The roughly 15% of the population living in rural America includes some of the oldest and sickest patients in the country — a disparity that has grown more stark during the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is investing more in telemedicine, whose use has grown sharply during the pandemic, as a way to improve their access to care.

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was distributing nearly $20 million to strengthen telehealth services — usually medical appointments that take place by video or phone — in rural and underserved communities across the country. While the amount is relatively modest, it is part of a broader push to address the long-neglected health care infrastructure in those areas. Read more here.

Additional article of interest: To Address Mental Health Care Inequities, Look Beyond Community-Based Programs

Today, the Office of National Drug Policy (ONDCP) announced $13.2 million in grants for 106 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs across the country. The grants, which will be awarded for five years, will provide funding to new and competing continuation community coalitions working to prevent youth substance use, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. The funding supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s Drug Policy Priorities for Year One, which include evidence-based efforts to prevent and reduce youth substance use. Read more here.

The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) has released a new, improved behavioral health app, “Dutchess County HELPLINE,” designed to help people recognize warning signs of suicide, as well as provide a wealth of behavioral health resources for information and assistance for those struggling with addiction, substance use issues and/or mental illness. The app replaces the original HELPLINE app launched in 2014.  The new HELPLINE app is an extension of Dutchess County’s 24/7 crisis intervention services, including the HELPLINE crisis telephone line (845-485-9700), which offers mental health professionals available 24 hours a day to provide support and assistance via phone call or text. Read more here.

Amid increasing opioid overdose rates and deaths across the country and in New York, one program in upper Hudson Valley sought to enlist help from local teenagers in fighting the epidemic.

Last spring, 10 teenagers were hired by the Mental Health Association of Columbia Greene (MHACG) workforce and trained and certified as youth peer leaders for the agency’s Youth Clubhouses. In the process, the new peer leaders learned about opioid use disorder and how to administer life-saving medication like Narcan.

“Who knows better how to reach a 15-year-old to talk about recovery than another 15-year-old?” Youth Clubhouses Program Manager, Phoebe Potter. “They know how to relate to each other and understand what’s going to be relevant to each other.” Read more here.

Additional article of interest: Opioid Use Disorder Is as Deadly as Heart Attack: Study

Many New Yorkers think it is high-time for marijuana sales to start up, but some towns and villages are still grappling with this decision.

Council members in Colonie, a town in the Capital Region, have voted to ban marijuana consumption sites within their district. Marijuana consumption sites are smoking lounges, cannabis cafes and other businesses that allow for cannabis to be consumed on premises.

Melissa Jeffers, a Colonie town councilwoman, says this vote mainly boiled down to concern that people might smoke at one of these consumption sites and then drive home. Read more here.

Social determinants of health contracting with community-based organizations remains a complex and challenging task for payers as the demand for answers grows more pressing.

As the industry’s awareness of social determinants of health expands, so does the need for evidence-based solutions. Often, these solutions require health insurers and health systems to contract with community-based organizations that can address the issues more closely.

The share of community-based organizations entering into contracts increased from 2017 to 2018, according to a survey from Miami University’s Scripps Gerontology Center. The survey focused specifically on community-based organizations that served seniors, since the Center conducted the survey on behalf of the Aging and Disability Business Institute. Read more here.

Contingency management has proven to be one of the most effective treatments for patients addicted to stimulants such as meth and cocaine. The practice — which rewards patients with money or prizes for hitting certain treatment milestones — has been shown to improve retention and abstinence rates.

However, stigma and lack of reimbursement prevent many substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers from offering the incentive-based practice.

For providers who decide to take the plunge, they must consider a number of factors if they want their contingency management programs to be successful, experts say. Read more here.

The US health workforce is receiving a massive boost in federal investment under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Included provisions will allow states to receive higher federal matching funds through Medicaid, adding approximately $12.7 billion over the next year to strengthen the workforce for home- and community-based services; rural health providers will see an additional $8.5 billion in Provider Relief Fund dollars; more than $7.0 billion will be invested to expand, train, and retain the public health workforce; $1.55 billion will be allocated to expand critical programs that strengthen the workforce in underserved communities and address unmet health care needs; and nearly $250 million will be used to strengthen behavioral health workforce capacity. This infusion of health workforce investments comes on the heels of substantial provider support already allocated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and is likely to be followed by additional investments under the infrastructure plan proposed by President Joe Biden. Read more here.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding $3 million to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing through the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics-Expansion (TTA-CCBHC) grant program.

The TTA-CCBHC grant program helps ensure that Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Expansion (CCBHC-E) grant recipients are effective and successful in providing comprehensive 24/7 access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services, treatment of co-occurring disorders, and physical healthcare in one single location. Read more here.

Unite Us, the nation's leading technology company connecting health and social care services, has announced the acquisition of NowPow, the Chicago-based referral platform grounded in science and community. The companies are coming together at a pivotal time in the country when all stakeholders are focused on reducing inequities and improving health.

This combination creates the nation's leading integrated health and social care network connecting people to the resources they need – from food and housing assistance to counseling, caregiver support and more.

With deep experiences addressing inequities at the structural, community, and institutional levels, the companies are teaming up to eliminate fragmentation between health and social care providers, allowing communities to better coordinate and support individuals seeking services. Read more here.

Kandra Clark received an urgent phone call from a man at Rikers Island Tuesday night. A Manhattan judge had agreed to reduce his bail amount, allowing him to afford his release from jail, but only if he demonstrated he had some sort of stable housing.

Clark said she contacted her colleagues at Exodus Transitional Community and managed to secure a room for the man in a Midtown hotel, where her organization provides 24-hour services for homeless New Yorkers released from detention. The judge lowered the man’s bail and he was able to get out—evidence, Clark said, of the institutional disadvantages for New Yorkers sent to Rikers Island from the streets and shelters.

“If they are on Rikers, judges are less inclined to release people if they’re homeless,” said Clark, Exodus’ vice president of policy. But programs like her organization’s city-funded Emergency Reentry Hotels are few and far between, especially for people awaiting trial. Read more here.

The Lancet: Brain health and its social determinants

September 24, 2 - 3:30 pm, Center for Connected Health Policy

September 28, 2 - 3 pm, Camden Coalition

September 28, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

September 28, 29, 30, OMH/Suicide Prevention Center of NY

September 29, 11 am - 12 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

September 29, 11:30 am - 1 pm, FOR-NY

September 29, 12 - 1 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

September 29, 2 - 3 pm, Camden Coalition

September 29, 3 - 4:30 pm, NAADAC

September 29, 3:30 - 4:30 pm, Center for Healthcare Strategies

September 30, 10 am - 6 pm, American Association of Suicidology

September 30, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

September 30, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

September 30, 1 - 4:10 pm, City & State NY

September 30, 2 - 3 pm, HANYS

October 1, 2 - 3:30 pm, Center for Connected Health Policy

October 5, 12 - 1:30 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

October 5, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing

October 7, 2 - 3 pm, HANYS

October 7, 2 - 3 pm, OMH

October 8, 2 - 3:30 pm, Center for Connected Health Policy

October 12, 10 - 11 am, OMH

October 20, 1 - 2 pm, OMH

October 20 - 21, 12 - 5:30 pm, CSG Justice Center

October 31 - November 1, HANYS

September 30: 1 - 2:30 pm

October 7: 2 - 3 pm

October 7: 3 - 4 pm

October 11

October 12: 10 - 11:30 am

October 14; 11 am - 12 pm

October 19: 11:30 am - 1 pm

October 21-22 in Saratoga Springs, NY

October 27: 1 - 3 pm