RHIhub This Week - July 10, 2024

New in the Rural Monitor More from the Rural Monitor Primary Care Providers Fill Rural Gaps in Autism Resources by Gretel Kauffman Timely interventions and support can be life-changing for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families, but are often inaccessible in rural communities.

Models and Innovations See More Models & Innovations

Montana Interfacility Blood Network (MT IBN) The Montana Interfacility Blood Network allows ambulances to pick up units of blood and provide transfusions while transporting a patient.

Recent News See More Recent News 'They Want You Here': Rural Immersion Program Brings UNK Health Science Students to the Communities That Need Them Jul 9, 2024 -- Describes activities of the Health Science Club and Kearney Health Opportunities Program, a collaboration between the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The group provides scholarships, academic support, and professional development activities for UNK students who plan to pursue healthcare careers in rural communities. Source: UNK News Emergency Treatments: Trying Times for Maine's Rural Hospitals Spark Entrepreneurial Approaches Jul 8, 2024 -- Discusses challenges faced by Maine rural hospitals and describes facilities' creative solutions to staffing shortages, reduced reimbursements, and lower margins. Includes statistics on operating margins at select Maine hospitals. Source: Mainebiz Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist Jul 8, 2024 -- A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that 46.3% of U.S. counties, many of which are rural, lack a cardiologist. Features a county-level map with shadings showing counties with at least one cardiologist. Source: NBC News Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center Jul 5, 2024 -- Describes process by which Randolph County, Illinois used grant funding to transform part of an underused county-owned nursing home into a behavioral health center. The county held stakeholder meetings to address initial opposition among community members and created a consensus around development of a center. Source: National Association of Counties As It Gets Hotter, 13,000 Families in This Pocket of America Live Without Electricity Jul 3, 2024 -- Discusses the lack of electricity, and subsequently air conditioning, in homes during periods of extreme heat on the Navajo Nation. Details some of the obstacles accessing electricity and some of the entities that are working to overcome them. Source: CNN Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery Jul 3, 2024 -- Highlights a program providing recovery housing for people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in rural North Carolina. Details the program's structure, background, and funding. Discusses models referenced in the program's design. Source: The Daily Yonder Federal Register Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems; Quality Reporting Programs, including the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program; Health and Safety Standards for Obstetrical Services in Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals; Prior Authorization; Requests for Information; etc. Jul 10, 2024 -- Pre-publication notice of proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2025. This proposed rule would also update and refine the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program, Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Program, ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program, and Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program. Among other things, this rule would request information on options being considered for future changes to the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating methodology and further information related to a Tribal Technical Advisory Group request to apply the Indian Health Service encounter rate to all outpatient tribal clinics. This proposed rule would also provide exceptions to the Medicaid clinic services benefit four walls requirement for Indian Health Service and Tribal clinics, and, at state option, for behavioral health clinics and clinics located in rural areas. Comments are due by September 9, 2024. Source: Federal Register

Funding & Opportunities See More Funding Children's Advocacy National Subgrant Program Funding for the establishment, improvement, and expansion of Children's Advocacy Centers to provide a coordinated response to victims of child abuse through multidisciplinary teams composed of representatives from the statutorily mandated and other involved agencies. One of the program objectives is to increase the number of resource-poor, geographically isolated, rural, and/or underserved communities developing a multidisciplinary approach to child abuse. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Aug 2, 2024 Sponsor: National Children's Alliance (NCA) Caring for Communities Grants Grants to support the work of nonprofit health centers in providing healthcare to disadvantaged communities and populations. Applications from rural communities are encouraged. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Aug 12, 2024 Sponsor: American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program Funding for tribes and tribal organizations to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services within tribal lands and Alaska Native villages. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Aug 13, 2024 Sponsors: Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice Rural Health Fellows Leadership Program A year-long, intensive fellowship program designed to develop a community of rural health leaders that will be able to step forward and serve in key positions in NRHA, affiliated advocacy groups, and local and state legislative bodies with health equity as a main focus. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Sep 12, 2024 Sponsor: National Rural Health Association Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant Program Funding for projects that reconnect communities by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating highways or other transportation facilities that create barriers to community connectivity. The program will support economically disadvantaged communities to increase affordable, accessible, and multimodal access to destinations like jobs, healthcare, grocery stores, schools, places of worship, recreation, and park space. The program seeks to award funding to rural and tribal communities that face unique challenges related to mobility and economic development, including isolation, transportation cost burden, and traffic safety. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Sep 30, 2024 Sponsor: U.S. Department of Transportation Massachusetts General Hospital Fellowship Program in Rural Health Leadership A full-time fellowship for early-career clinicians who have an interest in partnering with rural communities to improve health. The fellowship includes a Master's Degree in Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and focused clinical time in Rosebud, South Dakota at an Indian Health Service site. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Oct 31, 2024 Sponsors: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Massachusetts General Hospital Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Stimulating Research to Understand and Address Hunger, Food, and Nutrition Insecurity Notice of Special Interest for research on interventions that address nutrition security and the mechanisms of food insecurity on a variety of health outcomes. Priority populations include racial/ethnic minority populations, lower income populations, and rural and remote populations including tribal communities and insular areas. Geographic coverage: Nationwide and U.S. Territories Application Deadline: Nov 29, 2024 Sponsors: National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) Program that allows local communities to engage teams of 8-12 AmeriCorps members to carry out service projects designed to strengthen local communities and meet critical needs in the areas of infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship/conservation, natural and other disasters, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Geographic coverage: Nationwide Application Deadline: Dec 31, 2024 Sponsor: AmeriCorps

