Dear Advocate,
Uncertainty dominates our current health care and political landscape, but one thing is certain: your work to care and advocate for underserved patients has never been more important. This week, we're spotlighting critical new opportunities and resources to improve your practice: new vision service grants for FQHCs, an in-depth Chief Workforce Officer toolkit, free scholarships to attend IHI events, and more.
ACU Offering Grants to Help FQHCs Start Vision Service Programs: Apply by Nov. 6
The ACU is proud to partner with the Centene Foundation for Quality Health Care to provide small $5,000-$10,000 grants to assist federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) with start-up costs for vision service programs. Underserved populations face significant barriers—including a lack of transportation, funds, and access—to acquiring vision services and glasses. FQHCs are ideally positioned to provide vision services as part of their focus on delivering integrated care to the underserved. Learn more about the grants and eligibility requirements and apply by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, November 6. Please contact Sabrina Edgington with any questions.
Announcing Our New Chief Workforce Officer Toolkit
The ACU and our STAR² Center, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers, are excited to unveil our new Chief Workforce Officer (CWO) Toolkit. We have collaboratively developed this timely resource to assist community health centers (CHCs) and primary care associations in recruiting and retaining workforce leaders who are strategic and effective at meeting the complex needs of the CHC workforce. Read our toolkit to find CWO core competencies, a CWO job description template, and more. 
ACU Members: Attend an IHI Event for Free with a Safety Net Scholarship
The ACU is always striving to provide you with resources to better serve your community, and through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, we are now able to offer our members free access to numerous Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) events. IHI offers intensive trainings on quality improvement and patient safety to improve health equity, and you can attend these offerings—including their National Forum on December 6-9—for free through our Safety Net Endowment scholarships. We encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful ACU member benefit: apply now and indicate that you are applying through the ACU membership hub.
STAR² Center Offering New PCA & HCCN Workforce Professional Development Series
We invite PCA and HCCN staff to join the STAR2 Center for a monthly webinar series focused on workforce professional development. One registration saves your spot for the entire series where attendees will learn from presenters and through peer sharing to bolter recruitment and retention support for health centers across the country. View the tentative schedule and register to join us for the first session on November 5, 2020, at 3 p.m. Eastern.
What We're Reading: New Articles on Civic Engagement and Disparities in the Underserved

Do you have suggestions for articles to highlight in the future? Let us know!
The ACU is working everyday to support your vital work to improve care for underserved communities. Your feedback allows us to better accomplish our mission: we encourage you to contact our Executive Director Amanda Pears Kelly with any suggestions to inform our efforts. Thank you for working to provide care to and advocate for patients and providers alike during COVID-19.
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