Rural Health Office 
UA Zuckerman College of Public Health
in conjunction with the Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc.

National News......

1. HHS and VA to Develop a Nationwide Program to Help Older Americans and Veterans with Disabilities Remain Independent in the Community
2. HHS Patient-Centered Research Report Sent to Congress Outlining Research Priorities
3. Low Blood Sugar in Hospital Tied to Higher Death Risk for Diabetics
4. 15 Percent of U.S. Teens Think They'll Die Young

Across Arizona. .....

1. Arizona Rural Hospital Executives Meet
2. AzDHS New Influenza H1N1 Strain Updates
3. Health Tip: Who's at risk for health illness?

Upcoming Conference Calls and Internet Broadcasts.....

1. Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) 2009 Monthly Conference Calls

Grants and Opportunities...

1. Special Announcement from the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health - 2010 Health Vision Community Awards Program - Deadline: Aug. 31, 2009
2. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Local Funding Partnerships 2009-2010 Application – Deadline: July 7, 2009
3. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Active Living Research and Healthy Eating Research Rapid Response Grants Round 2 Application – Deadline: July 17, 2009
4. Indian Health Service: 4-in-1 Title V - HIV/AIDS Initiative – Deadline: July 15, 2009   

Items of Interest........

1. National Stimulus Indian County Works
2. Association for Rural & Small Libraries
3. Rural America and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Summaries Now Available!

FY 2009 - Calendar of Upcoming Events

National News

    1.   HHS and VA to Develop a Nationwide Program to Help Older Americans and Veterans with Disabilities Remain Independent in the Community - (June 4, 2009 HHS Press Release) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki today announced a landmark collaboration to help the families of older Americans and Veterans with disabilities of all ages care for their loved ones in the community. HHS and VA are making $10 million in funding available to bring this initiative to 20 states. Click here to read more.

    2.  HHS Patient-Centered Research Report Sent to Congress Outlining Research Priorities - (June 29, 2009 HHS Press Release)  Recommendations for how the HHS Office of the Secretary will spend $400 million in funds for patient-centered research, also known as comparative effectiveness research, were released today by Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). The report, mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is designed to help the HHS Secretary and lawmakers improve the quality of care for patients, and provide patients and doctors the best information possible to make decisions about health care. Click here to read more.

3.    Low Blood Sugar in Hospital Tied to Higher Death Risk for Diabetics - HealthDay, Monday June 29, 2009 by Serena Gordon, HealthDay Reporter -  In a study that included almost 2, 600 people with diabetes who were hospitalized for a variety of ailments, researchers found that low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) occurred in nearly 8 percent of the patients, and that each additional day with a hypoglycemic episode was associated with an 85 percent increase in the risk of death while hospitalized. The study also found a 66 percent increased mortality risk for one year following discharge in patients who'd had hypoglycemia.

Click here to read more.

4.    15 Percent of U.S. Teens Think They'll Die Young - HealthDay, Monday, June 29, 2009 by Alan Mozes, HealthDay Reporter - A new study has found almost 15 percent of American teens believe they will die before age 35 -- a perspective strongly linked to risky behavior.Noted study author Dr. Iris Wagman Borowsky, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota states, "Prior research has shown that typically teenagers are no worse than adults in terms of viewing their own vulnerability, and thankfully, most adolescents in this country do not believe that their risk of early death is high. "But we have found that more than one in seven youths do have a pessimistic view about their future and are more like to take risks." Click here to read more.

Across Arizona

     1.    Arizona Rural Hospital Executives Meet - On June 4, 2009 executives from Arizona Critical Acces Hospitals and small rural hospitals held their annual Performance Improvement Summit in Phoenix, AZ.  Meeting content covered cost allocation and rate setting, rural health clinic billing, recovery audit contractors, improving expense management, and engaging physicians in performance improvement. Experts were on hand from Dixon Hayhe, PLLC to provide training.

