September 5, 2019 What's New Vaccine Coverage Lower For Rural Teens. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released results from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), providing the latest estimates of vaccination rates among adolescents in the United States. The key findings from the report include a lower rate of vaccination in rural areas. This MMWR also included a report on the latest estimates of HPV cancers in the United States, which found that HPV vaccination could prevent 92 percent of cancers estimated to be caused by HPV. To support healthcare professionals in making effective recommendations, addressing parents' questions and concerns, and reinforcing the message that HPV vaccination is cancer prevention, the CDC has developed a number of educational resources. New Streamlined Process for HPSA Scoring. On August 30, HRSA's Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) updated all automatically designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (Auto-HPSAs) scores. CMS-certified Rural Health Clinics that meet National Health Service Corps site requirements are Auto-HPSAs. This update marks the first time Auto-HPSAs are scored electronically, rather than manually, streamlining the process and ensuring that all HPSAs nationwide are in a single online system. All Auto-HPSA organizations have the opportunity to submit rescore requests via the online Auto-HPSA portal. For more information, including webinars about the project and how to submit facility-specific data to request a rescore through the new Auto-HPSA portal, visit the online site for the Shortage Designation Modernization Project. Funding Opportunities Grants for Transportation of Veterans in Highly Rural Areas – October 31. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will invest $500,000 to support transportation programs in counties with fewer than seven people per square mile. Only Veterans Service Organizations recognized by the VA are eligible to apply. While there is separate funding for current grantees of the Highly Rural Transportation Grant program this announcement, closing October 31, is for new grantees only. Partnership to Promote Local Efforts To Reduce Environmental Exposure – December 15. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make 25 awards of up to $550,000 per year to help communities address hazardous substances in the environment. Applicants must consider underserved populations such as tribes, people with disabilities, rural populations, and populations where English is a second language. Successful applicants will partner with ATSDR to assess specific sites for environmental hazards, educate the community, and develop interventions to reduce risk and exposure. Policy Updates Visit the FORHP Policy page to see all recent updates and send questions to ruralpolicy@hrsa.gov. No policy updates this week. Learning Events and Technical Assistance Mental Health in Rural Populations: A Federal Perspective – Thursday, September 5 at 1:00 pm ET. AgriSafe will host this one-hour webinar featuring Paul Moore, a Senior Advisor in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. He and Diane Hall of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will discuss federal investments, options for addressing mental health challenges, and ways to increase awareness and minimize stigma. ERS on Household Food Security in the U.S. – Monday, September 9 at 1:00 pm ET. The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will discuss the USDA's annual report on the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households in 2018. The report includes changes in food insecurity from previous years, the prevalence of food insecurity by selected household characteristics, and food insecurity among children. Food insecurity is linked to a wide range of negative health outcomes, and rural households account for one-fifth of food-insecure households in the U.S., according to a 2017 ERS report. USDA's Rural Health Opportunities – Tuesday, September 10 at 2:00 pm ET. This webinar will inform participants about several programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that are either dedicated to, or can be used for, private and not-for-profit rural health care projects. Working with banks, credit unions and community managed lending pools, USDA offers loans and grants to help create jobs and support economic development and essential services such as housing, health care, first responder services and equipment, and water, electric, and communications infrastructure. HRSA's Best Practices to Prevent Eating Disorders – Wednesday, September 11 at 1:00 pm ET. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is the sponsor of this 90-minute webinar focused on preventive medicine for eating disorders. Primary care providers will learn about evidence-based practices for managing patients with eating disorders, as well as guidelines for collaborating within an eating disorder specialty team. The course is a joint effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Office of Women's Health. Continuing education credits are available. Rural Health and the Law: Public Health Approaches/Potential Legal Solutions – Thursday, September 12 at 2:00 pm ET. This three-part series by the American Health Lawyers Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will examine the growing disparity between rural and urban health outcomes. Participants in all three programs will come away with an understanding of the drivers of this disparity, and learn about innovations in public health and healthcare to address them. Legal and policy solutions will be discussed including the use of telemedicine, medical-legal partnerships, rural accountable care organizations, and county-based care integration models. The monthly series will begin in September and end in November. CMS National Training Program Workshops – Through September 12. