COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT (CHNA): Please join HASD&IC and CHNA-participating hospitals, health systems, and health districts for a community stakeholder briefing from 10 to 11:30 a.m. (PT) Nov. 29. The briefing will include a presentation on the 2022 CHNA as well as a discussion about potential future research and the next steps to address the identified community needs. Please forward this information to anyone in your network who might be interested in attending. The 2022 CHNA report is available on the HASD&IC website. After reviewing the report, please consider sharing your feedback through our survey.
NURSING GRANTS: The U.S. Department of Labor announced an $80 million funding opportunity through its Nursing Expansion Grant Program to address workforce development challenges, including training, diversification, and nursing shortages. Applications are due by Jan. 6. The grants will fund training programs for nursing instructors and educators, including classroom and vocational/clinical instruction, with an emphasis on training people from historically marginalized and underrepresented populations to bring greater employment equity in underserved communities and improve health care workforce diversity. Additional details are available in a program flyer. Information on the grant opportunity and application is available online.
REPORT ON STATE LEGISLATION: The California Hospital Association has released its 2022 Report on State Legislation, which hospitals can use as they navigate the nearly 1,000 bills the governor signed into law this year. Designed to help hospitals understand the implications of and comply with the bills that will have the biggest impact on their facilities, the report also serves as a reference tool for the broad health care-related legislative activity that occurred this year. Hospital leadership teams are encouraged to review and share the report so they can take any necessary steps to implement new requirements. The report is categorized by subject and indicates which hospital team members might be involved in compliance. In addition, the laws are indexed by author, bill number, and staff role.
MEDI-CAL RX EXPANSION: The Department of Health Care Services is partnering with Costco to expand access to prescription drugs under Medi-Cal Rx, the Medi-Cal pharmacy program. Medi-Cal members can now fill their prescriptions at one of Costco’s 122 pharmacy locations across California. Costco membership is not required for customers solely wishing to use pharmacy services.
AHA SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES: The American Hospital Association has released Suicide Prevention: Evidence-Informed Interventions for the Health Care Workforce, a resource to support hospitals’ efforts to prevent suicide in the health care workforce. A report describes key drivers of suicide in the health care workforce and provides evidence-informed intervention strategies and metrics. In addition, there is a web page dedicated to preventing health care worker suicide and features leaders of AHA member hospitals sharing stories about the reality of suicide risks among health care workers and how hospital and health system leaders are creating hope through action.
