- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
- HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, Joined by Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Announces New Funding, Policy Action, and Report to Mark Landmark Year of HRSA's Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $60 Million Investment for Adding Early Morning, Night, and Weekend Hours at Community Health Centers
- Volunteer Opportunity for HUD's Office of Housing Counseling Tribe and TDHE Certification Exam
- Who Needs Dry January More: Rural or Urban Drinkers?
- Rural Families Have 'Critical' Need for More Hospice, Respite Care
- States Help Child Care Centers Expand in Bid To Create More Slots, Lower Prices
- Rural Telehealth Sees More Policy Wins, but Only Short-Term
- Healing a Dark Past: The Long Road To Reopening Hospitals in the Rural South
- Study: Obstetrics Units in Rural Communities Declining
- Q&A: Angela Gonzales (Hopi), on New Indigenous Health Research Dashboard
- Not All Expectant Moms Can Reach a Doctor's Office. This Kentucky Clinic Travels to Them.
HRSA Offers Reimbursement to Health Care Providers
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched the “COVID-19 Uninsured Program Portal” where health care providers who have conducted COVID-19 testing of uninsured individuals for COVID-19 or provided treatment to uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis on or after February 4, 2020 can request claims for reimbursement. HRSA also developed a video overview of the program.
Click here for more information.
Click here to watch the overview video.
ARC Notice for Repurposing Existing Federal Financial Assistance Programs and Awards to Support Response to COVID-19
ARC has notified our current grantees that they may be able to repurpose remaining balances in their ARC grants to support immediate efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis in their communities. This allowance to repurpose derives from guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 9, 2020, which directs the federal government to marshal all legally available federal resources to combat the effects of COVID-19. Requests for repurposing should be discussed initially with the State ARC Program Manager and will require final approval by the State Alternate and the ARC Federal Co-Chair. Grantees should not assume that additional funds will be available should the repurposing result in shortages for the implementation of the originally approved grant.
ARC is carefully and continually monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it is impacting the Appalachian Region. We are assisting grantees who are unable to meet project goals or timelines due to the current situation. If you are a current ARC grantee experiencing such challenges, please email your ARC project coordinator and state program manager as soon as possible for help with needed accommodations regarding your project’s deliverables, timelines, budget, or other operations. (When emailing, please put your ARC project number in the subject line. This will make responding to your request easier).
Appalachia Responds to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, communities across Appalachia are banding together to pool resources and ideas for resilience. Here’s an inspiring example:
In the days following COVID-19 related shutdowns, the Appalachian Impact Fund, the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, and the Community Economic Development Initiative for Kentucky (CEDIK) at the University of Kentucky sprung into action. They raised almost half a million dollars, and created the Southeast Kentucky Downtown Business Stimulus Fund to help downtown businesses.
Drawing on ARC POWER support, this revolving loan fund and technical assistance program will support downtown revitalization efforts and entrepreneurial ecosystems across 10 counties in Southeastern Kentucky. The project is a partnership between the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and the Community Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) to form the Appalachian Impact Fund (AIF).
ARC: Substance Abuse Recovery Services Continue Care During COVID-19 Crisis
Recently, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director James Carroll and Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs Anne Hazlett briefed members of ARC’s Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC) about federal strategies ensuring that Americans struggling with addiction can receive services and support during the COVID-19 crisis. During the briefing call, Carroll said that he is deeply concerned during COVID about the vulnerability of people with substance use disorder to the virus and to relapse in their recovery. At the same time however, the pandemic has created a big opportunity to make significant policy changes in access to treatment and recovery services through telemedicine. Lastly, Carroll said that the Administration is deeply committed to ensuring that people are connected to the resources and recovery support systems they need to get well and stay healthy in this critical time.
Offering a regional perspective, SAAC member Karen Kelley, Executive Director of TROSA, a comprehensive recovery program in North Carolina, described how they are readjusting their services to meet health and safety needs, while still providing continuity of care to their clients. Meanwhile, SAAC member Bob Hansen, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy at West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources described how West Virginia’s Jobs and Hope Initiative has developed a smartphone app to help those in recovery continue to receive needed services.
“It is easy for us to become distracted in the face of COVID-19,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas during the briefing. “but it is important to remember to stay focused on the substance abuse crisis, which has become a pandemic on top of a pandemic.”
Important Child Welfare Updates in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has provided several important child welfare system updates. While the state was planning to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act provisions on October 1, a request was made to the Administration for Children and Families for a formal delay due to impacts of COVID-19 and budgetary concerns. The department was granted this request, which will change the implementation date to July 1, 2021. This change aligns with the state fiscal year and will assist the state and counties to adequately plan for policy and procedural changes. Read the official press release from DHS.
DHS also has provided important data on the impacts of COVID-19 on the child welfare system. Specifically, Childline, the state reporting system of child abuse and neglect, has seen a 50% decrease in calls. This is not indicative of a reduction in child abuse, rather, it reflects a decrease in interactions between children and mandated reporters. Because mandated reporters (such as school personnel and medical staff) are having limited access with children and youth, there is less direct recognition of abusive situations to report.
