HHS Announces Health Center Planning Grant Opportunity

/PRNewswire/ -- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced up to $10 million in funding for a Health Center Planning Grant (HCPG) opportunity for organizations across the country that would like to become a Community Health Center. The HCPG opportunity is intended to support organizations in the future development of a health center and will support approximately 125 HCPGs in FY 2011.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) administers the Health Center Program. Health centers improve the health of the Nation's underserved communities and vulnerable populations. They assure access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services at more than 7,900 service delivery sites around the country to patients regardless of their ability to pay; charges for services are set according to income.

"This funding opportunity in the Affordable Care Act will help nurture organizations that answer the noble call to assist those who are medically underserved, underinsured and uninsured," said Secretary Sebelius.

"The HCPG grants help organizations qualify to become CHCs, which increases HRSA's ability to serve more people," said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield , Ph.D., R.N. "From oral health, behavioral health, to maternal wellness and serving those in rural communities, community health centers increase access for those in need of high quality preventive and primary health care."

Eligible entities for the FY 2011 HCPG include public or nonprofit private entities, including tribal, faith-based and community-based organizations that currently do not receive the following section 330 funding awards:

* Planning Grants
* Community Health Centers
* Migrant Health Centers
* Health Care for the Homeless
* Public Housing Primary Care Programs
* Primary Care Associations


For more information about eligibility, guidance and application submission for the HCPG, visit www.grants.gov. For more information on HRSA's community health center program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/. For more information about Affordable Care Act investments in community health centers, visit www.HealthCare.gov.

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Secretary Sebelius Releases $27.8 Million in Recovery Act Funds to Expand the Use of Health Information Technology

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards totaling $27.8 million to health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement electronic health records (EHR) and other health information technology (HIT) innovations. The funds are part of the $2 billion allotted to HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program.

"The increased use of health information technology is a key focus of our reform efforts because it will help to improve the safety and quality of health care generally while also cutting waste out of the system," Secretary Sebelius said.

"These funds to expand and upgrade electronic health records systems will make a huge difference for health centers struggling to provide health care to the growing number of people in need," said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.

"Broad use of health information technology has the potential to improve health care quality, prevent medical errors, and increase the efficiency of care provision," added National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P. "This program supports the department's overall efforts to assist physicians and hospitals in adopting and becoming meaningful users of health information technology."

Eighteen grants totaling more than $22.6 million will support HER implementation. Grants totaling more than $2.6 million will help four grantees implement a variety of HIT innovations, including the creation of health information exchanges among different providers and the
incorporation of HIT at dental delivery sites. Another five grants totaling over $2.5 million will help health centers devise plans to use existing EHRs to improve patient health outcomes.

HRSA received $2 billion through the Recovery Act to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program. To date, more than $1.3 billion of these funds have been awarded to community-based organizations across the country.
HRSA-supported health centers treated 17 million patients in 2008, 40 percent of whom have no health insurance.

In addition, HRSA received $500 million in Recovery Act workforce funds --$300 million to expand the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and another $200 million for other health care workforce programs. The NHSC funds will pay for student loan repayments for primary care medical, dental, and mental health clinicians who will practice for a minimum of two years in NHSC sites that treat underserved and uninsured people. Recently, awards totaling $33 million -- part of the $200 million total were announced to expand the training of health care professionals.

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HHS Secretary Announces $25.7 Million in Grants to Expand, Improve Health Center Services

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday announced more than $25.7 million in grants to increase and improve health and support services at the nation's health centers.

“These grants could not be coming at a better time,” Secretary Sebelius said. “With more than 14.5 million Americans out of work, and 47 million without health insurance, the health centers are seeing more patients now than ever before.”

Overseen by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at HHS, the Health Center system served more than 17 million medically underserved people in 2008, up from 10 million patients served in 2001. Since the economic downturn began, the health center patient population has grown by another one million people – a third of them children. By law, patients are accepted regardless of their ability to pay.

A total of 180 grants worth more than $21.9 million will give existing health centers the funds to add or increase mental health/substance abuse, enabling (i.e., outreach, transportation, case management services), oral health or pharmacy services. Additionally, 48 planning grants totaling more than $3.8 million will be distributed to organizations in hard hit areas that do not have health centers to help them develop new service delivery sites. New health center sites must meet federal requirements for governance, community involvement, quality of care and financial feasibility.

