California State Office of Rural Health

Health care providers, grantees and partners have an exciting opportunity to help spread the word and begin planning for an upcoming program that helps patients and households obtain internet access to connect with virtual health care, jobs, and education. Beginning around late April 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) will make $3.2 billion available to qualifying households to lower the cost of high-speed internet service and provide discounts on internet service bills and an opportunity for a computer or tablet. The EBB program is similar to the Lifeline program with expanded eligibility, vendors, and subsidies.

The Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (STLRP) encourages recently licensed physicians and surgeons to practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas – Primary Care (HPSA-PC) and Primary Care Shortage Areas (PCSA) in California. The program repays up to $105,000 in educational loans in exchange for full-time service for a minimum of three (3) years. If you are an allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) physician working in a HPSA-PC and PCSA in California, have outstanding educational debt, and meet other important application criteria related to cultural and linguistic competency, you may be eligible to apply. Please carefully review the eligibility guidelines for the program to which you are interested in applying. STLRP is highly competitive and not all who apply are awarded.

The state legislature appropriated funds for DHCS to establish the BHPP to expand the California Bridge Program initiated under the MAT Expansion Project to further develop Emergency Department-based behavioral health services in California’s acute care hospitals. The BHPP provides funding for behavioral health counselors (otherwise known as substance use navigators or “SUNs” in the CA Bridge Program) in hospital emergency departments (EDs). If you are currently receiving funding from CA Bridge, this is an opportunity to secure funding to sustain your SUN. If you do not currently have a program through CA Bridge, this funding will provide a foundation for the program by placing a counselor (SUN) in the ED to work with individuals with substance use disorder.

Standardized set of health data classes and constituent data elements for nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. It replaces the Common Clinical Data Set

Explore CDC’s new web resources on COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Learn how conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, play, and worship affect who’s more likely to get COVID-19. Use interactive data and peer-reviewed literature to explore how COVID-19 shows up among racial and ethnic minority groups.

Health Professional Shortage Area and Medically Underserved Area/Population

Needs Assessment Methodologies in Determining Treatment Capacity for Substance Use Disorders: Final Report Presents the results from an environmental scan reviewing the literature on needs assessment methods and substance use disorder (SUD) needs assessment reports representing diverse interests, including rural and urban areas, researchers, government agencies, and private consultants. Highlights best practices for conducting SUD needs assessments, identifies gaps and opportunities for improvement in the available data, and discusses why SUD needs assessments are necessary. Sponsoring organizations: Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Date: 09/2019

March 26-27, 2020. This Consortium is comprised of stakeholders from the seven Western states. They have come together to exchange ideas and experiences, to share best practices, and to develop collaborative efforts to reduce cancer.