- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
- AJPH Call for Papers Special Section on Intersections of Public Health And Primary Care
- NIH HEAL Initiative Turns Attention to Pragmatic Trials in Rural Communities
- Limited Continuing-Care Options in Rural Virginia Create Challenges for an Aging Population
National Academy of Medicine: Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care
The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the potential for integrating social services into health care delivery and assesses current efforts. To access a free PDF of the report, create an account with the National Academies Press or download as a guest. You can find it here.
Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care
Can alternative payment methods (APM) transform dentistry? Under our current system, the United States pays the most for health care and achieves the lowest performance among comparable countries. The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement analyzes how this applies to dentistry – and how APMs can make a difference. As more states use their purchasing power to encourage better access, quality and accountability in oral health care for children in Medicaid, growth of APMs will continue in dentistry. Learn how the approach works, as the costs were lower than traditional fee for service models, while utilization was higher in the APM plans. Read the article here.
Confronting the Nation’s Oral Health Crisis
With 61 percent of U.S. adults rating oral health as “fair” or “poor” and 51 percent listing it as their top health concern, there’s no question that our national oral health care system is failing the majority of Americans. Read Confronting the Nation’s Oral Health Crisis.
Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits Increase Access and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenditures
Part 2 of a research report from the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement demonstrates how Medicaid, with its limited dental coverage, significantly improved adults’ access and utilization of dental services, compared to those who lack medical coverage. Read the report.
Application Portal for POWER 2020 Now Open
On January 15, 2020, more than 160 attendees were in Ashland, Kentucky for ARC’s Regional Workshop to learn more about how to prepare competitive applications for ARC’s POWER Initiative to diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal impacted communities. Topics discussed included project development, budgeting and matching, evaluation and performance measurement, as well as partnership development. This was one of three field workshops to prepare potential applicants. Short tutorials on the same topics are available online as a virtual workshop.
To date, ARC has invested over $190 million in 239 projects to strengthen the economies of 326 coal-impacted communities. Competitive POWER projects are regional, strategic, and transformational in their approach to the economic revitalization of coal-impacted communities.
The first steps to applying for POWER funding are to:
- Read the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative: FY 2020– Request for Proposals (RFP) available here.
- Contact the ARC State Program in the state(s) included in the proposal to review project ideas and confirm they’re in alignment with relevant state(s) economic development priorities. Contact information available at www.arc.gov/power.
The required Letter of Intent, which is a one-page snapshot of your POWER application, providing ARC and its state partners with a general idea of the proposed scope of work and the players involved, is due by February 28th. Final applications can be submitted here by March 27th.
Applications Now Open for Residential Summer Experiential Learning Programs for Appalachian Students
In the week of January 19, 2020, ARC began accepting applications for the Appalachian Entrepreneurship Academy (AEA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as well as the ARC/ORNL Summer STEM Program in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Each program is an all expenses paid, summer immersive, learning experience for Appalachia’s high school and middle school students.
As part of AEA, Appalachia’s rising high school seniors will participate in a curriculum focusing on mentorship, from leading entrepreneurs and businesses in the Pittsburgh area, skill building, access to soft and hardware maker spaces, and providing connections to the ARC’s larger regional network. With support from the Institute for Education Leadership (IEL), the program will take place from July 6th through July 31st, 2020. Applications are due March 6th and can be submitted at www.arc.gov/aea.
The ARC/ORNL Summer STEM program is designed for the Region’s high school and middle school students, and high school teachers, who are interested in STEM. Students will have the opportunity to work with award-winning scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the largest U.S. Department of Energy research facilities in the U.S., work on guided group science, math, and computer science technology research projects, and high school teachers work with science practitioners to develop a STEM-related curriculum. The program runs from July 5th through July 17th, 2020. Applications are due February 28th and can be submitted at www.arc.gov/summerSTEM.
In Pa., N.J., and across the country, the ACA has narrowed racial gaps in health-care access
Recent work by the Commonwealth Fund has shown that the ACA narrowed racial gaps in access to healthcare in PA, NJ, and across the country. The uninsured rate gap between white and black adults is now less than 4 percentage points in Pennsylvania. Read more here.
Maryland plans to sue Pa. over Chesapeake Bay pollution
Maryland is planning to sue PA over Chesapeake Bay Pollution after multiple requests to improve cleaning up the pollution. Suggestions of investing in support for the 33,000 farms nearby to support in reducing harmful run-off has been a key component. Read more here.
Deaths of people with intellectual disabilities in Pa. went unreported, says federal regulator
Federal regulator finds out about the deaths and injuries of individuals with intellectual disabilities that were never officially reported. Read more here.
‘Egregious breach’ leads to another Philly school closure for asbestos
This school year has seen 6 Philadelphia schools closed as a result of potential exposure to asbestos, and the problem seems to be continuing still. Responses to the issue have been questioned and environmental safety in schools remains a public health concern. Read more here.