Announcements
New Funding Opportunity: Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship ProgramApplications Due October 29, 2024, by 4:00 PM Local Iowa Time
The purpose of this Request for Proposal is to select qualified applicants (teaching hospitals) into the Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship Program to increase access to family medicine obstetrics practitioners in rural and underserved areas of the state. Learn More & Apply |
New Funding Opportunity: National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Provider Education ProgramApplications Due October 22, 2024, by 4:00 PM Central Time
The purpose of this Request for Proposal to select qualified applicant to provide the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Provider program to students enrolled in a degree specializing in a primary care discipline (family medicine, general internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics, or general pediatrics), pharmacy program, or nursing program. Learn More & Apply |
Save the Date for IRHA Conference: Rural Resilience: The Whole PictureMonday, October 28, 2024
The Iowa Rural Health Association is excited to open registration for our annual conference to be held on Monday, October 28th at Drake University's Olmsted Center with keynote speaker, Dr. Celina Peerman, an organizational psychologist who will be speaking on "Change Ready and Leading Forward!" We will also have sessions and panels focused on rural resilience amid natural disasters, aging, health equity, and other topics, as well as updates on important rural health issues in Iowa.
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National Health Service Corps Site Recertification is OpenRecertify by September 30, 2024
Calling on all National Health Service Corps (NHSC)-approved sites: The NHSC Site Recertification Cycle is now open! Current NHSC-approved sites with the expiration date of December 31, 2024, must apply for recertification now to maintain their active status.
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NHSC Students to Service Loan Repayment ProgramThe application is open through Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Are you a student in your final year of a primary care health professions school? You may qualify for up to $120,000 in tax-free loan repayment for your medical, nursing, or dental school student loans through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program. In return, you complete a three-year service commitment in a high-need rural, tribal, or urban community. A Maternity Care Target Area Supplemental Award of an additional $40,000 is available to physicians specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, or family medicine physicians who practice obstetrics on a regular basis, as well as certified nurse midwives. |
Community Health Worker Registered Apprenticeship ProgramIn partnership with Iowa Health and Human Services, Health TeamWorks, and the Des Moines Area Community College, grant funding is available for Iowa residents and individuals employed in Iowa to receive scholarships and stipend support for apprenticeship community health work (CHW) training opportunities. Partners are recruiting participation now for the third and final year of this grant funding. The registered apprenticeship training cohort will start later this fall. The CHW Registered Apprenticeship program is available through Health TeamWorks and requires a partnership between the employer and participating apprentice. The program includes:
Learn more Point of Contact: Deb Kazmerzak at [email protected] or 515.554.2788. |
Registration Now Open: 2024 Iowa Community Health ConferenceOctober 16 - 18, 2024
Registration for the October 2024 Iowa Community Health Conference is now open! Register today through August 1 to receive the early bird discount rate and to secure your spot at Iowa's premier conference on community health and rural healthcare.
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New Funding: CMS Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model
Apply by September 20, 2024
The TMaH Model’s primary focus is improving health outcomes for mothers and their infants who are enrolled in Medicaid and Childrens’ Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Under TMaH, selected state Medicaid agencies will receive targeted technical support to develop a whole-person approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.
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NOFO Announcement: Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) ProgramHRSA launched a new Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program funding opportunity. The NOFO has two components: one to support residency slots starting in Academic Year 2024-2025 and another to support residency slots starting in Academic Year 2025-2026. The Academic Year 2024-2025 component (HRSA-25-091): Application deadline is September 5, 2024 The Academic Year 2025-2026 component (HRSA-25-077): Application deadline is September 20, 2024 More Information |
Direct Care: A Chorus of Compassion
October 7, 2024
Your participation in this conference can be key to rebuilding your passion and to avoiding falling flat from burnout. You will experience programs for self-care, professional and skill development, mental health, and networking with the ensemble of direct care workers and family caregivers in attendance. The day will crescendo in fun and motivation and send you away feeling harmonious and in unison. |
News
Iowa's rural delivery units are closing, leaving communities behind
At least 41 Iowa hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units since 2000. Those hospitals are mostly located in rural areas.
