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WVPCA Weekly Outlook
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
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WVPCA News - Emergency Management News
State News - National News - Funding and
Financial Opportunities - Training Opportunities
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Covid-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds is safe and shows 'robust' antibody response, Pfizer says
Read the entire article from CNN here.
Is the delta variant of the coronavirus worse for kids?
Read the entire article from WVNews here.
DOJ charges dozens in $1.1B telehealth fraud crackdown
Read the entire article from Healthcare IT News here.
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Mountaineer Community Health Center Announces Ciro Grassi as New CEO |
Mountaineer Community Health Center (MCHC), the Paw Paw area’s Federally Qualified Health Center, has announced the appointment of Ciro Grassi as its new chief executive officer. Grassi assumed full responsibilities on August 29, 2021, after serving as Acting CEO for 3 months, succeeding former CEO Jason Whipkey.
Grassi has 12 years of nonprofit leadership experience in resource development, financial management, and building effective systems of service. Specifically, Grassi brings a strong commitment to organizational culture, team development, and fiscal competence that facilitates strategic progress.
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Webinar Series: 2021 UDS Virtual Training – SAVE THE DATE |
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The Uniform Data System (UDS) virtual training will be made up of two live 3-hour training sessions, each with a 15-minute break and and one live 30-minute Q&A session. The training sessions will be held in the morning, on the following days: Tuesday, November 16th, and Thursday, November 18th. The Q&A session will follow the training held on Thursday, November 18th. The UDS Training is aimed at those who are responsible for gathering and reporting the data elements included in the UDS Report, as well as management and clinical staff who need to understand the definitions and concepts used, and those who use the data in their program management and quality improvement activities.
Registration information coming soon.
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Shared Decision-Making Contraception Counseling and Support Training |
The West Virginia Primary Care Association has partnered with the WV Perinatal Partnership and WV FREE to bring a contraception shared decision-making training to health centers.
• Learn to provide shared decision-making counseling for contraception.
• Trainings are appropriate for clinical and non-clinical staff, as using the same reassuring and non-judgmental language is imperative to build rapport and allow the free flow of information.
• Health centers will receive additional free resource materials for use with your patients.
• Participants will learn how to reduce barriers to the full spectrum of contraceptive options.
• Free CEUs for nurses and social workers.
• The training will be offered live via Zoom on October 27
This training is only available to health centers serving the counties of Boone, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Putnam.
Below you will find the links to the registration, sign-in and pre-survey that are required for CEUs.
Registration link:
Funding for this opportunity is provided by the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.
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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 FAQ page was updated to include:
- Federally Provided Supplies. Items such as masks, COVID-19 tests or COVID-19 vaccines that health centers receive for free from the federal government are considered to be in-kind donations and should be reported and accounted for by health centers accordingly. Contact your Grants Management Specialist if you have any questions.
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Vaccine Program Online Community (VPC). This is an online platform for Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program participants to onboard into the program, get answers, interact with other participating health centers and access training and technical assistance resources. If you need assistance creating an account, please use the BPHC Contact Form.
- Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program. Health centers participating in the program should continue ordering the type and amount of vaccine that they are able to store and administer to meet the needs of the populations served, and to ensure they can administer their full weekly order within seven days. Additional doses for immunocompromised individuals—like all vaccine doses—must be administered in accordance with the latest CDC guidance and FDA emergency use authorization for the vaccine.
- HHS Mask Distribution Program. HRSA reported a total of 5.1 million adult-sized masks and 7.4 million child-sized masks were distributed to health centers between April and August 2021. HRSA does not anticipate being able to provide additional masks at this point. If additional masks become available, HRSA will communicate such availability to health centers.
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2021 WV Addiction Conference Announced |
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Lung Cancer Screening Leadership Forum |
Join colleagues in Ohio and West Virginia for a virtual learning session focusing on Lung Cancer Disease Burden, Prevention and Early Detection, COVID-19 screening challenges and solutions. The American Cancer Society will be hosting this Lung Cancer Forum on November 4, 2021 starting at 9AM ET. CE credits are available.
This program is presented in collaboration by the American Cancer Society, with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Summa Health and supported by the Ohio Partners for Cancer Control and Mountains of Hope.
Thursday, November 4, 2021 | 9:00AM ET
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Applications Open!
2022 Be Active WV Grant Program
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The Center for ActiveWV, at WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, through a partnership with WV Health Promotion and Chronic Disease, is funding projects statewide to increase physical activity. These one-time grants range from $1000-$5000.
Successful grant applications will propose a plan to improve the health of communities in West Virginia through increased opportunities for physical activity in the following areas:
- Increase physical activity opportunities for children throughout the school day and beyond
- Increase and/or improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure within West Virginia
- Implement programming and/or create opportunities for physical activity through clinical practice and community outreach.
Projects should include changes or improvements to policies, systems, or environments, address health equity, and have a plan for sustainability. Additionally, assuming that there will be continued restrictions and impacts due to COVID-19, projects must be feasible and include a plan to successfully complete the project with current restrictions and plans for possible shutdowns.
Upon completing this pre-application survey, the Project Coordinator will contact you to discuss your project and grant guidelines. A link for the full application will be provided after the initial conversation. The full application will be available on August 16, 2021 and closes on October 1, 2021, at 11:59 pm.
Please consider applying yourself or sharing this email with a friend or colleague. For more information contact the Project Coordinator, Rachel Byrne, at rbyrne2@mail.wvu.edu.