HRSA’s Health Center Program funds a national network of more than 1,100 community, migrant, homeless and public housing health center grantees. These organizations provide health care at more than 7,500 clinical sites, ranging from large medical facilities to mobile vans. In FY 2009, more than $2.1 billion was appropriated to support the Health Center Program.

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FDA Launches New Center for Tobacco Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched its new Center for Tobacco Products in an historic effort to curb the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by those products each year.

The Center will oversee the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed by President Obama in June 2009. The FDA’s responsibilities under the law include setting performance standards, reviewing premarket applications for new and modified risk tobacco products, and establishing and enforcing advertising and promotion restrictions.

Lawrence Deyton, M.D. M.S.P.H., an expert on veterans’ health issues, public health, tobacco use, and a clinical professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will serve as the Center’s first director.

“We are thrilled to announce Dr. Deyton’s appointment as director of the Center for Tobacco Products and look forward to him joining the agency,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “He is the rare combination of public health expert, administrative leader, scientist, and clinician.”

Before coming to the FDA, Deyton was Chief Public Health and Environmental Hazards Officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. His responsibilities there included oversight of the VA’s public health programs including tobacco use, the health of women veterans, the long-term health consequences of military service, and the VA’s emergency preparation and response. He was selected after a national search.

The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, located on the FDA’s White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, Md., will use the best available science to guide the development and implementation of effective public health strategies to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products.

To implement the program, the FDA will start with $5 million from the fiscal year 2009 budget to establish the necessary administrative functions for the Center. As set forth in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, funding for the Center and other activities related to the regulation of tobacco will come from user fees paid by manufacturers and importers of tobacco products.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, each year. On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.

“As many Americans know, freedom from tobacco dependence is the key to a healthy future,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, M.D., M.P.H. “Dr. Deyton’s public health and tobacco cessation experience will be invaluable as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration take on this challenge.”

One of Deyton’s priorities had been revitalization of the VA’s smoking and tobacco use cessation programs. Under his leadership, current smoking among veterans enrolled in the cessation program fell from 33 percent in 1999 to 22 percent in 2007. The VA health care system is the largest integrated provider of health care and medical services in the United States, with more than 1,400 sites serving nearly 6 million veterans in fiscal year 2008.

“I am eager for the challenge of leading the tobacco team at FDA,” said Deyton. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us at FDA to work hand-in-hand with the CDC, researchers at the National Institutes of Health, and public health leaders in the states to make progress in combating tobacco use – the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.”

In 2002, Deyton established the VA’s Public Health Strategic Health Care Group, which encompassed responsibilities for HIV, hepatitis C, tobacco use cessation, bioterrorism, and issues such as SARS, pandemic influenza, and other emerging public health threats. He became Chief Officer in January 2006 and since then has been successful in efforts to address the health needs of veterans.

Deyton has served for 11 years in leadership positions in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, six years in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, and as a legislative aide with the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and the Environment in the 1970s.

He was a founder in 1978 of the Whitman Walker Clinic, a community based AIDS service organization in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Kansas University, the Harvard School of Public Health and the George Washington University School of Medicine. Deyton’s post-doctorate medical training was at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles County Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and continues to care for patients on a regular basis.

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The HRSA Genetics Collaboratives are Bringing Genetic and Newborn Screening Services to Local Communities Around the United States

/PRNewswire/ -- Overcoming the challenges of bringing quality and cutting edge genetic and newborn screening (NBS) services to local communities and to children and families with hereditary diseases is extremely complex. It requires coordinated, multifaceted and multidisciplinary efforts that are national, regional, and local and include public, private and not-for-profit partnerships. In order to meet these challenges, the Health Resources and Services Administration/Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA/MCHB) awarded the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) a cooperative agreement in 2004 and later renewed it until 2012 to serve as the National Coordinating Center (NCC) for seven similarly-funded Regional Genetics Collaboratives known as the HRSA Genetics Collaboratives (http://www.nccrcg.org/).

These seven HRSA/MCHB-funded HRSA Genetics Collaboratives and their National Coordinating Center (NCC) are working to improve access to local genetic and newborn screening services, information, and resources for individuals and families with heritable disorders. A major component of the NCC/Genetics Collaboratives system involves using a variety of approaches to link primary care providers, geneticists and other specialist providers, and public health services into a comprehensive medical home that meets all the needs of individuals and families with heritable conditions. Activities at all levels engage consumers and families, with new opportunities for partnerships continually emerging.

