- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- 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
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- 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
Pennsylvania Broadband Website Launched
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) is excited to announce the launch of the new Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority website. The PBDA has been working diligently to design a website that offers a more intuitive and visually appealing experience for its visitors. There are a number of new features added to this website and we’ve outlined some of those below:
- A navigation Panel for ease in finding the information you’re seeking
- Quick links that will take you directly to hot topic resources
- Real-time data on unserved/underserved locations, projects awarded, and funding allocated
- Resources that are specifically tailored for various audiences
Lastly, we thank our many valuable partners who have helped to contribute to the enhancement of the PBDA website. We hope that you find this a more valuable resource as we work together to ensure Internet For All across the commonwealth!
New Bill Focuses on Elevating Community Health Workers
Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the Community Health Worker Access Act, a new bill proposing crucial investments in the community health worker (CHW) workforce to improve health care access. The CHW Access Act seeks to improve Medicare reimbursement for CHWs and support integration into Medicaid by providing reimbursement and creating an optional Medicaid benefit, incentivized by an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), to cover preventative services and address social needs of patients being assisted by CHWs. CHWs are critical in their role and impact on the healthcare delivery system. Inadequate and unstable funding looks to jeopardize the strides made by these essential workers. The National Association of Community Health Workers and Partners in Health – US have put together a Social Media Toolkit with unbranded, shareable social media messages, and graphics to uplift the bill.
Pennsylvania’s Senators Accepting Constituent Funding Requests
Both Sen. Casey and Sen. Fetterman have announced that appropriations request forms for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 are now live. The request forms allow constituents to state their requests for federal discretionary funding. Filling out these forms is the principal method for constituents to request the Senators’ support for funding federal discretionary programs and associated Senate Appropriations Committee report language. PACHC sent a separate email on the opportunity with the necessary forms and additional information to all health center CEOs earlier this week. Questions may be directed to Eric Kiehl Director of Policy and Partnership, PACHC, or by reaching out to the Senator’s office.
Pennsylvania Announces $1.7 Million to Tackle Maternal Mortality
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is reserving $1.7 million in grant money to address maternal mortality, acting Secretary of Health Debra Bogen announced last Friday. The money adds to the $2.6 million that Gov. Josh Shapiro recommended in his recent 2024–2025 budget address to go toward maternal health, as well as $2.3 million from the previous year’s budget to expand maternal health programming. The pregnancy-associated mortality rate in Pennsylvania is 82 for every 100,000 live births, according to the state Department of Health’s 2021 Maternal Mortality Report, compared to a national average of 39.2 per 100,000 live births. The report also says the maternal mortality rate for Black women in the state is twice as high than that of their white counterparts. Learn more.
National LGBTQ Survey Reveals Persistent Barriers to Care, Other Challenges
The findings of a new national survey conducted by The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health highlight significant barriers to care, a lack of provider training, and a rise in stigma and criminalization. The Coalition is releasing a digital report on these national survey findings during its 22nd National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week, themed “VITAL VIBRANT VOICES”. The Week runs from March 18 to March 22, 2024. Read the full report here: https://healthlgbtq.org/stateof/lgbtqhealth/
More than 1,000 clinical and service providers across the United States completed the survey and were asked to describe the state of LGBTQ health in one word. The top three submitted words were “lacking,” “poor,” and “inadequate,” which suggest a widening gap between the need for care and the available resources to provide care. Despite the critical need for greater allocation of resources to support LGBTQ health, healthcare providers continually report feeling unprepared to meet the needs of their LGBTQ clients and patients.
In addition to these findings, 80% of respondents exhibited confidence in using culturally appropriate terminology when communicating with LGBTQ patients, which fosters a more welcoming environment.
“Our survey exposes a stark reality: numerous healthcare providers, typically outside LGBTQ-specific health centers, still lack the necessary training to deliver basic LGBTQ care; let alone affirming care that is specific to transgender patients,” said Scott Bertani, lead for The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health. “This shortfall in education leads to provider uncertainty, which in turn leads to less meaningful patient engagement; and that has a true impact on both the physical and mental health outcomes for all our communities.”
The survey findings illustrate the need for a multi-pronged approach to address LGBTQ health:
- Increased funding for training healthcare providers in LGBTQ-specific care.
- Expansion of gender-affirming healthcare services.
- Stronger protections against discrimination in healthcare settings.
- Combating rising stigma and criminalization through education and advocacy.
The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health urges policymakers, healthcare providers, and LGBTQ advocacy groups to work collaboratively to create a more equitable and inclusive healthcare system for all.
For more information about the report or for interviews, contact Scott Bertani, The National Coalition for LGBTQ Health’s Director of Advocacy, at ScottB@HealthLGBT.org.
USDA Invites Applications for Loans and Grants to Repair and Improve Homes for Farmworkers
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden today announced that the Department is inviting applications for loans and grants to repair, improve or modify existing USDA financed multifamily housing properties for year-round and seasonal domestic farmworkers.
USDA is making the funding available under the Off-Farm Labor Housing Programs. These programs provide grants and loans of up to $40,000 per unit for farmers, nonprofits, local governments and federally recognized Tribes to improve, repair or modify properties that have previously received financing from USDA for farmworkers.
The funding may be used to make improvements, repairs and/or modifications to address accessibility compliance and health and safety issues.
USDA is particularly interested in applications that will advance Biden-Harris Administration priorities to:
- Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.
- Ensure all rural residents have equitable access to Rural Development (RD) programs and benefits from RD-funded projects.
- Help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.
Applications must be submitted by 12 p.m. ET on June 18, 2024.
