- 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.
- Hawaiʻi's Physician Shortage Hits Maui Hardest
- Choctaw Nation Found a Better Way to Deliver Harm Reduction. It's Working.
- In Rural America, Heart Disease Is Increasingly Claiming Younger Lives
- HHS Launches Healthy Border 2030 Framework Highlighting Health Priorities and Actions to Support Border Communities and Populations
- Gaps in Mental Health Training, Rural Access to Care Compound Az's Maternal Mortality Crisis
- Enticing Rural Residents to Practice Where They Train
- New Round of Federal Funding Open for Rural Health Initiatives
- UAA Training for Health Care Providers Keeps Victims of Violent Crimes from Falling Through the Cracks
- Helene Exacerbated Rise in Homelessness Across Western North Carolina
- 'It's a Crisis': How the Shortage of Mental Health Counselors Is Affecting the Rural Northwest
New Map Shows State-Level Legislation to Address Health Care Workforce Shortages
In 2019, more than 40 states introduced legislation describing the procedures, actions, and processes that a health care practitioner is permitted to undertake in keeping with the terms of their professional licensure. This new interactive map shows recent scope of practice legislation by state. The map was created by the National Conference of State Legislatures, supported by cooperative agreement between the Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Organizations of State and Local Health Officials. Read more here.
HRSA National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses
In collaboration with the U.S Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis provides a comprehensive view of the nurse workforce with data on demographics, educational attainment, licenses and certifications, and employment characteristics in all U.S. states. The survey is the work of the Bureau of Health Workforce at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Read more here.
Comments Requested: Federal Health IT Strategic Plan
The Department of Health and Human Services, led by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, released the draft 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for public comment. This plan, which was developed in collaboration with over 25 federal organizations, is intended to guide federal health information technology (IT) activities. Read more here.
NCHN 2020 Annual Educational Conference
NCHN is excited to announce that conference registration is now open!
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Minneapolis Dountown
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pre-Conference Workshop – April 21, 2020
Conference – April 21-23, 2020
Welcome Reception – April 21, 2020
Evening Networking Event – April 22, 2020
MLB: Minnesota Twins vs. Seattle Mariners Baseball Game
You can visit the conference website to view the agenda, read speaker bios, explore the hotel and more.
Registration Fee: $595 (NCHN Member) / $695 (Non-Member)
Registration fee includes: Tuesday Night Reception, 2 Lunches; Beverage Breaks; Wednesday Night Networking Event & access to the conference mobile app.
Pre-Conference Grant Writing Workshop Fee:
NCHN Member:$125
Non – Member: $175
Workshop fee includes: Access to the mobile app.
Room Rates:
$179 + tax/ night (single/double)
*Rates are available 3 days pre + post event, subject to availability
*Deadline to reserve your room is March 30, 2020
Please use this event specific link to make your reservations.
Parking:
Valet Parking: $46/night
After you register, please watch your email for an invitation to download the mobile event app. The app contains information useful prior to arriving in Minneapolis, including weather, transportation, site-seeing & dining.
For more information please contact:
Linda K. Weiss at lweiss@nchn.org / 217-549-4121
Resource Guide for Fluoride Varnish & Silver Diamine Fluoride
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center recently published the Fluoride Varnish and Silver Diamine Fluoride Resource Guide that was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The guide is to help professionals and consumers learn more about these products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease by providing professional education and training, materials on data and surveillance and public education.
Nurses Get It Done!
Nurses are critical members of the immunization team and have a powerful role to play in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable created the HPV Prevention: Nurses Get it Done! toolkit as an educational resource for nurses at all practice levels to empower confident initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination series. With this toolkit, nurses have easy access to educational materials including:
- HPV 101 for immunizers
- Answers to commonly asked questions about HPV vaccination
- Tips and tools to help manage shot discomfort
- Knowledge checks and practice prompts to help learners feel confident in what they learned
Nurse Practitioners Stepping Up to Fill Primary Care Need
Modern Healthcare reports that the number of nurse practitioners in the U.S. grew at an unprecedented rate, from around 91,000 in 2010 to 190,000 in 2017. Nurse practitioners are filling a primary care void, particularly in rural areas, offering a more convenient option for families in remote locations as fewer medical school graduates pursue family physician roles over other higher-paying specialties.
As Out-Of-Pocket Health Costs Rise, Insured Adults Are Seeking Less Primary Care
Visits to primary care providers by adults under the age of 65 dropped by nearly 25 percent from 2008 to 2016. Furthermore, adults who went at least a year without a single visit to a primary care provider increased from about 38 percent to 46 percent in that period. Read more.
PA Moves to Expand Coverage of Treatments for Advanced Cancers
Patients in Pennsylvania facing the most serious stage of cancer will no longer be forced to try cheaper drugs before their insurance covers other, more expensive treatments. The state House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would abolish the heavily criticized “fail first” approach for stage IV cancer, which requires patients to show no improvement with cheaper, insurance-approved drugs before moving on to more innovative approaches. Read more.
HRSA Publishes Health Center Telehealth Guidance
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has published a Program Assistance Letter (PAL) recognizing the potential for telehealth to expand and improve access to health center patients. The PAL clarifies how health centers can utilize telehealth within their scope of project, how such services should be documented and when services may be considered an “Other Line of Business.” There are a number of issues that health centers need to consider when providing services via telehealth including provider licensure, informed consent, fraud and abuse laws, billing and payments and liability concerns. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services payment policy currently limits FQHC/RHC telehealth to telepsychiatry.