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold five workshops around the country, each lasting 2-3 days, to increase knowledge about updates to the Medicare program. Attendees of the workshops will learn about new changes and innovations for this program that provides significant support for rural health care delivery, including information on opioids and other current topics. Click for more information on the agendas in each of the five cities - Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Arlington, and Providence. AgriSafe Webinars for Farm Safety Week – September 16 – 20. The AgriSafe Network will hold daily webinars during National Farm Safety Week covering health and safety topics for agricultural workers and families such as pregnancy risks, ergonomic safety, opioid use, safeguards for children, and current research on agricultural health. Pharmacopeia Chapter Updates Impacting Hospitals – Tuesday, September 24 at 2:00 pm. This one-hour webinar supported by our office and the National Rural Health Association will cover new standards impacting all hospitals with pharmacies: United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapter 797, providing standards for preparing compounded sterile medications, and Chapter 800, providing standards for safe handling of hazardous drugs to minimize the risk of exposure to healthcare personnel, patients and the environment, were released on June 1, 2019 and will become enforceable on December 1, 2019. Save the Date: 3RNet 2019 Annual Conference – September 24-26 in Wichita, KS. The National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNet) is a nonprofit organization that matches health care professionals to employers in rural and underserved areas. Attendees of this annual two-day conference will network with 3RNet members and other stakeholders, learn strategies for rural recruitment and retention, and gain insight from experienced leaders in health professions staffing. Last year, 3RNet made more than 2,500 clinician placements in rural, frontier, and underserved urban communities. Approaching Deadlines Comments Requested: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force – September 7 Comments Requested: CY 2020 Home Health Proposed Rule – September 9 NIH Research for Tobacco Control Policies – Letters of Intent September 11 Comments Requested: Methods for Assuring Access to Covered Medicaid Services-Rescission – September 13 Small Rural Hospital Transition Project – Letters of Intent September 15 Comments Requested: Specialty Care Models to Improve Quality of Care and Reduce Expenditures – September 16 Senior Corps Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) – September 25 Comments Requested: Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Policy, Payment, and Quality Provisions for CY 2020 – September 27 Comments Requested: Proposed Updates to Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System – September 27 Comments Requested: ESRD and DMEPOS CY 2020 Proposed Rule – September 27 EPA Assistance for Local Foods, Local Places – September 30 USDA Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program – September 30 Become a Sponsoring Agency for AmeriCorps VISTA Program – October 1 Comments Requested: Rural Access to Health Care Services – October 9 Comments Requested: Proposed Changes to Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records – October 25 Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program – October 28 Grants for Transportation of Veterans in Highly Rural Areas – October 31 USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) – October 31 Rural Health Network Development Program – November 25 HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Program – November 29 Bloomberg Public Health Fellows – December 1 Delta States Rural Development Grant Program - December 6 Partnership to Promote Local Efforts To Reduce Environmental Exposure – December 15 NIH: Research for Disparities Among Minority/Underserved Children – Cycles thru May 2020 Guaranteed Loans for Rural Rental Housing – Ongoing through 2021 SBA Guaranteed Loans for Small Business – Ongoing Drinking Water State Revolving Fund – Ongoing Seeking Nominations: National Advisory Committee on Migrant Health – Ongoing HUD Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program – Ongoing RWJF Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health – Ongoing Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans – Ongoing Funding for Rural Water and Waste Disposal Projects – Ongoing Drinking Water and Waste Disposal for Rural and Native Alaskan Villages – Ongoing HIT Strategies for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures – Ongoing HIT to Improve Health Care Quality and Outcomes – Ongoing Community Facilities Program – Ongoing Summer Food Service Program – Ongoing | 
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