HHS awards $169 million to community health centers

Photo courtesy of Health Resources and Services Administration Community health center La Clinica del Pueblo, Washington, D.C., received a new access point award from HHS.

HHS announces $169 million in ACA funding to 266 community health centers
Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced that $169 million in Affordable Care Act funding will go to 266 new health center sites in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. These new health center sites are projected to increase access to health care services for more than 1.2 million patients. The awards build on the $101 million awarded to 164 new health center sites in May 2015.

Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration Funding from the Affordable Care Act has helped spur an increase in community health centers.

"Across the country, health centers have provided a source of high-quality primary care for people in rural and urban communities for 50 years," said Acting Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield. "These Affordable Care Act funds build on the strong legacy of the health center program and provide even more individuals and families with access to the care they need the most."

Also this week:

CDC updates guidance on Legionnaires' disease following outbreak
Following incidents of Legionnaires' disease being reported in the South Bronx area of New York City, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its site with important information about the disease and how to prevent it.

Joint Commission releases tool to prevent patient falls
The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare has released its Targeted Solutions Tool (TST) for preventing hospital inpatient falls. The Preventing Falls TST is an online resource that provides a step-by-step process to assist hospitals in identifying and measuring opportunities to reduce patient falls.

Study finds gaps in evidence for best methods of cleaning hospital rooms
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine notes a lack of evidence as to which cleaning practices prove the most effective at reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs). Led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and ECRI Institute, the study states that the U.S. health care system has important gaps to fill as it works to reduce HAIs. The group examined 80 studies published from 1998 to 2014 and shows that "comparative effectiveness studies were uncommon."

Guide advises health care on securing patient information on mobile devices
In response to a growing demand for cybersecurity guidance in the health care industry, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published a step-by-step practice guide on protecting medical information stored in and shared between mobile devices. The guide is the first in NIST's new 1800 series of publications, designed to help companies protect their information systems.

AIA forecasts healthy growth for the health care construction market
The American Institute of Architects forecasts that spending on nonresidential builds should be close to $360 billion this year and approaching $490 billion in 2016. Its market segment consensus growth forecast for health care construction in 2015 is 2.4 percent, and 5.8 percent for 2016. AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, says, "The demographic factors that are also fueling heavy demand for health care and education facilities are going to lead to a more balanced construction market in the foreseeable future."