One in five children live below the federal poverty level in the United States and almost one in two are poor or near poor. The Academic Pediatric Association Task Force on Childhood Poverty will focus on specific strategies involving public policy and advocacy, health care delivery, medical education, and research. These strategic priorities are a first step in a “war on childhood poverty”. (Source: Academic Pediatric Association) [Read article]
Federal News
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A Strategic Road-Map: Committed to Bringing the Voice of Pediatricians to the Most Important Problem Facing Children in the US Today
(05/17/2013)
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Growing Power
(05/17/2013)
Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. (Source: Growing Power) [Website]
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Research Shows Latino Students Have High Exposure To Unhealthy Snacks At School
(05/17/2013)
Latino students are widely exposed to high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drinks sold in schools, but implementing stronger nutritional standards can yield healthier school snacks for this growing population at high risk of obesity, according to a new package of research materials released by Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children. “Healthier School Snacks & Latino Kids” research materials start off with an in-depth review and summary of the latest science on school snacks and drinks and policy implications based on that research. (Source: NBC Latino) [Read article; Infographic]
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FDA Tobacco Chief Says Health Community Grappling With Idea That Some Products Are Less Risky
(05/17/2013)
Changes in the marketplace have forced the public health community to wrestle with the idea that some tobacco products may pose less of a health risk than others, the new head of the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco control efforts told an industry group. There are two approaches to regulating tobacco use: one that says there’s no safe way to use tobacco and pushes for people to quit above all else. Others embrace the idea that lower-risk alternatives like smokeless tobacco and other nicotine delivery systems like gum or even electronic cigarettes can help improve overall health. (Source: Washington Post) [Read article]
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US Physician Shortage Predicted To Worsen
(05/17/2013)
The shortage, already said to be most acute in poorer inner cities and in rural America, could be getting worse. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts with more citizens on the verge of receiving insurance through health care reform, and an overall aging population, the nation will see a shortage of about 90,000 doctors in the next decade. That shortfall, according to the AAMC's Center for Workforce Studies, will involve 45,000 too few primary care physicians and 46,000 too few surgeons and medical specialists. (Source: NECN.com) [Read article]
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Psychiatry’s Revamped DSM Guidebook Fuels Debate
(05/17/2013)
The 947-page tome by the American Psychiatric Association adds some new disorders, broadens criteria for existing ones and tightens them for other illnesses. It’s the first major update in nearly 20 years. The highly controversial decisions involved in producing the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, have a potentially broad impact: They can affect which services children receive in schools, what treatments patients receive from doctors and even how people are viewed by society. (Source: Washington Post) [Read article]
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2012 National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report
(05/17/2013)
The quality of U.S. health care is slowly improving, while access to health care remains a great challenge for some Americans, especially racial and ethnic minorities and low-income people. The reports note that “urgent attention” is needed to ensure continued improvements in the quality of diabetes care, maternal and child health care, and treatment for conditions such as pressure ulcers and blood clots. Included in this year’s reports are new measures on early and adequate prenatal care, colorectal cancer screening, national rate of hospital-acquired conditions, standardized infection ratios at the state level for central line-associated bloodstream infections, and patient safety culture hospital survey findings. (Source: AHRQ) [Website]
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Large Majority Of Adults Have Smoke-Free Rules In Homes, Vehicles
(05/17/2013)
Study: Four out of five U.S. adults report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their homes and three out of four report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their vehicles. Despite the high prevalence of voluntary smoke-free rules in homes and vehicles, the study found that almost 11 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their home, and almost 17 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in a vehicle. (Source: CDC) [Read article]
State News
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Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program: 9th Funding Cycle Submissions
(05/17/2013)
According to the HWPP May e-newsletter, invitations have been extended to 30 Letter of Intent applicants to submit full proposals to HWPP during the 9th Funding Cycle. They represent 6 Impact and 24 Development proposals. Of the 24 Development proposals, 6 have been submitted from rural served areas. (Source: MCW HWPP) [Website]
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NRHA Volunteer of the Year - Bill Sexton
(05/17/2013)
Bill Sexton is the CEO of Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital. Bill has been an integral part of NRHA for over a decade, including president in 2006. A congratulation “shout out” to Bill for his never-ending compassion, service and willingness to help on rural health issues. (Source: NRHA YouTube) [Watch]
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Ian Stormont Honored with the NRHA Student Achievement Award
(05/17/2013)
Ian Stormont is a fourth-year medical student in the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He worked with Scenic Rivers Area Health Education Council and the Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse, Wis., to create, fund and implement a week-long health careers camp for Native American high school students. The first camp was so successful it is now an annual event. Ian was honored (YouTube) May 9 during NRHA’s 36th Annual Rural Health Conference. Related: Scenic Rivers AHAEC press release. (Source: NRHA)
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Rescue Squad Works To Improve Services
(05/17/2013)
The Cuba City Area Rescue Squad (CCARS) is expanding its services to include the use of intravenous (I.V.) technology. CCARS will be able to offer advanced emergency medical care to its patients. The process to apply for and receive approval from the State EMS office for the Advanced EMT level contains several steps. The AEMT builds upon the skills and knowledge of an experienced EMT. The course is 150 hours in length, which includes both classroom and clinical/field experience. (Source: SWnews4U.com) [Read article]
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Increased Medicaid Payments Should Begin In Fourth Quarter, DHS Says
