HRSA April in Brief

As part of HRSA's Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative, Administrator Carole Johnson and other HRSA leaders met with grantees, providers, maternal health experts, and mothers for state convenings in St. Louis, Missouri (April 3), and Atlanta, Georgia (April 29). These convenings highlight HRSA programs across each state and foster cross-program and cross-state collaborations to improve maternal health outcomes.

Attendees shared their personal stories and how HRSA programs supported them and their babies. Providers emphasized the importance of providing patient-centered care to pregnant women, mothers, and their families, including support services and screening and treatment for maternal mental health.

During the Atlanta convening, Administrator Johnson also announced $105 million in Healthy Start funding to support more than 100 community-based organizations to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

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These were the first two state convenings as part of HRSA's year-long initiative to help strengthen and expand HRSA's maternal health work to address the unacceptable rates of maternal mortality and related disparities in the United States.

On April 12, HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson joined with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra; U.S. Representatives Lauren Underwood, Alma Adams, and Robin Kelly; and other HHS leaders at the 2nd Annual Black Maternal Health Outcomes Matter: Keeping Hope Alive! summit to discuss best practices and innovative models used to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. The conference was held as part of commemorations during Black Maternal Health Week on April 11 – 17, 2024.

Administrator Johnson highlighted HRSA's year-long Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative to help strengthen and expand the agency's maternal health work to address the unacceptable rates of maternal mortality and disparities, especially among Black women, in the United States.

Administrator Johnson also highlighted HRSA's investments to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity. HRSA's fiscal year 2025 budget provides $1.8 billion, an increase of $135.7 million, to improve maternal and child health.

HRSA also released a toolkit to spotlight the critical issue of Black maternal health in honor of Black Maternal Health Week, and held a webinar on using research to address maternal mortality in the United States. The webinar highlighted the newly launched HRSA Maternal Health Research Collaborative for Minority Serving Institutions.

On April 25, Administrator Johnson and other HRSA leaders joined with state officials for a National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc. webinar to discuss HRSA's behavioral health investments.

The Administrator highlighted the agency's support for prevention, treatment, and recovery services at HRSA-funded health centers and new investments for training substance use disorder professionals through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. She also spoke about HRSA's support for the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and loan repayment to more than 8,700 behavioral health practitioners.

On April 18, HRSA congratulated Bureau of Primary Health Care Associate Administrator Jim Macrae for being a Presidential Rank Award recipient. Associate Administrator Macrae was honored in a White House ceremony celebrating the Presidential Rank Awards, which recognize exceptional performance by career members of the federal Senior Executive Service.

On April 10, HRSA announced new policy action and the first-ever funding for HRSA-funded health centers to implement innovative approaches to support transitions in care for people leaving incarceration.

Aligned with the White House Second Chance Initiative, this action, for the first time, explicitly supports providing health services to individuals up to 90 days prior to their release to help them return to the community by expanding access to primary health care, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, furthering public health and strengthening public safety.

Studies have shown a dramatic and concerning increase in risk for opioid overdose after release from incarceration, with one study showing the risk of death at least ten times higher than for the general public. Individuals returning to the community also become disconnected from critical medications and treatment for diabetes and hypertension—among the leading causes of death in the United States. They also face disproportionate risks of bad health outcomes overall because they lack connections to services and supports to navigate the process of applying for or reinstating health insurance eligibility and other benefits in the immediate period after their release.

Health centers can also use funds made available through the funding opportunity to provide direct health care services to support transitions in care, as well as case management services that address key social drivers of health, such as housing and food insecurity, financial strain, access to transportation, and intimate partner violence.

On April 10, HRSA commemorated National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This is a day to recognize the impact of HIV on youth and young adults. HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is committed to raising HIV awareness, providing care, and supporting the unique needs of young people with HIV.

In 2022, 83.8% of young people ages 13 – 24 receiving HIV medical care through the Ryan White Program were virally suppressed. This is a significant increase from 46.6% in 2010. This means they cannot transmit HIV sexually and can also live longer and healthier lives.

On April 8, HRSA honored and remembered the life and legacy of Ryan White, who was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13 and the namesake for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act on August 18, 1990, legislation that established the Ryan White Program, which provides a comprehensive system of HIV medical care, medication, and essential support services to more than 560,000 people each year.

Staff from HRSA's regional offices spoke at events to mark Black Maternal Health Week across the country to emphasize HRSA's commitment to improving health outcomes for Black mothers and their babies:

• On April 9 and 10, HRSA Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) presented on HRSA's maternal health programs and initiatives and the federal grant application process at a maternal health convening in Newport News, Virginia.
• On April 11, Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) Regional Administrator Sharon Turner provided opening remarks at a Black Maternal Health Week event held by Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon.
• On April 11 and 12, HRSA Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) presented on HRSA's maternal health resources and initiatives at the Harris County, Texas, 2024 Maternal and Child Health Conference.
• On April 12, Region 7 (Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas) Regional Administrator Nancy Rios spoke at the St. Louis Black Maternal Health Conference.
• On April 12, Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Gloria Laryea presented at Providence Swedish Hospital's Black Maternal Health Week event in Seattle, Washington.
• On April 13, HRSA Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) exhibited at the HHS M.O.M.S (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) Tour Community Baby Shower in Boston, Massachusetts, to increase awareness and access to HRSA's maternal and child health programs and resources (pictured below).
• On April 14, HRSA Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico) exhibited at the HHS M.O.M.S Tour Community Baby Shower in Freeport, New York, where staff shared information about community health centers and HRSA's National Maternal Mental Health Hotline.

On April 9 and 10, HRSA Deputy Administrator Jordan Grossman attended the 2024 HHS Annual Tribal Budget and Policy Consultation in Washington, DC. Deputy Administrator Grossman spoke with tribal leaders about the President's Fiscal Year 2025 Budget proposal for HRSA, including investing in innovative strategies to enhance maternal health, responding to the youth mental health crisis, growing the health care workforce, closing gaps in access to primary care, and addressing opioid treatment and recovery needs of rural communities.

On April 22, Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) Regional Administrator Leah Suter and Deputy Regional Administrator Rob McKenna met with state leadership from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services to share HRSA investments in Delaware and attend a press briefing where Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long announced a decrease in overdose deaths in the state.

HRSA regional leaders met with state health and behavioral health leadership to highlight HRSA's programs and our approach to integrating behavioral health care into primary care.