Maryland Community Health 
Resources Commission
January 30, 2018 | Issue 46
Larry Hogan, Governor 

Boyd K. Rutherford, Lieutenant Governor

Robert R. Neall, Health Secretary
CHRC Commissioners
Allan Anderson, MD, Chair
Elizabeth Chung,   
Vice-Chair
Scott T. Gibson
J. Wayne Howard
Celeste James
Surina Jordan, PhD
Barry Ronan
Erica I. Shelton, MD
Ivy Simmons,PhD
Julie Wagner
Anthony C. Wisniewski
Mark Luckner, Executive Director
Tools and Resources
New HRSA Program Will Help Clinicians and Patients in the Fight Against Opioid Addiction

A n ew National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program provides substance use disorder treatment in underserved areas of the country.  This new Loan Repayment Program will support the  HHS Five-Point Opioid Strategy  by increasing patient access to high-quality substance use disorder preventive, treatment, and recovery services.
The program will provide eligible health care clinicians with student loan repayment assistance in exchange for their service on the front lines of the opioid crisis in underserved communities.

For more information, click  here.  
Publication: First, Do No Harm: Marshaling Clinician Leadership to Counter the Opioid Epidemic.

At the request of the National Governors Association, NAM convened a group of experts and field leaders to explore clinicians' roles in addressing opioid misuse and addiction. This publication offers clinicians a set of axioms applicable both to responsible, appropriate opioid prescribing practices, and to recognition and treatment of substance use disorder.

For more information, click here.
Funding Opportunity

The American Medical Association Foundation (AMAF) announces the availability of funds through the Community Health Program. AMAF seeks to financially support innovative programs targeting the prevention and reduction of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Grant funding will support community-based organizations such as free health clinics that provide services to vulnerable and underserved populations.  

The deadline for all applications will be Friday, March 8, 2019 at 11:59pm CST.

For more information, click here.

CHRC NEWS
Upcoming CHRC Meetings 
 
February and March 2019

The February meeting of the Community Health Resources Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 10:00 am.  This meeting will be conducted via conference call.  The toll-free number is 605.475.4000. The participant code is 142685#.   This meeting is open to the public.  Participation (ability to ask questions) will be available only to CHRC Commissioners. 

The purpose of the call is for CHRC Commissioners to select top-ranking applicants in response to the FY 2019 RFP to present to the Commission at its meeting on March 7, 2019 at 11:00 am in room 145, House of Delegates Building, 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. 

CHRC invited to present before the House Health and Operations Committee

The CHRC was invited to present to the House Health and Operations Government Operations Committee on January 17 as part of a briefing by the leadership of the Maryland Department of Health and Regulatory Commissions. The CHRC's presentation highlighted its grants to support projects that are innovative, sustainable, and replicable and provided examples of CHRC grantees that have achieved demonstrable cost savings and improvements in clinical outcomes. To view the CHRC presentation, click here.
Maryland Rural Health Association's 3rd Annual Legislative Forum

The Maryland Rural Health Association will host the 3rd Annual MRHA Legislative Forum on Thursday, January 31 at the Conference Center West, Miller Senate Building, Annapolis, MD 21401. The Forum will include a viewing of the CHRC's new Patient Testimonials Video, a collaboration with MRHA which highlights the human impact of CHRC-funded rural health programs. For more information, click here.
GRANTEE NEWS
Esperanza Center leverages CHRC grant to receive additional $150,000
in funding
 
Operated by Associated Catholic Charities, Inc., the Esperanza Center's Health Clinic, the only free Clinic in Maryland certified as a Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, received a $150,000 grant from the CHRC in 2018 to support expansion of primary health care services. The Esperanza Center's Clinic provides culturally-competent, patient-centered, free primary care to uninsured immigrant adults and children, as well as referrals to specialty care and services in the community. To date, the Clinic has leveraged CHRC funding to receive the following additional grants: Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States ($75,000), CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield ($50,000), and the United Way of Central Maryland ($26,180). In the first year of the CHRC grant, Esperanza Center has provided services to 1,323 individuals through 1,948 patient visits.   
 
Supporting programs that expand access to affordable, high-quality health services for low-income individuals who are impacted by multiple social determinants of health and leverage additional funding are priorities of the CHRC.  Since its inception, the initial funding provided by the CHRC ($64.1 million) has enabled its grantees to leverage $23.5 million in additional funding. Click  here for more examples of CHRC grantees leveraging additional resources to promote financial sustainability.

Allegany County Health Department completes CHRC grant to provide dental care for low-income residents
 
The Allegany County Health Department has completed an 18-month grant with the CHRC that expanded access to dental care services for low-income adults in Allegany County by expanding the current clinical dental program at the Allegany County Health Department Dental Health Clinic and enhancing care coordination with existing oral health resources in the community. The program provided access to dental care for patients referred by the Western Maryland Health System Emergency Department for dental needs.  The dental program also provided education, preventative, and maintenance services to low-income seniors, many of whom have no dental insurance or a dental home and are unable to pay for services. 
 
Over the eighteen months of the grant, Allegany County provided services to 798 adults in need of dental services through more than 1,100 patient visits. The grantee reported that the number of patients reporting to the Western Maryland Hospital System Emergency Room for dental complaints dropped by 12% in the final year of the program. The grantee also leveraged CHRC funds to receive $34,000 from CareFirst and $30,091 from the Appalachian Regional Commission. 
 
The Commission has awarded 39 grants totaling $7.8 million to expand access to dental services in community-based settings.  These grants served more than 64,000 individuals through more than 145,000 visits.  For more information these dental programs, click  here .