The Bipartisan Policy Center released a report in September that tracks spending to address the opioid epidemic across the federal government for fiscal year 2019. The report provides insight into […]
Report: Tracking FY2019 Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis Read More »
A study published in Circulation: Heart Failure concluded that women age 18-55 with Acute Myocardial Infarction – Cardiogenic Shock (AMI-CS), are treated less aggressively and experience higher in-hospital mortality compared
Article: Women Get Worse Care for Heart Attacks with Cardiogenic Shock Read More »
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Health Equity released its 2019-2020 Health Equity Report on October 14. The report has a special feature on housing and health
Resource: HRSA 2019-2020 Health Equity Report Read More »
Improve Health Equity During Hispanic Heritage Month From September 15 – October 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH), along with the IPRO
Hispanic Heritage Month: Resources for Patients, Families, & Caregivers Read More »
Improve Health Equity During Hispanic Heritage Month This year, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) honors National Hispanic Heritage Month, we hope
Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15-October 15 Read More »
October is National Residents’ Rights Month, an annual event recognizing the respect, dignity and rights to which all residents of long-term care facilities are entitled. The IPRO QIN-QIO is honoring
National Residents’ Rights Month Read More »
The HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) released the fifth edition of the Healthy People initiative, which builds on knowledge gained over the past four decades to
Healthy People 2030 Initiative: Building a healthier future for all Read More »
A Culture of Equity blog by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asks readers to imagine enduring the COVID-19 pandemic without running water, reliable internet, or affordable gas and electric. As
Article: Energy, Water and Broadband Read More »
The success of a barbershop hypertension intervention for Blacks continued with the addition of a telemedicine component to reduce costs and improve efficiency, according to a pilot study. Blood pressure
Article: Black Barbershop Hypertension Intervention Gets Telemedicine Update Read More »
On September 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Rural Action Plan, the first HHS-wide assessment of rural healthcare efforts in over 18 years. The
Policy: HHS Releases Rural Action Plan Read More »
North Carolina has created the nation’s first statewide infrastructure connecting healthcare and human services called NCCARE360. Through a public-private partnership, the state developed this technology platform to coordinate whole-person care,
Resource: North Carolina Creates NCCare360 Read More »
The Vermont food relief program call Everyone Eats! helps supplement meals for residents experiencing food insecurity while also supporting local restaurants and farmers. The program, being touted as a model
Vermont’s Food Relief Program: Everyone Eats! Read More »
A study published in JAMA suggests that Black people are less likely to receive hospice care and more likely to receive intensive treatment in the last six months of life,
Article: Racial Disparities Persist in Hospice Care and End-of-Life Treatment Read More »
The authors of this commentary in the NEJM Catalyst digital journal outline a four-tier model that offers a framework for interconnected measures to advance equity for patients and healthcare staff.
Article: Pragmatic Framework for Establishing Meaningful Measurements for Equity Read More »
The field of behavioral health is always evolving, and our teams are constantly looking for opportunities to sharpen skills and learn new things. We regularly gather a variety of webinars,
Behavioral Health & Opioids: September & October Updates Read More »
The independent Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes released its final report to CMS on September 16. The Commission report was created to conduct an independent review
Report Released: Independent Nursing Home COVID-19 Commission Findings Read More »
Trainings The CMS-CDC Fundamentals of COVID-19 Prevention for Nursing Home Management training series covers 13 topics that your nursing home staff must know to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. These trainings
In a research article published in PLOS Medicine (August 2020), patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who are hospitalized for serious infections requiring prolonged intravenous antibiotics may face barriers to
The Bloomberg American Health Initiative and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity are working with IBM Watson Health to develop a method to measure the impact of hospitals on
Initiative: How Can Hospitals Improve the Health of their Communities? Read More »
This published article in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (August 2020) describes a retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 positive patients who were hospitalized between February 27 and April 12,
Article: Respiratory distress the cause of most post-COVID hospital readmissions Read More »
The CMS Innovation Center recently announced the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model to address disparities by providing a path for rural communities to transform health care delivery
Initiative: CMS Announces CHART Model for Improving Rural Health Read More »
COVID-19 will have an unprecedented impact on homelessness, according to analysis by Dr. Brendan O’Flaherty, a professor of economics at Columbia University. Dr. O’Flaherty projects a 40-45% increase in homelessness
Article: Housing Insecurity a Growing Problem Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a rapid and massive shift to telemedicine to help protect patients and providers from infection. A JAMA Internal Medicine research letter asserts that an estimated
Article: Assessing Telemedicine Unreadiness Among Older Adults in the U.S. Read More »
View popular resources from our partners. Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Office of Minority Health Health & Human Services (HHS): Health Disparities Partners The Community Guide: Health
