Please send new clinic opening announcements to Kathryn Rodenmeyer here.

The Biden Administration has released its FY22 budget to Congress. Highlights relevant to CHCs include Mandatory Funding: down $95 million due to budget sequestration; and Discretionary Funding: $50 million increase to support year 3 of the "Ending the HIV Epidemic" initiative. Overall there is a net decrease of $45 million for Health Center funding. Advocacy during this time with the members of Congress and staff members is important. While one-time funds for COVID-19 response and recovery have been awarded, CHC advocates should continue to let their voices be heard to ensure equitable and sustainable funding in the coming year.

All Health Center and Volunteer Health Professional (VHP) Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Programs redeeming applications for FTCA coverage for CY 2022 are due on or before June 25, 2021, 11:59 PM ET, and must be submitted electronically through the FTCA deeming application within the HRSA EHBs at https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/. Health centers that are deemed, and who may also currently sponsor deemed VHPs, must reapply annually for continued FTCA coverage. More info here.

The Chemistry for Strong Communities: Health Center Week Theme and Dates Announced

Hosting large communitywide events may not be in your plans for National Health Center Week this year, but smaller-scale advocacy activities can be organized. One idea is to consider inviting your members of Congress to your clinic locations and giving them a firsthand look at the work that CHCs do. Please let CHCAMS know about your plans. Social media hashtags for the week are #NHCW21 and #ValueCHCs.

To read the notice, click here.

On Wednesday, June 2, the Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB) approved the Mississippi Division of Medicaid’s (DOM) Petition for Relief from Bidding as a Procurement Method, enabling the agency to pursue a Coordinated Care procurement process for MSCAN and CHIP through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Read more.

Door Dash partnered with Direct Relief and NACHC to provide $2 million in gift cards to CHCs, who can give the cards (valued at $25 each) to “help people who have been recently vaccinated put food on the table and rest, reducing the burden of potential side effects.” This donation will support vaccine outreach and participation at an estimated 1,000 local community health centers across the country over the next few weeks.

On the topic of incentivizing patients to get vaccinated (e.g., Door Dash gift cards), Federal law generally prohibits health care providers from offering patients incentives to use health care services. However, as indicated in the first FAQ on this page, HHS is making an exception for incentives intended to encourage people to get COVID vaccines.

CHCs Looking to Recruit a National Health Service Corps Provider this Year? The deadline to register is extended to July 1, 2021.

As the American Rescue Plan more than tripled the size of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) for FY21-22, the majority of CHCs are expected to be able to recruit NHSC or Nurse Corps providers this year.  Register with HRSA as an eligible site here.

Wednesday, June 23 at 6:45 p.m. Register here.

CHCs are invited to upload open position announcements to CHCAMS' recruitment partner website ReEmployedllc.com . This recruiter will send qualified applicants back to your health center for review and assist in follow-up with potential candidates.

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.

CHC Members, please share your vaccination photos on social media with the hashtag #ALLINTogetherMS. Also please share with

the CHCAMS by emailing here.

Contact Sonja Fuqua for the meeting link.

To sign up for the Wednesday weekly training newsletter, please contact Desiree Stinson.