Creating an Emergency Plan for Telehealth Visits

Planning can go a long way to prepare you for an emergency situation during a telemedicine or telehealth appointment and set expectations with your patients. Telehealth.HHS.gov have put together this resource for telehealth providers.

Source: Telehealth.HHS.gov

HRSA Invests Nearly $90 Million to Address Maternal Health Crisis

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced nearly $90 million in awards to support the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis (PDF – 912 KB), a whole-of-government strategy to combat maternal mortality and improve maternal and infant health, particularly in underserved communities. 

In recent decades, the United States’ maternal mortality rate has been among the highest of any developed nation. Disparities in mortality are stark — Black women are more than three times as likely as White women to die from pregnancy-related causes. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to reversing these trends and making the U.S. the best country in the world to have a baby.

Read the full release HERE.

Source: HRSA

HRSA Invests More Than $80 Million to Help Rural Communities Respond to Fentanyl and Other Opioid Overdose Risks

September 2023:  HRSA announced more than $80 million in awards to rural communities in 39 states to support key strategies to respond to the overdose risk from fentanyl and other opioids. These awards help advance President Biden’s commitment to beat the opioid epidemic as part of his Unity Agenda for the nation.

Read the full release HERE.

Source: HRSA

HRSA Awards $30 Million To Increase Developmental Screenings for Children Through Community Health Centers

HRSA announced $30 million in awards for 151 HRSA-funded health centers to improve developmental outcomes among young children by providing more screenings and follow-up services. Health centers will use the funding to increase early childhood services to help reduce gaps in school readiness and improve children’s ability to succeed.  Access the full press release HERE.

Source: HRSA

Update on Bridge Access Program

CDC released new information and resources to support their Bridge Access Program. The program will temporarily provide no-cost 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine for adults without health insurance and adults with insurance that does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs. Health center patients can access 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine at health centers, safety-net and public health providers designated by state and local health departments, and more than 20,000 retail pharmacy locations nationwide.

For health centers that participate in the program, look to CDC’s Bridge Access Program webpage for patient information and coming details on how and when to update Vaccines.gov with vaccine availability. Provider Education Resources include a communications toolkit and FAQs.

Health centers may use HRSA Bridge funding to support their vaccination and other COVID-19-related needs. For additional information on HRSA Bridge funding, see fiscal year (FY) 2023 COVID-19 Bridge Funding FAQs

Source: HRSA

HRSA Debuts National Quality Leader Cancer Screening Badge

HRSA recognized 17 health centers with the first-ever National Quality Leader (NQL) – Cancer Screening badge for exceptional performance and clinical quality in cancer screenings. These health centers met two or more Healthy People 2030 breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening targets in their 2022 UDS annual performance report.  The badge highlights health centers’ critical role in providing medically underserved, high-need communities with potentially life-saving cancer screenings.

Source: HRSA

HRSA Launches New Spanish Website to Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month

To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month and increase access to HRSA programs and resources, HRSA is proud to announce the launch of the HRSA en Español website, developed by Abriendo Puertas, an agency-wide workgroup with representatives from each Bureau and Office dedicated to enhancing HRSA’s communication with Spanish-speaking populations. This website includes a centralized repository of Spanish-translated, HRSA-produced resources and webinars.  Resources include technical assistance, policy announcements, training materials, toolkits, videos, and other HRSA-authored materials translated into Spanish.  Additional materials and webinars will be added to the website over the coming months.

Para conmemorar el mes de la Herencia Hispana y aumentar el acceso a sus programas y recursos, HRSA se enorgullece en anunciar el lanzamiento del sitio web HRSA en Español, desarrollado por Abriendo Puertas, un grupo de trabajo a nivel de toda la organización con representantes de cada oficina, dedicado a mejorar nuestra comunicación con las comunidades de habla hispana. Este sitio web incluye un repositorio central de recursos y seminarios web traducidos al español y producidos por HRSA. Los recursos incluyen asistencia técnica, anuncios de políticas, materiales de capacitación, kits de herramientas, videos y otros materiales creados por HRSA y traducidos al español. Se agregarán materiales y seminarios web adicionales al sitio web en los próximos meses.

Source: HRSA