Dear Colleague,
Tomorrow is National Rural Health Day! Rural communities are all too often medically underserved, and provider shortages, limited service sites, and other factors often hinder patients' access to care. Health centers, look-alikes, and free clinics play vital roles in helping their communities overcome these barriers, and the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved is honored to support your work both tomorrow and throughout the year.
To bolster the workforce making these efforts possible, ACU is highlighting a variety of new trainings and resources this week. Read about our webinars on trauma-informed leadership and resiliency, workforce professional development, and staff suicide prevention, a new learning collaborative on the oral health workforce, an update on what U.S. midterm elections mean for healthcare, ACU's eye health and vision care grants, and more below.
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Learning Collaborative Focuses on Recruitment & Retention of the Oral Health Workforce
Apply by Dec. 9
ACU’s STAR2 Center and the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) are seeking health center teams to participate in a new learning collaborative on developing recruitment and retention plans for the oral health workforce. This virtual event will take place in six 90-minute monthly sessions beginning in January 2023. Participating teams will be able to produce and share a clear outline for their recruitment and retention plan for oral health staff.
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Tomorrow: Learn About Our Organizational Leadership & Resiliency Toolkit in Our Webinar
Thursday, Nov. 17: 3-4 p.m. ET
Don’t miss tomorrow’s webinar introducing our new Organizational Leadership and Resiliency Toolkit. ACU’s STAR2 Center and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council will host the training featuring toolkit co-authors Matt Bennett, MBA, MA, and April Lewis for an overview of resiliency in response to stress and trauma in the health center workforce. This webinar and accompanying toolkit will connect leaders with strategies to support the health and wellbeing of staff and address structural challenges in the healthcare industry.
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Upcoming Webinar Explores Trauma-Informed Leadership
Wednesday, Nov. 30: 2-3 p.m. ET
ACU’s STAR2 Center is excited to host an upcoming webinar with Cindy Manginelli of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council exploring trauma-informed leadership. Manginelli will share strategies that staff can use to improve and build their own leadership skills, and those of others in their organization, that will better serve employees with a history of personal or vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress, and moral injury.
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Registration is Open for Our Workforce Professional Development Webinar Series
Dec. 15, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, and Mar. 16: 2-3 p.m. ET
ACU’s STAR2 Center team invites health centers to participate in our upcoming Workforce Professional Development Webinar Series. Faculty and guest speakers will share insights from national, regional, and state perspectives on a variety of topics pertinent to the healthcare workforce. This monthly virtual series will run from December 2022 to March 2023, offering sessions to bolster workforce efforts to support health center recruitment and retention.
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In Case You Missed It: View Our Webinar on Alliance Building for Health Equity
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Learn How to Prevent Suicide in Clinicians and Navigate Postvention in Our Webinar
Thursday, Dec. 8: 1-2 p.m. ET
Healthcare professionals are significantly more likely to end their lives by suicide than the general population, often causing a "ripple effect" and increasing the vulnerability of others. Join Dr. Virna Little, Chief Clinical Officer at Concert Health, and Sarah Bernes, behavioral health expert, for a webinar to understand the dynamics of this crisis and learn strategies to help support primary care providers and teams, prevent deaths by suicide, assess readiness, and implement effective postvention.
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There's Still Time: Apply for ACU's Eye Health and Vision Services Grants for Health Centers
Applications Due Dec. 31
Is your health center interested in starting or expanding a vision care program? ACU, with the generous support of the Centene Corporation, continues to accept applications for $25,000 grants to help start or expand comprehensive eye health and vision services at federally qualified health centers or look-alikes. In addition to $25,000 in funding, up to five health centers will receive training and technical assistance, as well as resources to promote a patient story program. Learn about grant requirements and past awardees and apply by Dec. 31.
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ACU Offering Free Eye Health & Vision Care Job Postings for FQHCs and FQHC Look-alikes
ACU is excited to offer free job postings on our Career Center for federally qualified health centers and look-alikes seeking to fill vacancies in their eye health and vision services programs. All positions involved in the direct provision of eye care and vision services, such as optometrists, opticians, optometric technicians, etc., as well as positions that directly support the provision of these services (e.g., front desk staff, etc.) are eligible. For more information, please contact us.
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Policy Update: The Political Outlook Post Midterms—And What It Means for Healthcare
National Health Service Corps and health center advocates have carefully watched the U.S. midterm elections. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate came up for a vote on Nov. 8, and healthcare, too, was on the ballot, as shifting Congressional control will seriously impact the Biden Administration's ability to enact its policy agenda. Find a recap of Congressional developments, what they mean for the National Health Service Corps and health centers, and more in our latest policy update.
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Welcoming Our Latest Member
ACU welcomes Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC) as our newest member. CHCC provides quality, comprehensive health services for residents of the Northern Mariana Islands and promotes healthy environments for individuals at every life stage for a resilient community. Is your organization committed to health equity? Read about ACU membership and contact us.
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It's Not Too Late: Applications Are Open for the NHSC's Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP)
The National Health Service Corps' S2S LRP is still accepting applications! Open to students in their last year of medical, nursing, or dental school, the program offers up to $120,000 in loan repayment in return for serving for at least three years at an NHSC-approved site in medically underserved areas. Have questions? The NHSC will host a second Q&A Session on Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ET.
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Attend the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition with Our Member Rate
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Global Health Conference & Exhibition is the most influential health information technology event of the year, and ACU is excited to be a Collaborator of HIMSS23. ACU members can receive the HIMSS member rate to attend. To register, visit HIMSS23 General Registration and sign in. From the General Registration page, select the Chapter or Collaborator tab. Select your preferred HIMSS23 Pass and enter "ACU" as the Referring Collaborator Organization to receive the HIMSS member rate on registration.
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The Latest from ACU's Career Center
Our Career Center is a great resource for job seekers or healthcare organizations looking to hire quality staff to serve under-resourced populations. ACU Members get premier access by logging in to our member portal and using the discount code.
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Funding Opportunities
HRSA
Deadline: Dec. 5, 2022
HRSA
Deadline: Dec. 12, 2022
ACU
Deadline: Dec. 31, 2022
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Upcoming Webinars:
Archived Webinars:
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STAR² Center Talks Workforce Success Podcast: Seasons 1-3
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ACU is here to help: if we can do anything to better support your work to improve care and advocate for patients living in historically marginalized communities, please contact our Executive Director Amanda Pears Kelly with any feedback. Thank you for all that you do.
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