Member Spotlight
MS-CHCs, Providers Featured in National, Local News Outlets
Marketta Blue, MD, a physician at Delta Health Center, and Janice Robinson, Chief Operating Officer at Southeast Miss. Rural Health Initiative, Wendy Williams, MD, a physician at Coastal Family Health, and Odilichi Ezanwanne, MD, a physician at Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services were interviewed for two separate national news outlets and two local market TV stations in February.
Marketta Blue, MD
Dr. Blue was featured in a story published by the online magazine The Bitter Southerner. The link to the feature story is here.
Media coverage of health centers is a no-cost way for CHCs to market services, and promote providers and practice philosophy. These opportunities elevate the profile of Community Health Centers in Mississippi communities and for Mississippi CHCs.
Janice Robinson

Ms. Robinson was interviewed by a reporter at USAToday about the importance of community health centers in COVID-19 vaccine and primary health care delivery in rural Mississippi. The link to the article is here.
Dr. Wendy Williams was featured in a "Friday COVID-19 Conversation" on WLOX-TV. The link to the segment is here.
Dr. Odilichi Ezanwanne was interviewed for a news package on why he chose to practice preventative medicine in the Mississippi Delta. The link to the segment is here.
Virtual Congressional Visits Planned for March 17
As part of the annual Policy and Issues Forum, the annual Hill Visits will be held on Wednesday, March 17. If you or your designee are interested in being on either Zoom meetings or conference calls Wednesday morning and early afternoon, please go to the survey and answer 3 questions. You will receive calendar invites for the meetings for the Congressional Member calls. Please complete this survey by COB on Monday, March 8, 2021, with your preferences. If you are unable to participate, please complete the survey and make sure to answer question #2. The link to the survey is here.
CHCAMS
Board of Directors

Strategic Planning Session
Thursday, March 25th

Board of Directors Meeting
Friday morning, March 26th

Details Coming Soon
Please continue to keep Dr. Geroldean Dyse lifted up in prayer.
You are also encouraged to share the information about bone marrow match testing. Contact 601-815-6748.
FQHC & RHC Claims: Retroactive Rate Adjustment for Code G2025
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Medicare Administrative Contractors are reprocessing Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinic (RHC) claims with HCPCS code G2025 (payment for a telehealth distant site service furnished by a RHC or FQHC only):
Update the national rate to $99.45
Dates of service on or after Jan. 1.​​​​​​
Letter on Medicare/Medicaid Vaccine Reimbursement Sent to CMS
Due to the role the Biden Administration has asked CHCs to play in delivering the COVID-19 vaccine, advocacy organizations sent a letter calling on CMS to establish Medicare and Medicaid vaccine reimbursement policies that ensure health centers have the resources they need. Please contact Vacheria Tutson at vtutson@nachc.org with further questions.


ACA Insurance Marketplaces Open February 15 - May 15, 2021
The new Special Open Enrollment period will begin February 15 and run through May 15. During this time, anyone who is uninsured or missed the original open enrollment period may enroll in coverage through Healthcare.gov.




COVID-19 Vaccine Initiative with Community Health Centers
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced the launch of a program to directly allocate a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine to select HRSA-funded health centers beginning the week of February 15.
The program will initially supply COVID-19 vaccine doses to 25 CHCs nationwide on the 15th. Those centers have already been notified. The program will then expand to 250 health centers and then eventually to all CHCs. The program is beginning in a very limited way due to the limited supply of the COVID-19 vaccine.
HHS Announces Mask Distribution Program
On February 24, to support President Biden’s call to “mask up” for 100 days in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the White House announced a partnership between HHS and the Department of Defense (DoD) to deliver free masks to HRSA-funded health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes for distribution to patients, staff, and community members. This initiative recognizes health centers as vital partners in community-based outreach efforts to reach vulnerable populations. DoD is also working with the Department of Agriculture to supply masks to 300 food banks as part of the effort.
Through this program, health centers and look-alikes will receive no-cost, high-quality, washable masks in child and adult sizes, packaged in pairs of two. The masks will be produced consistent with mask guidance from the CDC. All masks will be made in America, and the distribution will not impact the availability of masks for health care workers. Health centers are encouraged to distribute individually-wrapped packages of two masks, as well as a flyer with CDC guidance on how and why to wear masks, to patients, staff, and community members for each person in their household.
DoD anticipates shipping the masks beginning in March, as production ramps up. HRSA will send an email from the Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) to each health center and look-alike with the specific number of masks that will be shipped to the health center’s administrative address on record within the EHBs. If your health center does not want to receive a shipment of masks, you will be able to opt-out using the BPHC Contact Form.

REPAAIR / UPLIFT
Health Equity Program Student Ambassadors
Learn History of CHCs
REPAAIR Ambassadors have started their training with physician and community mentors. Central Mississippi Health Services Medical Director Dr. Lionel Fraser presented a history of how community health centers came into existence. He and Howard Sanders, Marketing and Outreach Director, shared the 1970s film "Out in the Rural" that featured families in Bolivar Co. and the Tufts-Delta Health Center. Feedback from the ambassadors was positive.

In addition to learning from mentors, the 10 student ambassadors will engage in activities to help them understand the historical and contemporary factors that have contributed to disparate health outcomes among Black Mississippians and communities of color. Focus topics will be reducing food insecurity and improving health literacy.

For more information, contact Desiree Stinson at 601-981-1817 or dstinson@chcams.org.
CHCAMS COVID-19 Clearinghouse.
Click here to request access.
For those who missed the live discussions, recordings of the meetings are now available at the CHCAMS COVID-19 Clearinghouse.
Mississippi Vaccine Eligibility Additions as of March 1, 2021
Gov. Tate Reeves announced teachers, staff, and employees in K-12, preschool, or childcare settings are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 1, 2021. They join those 65 years old and up and 16-to 65-year-olds with underlying health conditions in vaccine eligibility.
Briefs
Roadmap and Toolkit for Implementing Primary Care and Behavioral Telehealth Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic resource guide is here. *
*information to support the responses of the 2021 MS-CHCs Needs Assessment conducted by CHCAMS
CHCAMS Hosts Weekly CHCs Vaccine Champions Group
The CHCAMS Vaccine Champions group
meets weekly to provide technical assistance to health centers to navigate the phases of preparedness and provider enrollment for administering COVID-19 vaccinations.

Contact Sonja Fuqua for the Zoom link.
Health Department Online Resources for Providers Planning to Give COVID-19 Vaccinations
Visit the Health Department site here.
Combating Pandemic Pounds and Coronavirus Carbs Series on the CHCAMS YouTube channel. Subscribe here.
 
To sign up for the Wednesday weekly training newsletter,
please contact Desiree Stinson.
News To Use
*information to support the responses of the 2021 MS-CHCs Needs Assessment conducted by CHCAMS
Funding Opportunities
School-Based Service Sites Funding Available Now
HRSA released the first-of-its-kind Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Health Center Program Service Expansion – School-Based Service Sites (SBSS, HRSA-21-093). SBSS funding will increase the number of patients receiving services through new and expanded school-based service sites.
Technical assistance (TA) resources, including a webinar overview of the NOFO, are available on the SBSS TA webpage.
FY 2021 SBSS applications are due in:
  • Grants.gov: Monday, March 22 (11:59 p.m. ET).
  • HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs): Tuesday, April 20 (5:00 p.m. ET).

HRSA will host a question and answer session for applicants:
Tuesday, March 2
2:30-3:30 p.m. CT
Grants with ongoing deadlines can be found here .
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