- Dark Highways, Fast Cars, Few Sidewalks — And More Pedestrian Deaths
- Student-Run Market Made From Straw Bales Still Serving Cody Amid Grocery Store Crisis in Rural Nebraska
- Rural Hospitals Especially Vulnerable to Ransomware Attacks
- FCC to Reignite 5G Fund to Target Investments in Rural Communities Using Improved Broadband Maps
- Prengaman's Research Backs Nurse Practitioner Solutions for the Rural Provider Shortage
- With Only Gloves to Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows amid Bird Flu
- Data Shows Rural Disparities in Traffic Deaths
- VA Brings Vision-saving Eye Screening Closer to Home for Veterans
- Biden-Harris Administration Awards $100 Million to Navigators Who Will Help Millions of Americans — Especially in Underserved Communities — Sign Up for Health Coverage
- Building Eastern North Carolina's Community Health Workforce One Haircut at a Time
- A Maine Nursing Home Owner Has Been in the Business for Nearly 50 Years. He Wants Out.
- Leveraging Telehealth to Provide Equitable Pediatric Mental Health Care
- UI Telepsychology Training Clinic Takes Grassroots Approach to Reaching Rural Communities
- Long Drives, Fewer Visits and Lost Ties: Rural Minnesota Residents Struggle to Adapt When a Nursing Home Closes
- Promotoras De Salud: Helping Community Health Workers Care for Older Adults
COVID-19 FAQs and Funding for HRSA Programs
Find all funding and frequently asked questions for programs administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Find more information here.
Federal Office of Rural Health Policy FAQs for COVID-19
A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from our grantees and stakeholders, updated regularly. Find more information here.
GAO: FCC Needs Comprehensive Strategic Planning for 5G Deployment
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that plans by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy the next generation of wireless communication technology, called 5G, do not have specific and measurable performance goals and may widen the digital divide for rural areas. Read more here.
Telehealth Availability in US Hospitals in the Face of the COVID‐19 Pandemic
The Journal of Rural Health grants free access to this research policy brief that examines telehealth availability and readiness in U.S. hospitals. The variables examined include organizational factors, county population, geography, and census divisions. Read the brief here.
ONC: Health Information Management at Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) leads the federal effort to support health information technology systems nationwide. For this report, ONC reviewed a survey conducted in 2017 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in which 13,585 U.S. substance abuse treatment centers were queried about their use of computers or electronic resources to store and exchange treatment records. Read the report here.
USDA Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has updated its atlas to include county population estimates and annual unemployment/employment data for 2019. Researchers at the ERS use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, an ongoing function of the Census that keeps track of changes in demographics, employment trends, household incomes, veterans’ status, and other factors that help determine how federal and state funds are distributed. Find the map here.
How One Hospital Transitioned a HRSA-Funded Program to Address COVID-19
A new feature article in The Rural Monitor profiles a Pennsylvania hospital that credits its previous award of the HRSA Outreach Program grant for 2015-2018 for their quick transition from in-person visits to telehealth under quarantine. Butler Memorial Hospital received the grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy for a three-year program to help patients access resources for managing chronic disease. Read the article here.
NIH Request for Information: Clinical Experience in Suicide Prevention in Primary Care Settings – August 7
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks information from the public to better understand the opportunities and barriers in the primary care community regarding efforts to care for individuals with suicide risk. Relevant topics include how suicide screening is deployed, cultural/linguistic needs of patients, reaching disparity populations, and telehealth adaptations. Find more information here.
Request for Information: Seeking Stakeholder Input on Scientific Gaps and Research Needs Related to Delivery of Cancer-related Care via Telehealth – July 30
The National Cancer Institute is seeking information on scientific gaps and research needs related to the delivery of cancer-related care via telehealth. This request for information is part of a planning effort designed to identify promising opportunities and set priorities for research in this area. Find more information here.
CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls – Week of July 20, 2020
CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.
Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so we highly encourage you to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks. These calls are not intended for the press.
Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts
CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to:
- Increase Hospital Capacity – CMS Hospitals Without Walls;
- Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce;
- Put Patients Over Paperwork; and
- Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare
This week’s Office Hours:
Tuesday, July 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7477995
Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=dadd7914-86896068-dadd482b-0cc47adc5fa2-cc1fccd04b4fd82b&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2289
Additional Office Hours:
Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1492795
Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=c408e7b1-985cce9a-c408d68e-0cc47a6d17cc-d6428ab37156e652&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2297
Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls
CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.
Home Health and Hospice (twice a month on Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Tuesday, July 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6080197 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=df50ec0d-8305e51e-df50dd32-0cc47adb5650-2de630be928fb779&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2312
Nursing Homes (twice a month on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, July 22nd t 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1143564 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=24c25ae7-789673cc-24c26bd8-0cc47a6d17cc-8b19f356735ac629&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2332
Dialysis Organizations (twice a month on Wednesday at 5:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, July 22nd at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7692208 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=8dd709e8-d1831094-8dd738d7-0cc47adc5fa2-a95a30cf29c61d98&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2316
Nurses (twice a month on Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Thursday, July 23rd at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7971869 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=69050b19-35512232-69053a26-0cc47a6d17cc-d054f6ea80376c59&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2341
Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (twice a month on Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)
Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.
Next Lessons from the Front Lines Save the Date:
Friday, August 7th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In and web link will be provided soon
To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=36fa2226-6aae0b0d-36fa1319-0cc47a6d17cc-2d06c219f858d641&u=http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.