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FQHC Telehealth Best Practices
Project ECHO Mini Series Sep-Oct 2021
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We are pleased to share with you the upcoming Project ECHO Mini-Series: “FQHC Telehealth Best Practices: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic,” hosted by the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC). This four-part series runs September 28 - October 19, 2021. Check out this flyer for sessions descriptions. You won’t want to miss it! Spread the word!
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NHSC Loan Repayment Program Open for Applications: Physician Assistants Now Eligible |
The 2022 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service (S2S) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) application cycle is now open. This year, individuals can apply if they are a physician assistant (PA) student in the final year of school. Additionally, individuals can apply for awards of up to $120,000 if they are a final year student studying to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Medical doctor (MD/DO) or Dentist (DDS/DMD). In exchange, an individual must commit to three years of providing primary care services at NHSC-approved sites in high-need underserved areas. The application deadline is Thursday, November 4, 7:30 pm.
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2021 National Training and Technical
Assistance Needs Assessment Available Now
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The 2021 Health Center Training & Technical Assistance Needs Assessment portal is now open, and your feedback is being requested. Please see the below information as provided by National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC).
About the National Needs Assessment: The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care (HRSA/BPHC) has requested a national health center training needs assessment. This one-time assessment will inform the development of training and technical assistance (T/TA) necessary to support health centers improve access to primary health care as well as to advance quality and impact over the next two-three years.
All health center staff are invited to take the 20-minute assessment using the link here.
Objectives: This Needs Assessment will:
- Minimize response burden by reducing the number of needs assessments deployed to health centers.
- Improve ease in response through a streamlined questionnaire.
- Identify priority training topics for BPHC, NTTAP, PCA and HCCN attention.
Who: All health center staff! Your input will influence future T/TA offered by BPHC’s training entities, like PCAs, HCCNs and NTTAPs.
How: The assessment will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Access the assessment via an easy on-line portal on the NACHC website. If you’re experiencing technical difficulties accessing the hyperlink above, please use the link below to access the assessment:
https://www.nachc.org/trainings-and-conferences/health-center-needs-assessment/
Timeframe: August 12 – October 1, 2021.
Your health center’s response is critical! Thank you for your participation!
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Funding and Financial Opportunities |
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Healthy Communities Grant Applications |
The Pallottine Foundation of Huntington is pleased to announce its Healthy Communities Initiative is now accepting applications. This initiative is open to nonprofits providing health-related services in the Foundation’s 20-county, tri-state region. These counties are:
- Kentucky (Boyd, Carter, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Lawrence, Martin, and Pike)
- Ohio (Gallia, Lawrence, and Scioto)
- West Virginia (Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, western Putnam, and Wayne)
The Healthy Communities Initiative supports projects that address any of the two
following focus areas:
- Health and wellness projects directed at an organization’s clients or communities served
- Capacity building projects that enhance the effectiveness of an organization’s internal operations
The Board of Trustees and staff of the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington appreciate the services your organization provides to our community and look forward to partnering with you in your work to improve health in our region.
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Availability of $25.5 Billion in
COVID-19 Provider Funding Announced
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The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare patients, and an additional $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic.
Combined application for American Rescue Plan rural funding and Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 will open on September 29, 2021.
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Resources for Provider Relief Fund Reporting
Need to be Submitted by September 30
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Upcoming Training Opportunities |
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Expanding the Rural Public Health Workforce: An Advance Briefing on New Program Funding
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During this webinar, Tom Morris, Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy at HRSA, will discuss upcoming funding opportunities that will support rural health networks to focus on training and placing workers in a number of high-need public health workforce tracks to serve rural communities.
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021
3:00 PM ET
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Addressing Tobacco Dependency to Reduce COVID-19 Risks and Complications Webinar Series |
Smoking is a major risk factor for most respiratory related infections. Studies show that current smokers have been more likely to access various forms of smoking cessation assistance during the coronavirus pandemic.
This offers an opportunity to offer smoking cessation services, referrals, and in-house psychological and pharmacological interventions. These two webinars will provide examples of cessation plans and resources that can be shared with patients trying to stop smoking.
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
1:00 PM ET
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Community Health Center Resources |
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Jackson Kelly attorneys provide limited consultation to all members of the WVPCA at no charge, as part of the WVPCA contract. There is no limit to the number of calls which any member may make. All inquiries within the scope of professional competence of firm attorneys will be addressed. Inquiries which require expertise not available through the firm will be promptly identified and, when requested, Jackson Kelly will assist in referring the matter to accounting firms, insurance agents, or others as circumstances warrant.
All inquiries, responses and consultation services provided by the firm lawyers will be provided without additional charge beyond the retainer amount, except for matters which require formal opinions, representation of record in litigation, transactional work, e.g. the purchase or sale of real property, or matters which require continued representation, research or consultation beyond a single inquiry or document review.
Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He is available for consultation through a special retainer relationship with the WVPCA. Justin can be reached at 304.340.1358 and via email at justin.harrison@jacksonkelly.com.
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Risk Management Manual for Health Centers Now Available! |
The Risk Management Manual for Health Centers is now available on the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website! Designed to support a proactive approach to risk management at health centers and free clinics, the Manual provides background, tips, and how-tos in a manageable format.
Specific areas that are covered include:
Risk Management Programs & Plans
Claims and Lawsuits
Role of the Risk Manager
Patient Grievances and Complaints
Communication with Patients
Credentialing and Privileging
Communication among Providers, Staff, and Community Partners
Tracking Systems for Diagnostic Tests, Referrals, and Hospitalizations
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Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
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To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter: |
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1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE
Charleston, WV 25314
Phone: 304.346.0032
Toll Free: 1.877.WVA HLTH
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This project is/was supported partially/fully by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U58CS06834 State and Regional Primary Care Associations. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. |
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