We encourage anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect to call ChildLine toll-free at 1-800-932-0313. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive reports of suspected child abuse.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children and other advocates have been seeking data on positive COVID-19 cases for those involved with the child welfare system. As of May 7, positive cases of COVID-19 include:
- 34 youth and 153 staff in 55 Pa. Code 3800 facilities
- Three youth served in family foster or kinship care
- Eight foster or kinship care providers
Report: Rural Roads Face $211 Billion Backlog in Repairs and Improvements
By Liz Carey
According to the research, the poor condition of rural roads not only causes more accidents but can negatively affect local economies and efforts to bounce back from the coronavirus-caused economic slump, leaving farmers and others at a disadvantage.
Rural Libraries Face Dramatic Choices as Some States Begin to Reopen
By Tracy Staley
Rural libraries often provide much-needed services like internet access to their communities. During the coronavirus epidemic, they find creative ways to continue with their mission, but with states pushing for reopening, some find themselves in a tough spot.
The 25 Rural Counties with Highest Infection Rates
By Tim Marema and Bill Bishop
Meatpacking plants, prisons, and nursing homes are associated with high Covid-19 infection rates in the hardest-hit counties.
Recent Study Highlights Importance of Emergency Department in Readmissions
Emergency departments may play a surprising role in the reduction of readmission rates following the implementation of Medicare’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, according to a recent analysis.
Charleen Hsuan, assistant professor of health policy and administration at Penn State, led a study that examined what happens to discharged patients when they returned to a hospital’s emergency department. The results were recently published in JAMA Network Open.
For their research, the authors used a retrospective analysis examining hospital data from three states: California, Florida and New York.
The researchers found the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) was associated with a reduction in the probability of readmission for recently discharged patients presenting to the emergency department, even for conditions for which admission is usually indicated, including congestive heart failure.
The analysis also showed that almost all patients with unplanned readmissions come through the emergency department.
Especially during times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to reduce the number of unnecessary patients in the hospital. “Medicare’s HRRP aims to do this by reducing unnecessary readmissions for patients hospitalized with key conditions,” said Hsuan. “Our study found that the emergency department is an important gatekeeper for readmission decisions.”
The study was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Population Research Institute at Penn State.
In addition to Hsuan, other authors of the paper include Brendan Carr, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Renee Y. Hsia, University of California, San Francisco; and Geoffrey J. Hoffman, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor.
Penn State Extension Offers Interactive Map to Aid Broadband Providers
An interactive map unveiled recently by Penn State Extension — and created in consultation with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission — will help internet service providers as they prepare to bid on projects to expand broadband services to unserved regions in Pennsylvania.
“One of the great realizations to many policymakers, to educators and to retailers during the COVID-19 outbreak is the inability of Pennsylvanians in rural areas to access high-speed broadband,” said Brent Hales, director of Penn State Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
“People told to telecommute are unable to do so due to lack of critical infrastructure,” Hales said. “Students cannot complete necessary lessons online. Businesses are challenged to serve customers because of limited access. We are committed to working with legislators and providers to find solutions to ensure the future economic and community vitality of the commonwealth.”
One solution to help the roughly 800,000 Pennsylvanians without broadband internet access is to assist the companies that can provide that service, noted Harry Crissy, extension educator in business and community vitality.
Crissy explained that the Federal Communications Commission, through its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, has allocated $20.4 billion for projects that expand broadband in unserved rural areas. Internet providers are invited to bid on projects at “reverse auctions,” the first of which is set for Oct. 22.
To help these companies better estimate their project costs and the infrastructure needed, Penn State Extension and the PUC created an interactive map that breaks the commonwealth into “census blocks,” the smallest group division designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. At this level, the map displays the name of the service provider and the level of service provided.
These geographic pockets, which can range from a handful of homes to several city blocks, are underserved by FCC standards. Auction preference is weighted toward blocks with service of less than 25 megabits per second.
The map, which features measuring tools to help providers make estimates, also includes reserve prices at the census block group level and the number of eligible sites within the block group. In addition, users can find details on existing structures, transmission lines, substations, tower data and legislator information.
“The PUC has been committed to addressing broadband availability and affordability for all consumers in Pennsylvania as far back as 1993 under laws enacted by the General Assembly as well as federal law,” said Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille of the PUC. “This extension map should help the public to focus on, and learn more about, the details about the broadband challenges facing Pennsylvania.”
Expanding high-speed internet services will enhance the quality of life for all citizens, Crissy contends. “A critical step in accomplishing this is to put tools in the hands of those who can make it happen. We believe this map is one of those tools.”
The map is available at https://extension.psu.edu/pennsylvania-broadband-map-app. For additional information, contact Crissy at 814-802-1024.
Also instrumental in the project were Joseph Witmer, advisor and legal counsel to Brown Dutrieuille; James Ladlee, Penn State Extension assistant director for energy, business and community vitality programs; Tom Beresnyak, extension client relationship manager; Tonya Lamo, extension educator; and Sascha Meinrath, the Palmer Chair in Telecommunications in Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.