U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director Bob Morgan announced two Housing Preservation Grant or HPG project awards.

The two projects were awarded to Safe Housing Inc. and DON Enterprises Inc. for a total of $551,524. The projects will support more than 36 homes across five counties in Pennsylvania. The HPG program provides grants to sponsor organizations for the repair and rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low- and very-low-income rural citizens.

“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are making record investments in rural America to ensure everyone in this country has a path to success,” Morgan said. “The investments we’re making today will have lasting economic and social benefits that will allow current and future generations to make a good life right at home in their rural communities.”

The investments are part of President Biden’s commitment to advance equity for all, including those who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Safe Housing Inc.’s grant of $275,762 will be used to conduct housing rehabilitation of owner-occupied low and very low-income residents in eligible areas of Adams County, Pennsylvania. They plan to repair six houses within Adams County. Grant funds will be used to remove health and safety hazards, correct code violations, and/or improve accessibility, if needed. The funds are an essential tool to assist folks, in Adams County, to maintain their homes. This project will help ensure that low and very low-income homeowners have a safe and decent home in which to live.

DON Enterprises Inc.’s grant of $275,762 will be used to conduct housing rehabilitation of owner-occupied low and very low-income residents in eligible areas. DON Enterprises, Inc. plans to repair 30 houses within Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, and Mercer counties in Pennsylvania. Grant funds will be used to remove health and safety hazards, correct code violations, and/or improve accessibility if needed. The funds are an essential tool to help folks, in counties served by DON Enterprise, Inc., to maintain their homes. These funds will go a long way to ensure that low and very low-income homeowners have a safe and decent home in which to live.

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority has made available seven (7) translated versions of the Statewide Digital Equity Plan, Executive Summary. These resources can be found on the same Digital Equity Act webpage where the processes for public comment and additional resources are listed.

It’s getting tough to get a doctor’s appointment these days. That’s a frustration for patients and a policy challenge Washington is trying to solve. Both Congress and the Biden administration are reimagining primary care to better serve patients. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate panel responsible for the nation’s health care, has proposed legislation with Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall that envisions a system in which more people would receive care at community health centers. Read more.

The number of uninsured children in the state increased from 2021 to 2022, according to a report by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. The rate of children in Pennsylvania without health insurance increased significantly from 4.4% to 5.2%, despite Medicaid enrollees having uninterrupted access to health insurance that connects them to doctor visits, immunizations, and well-visits that screen for physical and mental health. The finding was included in the partnership’s State of Children’s Health report. Based on the data, Pennsylvania has the fifth highest number of uninsured children in the nation. Learn more.

Kelly Braun, RDH, MSDH, rural primary care and integration coordinator at the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH), received the 2023 Individual Innovative Oral Health Champion Award from the PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH). The award was presented on Nov. 17 at a ceremony held in Harrisburg, PA, during the 2023 Pennsylvania Oral Health Summit.

The Individual Innovative Oral Health Champion Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated notable efforts on behalf of oral health progress in Pennsylvania and who, through innovative and outstanding contributions, has improved oral health in Pennsylvania at the local, regional or state levels.

In her position with PORH, Braun leads technical assistance activities for Rural Health Clinics (RHC) in Pennsylvania and rural health care integration, with a special emphasis on oral health. She is a registered dental hygienist and a public health dental hygiene practitioner.

The nomination, submitted by Eve Kimball, MD, a pediatrician from Wyomissing, PA, who serves as the secretary of the PCOH Board of Directors, lauded Braun for epitomizing the qualities inherent in great leaders: integrity, honesty, humility, passion, clear focus and drive for excellence. Since joining PORH in 2016, Braun has focused her passions for oral and rural care to advance the health status in rural Pennsylvania, other states and across the nation, Kimball noted.

Braun’s significant contributions to rural health services include launching a primary care/oral health integration model that is now the “Gold Standard” for other states implementing similar programs. Braun provided extensive input into the development of the Pennsylvania Oral Health Plan and the 2024-2028 Pennsylvania Rural Health Plan. She provides input into oral health legislation in the state and led a research project that compared the oral health status of rural and urban low-income Pennsylvania children.

Technical assistance on oral health issues given to the National Rural Health Association resulted in a robust national policy brief on the implications of oral health on health status.

Braun extends her knowledge of oral health through continuing education programs for health care providers, including community health workers and clinics across the state; promoting oral health screenings in K-12 settings with school nurses; and serving as a mentor to other states seeking to integrate oral health and primary care. She utilizes her clinical skills as a public health dental hygienist by volunteering at oral health “pop up clinics” across the state.

Finally, Braun has created significant credibility for PORH as a trusted source of oral health technical assistance and information and facilitated expanded collaborations with PCOH and the broader oral health community in the state and nationally.

On receiving the award and recognition, Braun said, “This work would not be possible without the support of amazing partners from across the state of Pennsylvania and beyond. Collaboration has truly been the key to success.”

The PA Coalition for Oral Health is a diverse group of leaders from across the state from schools of public health, philanthropic organizations, businesses, dental organizations, health insurance firms, advocacy organizations, state agencies and other champions. More information is available at paoralhealth.org.

PORH was formed in 1991 as a partnership between the federal government, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Penn State. The office is one of 50 state offices of rural health in the nation and is charged with being a source of coordination, technical assistance, networking and partnership development.

PORH provides expertise in the areas of rural health, population health, quality improvement, oral health and agricultural health and safety. PORH is administratively located in the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State University Park. Visit porh.psu.edu to learn more.