Resources: Where can I learn more about health equity? Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic caused healthcare providers to change how they operate to continue providing essential services to patients. It is essential to ensure immunization services are maintained or re-initiated. Immunizations
COVID-19 and Influenza Season 2020-2021 Read More »
September is National Recovery Month. This national observance is dedicated to helping those with a mental or substance use disorder to live a healthy life through education. Supports like substance
National Recovery Month Read More »
Thursday, August 20, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) transitioned the live nursing home infection control trainings
Important CMS & CDC Nursing Home Training Series Change Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health is honoring National Immunization Awareness Month. Although vaccination rates are low among all adults in the U.S., research shows
August is National Immunization Awareness Month Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a web-based training course for hospices wanting a resource to the many trainings offered related to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program
Now Available: Web-Based Course on Hospice QRP Education and Training Resources Read More »
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office (MMCO) is sharing messages and materials on supporting equal opportunities and inclusion for
Resources: Bringing Attention to Health Equity for People with Disabilities Read More »
July 29, 2020 @ 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET Please join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for another webinar focused on sharing promising public health practices to
CDC COVID-19 Webinar on July 29: Promising Practices in Health Equity Read More »
Thursday, June 18, 2020, 10:30-11:00 AM EDT Our COVID-19 Workshop Series continues on Thursdays, 10:30 – 11:00 am. Join us on June 18 at 10:30am for a COVID-19 workshop on
How should nursing homes approach COVID-19 testing and surveillance for their residents, staff and others who visit their facilities? National Nursing Home Training Webinar Through our work with hundreds of
Implementing Strategies for COVID-19 Surveillance and Early Detection Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed a toolkit full of innovative solutions deployed at the state level to protect our nation’s vulnerable nursing home residents during the
QIN-QIOs Partner with CMS to Create New COVID-19 Toolkit for Nursing Homes Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new toolkit developed with QIN-QIOs to aid nursing homes, governors, state departments of health and other agencies who provide
Toolkit Connects Nursing Homes with Local Solutions to COVID-19 Crisis Care Read More »
May is Mental Health Month, and we want to recognize the unique position frontline health workers are in during this pandemic and what kind of toll that takes on their
Resources for Mental Health Month Read More »
CMS released a new toolkit developed to aid nursing homes, Governors, states, departments of health, and other agencies who provide oversight and assistance to these facilities, with additional resources to
CMS Issues Nursing Homes Best Practices Toolkit to Combat COVID-19 Read More »
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) shares a new online resource that provides access to critical research and tools related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resource was developed
AHRQ’s COVID-19 Resources Read More »
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) wants to remind people with Medicare that the program covers mental health services to support
May is Mental Health Awareness Month Read More »
CMS has developed a toolkit for stakeholder partners to help you stay informed on CMS and HHS materials available on COVID-19. Check back often for the most up-to-date information; please
Additional Resources & Calls for Stakeholders Read More »
View this guide to review coding and guidelines for the COVID-19 emergency. Updated 01/07/21 This information was prepared as a service to the public, and is not intended to grant
Medicare Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Services Guide Read More »
The following guide is a compendium of resources related to COVID-19. These resources were identified by our quality improvement experts on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
COVID-19 Resource Guide Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) long-term care (LTC) mini-webinars are now live! These mini-webinars are all published on the Key Strategies to Prepare for COVID-19 in Long-term
CDC’s LTC Mini-Webinars Read More »
CMS and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) released a new toolkit to help state and local healthcare decision makers maximize workforce flexibilities when confronting COVID-19 in their
New Toolkit to Help States Navigate COVID-19 Health Workforce Challenges Read More »
All U.S. outpatient dialysis facilities should be prepared for the possible arrival of patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). All outpatient dialysis facilities should ensure their staff are trained, equipped,
COVID-19 Outpatient Dialysis Facility Preparedness Assessment Tool Read More »
New tools to help speed states’ access to emergency flexibilities and resources Today, the Trump Administration released new tools to strip away regulatory red tape and unleash new resources to
COVID-19 Checklists and Tools to Accelerate Relief for State Medicaid & CHIP Programs Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released two comprehensive toolkits on telehealth–one specific to general practitioners, and one for providers treating patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
CMS Releases Telehealth Toolkits Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers in the wake of the 2019 Coronavirus
COVID-19 Partner Toolkit Read More »
Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities can take steps to assess and improve their preparedness for responding to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Each facility will need to adapt this
COVID-19 Preparedness Checklist for Nursing Homes and other Long-Term Care Settings Read More »