New Resources See More Resources The Association of Travel Burden with Prenatal Care Utilization, What Happens after Provider-Selection Analyzes the impact of travel burden on prenatal care (PNC) utilization. Utilizes 2015-2018 South Carolina Medicaid claims data to examine characteristics of birthing people, characteristics of PNC providers, and rural versus urban breakdowns of how travel burden is associated with PNC utilization. Author(s): Songyuan Deng, Yuche Chen, Kevin J. Bennett Location: BMC Health Services Research, 24, 781 Date: 07/2024 Caregiver Recruitment Strategies for Interventions Designed to Optimize Transitions from Hospital to Home: Lessons from a Randomized Trial Compares in-person and virtual recruitment strategies for a video-based intervention for family caregivers (FCGs) to improve transitional palliative care for critically ill patients in rural Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Includes data on effectiveness of each strategy and diversity of recruited FCGs. Author(s): Allison M. Gustavson, Molly J. Horstman, et al. Location: Trials, 25, 454 Date: 07/2024 Core Based Statistical Areas Provides an overview of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). Identifies key terms related to CBSAs, including central counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, outlying counties, and more. Includes information on revisions and updates to CBSAs, relevant legislation, and issues of interest for Congress. Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service Date: 07/2024 Estimated Impacts of Multiple Payment Policies on Rural-Serving Home Health Agencies Describes the estimated impact of three major Medicare home health payment policy changes - implementation of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), revisions to rural add-on payments, and the demonstration and nationwide expansion of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model - on home health agency (HHA) reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries. Compares the estimated impact of these payment policy changes by HHA rural-serving status, U. S. Census Division, profit status, quality rating, and episode volume. Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center Date: 07/2024 A Formative Evaluation to Inform Integration of Psychiatric Care with Other Gender-Affirming Care Identifies challenges and opportunities associated with integration of gender-affirming psychiatric and primary care services for transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive (TNG) patients. Analyzes results of interviews with 11 TNG patients and 10 clinicians. Includes discussion of barriers to access and service delivery in rural areas. Author(s): Teddy G. Goetz, Courtney Benjamin Wolk Location: BMC Primary Care, 25, 239 Date: 07/2024 Healthcare Spending among Diverse Populations with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: A Claims-Based Analysis Examines healthcare spending and utilization among commercially insured Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) patients. Explores the impact of race and ethnicity, poverty, and urban/rural status on annual spending among ADRD patients by analyzing data from the FAIR Health National Private Insurance Claims between January 2016 and December 2023, along with demographic and socioeconomic data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Includes data on the probability of ADRD patients using different care venues and the average and expected amounts allowed within each venue based on sociodemographic characteristics. Sponsoring organization: FAIR Health Date: 06/2024 Loss of Hospital-Based Obstetric Services in Rural Counties in the United States, 2010-2022 Infographic displaying data on the loss of hospital-based obstetric services in rural counties between 2010 and 2022. Compares changes in in-county hospital-based obstetric care by rural county type - micropolitan versus noncore - using data from the 2010-2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Surveys, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider of Services File, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Area Health Resources File. Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center Date: 07/2024 Prescription Opioid Tapering Practices and Outcomes at a Rural VA Health Care System Presents a study on the clinical characteristics of rural veterans using opioids for chronic pain and undergoing opioid tapering. Breaks down data on outcomes from tapering for rural veterans who were taking 90 Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose (MEDD) or more. Highlights common tapering outcomes, such as increased pain, suicidal ideation, and other withdrawal symptoms. Author(s): Rena Elizabeth Courtney, Emily Halsey, Tanvi Patil, et al. Location: Pain Medicine, 25(7), 480-482 Date: 07/2024 Reported Incidence of Infections Caused by Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food: Impact of Increased Use of Culture-Independent Diagnostic Tests — Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 1996–2023 Reports on the 2023 incidence of infections caused by eight pathogens transmitted commonly through food, compared with average annual incidence during 2016–2018. Describes changes in the catchment area covered to better represent certain populations, including people living in rural counties. Table 1 includes data on rural cases in the historic and the expanded catchment. Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Location: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 73(26), 584-593 Date: 07/2024 Screening for Health-Related Social Needs: A Comparison of CAHs and Non-CAHs Provides an overview of health-related social needs (HRSN) and social determinants of health (SDOH) and the impacts of screening for and collecting data on HRSN and SDOH. Analyzes 2022 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and Information Technology Supplement data to describe the collection of HRSN data among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares the specific HRSNs assessed and programs to address HRSNs among CAHs and non-CAH hospitals. Presents data on the collection of HRSN data by CAHs by health system membership and electronic health record vendor. Describes the use of HRSN data by CAHs that routinely collect and do not routinely collect this data. Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team Date: 07/2024 Traffic Safety Facts, 2022 Data: Pedestrians National data on fatal and nonfatal traffic crashes involving pedestrians. Features statistics from 2013-2022 with breakdowns by sex, age group, blood alcohol concentrations of drivers and pedestrians, state, and rural or urban location. Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Date: 07/2024 Traffic Safety Facts, 2022 Data: Speeding Contains information on speeding-related and non-speeding-related fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Features statistics on rates of injury and death, sex and age group of speeding drivers, previous 5-year driving records of speeding drivers, alcohol involvement, time of day and weekday or weekend, roadway surface condition, and roadway function class, with breakdowns including interstate rural and non-interstate rural. Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Date: 07/2024 Using Social Risks to Predict Unplanned Hospital Readmission and Emergency Care Among Hospitalized Veterans Examines the correlation of hospital readmission rates of veterans and social risk. Utilizes 2016-2022 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data to create a social risk index, focusing on domains such as psychosocial, financial, housing, food insecurity, violence, access to care, neighborhood deprivation, and more. Includes breakdowns of social risk according to sociodemographic variables, VA priority enrollment, hospital readmission, and rural, highly rural, or urban. Author(s): Portia Y. Cornell, Cassandra L. Hua, Zachary M. Buchalksi, et al. Location: Health Services Research Date: 07/2024

