On February 13th, HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson attended the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) Rural Health Policy Institute and provided keynote remarks. Administrator Johnson highlighted HRSA’s rural health programs and Agency-wide efforts to develop the health workforce and expand access to care in rural communities.

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Associate Administrator Tom Morris was also in attendance and presented on priorities relating to behavioral health, workforce investment, rural hospitals, and rural health care access. The audience was comprised of rural health care professionals, rural health care providers, rural health clinics, community health centers, rural hospitals, State Offices of Rural health, State Rural Health Associations, educators and researchers.

HRSA is taking historic steps as part of its Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative leveraging new legal authority proposed in the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget and signed into law as part of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act in September.

In a groundbreaking transformation, for the first time in four-decades supporting the national organ transplantation system, HRSA is issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) to support multiple different contract awards. This action will increase competition ensuring patients and their families benefit from best-in-class vendors.

Earlier this month, HRSA released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO, HRSA-24-030).

Nearly $25 million will be available to support comprehensive disease prevention, health promotion, and primary health care services for Native Hawaiians.

This opportunity is a limited competition. To learn more about eligibility, visit the FY 2024 NHHCIA webpage and download the NOFO.

Applications are due in Grants.gov by Thursday, May 2.

The HRSA fact sheets and HRSA fact sheet maps are summary reports and maps of grants, loans, and scholarships at various geography levels.

The ratified FY 2024 HRSA awarded grants are now included in Data by Geography, Find Grants, and Data Explorer

HRSA recently launched the Health Center Program GeoCare Navigator. This mapping tool creates service area maps for Health Center Program applications or change in scope requests. Use it to evaluate geographic reach, penetration, and growth of the Health Center Program and its relationship to other federally linked health resources.

This tool replaces the Uniform Data System (UDS) Mapper, which will sunset next month.

Find a user guide and introductory video in the “Resources” dropdown. Submit questions via the BPHC Contact Form (Health Center Data and Research > Health Center Program GeoCare Navigator).

HRSA is taking action to address the surging number of syphilis and congenital syphilis cases nationwide, to slow the spread with a focus on those most significantly impacted.

HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention on a webinar, Wednesday, February 28, noon-1 p.m. ET, for clinicians and other health care providers. Speakers will explore opportunities for prevention.

HRSA is cohosting a webinar with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Indian Health Service, and the National Institutes of Health to mark Patient Safety Awareness Week. The webinar will explore how health care providers and staff can get to the heart of patient stories to improve clinical care and address disparities in provider-patient relationships and more on Wednesday, March 13, 2-4 p.m. ET.

Guest speaker Jay Baruch, MD, is a practicing emergency physician and award-winning author, lecturer, and medical educator.

Register.