October 20 & 21
Registration opening soon

Motivational Interviewing for Medical, Nursing, and Center Staff - Part 2
Hosted by OKPCA
Thursday, Oct 29
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Health Center Happenings

Motivational Interviewing Training: OKPCA is hosting FREE Motivational Interviewing trainings tailored to specific audiences. One track is intended for medical, nursing, and center staff and another is specifically for behavioral health staff and leadership. The trainings for both groups be provided in two parts and will give a general overview of Motivational Interviewing, the rationale for use of Motivational Interviewing, and the opportunity for practical application. 


Free Privacy Webinar for OK CHCs: OKPCA is making available a free one-hour webinar for members on October 7 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. This webinar will inform leadership of recent significant changes to federal and Oklahoma patient privacy laws. The webinar will define how several programs are affected by these changes and potential modifications to ensure compliance with patient and center privacy protections. Health centers are legally complex due to patients accessing a combination of medical, mental health, substance use, and other services. The webinar will also define a customizable comprehensive privacy program that was developed with OKPCA support. The program is customizable to all health centers and is Oklahoma health center-specific. The program also includes a coordinated set of nine patient forms and associated policies that can be customized to each health center’s unique privacy decisions. View the agenda and bio. Register now!

Free HIV Training Series: OKPCA is hosting a four-part HIV training series, Building Capacity for HIV Services in Primary Care. This series aims to increase knowledge and skills on HIV care-continuum topics so that they may be applied in the primary care setting. Each topic in the series is comprised of an on-demand, prerequisite overview that can be completed at one’s convenience. It will be followed by a live, distance-based case presentation that will include an in-depth Q&A session. The next topic is Implications of Communication on Providing Care to the LGBTQ Community, presented by Russell Rooms, MSN, APRN at Diversity Family Health, on Thursday, October 22 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM. The session will:

  • Review the ways in which knowledge regarding culture can positively or negatively impact your ability to care for patients in the LGBTQ community.
  • Review the ways in which verbal communication can positively or negatively impact your ability to care for patients in the LGBTQ community.
  • Review the ways in which non-verbal communication can positively or negatively impact your ability to care for patients in the LGBTQ community.
Click here to register. There is a prerequisite, which can be accessed here.

Virtual UDS Training: OKPCA is hosting this year's 2020 UDS training by Zoom. Participants will attend two half-day sessions on October 20-21. The cost is $100 per person. There will be two, live 3-hour training sessions, each with a 15-minute break, and one live 60-minute Q&A. Registration will open soon!

PCA Leadership Conference: The Illinois Primary Health Care Association announced its 2020 Annual Leadership Conference will be held online Oct. 28-30. IPHCA is using the virtual conference to connect its attendees with an outstanding roster of speakers:
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, pro basketball's all-time leading scorer and Presidential Medal of Freedom Winner for his work to improve education in underserved communities
  • Regina Benjamin, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General
  • Maria Hinojosa, an Emmy-winning anchor and executive producer of NPR's "Latino USA"

Anyone interested is welcome to attend the virtual conference. To register or learn more about the conference, visit IPHCA's website.

Free Patient Masks to Distribute: BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma is seeking health centers that can help them distribute tens of thousands of masks throughout the state. Contact cheit@okpca.org to indicate your interest. 

OSU Physician Assistant Placement: Oklahoma State University is looking to partner with health centers to train physician assistants (PAs) in rural areas. Contact Kashlie at kolson@okpca.org for more information.

Telehealth Resource for Reporting UDS Clinical Quality Measures: In response to evolving telehealth policies and broader adoption and implementation, HRSA developed a new resource to assist health centers in determining how telehealth services impact clinical quality measure reporting in UDS. This resource aligns with CMS’ Telehealth Guidance for Electronic Clinical Quality Measures.

Schedule of Uniform Data System Technical Assistance Webinars for 2020 Reporting: To support timely, accurate, and complete Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting, HRSA will hold technical assistance (TA) webinars this fall. These will help you prepare for UDS reports due on February 15, 2021. Please see the training schedule and register in advance to receive materials.