     2.    AzDHS New Influenza H1N1 Strain Updates -  Currently, there are 729 confirmed cases of the new 2009 Influenza A H1N1 strain and 8 deaths identified in Arizona.   Arizona influenza surveillance has been ongoing and seasonal influenza activity is decreasing.  AzDHS has initiated enhanced surveillance with county health departments, laboratories, and healthcare providers, given the current new H1N1 strain situation. As of May 7, 2009, laboratory testing on influenza specimens focused on hospitalized patients. Click here for more information

3.    Health Tip: Who's at risk for healt illness?  HealthDay News) -- Heatstroke and heat exhaustion are potentially deadly conditions stemming from a dangerous rise in body temperature. While everyone is at risk of a heat-related illness, some people are especially vulnerable. The U.S. National Safety Council says the following people should take extra care to keep cool and hydrated during the stifling heat of summer:

• Senior citizens.
• Babies and young children.
• Outdoor pets.
• People with heart conditions, circulatory problems or other chronic illnesses.
• Anyone who has to work outside in the mid-day heat.
• People who exercise outdoors frequently.
• People who take medication that affects sweat production.
• People who abuse alcohol and drugs

Upcoming Conference Calls

      1.  Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) 2009 Monthly Conference Calls - The Rural Health Care Program hosts a monthly outreach conference call for applicants and service providers on the second Thursday of each month at 2 P.M., EST.

Participants may begin calling in 10 minutes before the call begins.
Phone Number: 1-800-240-9939
Pass Code: 6772932# (be sure to press the pound key after entering the numbers)

Click here to access the 2009 Monthly Conference Call Schedule

Grants and Opportunities

  Note: Technical assistance is available for the development of grant proposals and other funding applications from the professional staff of the Rural Health Office and the State Office of Rural Health Program. Please contact Jennifer Peters.

    1.  Special Announcement from the National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health - 2010 Health Vision Community Awards Program - Deadline: Aug. 31, 2009

     NEI is pleased to announce that applications for the 2010 Healthy Vision Community Awards (HVCA) program will be available June 29, 2009.  This program provides funding up to $10,000 for the implementation of eye health education and promotion activities that support the Healthy Vision 2010 objectives and the Healthy People 2010 goals to reduce health disparities and improve quality of life.  The focus of each program must be eye health education.  The 2010 HVCA funds are not intended for research projects or to provide direct medical care.

      Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply, including community-based organizations and agencies, minority-based organizations, schools, faith-based organizations, civic and fraternal groups, community clinics, local Agencies on Aging, and state and local health departments and agencies.  Universities and university affiliations, such as medical centers and schools of optometry and ophthalmology, are precluded from receiving an award directly, but are welcome to collaborate with eligible groups, such as community-based organizations. The final selection of award recipients will be based on a combination of the evaluation score, geographic and racial/ethnic representation, and project innovation.  All applications must be postmarked by Monday, August 31, 2009. Awards will be announced in March 2010.

Click here for application forms and program information.  If you have questions about the application package or eligibility requirements e-mail your questions or requests to HVCAmail@shs.net.

    2.  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Local Funding Partnerships 2009-2010 Application – Deadline: July 7, 2009

Purpose: Across America in small towns and big cities, on street corners and town squares, in homes, schools and prisons, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships goes to where health happens. Funded through the Foundation’s Vulnerable Populations Portfolio, Local Funding Partnerships (LFP) projects address some of society’s most daunting and seemingly intractable health problems head-on at the community level.

Total Award: Up to $6 million is available for the 2010 grant cycle. Up to 14 matching grants of between $200,000 to $500,000 each will be awarded.

Contact: Curtis Holloman at cholloman@localfundingpartnerships.org or (609) 275-4128

Click here for more information.

     3.  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Active Living Research and Healthy Eating Research Rapid Response Grants Round 2 Application – Deadline: July 17, 2009

Purpose:  To support time-sensitive, opportunistic studies to evaluate changes in policies or environments with the potential to reach children who are at highest risk for obesity, including African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian-American and Pacific Islander children (ages 3 to 18) who live in low-income communities or communities with limited access to affordable healthy foods and/or safe opportunities for physical activity. Research studies may focus on one or both sides of the energy balance equation—on physical activity (including sedentary behavior), healthy eating or both. Studies funded under this CFP are expected to advance RWJF’s efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis.

