Funding Opportunity Snapshot ARP-UDS+
Funding Opportunity Snapshot FY 2022 American Rescue Plan Uniform Data System Patient-Level Submission Funding (ARP-UDS+)
ARP-UDS+ Funding Overview
The purpose of the ARP-UDS+ one-time investment is to support HRSA-funded health centers and look-alikes to respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and enhance health care services and infrastructure. The goal is to expand the value of UDS data to the Health Center Program while improving how health centers prepare and submit UDS data. This effort will enable health centers to tailor their efforts to improve health outcomes and advance health equity, more precisely targeting the needs of specific communities or patients.
Funding Application Details
FY 2022 ARP-UDS+ funding is available to H8F-funded health centers and L2C-funded look-alikes -all CHCs — both grantees and Look-Alikes – can receive up to $60,000 in one-time funding. Applications are due in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 23, 2022.
What can the funds be used for?
The funds may be used to support any ARP or UDS+ activities listed in the ARP-UDS+ Activities Plan.
There are four main areas of focus:
- Reporting Modernization. Improve UDS reporting through advances in health information technology. This effort includes the UDS Patient-Level Submission (UDS+) Initiative to transform aggregation of UDS clinical quality measures from health center- to patient-level data for the 2023 UDS report.
- Content Review. Update UDS tables and content to improve data standardization and quality, including clinical quality measure (CQM) alignment.
- Stakeholder Engagement. Get feedback from UDS stakeholders on proposed changes to UDS reporting processes, tables, and measures.
- Testing. Before implementing changes, testing innovations with health centers through the UDS Test Cooperative and other pilots (such as the UDS+ CAREWare Pilot).
How BlueNovo can help?
BlueNovo works exclusively with community health centers (CHCs) to bridge the gap between quality improvement and health IT. Many of BlueNovo’s core service offerings align with the ARP UDS+ grant activity. Now is the perfect opportunity to complete the grant application and plan for the upcoming funding. Careful planning will ensure your health IT infrastructure and EMR applications are well-positioned to meet the criteria for funding and the long-term needs of your organization. Don’t let this funding opportunity pass. Get in touch now.
Medcurity and BlueNovo Announce Cybersecurity Partnership
Medcurity and BlueNovo announce a strategic cybersecurity partnership supporting community health centers.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
SPOKANE, Washington/SILVER SPRING, Maryland–Medcurity, a leading cybersecurity risk management platform for healthcare organizations, and BlueNovo, a leading provider of strategy, managed technology, health information technology, and cybersecurity services for federally qualified health centers, announced a strategic partnership today. The two companies are collaborating to bring clarity and practical guidance and support for security and compliance at Community Health Centers (CHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Primary Care Associations (PCAs), Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs), and affiliated community-based organizations.
Medcurity and BlueNovo will jointly offer a comprehensive and actionable security risk analysis, leveraging Medcurity’s intuitive and powerful platform and BlueNovo’s technical and cyber-expertise. Together, they will provide CHCs with industry-leading software and the resources to mitigate risks, protect critical data assets and ensure compliance.
With the sharp rise in cyber-attacks in the healthcare space, security risk awareness and proactive risk mitigation are more critical than ever before. This partnership will directly benefit CHCs, protecting them from these threats and giving them the peace of mind required to provide the highest quality care possible to their underserved communities.
“We are always looking for ways to better serve our community health centers given the limited resources available to them. This is especially important in today’s volatile cybersecurity climate” says Roopak Manchanda, CEO, BlueNovo. “A HIPAA Risk Assessment (SRA) is the foundation for practice compliance and risk mitigation. Medcurity’s platform is intuitive, making the entire process much easier to manage for us and our customers. This is exactly the type of innovation we want to jointly bring to CHCs.”
“This is a critical time to help all healthcare organizations meaningfully measure and reduce their security risk,” says Joe Gellatly, CEO of Medcurity. “BlueNovo has a proven record in providing highly valuable IT and advisory services to community health centers. With the powerful and intuitive Medcurity platform, we will work together to support and protect our essential safety net providers.”
About BlueNovo:
BlueNovo is a national leader in provider and patient-centered healthcare, quality, and technology services exclusively for Community Health Centers and similar healthcare providers. With offices nationally in DC, IL & CA, they specialize in assisting safety-net organizations to achieve profound solutions to their strategic Health IT imperatives.
