Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month Resources and Events Available
HHS has many resources, upcoming webinars, and conferences in the month of May.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made available various resources and event information for Teen Pregnancy Prevention month including web portals, webinars, and upcoming conferences. Last week, HHS’ Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) launched its new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Resource Center, an online collection of resources for professionals working to prevent teen pregnancy. The website also contains a calendar of teen pregnancy prevention events including the following webinars in May:

• May 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET - “Working in Rural Communities to Prevent Teen Pregnancy” (including a presentation by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy)
• May 9 at 2:00 p.m. ET - “Preventing Teen Pregnancy Among Native American Youth”
• May 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET – “Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs for Youth in Foster Care”
• May 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET – “Social Determinants and Teen Pregnancy” (including presentations by Dr. Anna Penman-Aguilar on a recent Public Health Reports paper and two OAH/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) community-wide grantees on using social determinants)

The OAH, CDC, and Administration on Children, Youth and Families are holding a conference called, “Ready, Set, Sustain: Continuing Our Success,” May 20-23, at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, MD, for all teen pregnancy prevention grantees. NFPRHA President & CEO Clare Coleman will be presenting on the role of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in teen pregnancy prevention. For more information on all of these resources and events and to register for them, visit http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/oah-initiatives/teen_pregnancy/calendar.html#May2013.

President Obama Publicly Defends Misguided EC Decisions

In response to strong backlash from provider groups and public health advocates, President Obama defended decisions made by his administration with regard to ensuring access to emergency contraception (EC). On April 30 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of the EC product, Plan B One-Step, over the counter and without a prescription for women 15 and older. The FDA decision clearly ignored a decision issued previously by a judge requiring the drug to be sold over the counter without any age restrictions. Recognizing the decision violated the judge’s orders, the Department of Justice (DOJ) then announced it would appeal the ruling in Tummino v. Hamburg to allow EC products to be sold over the counter without age restrictions. Echoing points made by the DOJ in its appeal, President Obama stated that his administration was concerned that the court exceeded its authority in its decision by overruling a decision issued by the FDA. The Center for Reproductive Rights is preparing a legal response to the appeal. 

For more information on contraceptive access, please contact Nici Paterson at npaterson@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114 ext. 211.

Register for Service Delivery Call: Prepare for 340B Certification

The discount drug pricing available through the 340B program offers critical savings to family planning providers. Recent changes to the recertification process could impact the steps health centers take to continue or gain access to the program.

Please join NFPRHA’s next Peer-to-Peer Service Delivery Call on May 9, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. ET to hear NFPRHA colleagues in North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin share their experience with the 340B certification process. Discussion topics include how to prepare for certification, the creation of certification policies and procedures, and how to access 340B pricing through the 318 fix. To join the call, please RSVP by completing the online registration form. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Kleder at mkleder@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114 ext. 209.  

Grant Opportunity Still Available to Help Consumers Enroll in Health Exchanges

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a fact sheet with information on how organizations can help consumers navigate the new health insurance exchanges. The fact sheet briefly describes and defines the differences between the various opportunities health centers can pursue to support enrollment into the health plans in the exchanges. Opportunities for organizations and staff include becoming navigators, in-person assistors, and/or certified application assistors. Additionally, current insurance brokers and agents will be able to support new enrollees. The type of help available in states will vary depending on exchange types – also clarified in the fact sheet.  Click here to access the fact sheet. Additional resources for health care providers interested in helping patients understand the ACA can also be found at: http://marketplace.cms.gov/.

Moreover, the navigator funding opportunity is still available for organizations interested in applying for grant funds designed to help people understand and enroll in insurance. The announcement is available at http://www.grants.gov - search for CFDA # 93.750. In order to apply for funding, organizations need both a DUNS and SAM number. More information about applying for each of these numbers is available at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform and at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. For more information about outreach and enrollment or applying for a navigator grant, please contact Julie Lewis at jlewis@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114 ext. 214.

June Trainings in San Antonio Still Available for Title X Grantees – Register Today!

There is still room! The National Clinical Training Center is offering preceptor, long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), and billing and coding trainings for Title X grantees and sub-recipients June 5-8, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas. Billing and coding trainings are offered in collaboration with NFPRHA’s Life After 40 project. Find more information and register today at http://www.ctcfp.org/clinical-training/.

New Family Planning Resources Available

New resources and webinar registrations are now available online for family planning providers to assist with sexual and reproductive health advocacy and education efforts.

HHS’ Office of Women’s Health – National Women’s Health Week
May 12 - 18 is National Women’s Health Week and HHS’ Office of Women’s Health encourages organizations to participate by holding events. Find out more information about National Women’s Health Week and register your organization’s event(s) by clicking here. For questions, please email womenshealth@hhs.gov.

Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships – May Webinars
The HHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will host a series of webinars for faith and community leaders discussing the ACA in May. The webinars include an Update on the Navigator Program (May 7, 3:00 p.m. ET); Questions and Answers on the Health Care Law (May 10, 2:00 p.m. ET); The Health Care Law 101 in Spanish (May 21, 3:00 p.m. ET); and The Health Care Law 101 (May 23, 2:00 p.m. ET). Please email ACA101@hhs.gov with any questions.

Navicure – CEU Webinar: Learn How ICD-10 Will Affect Your Practice
Navicure is presenting a webinar aimed at helping practices prepare for when ICD-10 medical coding changes go into effect next October. The webinar will be presented by Shelly Cronin, Director of ICD-10 Training at the American Academy of Professional Coders, on May 8 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Participants can earn 1.0 CEU credit by attending the webinar. Click here to register.

National Center for Health Workforce Analysis – Nursing Workforce Webinar
The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) will be hosting the next webinar in its Workforce Webinar Series on NCHWA’s Nursing Workforce Research Activities and Findings. The webinar will discuss the NCHWA’s nursing workforce agenda and present findings from its new report on the US nursing workforce. Key findings will be presented on the supply, distribution, and education of RNs and LPNs, highlighting recent trends in new graduates and discussing key changes in nursing employment characteristics over the past decade. The webinar will take place on May 14, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. ET. To view the webinar online, click here, or call in to 800-857-1222, passcode 7298874.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute – Funding Announcements
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has issued two funding announcements for up to $68 million to support development of a National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network designed to unite millions of patients through a coordinated collaboration with researchers and healthcare delivery organizations. The funding announcements can be found here. Letters of intent from applicants are due June 19, 2013, and complete applications are due September 27, 2013.

CDC Division of STD Prevention – New Podcast
In a new podcast, Catherine Satterwhite, PhD, MSPH, MPH of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, discusses how STIs impact young people as well as STI testing recommendations. She describes the important role clinicians play in initiating conversations about STIs with young adults and provides tips for beginning the discussion. View the podcast here, or listen to her commentary here.

HRSA Division of Nursing – Nursing Workforce Diversity FOA
The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Division of Nursing has released an funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to increase nursing education opportunities for individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities that are underrepresented among registered nurses. View the Nursing Workforce Diversity FOA here.

CDC – Grant Writing Guidance and Tips
The CDC has posted guidance and tips for writing grant applications. View the tips here.

CMS – Insure Kids Now Campaign
CMS is carrying out an intensive campaign in six states (CA, FL, GA, NY, OH, TX) to educate the public about the Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP) program with the goal of enrolling eligible kids who are still not signed for up the insurance. All of the materials being used in this campaign can be accessed online here. For any questions about the campaign, contact Donna Cohen Ross at donna.cohenross@cms.hhs.gov.