(05/17/2013)
The article states that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently notified the Wisconsin Medical Society that it does not expect to begin making increased Medicaid payments to primary care physicians until the fourth quarter of this year. Physicians who have completed the online attestation form by October can expect to receive payments no later than December 31, 2013, DHS said. (Source: WI Medical Society) [Read article]
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Lawmakers Support More Equitable Geographic Measures
(05/17/2013)
The Wisconsin Medical Society worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to encourage development of a more equitable way to determine the geographic measures used to calculate the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians. Lawmakers joined 16 other members of Congress in this letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services questioning the Geographic Practice Cost Indices (GPCI). (Source: WI Medical Society) [Read article]
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Uninsured, Low Income Visits To Hospitals Up 30 Percent Since 2006
(05/16/2013)
The JS article stated that more than 1 million visits to Wisconsin's hospitals were by patients who were uninsured and low income in 2011 - an increase of more than 30% since 2006, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center's annual Guide to Wisconsin Hospitals. (Source: Milw Journal Sentinel) [Read article]
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Call For Stricter Blood Alcohol Concentrations Limits Draws Mixed Reaction
(05/16/2013)
The National Transportation Safety Board recommended this week that states lower the minimum limit on Blood Alcohol Concentrations for drunk driving from .08 to .05. The federal agency argues the limits would make the roads safer and help reduce highway deaths attributed to drunk driving. Alcohol plays a role in 40 percent of the fatal crashes in Wisconsin each year. The proposal is raising concerns among bar owners. (Source: WI Radio Network) [Read article]
Funding Opportunities
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Susan Harwood Training Grant Program - U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
06/13/2013
The grants will fund training and education for workers and employers in recognizing workplace safety and health hazards and prevention measures, and understanding their rights and responsibilities. [Funding]
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State and Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention Grants - Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
06/13/2013
The purpose of this program is to support states and tribes in developing and implementing statewide or tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies, grounded in public/private collaboration. [Funding]
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Data Rx: Prescription Drug Abuse Infographic Challenge - NIH
06/14/2013
Prescription drug abuse is a growing drug problem for America. Challenge: Create an infographic to inform and educate the general public in interesting, novel, and creative ways about prescription drug abuse dangers. [Funding]
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Propose New Ideas for Prescription Drugs Oral Overdose Protection by National Institutes of Health - NIH
06/16/2013
Prescription drugs are the second-most abused category of drugs in the United States, following marijuana. NIDA is seeking ideas on how to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm from accidentally or intentionally swallowing too many pills at the same time. NIDA is particularly interested in approaches that deter overdosing on an intact product. [Funding]
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Rural Business Opportunity Grants - USDA
06/28/2013
The primary objective of the RBOG program is to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. Grant funds must be used for projects in rural areas and they can be used for: Community economic development; Technology-based economic development; Feasibility studies and business plans; Leadership and entrepreneur training; Rural business incubators; or, Long-term business strategic planning. [Funding; Federal Register; USDA press release]
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Health Care Innovation Awards Round Two – CMS
06/28/2013
The second round of the Health Care Innovation Awards will support public and private organizations in four defined areas that have a high likelihood of driving health care system transformation and delivering better outcomes. In this round, CMS specifically seeks new payment models to support the service delivery models funded by this initiative. (Letter of Intent deadline: June 28, 2013; Application deadline: August 15, 2013) [Funding]
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Office of Small Business Development Centers Program Announcement - Small Business Administration
07/18/2013
The SBDC program is the SBA’s largest matching grant, funding a service delivery network to provide high quality business and economic development assistance to small businesses and nascent entrepreneurs in order to promote growth, expansion, innovation, increased productivity and management improvement. (Fiscal Year Proposals deadline: July 18, 2013; Calendar Year Proposals deadline: August 22, 2013) [Funding; Website]
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Healthcare Fraud Prevention Partnership Data Exchange Network - Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services
11/15/2013
The principle tasks of this challenge are to: Define a Data Standard for Exchanging Claims and Compromised Party Data; Define a Secure Data Exchange Network; Define and Implement HFPP TTP Role Support; Provide Documentation that Drives Adoption; and Demonstrate the System with one or more Proof of Concept Applications. [Funding]
WORH Updates
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The new 2011-2012 recruitment “year” began on July 1st, following a very challenging 2010-2011 “year”. The number of available physician positions keeps increasing, while the supply of physicians stayed the same or decreased in some areas. Competition for primary care physicians is extremely keen, and clinics /hospitals around the state are struggling to fill their physician shortages. This is especially true in rural facilities, and even more so in rural facilities in northern Wisconsin. Check out the Physician Recruitment News, and Physician Recruitment Tips & Advice which is the latest physician recruitment trends, newsworthy items, and/or offer tips & advice related directly to any/all aspects of physician recruitment. [Continue reading]
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The Office of Rural Health is proud to announce that we have scheduled our 3rd Annual Wisconsin Rural Health Summit for May 24th at Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells. We hope you can join us to learn how the changes on the State and Federal level have impacted rural health care. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and network with, other rural health professionals. This year we are pleased to have Brock Slabach from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). Brock will provide a legislative update from the federal level. We will also have local rural health experts to provide us with state updates. [Continue reading]