Total Award: Up to $1.675 million total will be awarded for rapid-response research grants, with the majority of funds in this CFP focused on physical activity studies.

The maximum amount for a single grant is $150,000, with a maximum funding period of 12 months.

Contact: Chad Spoon at cspoon@projects.sdsu.edu or (619) 260-5539; or Laura L. Klein at healthyeating@umn.edu or (800) 578-8636

Click here information.       

4.     Indian Health Service: 4-in-1 Title V - HIV/AIDS Initiative – Deadline: July 15, 2009   

Purpose: To seek to expand OUIHP's existing Title V grants to increase the number of American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) with awareness of his/her HIV status. These grants and supplements will be used to enhance HIV testing, including rapid testing and/or standard HIV antibody testing and to provide a more focused effort to address HIV/AIDS prevention by targeting some of the largest urban Indian populations in the United States.

Total Award: $30,000

Click here for more information.

Items of Interest

     1    National Stimulus Indian County Works provides tribal governments vital information about funding streams available in the stimulus act. The website is sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians.

     2.  Association for Rural & Small Libraries, "The mission of the Rural and Small Libraries is to provide a network of people and materials to support rural and small library staff, volunteers, and trustees to integrate thelibrary throughly with the life and work of the community it serves." The association provides a variety of resources to support advocacy, sustainability and grantwriting for rural libraries including reports, training,a nd on-line discussion.
     3.  Rural America and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Summaries Now Available! - The National Rural Health Assocations has completed a comprehensive summary of the investment the Federal Government is making in rural health through the American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Click here to view the document on rural health provisions.

Contact Your Representatives

        a.  Arizona Congressional Delegation:  Links to Arizona members of the

U.S. House of Representatives are available at: U.S. Representatives. Links to Arizona members of the U.S. Senate are available at: U.S. Senate

     b. Arizona State Legislators: Available through the Arizona Legislative Information System (ALIS): Call 1-800-352-8404 or follow links at Arizona Legislature.

Important Links:

• Arizona Rural Health Office
• Administration on Aging
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• America's Health Rankings: Our Nation at a Glance
• American Indian and Alaska Native Information (CMS)
• Arizona Critical Access Hospital Program
• Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
• Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association
• Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc.
• Critical Access Hospital Information (CMS)
• Critical Access Hospitals Financial Performance Indicators by State
• Community Health Status Indicatiors (CHSI)
• Federal Funding Opportunities
• Federally Qualified Health Centers (CMS)
• Health Resources and Services Administration
• Health Services Advisory Group
• HRSA Geospatial Data Warehouse
• Indian Health Service, Navajo Area Office
• Indian Health Service, Phoenix Area Office
• Indian Health Service, Tucson Area Office
• Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
• Kaiser Family Foundation: Fast Facts
• Local Community Resource Finder
• Medicare Learning Network (CMS)
• National Association of Community Health Centers
• National Association of Rural Health Clinics
• National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
• National Rural Health Association
• Office of Rural Health Policy, HHS
• Rural Assistance Center
• Rural Health Information (CMS)
• Rural Health Research Gateway
• Rural Health Resource Center - TASC
• RUPRI State Profiles
• State Health Facts Online
• State Offices of Rural Health Grant Program (SORH)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• USDA Rural Indicator Map Machine
• Veteran Affairs State Summary Fact Sheets

Editor's Note:  This online newsletter is a joint project of the Rural Health Office housed at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, and the Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc. The mission of the Rural Health Office is to promote the health of rural and medically undeserved individuals, families, and communities through service, education and research. The Arizona Rural Health Association, Inc. advocates on behalf of the health needs of rural Arizonans at national, state and local levels. Its multidisciplinary membership provides a respected and highly effective group of rural health practitioners and rural community residents. For example, the AzRHA, Inc. has actively and successfully advocated with the state legislature for funding for telemedicine and mobile clinics in all fifteen counties of the state. Your questions (or answers) are always welcome. Please send them as well as address changes to Sharon Van Skiver, RHO Administrative Associate.