The Pennsylvania State Data Center has released a Child Diversity Dashboard and report in collaboration with their affiliate, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. The report highlights state level trends relating to the increase in children of color while the dashboard allows users to get data at the school district level.
Some key findings include that one-in-three Pennsylvania children are children of color and that over 80 percent of school districts had a higher share of children of color in 2017 than 2009.
A HRSA study of 8,509 mother-newborn pairs from the Boston Birth Cohort found that 5.3 percent of the babies had in-utero opioid exposure, leading to higher risks of fetal growth restriction and preterm birth.
Among preschool-aged children, opioid exposure was associated with increased risks of lack of expected physiological development and conduct disorder/emotional disturbance. In school-aged children, opioid exposure was associated with a higher risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has released its County Economic Status Designations for Fiscal Year 2020, which annually ranks the economic status of each of the Region’s 420 counties using national data. According to the rankings, 80 Appalachian counties — the lowest number in over a decade — will be considered Distressed (ranking among the worst 10% of counties in the nation). Meanwhile, 110 counties will be considered At-Risk (ranking between the worst 10–25% of counties in the nation); 217 counties will be considered Transitional (ranking between worst 25% and best 25% of counties in the nation); 10 counties will be considered Competitive (ranking between best 25% and best 10% of counties in the nation); and 3 counties will be considered Attainment (ranking among the best 10% of counties in the nation). The report also shows that 29 Appalachian counties across 8 states experienced positive shifts in the economic status since FY 2019. This primarily includes counties in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi which each have five or more counties experiencing positive economic status shift. At the same time, 18 Appalachian counties will experience negative shifts in their economic status since FY 2019. This primarily includes coal impacted counties in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
To determine the economic status of each of the Region’s 420 counties, ARC applies a composite index formula drawing on the latest data available on per capita market income combined with the previous three-year average unemployment rate, and the previous five-year poverty rates. With this data, each county is classified into one of the five economic designations. An analysis of the data also found that poverty rates in Appalachia and the nation as a whole dropped 0.4 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points respectively. This finding shows a widening gap between Appalachia’s poverty rate (16.3 percent) and the nation’s rate (14.6 percent).
This is the first installment in Kaiser Health News’ year-long series, No Mercy, which follows how the closure of one beloved rural hospital disrupts a community’s health care, economy and equilibrium.
FORT SCOTT, Kan. — One Monday in February, 65-year-old Karen Endicott-Coyan gripped the wheel of her black 2014 Ford Taurus with both hands as she made the hour-long drive from her farm near Fort Scott to Chanute. With a rare form of multiple myeloma, she requires weekly chemotherapy injections to keep the cancer at bay.
Continuity of care is crucial for cancer patients in the midst of treatment, which often requires frequent repeated outpatient visits. So when Mercy Hospital Fort Scott, the rural hospital in Endicott-Coyan’s hometown, was slated to close its doors at the end of 2018, hospital officials had arranged for its cancer clinic — called the “Unit of Hope” — to remain open.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Division of Tobacco Prevention and Control, in consultation with the National Jewish Health and Public Health Management Corporation, is implementing changes in cessation products by the PA Free Quitline. As of July 1, 2019, a 3-month supply of Chantix will be offered to newly enrolled Quitline participants on Medicaid.
The Health Resources and Services Administration announced the release of an updated list of geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as primary care, mental health, and/or dental care Health Professional Shortage Areas.
The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model was formally announced in January 2017 and officially launched in the state on Jan. 1, 2019. The effort will continue through 2024.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to design and implement an alternative payment model focused solely on rural hospitals, with an emphasis on both containing health care spending and transforming care to better meet community needs.
A multi-disciplinary team of Penn State faculty and staff members, led by Lisa Davis, outreach associate professor of health policy and administration and director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and Outreach, and Dennis Scanlon, distinguished professor of health policy and administration and director of the Center for Health Care and Policy Research, will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to support and evaluate the implementation of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model.
The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model was formally announced in January 2017 and officially launched in the state on Jan. 1, 2019. The effort will continue through 2024.
The model, developed with funding from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, addresses the financial challenges that rural hospitals face by transitioning them from fee-for-service to global budget payments.
Currently, five rural hospitals and five health plans are participating in the model’s first implementation year. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and its sub-contractors continue to recruit additional hospitals and plans. Pending the passage of state legislation, the Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) will be established as an independent entity to administer the model.
Through a contract with the commonwealth, the Penn State team will engage in a projects and analysis associated with the first phase of the model and the establishment of the RHRC.
Davis will lead the drafting of by-laws, human resources policies, and marketing and communications plans for the RHRC. She also will explore funding opportunities for the RHRC and participating hospitals to extend the reach and impact of the model.
Scanlon will lead an analysis to inform the health needs of rural populations and will chronicle the evolution and history of the model.
Joel Segel, assistant professor of health policy and administration, will provide assistance with data aggregation and analytic support using data from a variety of sources. Segel and his team will assist with aggregation of data related to financial performance, population health, access to care, and quality from model stakeholders, all of which represent important targets for the model.
A computational and spatial analysis team, led by Guangqing Chi, associate professor of rural sociology and demography and public health sciences, will work with a team to understand the geospatial needs of the model and will provide consulting expertise. A data warehouse planning team, led by Max Crowley, assistant professor of human development and family studies and director of Penn State’s Administrative Data Accelerator, will map options and opportunities for the development of a long-term data solution for the RHRC. The solution will be focused on best practices for receiving, storing, managing, securing and using data from stakeholders.
The Urban Institute has published a report identifying the populations at risk for being miscounted in the 2020 U.S. Census. According to the Institute, the decennial census, which aims to count every US resident each decade, is critical to our democracy. It affects congressional seats and funding decisions at every level of government.
But the 2020 Census faces unprecedented challenges and threats to its accuracy. Demographic changes over the past decade will make the population harder to count. And underfunding, undertested process changes, and the last-minute introduction of a citizenship question could result in serious miscounts, potentially diminishing communities’ rightful political voice and share of funding.
To understand how these factors could affect the 2020 Census counts, the Urban Institute created projections under three scenarios—reflecting the miscount risk as low, medium, or high. Access the report at https://apps.urban.org/features/2020-census/?elq_cid=2420582&x_id=.
CHC information for providers or participants can be found at healthchoices.pa.gov. The website will be updated as events are scheduled, so please check back often.
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Here’s a schedule of what’s coming in 2019
July 2019-October 2019
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