"Hundreds of professionals including public health officials, newborn screening program staff members, primary care providers, physician geneticists, genetic counselors, consumer advocates, and families are active in the HRSA Genetics Collaboratives. The Collaboratives are bringing genetic discoveries into local communities in every state in the country and are working hard to improve local access to newborn screening and genetic services for everyone by addressing the unique needs of the community," says Judith Benkendorf, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor and Project Director of the NCC. "Each regional Genetics Collaborative has fostered a variety of approaches to building linkages between public health, genetics specialists, primary care/the Medical Home and families. Some of activities are even being replicated nationally. A benefit of the current coordinated system is that each HRSA Genetics Collaborative has access to national expertise, positioning it to be a 'go to' resource for information about genetic and newborn screening services," added pediatrician Tracy L. Trotter, MD, FAAP, Senior Partner, San Ramon Valley Primary Care.

The NCC also facilitates collaborations between the HRSA Genetics Collaboratives and national projects, using local communities to pilot materials and programs for policymakers, health professionals and families. Many national organizational partners contribute additional resources.

NCC initiatives include:
-- building national capacity in the use of telegenetics;
-- establishing a searchable national network of genetic service and
subspecialty providers experienced in the diagnosis and management of
infants with heritable disorders detected through NBS programs;
-- collecting and disseminating data that establish the value of genetic
services to payers and policymakers;
-- developing disaster preparedness strategies to ensure that NBS
programs and treatment of patients with metabolic conditions are not
interrupted in the case of an emergency;
-- developing and distributing of management guidelines and "just in
time" resources for providers caring for patients with heritable
disorders;
-- addressing the transition of patients with heritable conditions from
pediatric to adult care; and
-- developing resources for state policymakers.

National data collection efforts include tracking pilot NBS programs and establishing and maintaining a patient follow-up database useful in rare disease research. Maximizing collaboration between the genetic services, primary care, NBS and public health communities is critical to the success of each of these efforts and to the collective impact of the NCC and the Genetics Collaboratives.

The Seven Regional HRSA Genetics Collaboratives

Region 1: The New England Regional Genetics Collaborative (NEGC), with CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT (www.negenetics.org/)

Region 2: New York-Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Genetic and Newborn Screening Services, with DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and WV (www.wadsworth.org/newborn/nymac/)

Region 3: The Southeast NBS and Genetics Collaborative, with AL, FL, GA, LA, MI, NC, SC, TN, PR, and USVI (http://southeastgenetics.org/)

Region 4: The Region 4 Genetics Collaborative with IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, OH, WI (http://region4genetics.org/)

Region 5: The Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative, with AR, IA, KS, MO, ND, NE, OK, and SD (www.heartlandcollaborative.org/)

Region 6: Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center, with AZ, CO, MT, NM, NV, TX, UT, and WY (www.msgrcc.org/)

Region 7: Western States Genetic Services Collaborative, with AK, CA, HI, OR, WA, and US Pacific Basin (www.westernstatesgenetics.org/)

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New Center Focuses on Personalized Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis

The Integrative Cancer Research Center (ICRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology is joining forces with the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development (CCRTD) at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) to establish a Collaborative Cancer Genomics Center (CCGC). The partnership will integrate expertise at both universities that will focus on understanding the underlying causes of prostate, ovarian, pancreatic and lung cancers.

Shafiq Khan, director of Clark Atlanta’s CCRTD, said, “The molecular, bioinformatic and clinical expertise necessary to move forward with such a personalized cancer diagnosis and treatment program exists at the collaborating institutions. Establishment of CCGC will complement the existing experimental infrastructure necessary to generate the genomic data required to attain our goals.”

John McDonald, director Georgia Tech’s ICRC, added, “We are particularly interested in developing algorithms that will allow us to use gene expression and DNA sequence data that we gather from specific patients to generate a customized prognosis and optimal therapeutic treatment program for individual cancer patients.”

Under the collaborative agreement, CCRTD will house and operate the CCGC’s high-throughput next generation sequencing instruments. The resulting sequence data will be assembled and analyzed at ICRC. Patient samples will be provided by the Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) and Saint Joseph’s Hospital’s Translational Research Initiatives in Oncology for the Management of Personalized Healthcare (TRIOMPH ) program. Clark Atlanta and Georgia Tech scientists will join clinical experts from OCI and TRIOMPH to interpret and evaluate the resulting data.

Housed at CAU in the Thomas W. Cole Jr. Research Center for Science and Technology, the CCGC is scheduled to begin operation in the fall of 2009.
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