Health Resources and Services Administration 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In order to support the United States' implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, notice is hereby given of the following meeting to update and engage interested parties in U.S. implementation efforts.

This notice requests comments on proposed eligibility criteria for the Centers of Excellence (COE) program in health professions education for under-represented minority (URM) individuals (See Title VII, Section 736 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 293 (2011) as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, Sec. 5401 (2010)). When finalized, these eligibility criteria will be used to determine the eligibility of designated health professions schools to apply for COE funding in fiscal year (FY) 2012 and subsequent fiscal years. Funding is dependent on the availability of appropriated funds for the COE program. The designated health professions schools are schools of allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and graduate programs in behavioral or mental health. This does not apply to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) eligible to establish a COE, under PHS Act section 736(c)(2).

On March 7, 2007, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published in the Federal Register a notice announcing the implementation of a prototype for querying the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), then known as Proactive Disclosure Service (PDS). This notice announces that the prototype status is removed and that PDS is now known as Continuous Query.

The Health Resources and Services Administration published an Agency Information Collection document in the Federal Register of June 20, 2011 (FR Doc. 2011-15194), on page 35900, regarding Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Uniform Data System (OMB No. 0915-0193).

HRSA will award non-competitively Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, Part C funds to the Tutwiler Clinic, Tutwiler, Mississippi, to support comprehensive primary care services for persons living with HIV/AIDS, including primary medical care, laboratory testing, oral health care, outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment, specialty and subspecialty care, referrals for health and support services and adherence monitoring/education services in order to ensure continuity of critical HIV medical care and treatment services, and to avoid a disruption of HIV clinical care to clients in Marks, Mississippi, and the surrounding counties.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will transfer remaining Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) discretionary grant funds in H17MC08971 from the Southern Nevada Area Health Education Center, the current grantee of record, to the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, in order to continue Healthy Tomorrows supported prevention and intervention services to low-income, underserved women, children and adolescents in Clark County and Southern Nevada.

This Federal Register notice announces the non-competitive extension of Emory University, the Enhancing Linkages to HIV Care and Treatment in Jail Settings Initiative, Evaluation and Support Center (hereafter referred to as the Enhancing Linkages ESC), in order to complete data collection, analysis, and dissemination of effective models for linking HIV positive individuals in jail settings to HIV care and services in the community upon their release. The findings generated by this Initiative are capable of impacting service delivery systems and increase linkages to critical HIV care and support services if the model programs can be adapted in jails and HIV service delivery settings across the United States, as well as to demonstrate that HIV testing and linkage to care in jail settings, and transitioning individuals to HIV care and treatment in the community is feasible and effective.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be issuing non-competitive supplemental funding to the Maternal Child and Health Bureau's (MCHB) Comprehensive Hemophilia Diagnostic and Treatment Centers. MCHB's Division of Children with Special Health Needs and the Genetic Services Branch are currently undergoing a strategic planning process. This will provide feasible time for the MCHB to align fiscal resources and programmatic goals as determined by this strategic planning process with the least disruption to the States, communities, and constituencies that currently receive assistance and services from these grantees.

HRSA will be providing a one-year extension with funds in the amount authorized in fiscal year (FY) 2010 to support activities that focus on cross-cutting publicly-funded health program integration and health access issues identified by the State and Territory governors and their senior health policy advisors, including addressing the needs of uninsured, underinsured and special needs populations, oral health, border health and health information technology as well as HRSA's overall strategic goals.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will transfer the remaining American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Capital Improvement Project (CIP) from Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (SVCMC) of New York, current grantee of record, to Sunset Park Health Council (SPHC), Inc. in order to continue primary health care services to low-income, underserved homeless patients in New York City.

HRSA and ACF announce through this notice the establishment of the Advisory Committee on the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Evaluation (``the Committee''), pursuant to subsection 2951(g) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act). Under this authority, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (``the Secretary'') is to appoint an independent advisory panel consisting of experts in program evaluation and research, education, and early childhood development. The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice to the Secretary on the design, plan, progress, and findings of the evaluation required for the home visiting program under the Affordable Care Act.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is requesting nominations to fill current vacancies on three of the four Federal advisory committees administered by the Bureau of Health Professions: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD), Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages (ACICBL), and the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME).

The Health Resources and Services Administration published an Agency Information Collection document in the Federal Register of January 31, 2011 (FR Doc. 2011-1997), on page 5389, regarding the Data System for Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (42 CFR Part 121, OMB No. 0915-0184): Extension. The Burden Table is incorrect.

The ACBSCT will be conducting a conference call to discuss: (1) Final language of recommendations from November 15, 2010, Council meeting; and (2) Interim Report to Congress.

HRSA will be issuing non-competitive supplemental grant funding to the University of Wisconsin, Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, Wisconsin, under the Maternal Child and Health Bureau's Blood Lead Proficiency Testing Program. The University of Wisconsin will use these funds to initiate an orderly closeout of HRSA-funded activities which clearly fall within the purview of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's ``Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children'' initiative at their National Center for Environmental Health. This action will also accord the University of Wisconsin and the Center additional time to solicit recommendations from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention with respect to future funding for this activity. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) has continuously supported the National Blood Lead and Erythrocyte Protoprophyrin (EP) Proficiency Testing Program through the University of Wisconsin since 1988. Childhood lead poisoning is a well-characterized public health problem in the U.S., and is unfortunately over-represented in minority, immigrant, and low socio-economic populations. The proper detection and treatment of lead poisoning relies entirely on the accurate and precise measurement of blood lead concentration. EP is utilized as an adjunct test to indicate the extent and duration of lead exposure, as well as the detection of iron deficiency, another pediatric health issue. Proficiency testing (PT) is a proven method for assuring and improving laboratory test accuracy. This program has cost-effectively provided monthly PT and other lab quality improvement tools to nearly 600 laboratories across the U.S. and beyond. Of note, the primary focus of the program over the last few years has been the integration of new and usually inexperienced participants into the program. An enrollment boom has been fueled by proliferation of the CLIA-waived LeadCare II point of care testing instrument. In the three years since its introduction, LeadCare II enrollment has grown from zero to 300 laboratories, comprising approximately 40 percent of all participants. Continued participation increases, and the fact that those increases are nearly totally comprised of LeadCare II users, represent both a public health success and a challenge for this program. Since its introduction in early 2007, over 300 of these laboratories have enrolled for PT, swelling program participation to 800 laboratories.