The newly-updated site allows users to create a profile to be viewed by employers at more than 16,000 sites and healthcare facilities located in rural and underserved communities.  Subscribe for updates on virtual job fairs, as well as loan repayment and scholarship opportunities from the Bureau of Health Workforce at the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Assistance.  The website created at Brandeis University and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice provides comprehensive services and resources to help support the use and effectiveness of prescription drug monitoring programs in combating the misuse and diversion of prescription drugs. Visit the resource center. The department’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) also offers training and TA around increasing PDMP efficiencies and facilitating coordination between PDMPs and state and national stakeholders.

CMS ET3 Model RFA Preview and Webinar Archive Now Available. On June 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted an overview webinar on the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model Request for Applications (RFA), which was released for preview on May 22. The ET3 Model is a voluntary five-year payment model that provides greater flexibility for ambulance care teams to implement alternate models of emergency medical services (e.g., telehealth treatment and transport to alternative destinations) that appropriately address the needs of Medicare beneficiaries following a 911 call. The recorded webinar is now available online and includes key components of the RFA (i.e., eligibility requirements, application timelines, and necessary information required for a complete application). The application portal for the RFA will open later this summer and the anticipated start date for the ET3 Model is January 2020.

Comments Requested: Methodology for FCC Broadband Fund – July 15.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks feedback from the public on its proposed rule establishing a cap for the Universal Service Fund (USF) or methods for evaluating the financial impact of USF’s 4 programs: Connect America Fund, the Lifeline program, the schools and libraries program, and the Rural Health Care program. These programs support access to high-speed broadband. 

CDC Reports on Suicide Rates; Largest Increase Among Native American Women.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified suicide as one of the leading cause of death in the U.S.  Suicide rates increased by 33 percent between 1999 and 2017, but the largest increase occurred for non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native women, up 139 percent.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn.), Gary Peters, (D-Mich.), and John Thune (R-S.D.) recently introduced the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, which is intended to improve the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband availability maps by improving the broadband data collection process. “Broadband maps are a critical tool in our effort to close the digital divide in rural areas like those throughout my home state of South Dakota, but they are only as good as the data that’s used to produce them,” Thune says. Additionally, the U.S. Senate on June 5 passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill offered by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), to conduct an assessment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on America’s economy.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released the seventh preliminary report on automatic Health Professional Shortage Area scores (auto-HPSAs). Uses may have noticed in their scores that the Nearest Source of Care (NSC) for primary care, dental or behavioral health was inaccurate. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), which serves as the commonwealth’s Primary Care Office, HRSA knows that most of the NSCs for the auto-HPSAs are not correct. DOH is unable to change those providers, however, until after the national update when the HRSA auto-HPSA portal will be available to change the NSC and submit supplemental documentation. The national update will take place when the preliminary scores become official and take the place of the current scores. Information provided about NSCs cannot be entered since the portal is not yet available, so DOH is asking Community Health Centers to wait until after the national update to request a change. This will help DOH track, comply and best change requests. To request a change, please send an email to Belinda Williams, Public Health Program Administrator, at belwilliam@pa.gov.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is still accepting feedback for the Health Center Program Service Area Considerations Request for Information (RFI) that may inform HRSA decisions regarding Health Center Program expansion through an existing health center’s addition of new service delivery sites. The deadline is Monday, July 8. HRSA welcomes feedback on the following areas of consideration: unmet need; proximity; reasonable boundaries for service area; consultation with other local providers; demonstrated capacity and performance in existing service area; and insuring patient input/representation. Share your thoughts and thank you to those who have already submitted input.

At the start of every year, the Health Care Advisory Board conducts the Advisory Board Research Annual Health Care CEO Survey to identify the top strategic priorities for hospital and health system leaders. The survey found that 57% ranked improving ambulatory access a high priority, while strengthening primary care alignment and redesigning systems for population health were also ranked as high priorities by more than half. Read more.