For more information, see page 19400 of the March 18, 2024, Federal Register.
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page
Pennsylvania Governor Announces Grant Opportunity to Provide Life-Saving Resources for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders
The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) announced the availability of $6.5 million in funding to expand drop-in center services for individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) across Pennsylvania.
Drop-in centers provide a safe, judgment-free place for people to receive daily essentials, engage with staff to learn about the possibility of recovery and treatment options, and, when ready, get connected to those services. They also provide harm reduction and recovery support services.
“This funding is designed to help organizations looking to expand their community-driven harm reduction support services to increase overdose prevention and a connection to SUD support services.” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “Drop-in centers provide a doorway for an individual’s recovery journey – we’re looking to make that doorway wider, and easier to walk into.”
Eligible applicants, including existing community organizations, Single County Authorities, and DDAP-licensed treatment providers, can find the grant application and project summary on the DDAP website. Approximately eight grants will be awarded up to $750,000. Some examples of services provided by drop-in centers include but are not limited to:
- Harm-reduction for substance use by incorporating overdose prevention and legally permissible harm reduction efforts into existing services;
- Addressing social determinants of health through the provision of daily essentials;
- Access to care and case management systems;
- Access to free healthcare including wound care, Hepatitis C/HIV testing, reproductive healthcare, and dental care;
- Referrals to SUD level of care assessments, treatment, including Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), behavior health resources, case management services, benefits services, and legal services;
- Survival resources such as shelter and warmth or cooling;
- Public restrooms, shower, and laundry facilities;
- Clothing and hygiene product distribution;
- Mail services;
- Professionally facilitated support groups which offer education, emotional and social support, practical help, and more; and
- Advocacy and other supportive services required to navigate complex issues impacting special populations.
DDAP is placing a focus on health equity as a part of this grant opportunity. Applicants must include a description of their current engagement with diverse populations including communities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, persons with disabilities, and those residing in rural and urban settings, and provide detailed information about how the project will engage and provide access to these diverse populations.
All applications must be submitted electronically by 12:00 PM on Friday, April 12, 2024. Applications will be competitively reviewed and scored based upon the applicant’s adherence to the funding announcement guidelines, and a timely submission to DDAP.
Funding for these grants is provided from the opioid settlement funding that was appropriated to DDAP by the General Assembly for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Questions regarding the grants and the application process should be forwarded to RA-DAGrantsMgmt@pa.gov.
418 Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closure; Breakdown by State
From Becker’s CFO Report
There are about 418 rural hospitals at risk of closure, according to a new report from Chartis, a healthcare advisory services firm.
The organization analyzed 16 vulnerability indicators and found nine were statistically significant in predicting hospital closures, including: case mix index, Medicaid expansion, average daily census swing, occupancy, government control status and years of negative operating margin. The hospital’s average length of stay and change in net patient revenue also factored into its risk of closure.
States in the Southeast region of the country had the highest percentage of rural hospitals at risk of closure, followed by the Great Plains. The states with the most hospitals vulnerable to closures include:
- Texas: 45
- Kansas: 38
- Nebraska: 29
- Oklahoma: 22
- North Carolina: 19
- Georgia: 18
- Mississippi: 18
The percentage of rural hospitals at risk of closure by state is as follows:
More than 41% of hospitals
Florida
Tennessee
Nebraska
31% to 40%
Utah
South Dakota
Kansas
Oklahoma
Alabama
North Carolina
South Carolina
26% to 30%
Wyoming
Texas
Louisiana
Arkansas
Mississippi
Georgia
21% to 25%
Missouri
Illinois
16% to 20%
Wisconsin
New York
Massachusetts
Hawaii
10% to 15%
California
Idaho
North Dakota
New Mexico
Indiana
Pennsylvania
Virginia
0% to 9%
Oregon
Montana
Arizona
Alaska
Colorado
Minnesota
Iowa
Michigan
Ohio
Kentucky
West Virginia
Maryland
Rhode Island
Delaware
Connecticut
New Hampshire
Maine
Vermont
Nevada
Washington
New Jersey
New Research Results: Colon Cancer Rates Higher in Rural Areas
For health care professionals, it’s maddening. The technology needed to stop colorectal cancer before it turns deadly has never been better.
Yet in 2024, the American Cancer Society expects it to cause 106,590 new cases and 53,010 deaths. In Pennsylvania, about 34% of those diagnosed with colorectal cancer die from the disease. Though rates have decreased overall, they’re increasing among adults younger than 55.
And in a time when information can circle the globe in nanoseconds, barriers like geography still get between doctors and patients.
Health care professionals are finding higher rates of advanced colorectal cancer in rural areas compared with urban centers, said Dr. Karen Kim, dean of Penn State College of Medicine and Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Rural Health Research. Also, mortality rates related to the disease are higher in less populated areas “largely because people there tend to be diagnosed in the later stages,” she said.
As a clinician, Kim knows the heartbreak and frustration firsthand. With multiple choices for colorectal cancer screening available, she explained, medical science can stop and prevent this fatal disease. But barriers get between her and some of her patients who need it most.
“Unlike some cancers where we think about early detection, with colon cancer it’s really about finding premalignant lesions before they even become cancer,” she said. “It’s so difficult as a gastroenterologist to continue to watch people die from this preventable disease.”
Kim discussed why people in less populated areas are seeing colon cancer more often than people living in cities, and what you can do to help protect your own health.
engAGED Social Engagement Innovations Hub Created
he National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults created this collection of social engagement programs including description of program, outcomes, resources needed, program contact, and more. The profiles can be filtered by intervention type, population served, organization type, and geographic population including rural, urban, suburban, and frontier.