Within BlueNovo’s five practice areas – (1) Clinical Transformation & QI, (2) Strategy & Risk, (3) EHR Implementation & Optimization, (4) Cybersecurity, and (5) Technology Managed Services – they deploy cost-effective solutions that improve patient care and simplify processes while ensuring greater customer service. For more information regarding BlueNovo, visit www.bluenovo.com
About Medcurity:
Based in Spokane, Washington, Medcurity was founded by Joe Gellatly and Amanda Hepper. Their team has decades of experience in healthcare, technology, and compliance. Medcurity was built to help healthcare organizations manage complex HIPAA and security requirements in one powerful platform. Medcurity is a cloud-based platform that automates and manages all the requirements behind HIPAA compliance, from the HIPAA security risk analysis to privacy & security policies, as well as business associate agreements and HIPAA training.
Have You Met Paxxon?
So excited to introd
uce Paxxon Brown, the newest addition to the BlueNovo team. In his role as Director of Growth, he’s committed to building mutually beneficial partnerships, not just closing deals. Asked to share his process, Brown says, “In the community health world, IT can be daunting. So when I meet with a C Level and share how BlueNovo can assist, you can literally see their excitement. That’s what I love, finding ways to fix problems.”
Not new to the MSP world, Paxxon has managed business development teams at several well-established IT companies. When he’s not working, he enjoys hanging out at home with his wife and children. He also continues his love of problem-solving by serving as a board member on two community-based non-profit organizations. Connect with him on LinkedIn
Microsoft & Adobe Release January 2022 Security Updates
Microsoft Releases January 2022 Security Updates
Original release date: January 11, 2022
Microsoft has released updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
CISA encourages users and administrators to review Microsoft’s January 2022 Security Update Summary and Deployment Information and apply the necessary updates.
Original release date: January 11, 2022Adobe has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Adobe products. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following Adobe Security Bulletins and apply the necessary updates.
Acrobat and Reader APSB22-01Illustrator APSB22-02Bridge APSB22-03InCopy APSB22-04InDesign APSB22-05
It’s National Health Center Week!
This week, we are celebrating National Health Center Week (August 8 – 14th). National Health Center Week is an annual celebration to raise awareness about the contributions and accomplishment of America’s Community Health Centers.
National Health Center Week 2021 is dedicated to honoring front line providers, staff, and those who lost their lives during the COVID-19. From the beginning of the pandemic, Community Health Centers have played a crucial role providing preventative and primary care to patients.
Each day of NHCW 2021 is dedicated to the following focus areas:
Sunday, 8/8: Public Health in Housing Day
Monday, 8/9: Healthcare for the Homeless Day
Tuesday, 8/10: Agricultural Worker Health Day
Wednesday, 8/11: Patient Appreciation Day
Thursday, 8/12: Stakeholder Appreciation Day
Friday 8/13: Health Center Staff Appreciation Day
Saturday, 8/14: Children’s Health Day
Click here to learn more about NHCW 2021.
Bluenovo thanks CHCs for their service and commitment to caring for our communities! If you are a federally qualified community based healthcare center, please reach out to BlueNovo for your IT and technology needs to improve patient satisfaction for your organization.
Biden Administration Awards $90 Million to Fight Substance Abuse in Rural Communities
The Biden-Harris Administration has just announced that it will be providing almost $90 million to help rural communities fight against opioid use disorders (OUD) and other forms of substance use disorders (SUD). The funding will be distributed by the US Department of Health & Human Services and will also help to improve access to maternal and obstetrics care.
These funds are awarded through four key programs:
- Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Implementation: $78 million awarded to 78 organizations across 35 states.
- Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Psychostimulant Support Program: $7.5 million awarded to 15 rural consortia across 13 states.
- Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program: $2.9 million awarded to improve healthcare access for rural mothers and their children.
- Rural Northern Border Region Planning Program: $760,000 awarded to community-based organizations to resolve key rural health issues in the rural Northern Border Regional Commission service areas.
Click here to view full release.
With COVID-19 still on the rise, these funds will play a crucial role in not only fighting substance abuse, but also improving overall healthcare services for rural population in the country.
If you are a federally qualified community based healthcare center, please reach out to BlueNovo for your IT and technology needs to improve patient satisfaction for your organization.