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New report finds alarming decline in US maternity care accessA new report by March of Dimes found that over 5.5 million women live in U.S. counties experiencing limited to no access to maternity care resources that include hospitals or birthing centers, obstetric care or obstetricians. The report is the latest by the maternity care-centric nonprofit to highlight a worsening state of maternity care in the U.S., with a rise in closure of hospital obstetric units contributing to what the organization calls "a growing maternal and infant health crisis. Article |
Divide growing between Iowa's urban and rural health care centersA new report from Common Sense Institute Iowa found that over a third of Iowa's hospitals operated at a loss in 2022. Article |
New report identifies crucial challenges in Iowa’s health care industryThe overall landscape of Iowa’s health care industry is looking bleak, according to recent findings from the Common Sense Institute (CSI), but still remains “competitive” compared with nationwide trends. Article |
How do you integrate behavioral health and primary care? Use CPTwww.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt/how-do-you-integrate-behavioral-health-and-primary-care-use-cpt?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdeliveryIntegrating behavioral health into primary care settings is seen as a pathway for widening patient access to services. But physician and staff shortages require creativity to make it happen. There is also a need to test, pay for and measure the effectiveness of these innovations, and the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code set provides a foundation to do so. Article |
Shrinking rural Iowa loses maternity unitsAt least 41 Iowa hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units since 2000. Those facilities, representing about a third of all Iowa hospitals, are located mostly in rural areas where birth numbers have plummeted. In some Iowa counties, annual numbers of births have fallen by three-quarters since the height of the baby boom in the 1950s and ’60s, when many rural hospitals were built or expanded, state and federal records show. Article |
How older adults navigate their health care needs in rural AmericaNPR reporter Juliana Kim and I traveled across the Great Plains of North and South Dakota in May to photograph and document this predicament. Along the way, we heard from a cross-section of Americans, including residents of shrinking farming towns, medical providers, assisted living facility staff, caregivers and Indigenous citizens. Article |
Iowa transportation program aims to reduce missed health appointmentsCounty health officials in rural Iowa are using a new app to connect people to their doctors and cut down on missed appointments. Article |
Preparing your rural organization to support new graduate nurses
Buena Vista Regional Medical Center (BVRMC) is revamping its approach to supporting new graduate nurses. Through the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program (IONRP) Academy, BVRMC is enhancing its orientation process and implementing a nurse residency program to better prepare the work environment for new hires. Article |
Tools & Resources
6 ways to overcome the rural healthcare workforce shortage
Rural healthcare organizations are facing a historically challenging labor market. Demographic shifts mean that there are more jobs available than there are people in the workforce to fill them, yet healthcare continues to grow in job openings. As the market continues to grow more competitive, it’s crucial for rural health providers to evaluate their approach to retention and recruitment. Here are six strategies you can use to counter the rural healthcare workforce shortage:
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New resource for rural providers on federal funding that can reduce operating costs and improve resilience.The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers billions of dollars that can support the rural health care providers by improving emergency preparedness and lowering operating expenses. To help rural providers access these funds, HHS’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity recently published a one-page resource that summarizes some of the IRA opportunities most relevant to rural providers. Resource |
Reframing Health Disparities in Rural America: A communications toolkit.The National Network of Public Health Institutes released their “Reframing Health Disparities,” a communications toolkit to help public health professionals communicate more effectively about how to eliminate disparities through sound public health approaches. This toolkit provides resources and strategies for public health professionals to communicate effectively about rural health disparities with a variety of audiences. Resources includes sample letters and social media posts that include health equity and historical context in their messages. Communications Toolkit |
Build Healthy Places Network Releases Rural PlaybookIn 2022, the national nonprofit Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN) released "A Playbook for New Rural Healthcare Partnership Models of Investment," a resource for addressing social determinants of health in rural communities. In this update, BHPN reconnects with organizations featured in the original playbook to gain a deeper understanding of the partnership landscape. Rural Playbook |
NRHA Launches New Go-To Resource Hub for Rural Health Executives NRHA is excited to announce the launch of NRHASC.com, a new platform designed to provide rural health care executives with essential, rural-proven resources for specific needs. Developed by rural health care experts, this resource hub is focused exclusively on helping busy rural health care executives find solutions to the unique challenges they face. The platform offers comprehensive coverage from policy updates to practical tools all in one easy-to-navigate site. Additionally, NRHA Partner Ovation Healthcare discusses how to strengthen rural health care through cybersecurity assessments. Resource Hub |
Publications
More than 70 percent of health centers report worsening workface shortagesCommunity health centers, or CHCs, are the backbone of America’s health care safety net, providing accessible, comprehensive, and coordinated health care to more than 30 million patients a year, including millions of people with low income, people of color, Medicaid enrollees, and the uninsured.
Yet a new Commonwealth Fund survey shows that more than 70 percent of health centers report worsening workface shortages that threaten their ability to continue providing high-quality care. |
Health Professions Education Program Outcomes, 2013-2022This report uses data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to describe outcomes for 32 health professions education programs between the years 2013 and 2022. It contains information on the number of awards conferred and the gender and race/ethnicity of individuals completing the programs.
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International Medical Graduates and the Physician WorkforcePhysician shortages and the geographic maldistribution of general and specialist physicians impair health care delivery and worsen health inequity in the US. International medical graduates (IMGs) represent a potential solution given their ready supply.
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Addressing the Nurse Retention Crisis—Leveraging Policies Supported by EvidenceUsing survey data from registered nurses who participated in the Michigan Nurses’ Study, Friese and colleagues1 evaluated patterns in the employment plans of nurses in 2022 and 2023, providing good news for employers and nurses. Declines were documented in the number of nurses intending to leave their current position and reducing their clinical hours. Nurses reported faring better in 2023 relative to 2022, experiencing less burnout, less job dissatisfaction, fewer experiences of workplace violence, fewer instances of understaffing during a recent shift, and less frequent mandatory overtime.
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Iowa's 2023-2027 State Health Improvement Plan
Members of the Healthy Iowans Partnership worked together to identify goals, objectives, and strategies to help address the state's top health issues. This plan builds on the data highlighted in the 2021-2022 State Health Assessment.
Nurse Corps’ impact on increasing registered nurse staffing in critical shortage areas and facilities, 2017 to 2022This paper reports on Nurse Corps applications, awards, and distribution in 2 cohorts in the period 2017 to 2022 to assess the impact of receiving an additional $200 million appropriated in 2021.
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Impact of U.S. Federal Loan Repayment Programs on the Behavioral Health Workforce: Scoping ReviewFederal loan repayment programs (LRPs) are one strategy to address the shortage of behavioral health providers. This scoping review aimed to identify and characterize the federal LRPs’ impact on the U.S. behavioral health workforce.
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Rural hospitals at risk of closingThe report is based on the latest hospital financial information that was released by CMS earlier this month (in April 2024).
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The Availability of Midwifery Care in Rural United States CommunitiesAccess to pregnancy-related and childbirth-related health care for rural residents is limited by health workforce shortages in the United States. Although midwives are key pregnancy and childbirth care providers, the current landscape of the rural midwifery workforce is not well understood. The goal of this analysis was to describe the availability of local midwifery care in rural US communities.
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