Upcoming Events See More Events Jul 10 The State of Rural Infrastructure: Emergency Response, Recovery, and Resilience Virtual Jul 10, 2:30 p.m. Eastern Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Jul 11 Collecting and Processing Data to Help Tribal Coalitions Strengthen Community Indigenous Prevention Programs Virtual Jul 11, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Jul 16-17 2024 Annual NRHA State Rural Health Association (SRHA) Leadership Conference In-Person Jul 16 - 17 National Rural Health Association Portland, OR Jul 17 3RNET Monthly Employer Training Virtual Jul 17, 1:00 p.m. Central 3RNET Jul 24 LTSS Webinar: UNITE Natives 2024 Part 2 – Rezilient: Preserving Our Culture Through Z Codes Virtual Jul 24, 1:00 p.m. Central Aug 14 Federal Policy Landscape 2024 and Beyond - Implications for Rural Health Care Delivery and Behavioral Health Virtual Aug 14, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Central National Rural Health Resource Center Aug 28 Indiana Transfer of Care (InTOC) Network Summit: Region 7 In-Person Aug 28 Indiana Rural Health Association Terre Haute, IN Sep 4 AgriStress Response Network - Mental Health Innovations Exchange Virtual Sep 4, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Central AgriSafe Network Sep 4-5 2024 Annual Tribal Leaders Summit & Trade Show In-Person Sep 4 - 5 Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board, United Tribes Technical College Bismarck, ND Sep 4-5 ARC 2024 Annual Conference In-Person Sep 4 - 5 Appalachian Regional Commission Chattanooga, TN