Your SWCAHEC Health Update for September 10

Rexine Williams is a dedicated leader whose work is deeply rooted in compassion for the
communities she serves. With a career focused on operational coordination, program execution,
financial literacy, and community-led solutions, Rexine has made a significant impact in her
field. As a proud alumna of Fort Lewis College and former SWCAHEC scholar, she has
passionately advocated for policies that improve health access for Indigenous students, ensuring
their well-being is always a priority. In her previous role as Assistant Director of Fort Lewis
College’s Native American Center, she developed experience-based programming that not only
increased student success but also guided them through the crucial steps of building their careers
and strengthening their communities. Rexine, a Diné (Navajo) from Kayenta, Arizona, is Naakaii
dine’é (The Mexican Clan), born for Táchii’nii (Red Running Into The Water People Clan). She
draws deep inspiration from her family and the teachings of her parents, who instilled in her the
importance of serving and uplifting others.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Funding (application period 8/20 - 9/15) - RM-PHTC will be offering mini-grants for another funding cycle in 2024. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), there is a total of $60,000 available to support 3-12 organizations in providing leadership learning opportunities for public and community health professionals. Funding Amount: $5,000 - $20,000. These funds are intended to develop and offer a wide range of leadership learning opportunities. The learning opportunity must be completed by June 30,2025. Eligible entities: non-profit organizations, state associations of city and county health officials, community health centers, or academic institutions in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, or Wyoming. The detailed Call for Proposals, including eligibility criteria and application guidelines, is linked.

Funding (due 9/19) – Accelerating research through international network-to-network collaborations. Goals of this program are to 1) leverage prior NSF support for building research capacity towards activities that launch international research network of networks (NoN) that will lead to an accelerated advancement of an area of science after the award period and 2) recruit and foster a diverse and internationally competent US-based workforce trained in conducting and leading multi-team international collaboration. Any area funded by the National Science Foundation is eligible

Funding (due 10/15) - Colorado Health Foundation has two upcoming funding opportunities: Advocacy and Justice with Communities of Color and Building a Pipeline of Primary Care Providers to Serve Diverse Communities

Funding (due 2/26/25) – Strategic prevention framework. The purpose of this program is to help reduce the onset and progression of substance misuse and its related problems by supporting the development and delivery of community based substance misuse and prevention and mental health promotion services.

Funding (applications accepted on an ongoing basis) – Hearst Foundations Health Grants. The Hearst Foundations provide grants for organizations working to address access to healthcare for high-need populations, healthcare professional shortages, evolving healthcare demands, and medical research.

Funding (applications accepted on an ongoing basis) – National Grassroots Organizing Program. Two-year unrestricted, general operating support grants of up to $30,000 per year, with an average grant size of $20,000 per year, to small, constituent-led grassroots organizations throughout the US and its territories.

Funding (applications accepted on an ongoing basis) – Economic Development Assistance. Funding to support the implementation of regional economic development, including public works projects and job creation projects. Past projects have included funding for water and wastewater projects in hospitals and healthcare facilities and road infrastructure projects that would support the expansion of healthcare facilities. Rural tribal and other underserved communities are of priority.

Funding (applications accepted on an ongoing basis) – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Grants for innovative projects that are working to build health equity, ensuring that everyone has access to the care they need and all families have the opportunity to make healthier choices.

WEBINARS, TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES

Webinar: LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide Risk Reduction- LAB 1: LGBTQ+ Youth and the Self-Harm Continuum. Though suicide touches every community, the stunningly disproportionate rate of self-induced deaths among LGBTQ+ youth is an ongoing emergency. Family rejection, trauma, addiction, social stigma and discrimination, and prejudice-related mental health concerns have enormous impact on suicidal ideation. This three-part lab series will highlight some of the pressures that lead sexual and gender minority youth to suicide, what factors elevate or lower self-harm risk, as well as clinical and community-based interventions to help build resilience. Learners will have ample time to practice with case scenarios and integrate new skills into their practice serving LGBTQ+ adolescents and emerging adults. Lab 1: September 12th 11am-1pm MT.