Quarterly 340B Program Registration: Quarterly 340B Program site registration is open from October 1 to 15. Health centers will be able to register a site that has been verified as implemented and with a site status reflected as “active” in EHBs Form 5B through Friday, November 27. After that date, the system will close to prepare for the January 1, 2021 start. Email the 340B Prime Vendor Program or call 888-340-2787 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET) to register a new site or ask questions.

Dental Grant Opportunity: Apply to receive up to $25,000 in new medical and dental products through Henry Schein’s Global Product Donation program. The deadline to apply is September 30.

Reminder to Complete HRSA Surveys: Health centers will receive an email today with this week’s COVID-19 survey. The deadline is 11:59 PM CT. Health centers are strongly encouraged to fill out the survey, and OKPCA will reach out to health centers that do not submit it to remind them to complete it. 

New Market Tax Credits: Oklahoma-based MetaFund recently received a $60 million dollar allocation of New Markets Tax Credits, and they are focused on supporting healthcare and manufacturing projects in rural Oklahoma. Learn more and contact OKPCA to get connected. 

Possibilities, Probabilities, and Creative Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking for Complex Environments Training Now Open for Registration: NACHC is hosting this training in partnership with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) on October 26, November 2, and November 9.  This highly interactive seminar offers nontraditional approaches to leadership that can help spur the innovative thought needed to achieve better organizational results. Register now and take advantage of early bird and member rates!

Catch-Up to Get Ahead: Childhood Immunizations Toolkit: In support of National Immunization Awareness Month, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is urging health centers and health care providers to “catch-up to get ahead” on childhood immunizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to alarming declines in well-child visits and routine immunization rates. This raises the risk for outbreaks and could further strain on our nation’s health care system. To increase childhood immunization rates, HHS is coordinating the “Catch-Up to Get Ahead” effort. Your health center can promote the importance of childhood immunizations by using social media messages and graphics from the Catch-Up to Get Ahead Toolkit.

Addressing Declines in Well Child Visits: The Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) is looking to address the decline in Childhood Immunizations and well child visits due to COVID-19. Health centers are encouraged to use appointment reminders, phone calls, social media, letters, their websites, text messaging, and any other resource available to message their patients. Data from the CDC show that fewer children are receiving timely immunizations this year compared to last year. Declines in vaccination coverage can leave young children and communities vulnerable to otherwise preventable diseases like measles. To further assist, HRSA has launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #WellChildWednesdays

Free NCQA Intro & Advanced PCMH Training: The Louisiana HCCN and the Wisconsin PCA are co-hosting a free, virtual training around Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition. The five-day training will be held virtually October 5-9 and consists of two courses: NCQA’s Intro to PCMH Program: Foundational Concepts of the Medical Home and NCQA’s Advanced PCMH Program: Mastering the Medical Home Transformation. Learn more and register!

Resources for CHCs from NACHC:


NOFO - Rural Health Care Services Outreach: HRSA has released a notice of funding opportunity for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program. The program is aimed toward promoting rural health care services by enhancing care delivery to rural underserved populations while developing innovative approaches to challenges related to the specific health needs of rural areas. HRSA plans to award 60 grants to communities as part of this funding. Applicants are required to deliver health care services through a consortium of at least three health care provider organizations. Read more and apply by December 1.

What We're Reading

What we're reading
  • Task force: Oklahoma among worst in nation in coronavirus (AP News)
  • Oklahoma State Department of Education Moving Forward with Plans for Spring State Testing (Public Radio Tulsa)
  • Oklahoma Engaged: Medicaid expansion vote wasn’t as simple as urban versus rural (State Impact)
  • Exclusive: Mnuchin coronavirus relief plan includes more state, local funds (Roll Call)
  • Medicaid, CHIP enrollment grew by 4 million during COVID-19 (Modern Healthcare)
  • Expanded Medicaid begins in Nebraska after years of dispute (Star Tribune)
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This newsletter 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 $1,175,428 with 25% of the project financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.