Mark your calendar and plan to join The 2024 Colorado Food is Medicine Summit. This one-day event brings together policy and practice leaders from across the state to engage in insightful discussions and explore strategies to increase access to essential nutrition programs. Join us at The Summit and help continue this vital momentum! Registration details and cost to follow. Event Details: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 8am-4pm, History Colorado Center

Virtual: The 3rd annual People’s Public Health Conference will take place October 25-27 online. Review last year’s program book for details on the speakers featured in 2023. This year’s registration can be found here.

Virtual: BHI/1302 Practice Learning Community, Topic - Integrating Behavioral Health in Rural Practices, Speaker – Lauren Hughes, Liz Frias. Friday, October 4th, 2024, 12pm to 1pm. Meeting Link: JOIN

Virtual: 10 week virtual cohort for white allies to dive deeper into equity work, begins October 14th. See attached pdf for QR code and this link for more info: https://www.invisibleparadigms.com/cohorts

Virtual: Better Caregiving for All - Caregiving for LGBTQ+ Adults with Dementia

Virtual: HCPF Annual Stakeholder Webinar. This event will review HCPF major initiatives for FY 2023-2024, priority initiatives for FY 2024-2025, and Public Health Emergency Unwind insights and opportunities going forward

NEWS & RESOURCES

PROSPER is your partner in perinatal mental health, this program aims to enhance healthcare professionals' skill and capacity to conduct universal screening, assessment, and treatment within routine obstetric and primary care settings. This is achieved primarily through real-time phone access to reproductive psychiatrists, and one-time face-to-face patient consultations for diagnostic clarity and to guide treatment in the obstetric or medical home. Learn more at www.coloradoprosper.org. You can also Contact Us at 1.888.910.0153, press #3 and Sara Collins, Resource and Referral Specialist, will answer or you may leave a message, and our team will respond within the same business day. See attached for one pager to share with others who would benefit from service. There is also an Educational Opportunity (with CME credit!): Sign up now (https://echocolorado.org/echo/perinatal-mental-health/) for our free Perinatal Mental Health ECHO series – virtual, Tuesdays Noon- 1PM. Starts September 10th.

National Immunization Awareness Month sponsored by the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) and observed every August, highlights the lifesaving benefits of vaccines. During the month, activities will raise awareness of the importance of vaccinating people of all ages against serious and sometimes deadly diseases. The awareness month also celebrates the successes of immunizations and educates Americans about vaccine safety and effectiveness. For more information, here is an article from TFAH.

Innovative Workforce Projects (IWP) was formed in 2021 to offer apprenticeship services as the sponsor and Related Technical Instruction (RTI) provider for a nationally-approved Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program through the US Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship for the Medical Assistant occupation. Since then, IWP has entered into partnerships with 21 employers and other entities, including four in Colorado. RA is an employer-driven training model that combines paid on-the-job training (OJT) with concurrent classroom instruction. This “earn and learn” approach helps workers learn new skills and helps businesses recruit and retain a highly skilled workforce by growing their own talent. Businesses can choose to hire new workers or select current employees to join apprenticeship programs. Additionally, the Department of Labor has found that apprenticeship helps increase diversity in the healthcare workforce by expanding opportunities for skill attainment to traditionally underserved populations. Currently, IWP’s MA program is approved by two nationally accredited certifying bodies: American Medical Technologist (AMT), which issues the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) certification, and the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), which issues the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification. The IWP programs utilizes a “classroom” element that is completed online during off hours from the clinic, which allows for maximum flexibility to build program structures that best fit the needs of each employer. It eliminates any restrictions on minimum or maximum cohort sizes and offers rolling start dates that match the employer’s hiring patterns. This has been helpful in working across a broad spectrum of organization types, from large statewide healthcare systems to smaller clinics serving rural communities. While the apprentices are working their way through the material, they are offered support, guidance and encouragement from the IWP team, as well as updates on their progress. Biweekly updates are also provided to the employer (and other partners as applicable) regarding the status of all apprentices from their organization. For more information, please reach out to Jake McClelland at (702) 376-3892 or [email protected].

Ableism 101

The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC) recently adopted the 2024 Recommendations and Guiding Principles for the Use & Management of Opioid Settlement Funds. These recommendations and principles provide guidance to recipients of opioid funds on how to best utilize these funds to maximize their impact in abating the opioid crisis. The COAC intends to build upon this guidance in the future.