Funding Opportunity to Address Lupus

FY 2018 Funding Opportunity Announcement The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers cooperative agreement and grant programs to support projects that implement innovative models to improve minority health and reduce health disparities.

OMH has released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA), for which applications are now being accepted. Applications are due March 30, 2018by 6:00 pm ET. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this due date and time. Announcement Number: MP-CPI-18-00  Opportunity Title:  National Lupus Training, Outreach, and Clinical Trial Education Program (Lupus Program) Estimated Funding Level: $2 million  OMH announces the availability of Fiscal Year 2018 grant funds for the National Lupus Training, Outreach, and Clinical Trial Education Program (Lupus Program). The Lupus Program seeks to reduce lupus related health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations disproportionately affected by this disease by:  (1) developing public-private and community partnerships to promote recruitment and enrollment of minority populations affected by lupus into clinical trials (Priority A); and (2) creating a research plan and develop/test effective clinical trial education models to improve attitudes and practices of health care providers and paraprofessionals that will refer minority populations to lupus clinical trials (Priority B).  Technical Assistance Webinars Save the date for a technical assistance webinar for interested applicants on February 7, 2018 at 3:00-4:00 pm ET. An additional technical assistance webinar on “Evaluation – Review the Basics” will be held on February 8, 2018 at 3:00-4:00 pm ET.

HHS Office of Minority Health: Empowering Our Communities on the MLK Day of Service

By: Dr. Matthew Lin, Director, HHS Office of Minority Health

The observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 15 is a time for us to reflect on the life and achievements of an extraordinary leader in American history.

Dr. King devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice and economic opportunity through service to others. He also linked the quest for equality to healthcare and talked about the importance of being first in moral excellence and generosity. He taught us that everyone has a role to play.

On what would have been Dr. King’s 89th birthday, we can also hold ourselves accountable to acknowledging the work that remains to fulfill his dream. Many will mark the King holiday by volunteering in their neighborhoods – service is a powerful tool for strengthening our communities. Beyond volunteer service, there is much that can be done, for example, to improve the conditions in which all Americans are born, grow, work, live and age.

Overall, we have made considerable progress improving health and healthcare for racial and ethnic minorities and disadvantaged populations since the founding of the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) more than 30 years ago. The life expectancy gap between blacks and whites is at its narrowest point over the last three decades; cancer disparities are improving for all minority groups, including Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders; and teen birth rates have dropped for all races and Hispanic groups.

However, persistent and pervasive health disparities remain and addressing them will require not just a federal response, but also state and local organizations dedicated to achieving health equity.

At HHS, we’re also working on three of the most pressing issues facing the nation: the opioid epidemic, childhood obesity and serious mental illness. Every day, 115 Americans die from drug overdoses due to opioids. One in 5 children in the United States is overweight or obese, and the rates are higher among African-American and Latino children. And about 10 million American adults experience serious mental illness affects each year.

At OMH, our new Empowered Communities for a Healthier Nation Initiative is designed to generate community partnerships to help meet these challenges. OMH has awarded grants to 15 organizations across the country that serve communities disproportionately affected by opioids, obesity or serious mental illness, with the goal of expanding the use of actions with the greatest potential impact.

Whether to address these issues or others, throughout the country many of us at HHS and in other federal departments and their communities will participate in the MLK Day of Service on January 15. The holiday remains the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a “day on, not a day off.”

Wherever you live, I hope you will join the hundreds of thousands of Americans who will spend the MLK Day of Service volunteering for a good cause or community activity.

You can find more information about Martin Luther King Jr. and MLK Day of Service activities here.

OHD and Partners Team Up to Provide Free Hygiene Care

OHD, in collaboration with the UDOH Oral Health Program and Fortis Hygiene College, provided free hygiene care to English-language-learners at Granite Peaks Lifelong Learning Center in South Salt Lake. The effort involved three days of oral health education, screenings, and fluoride varnish applied. Of those screened:

Early Dental Care Needed 40%

Urgent Care Needed 6.3%
Highest Need: (64.2%)

Eligible participants were then seen at Fortis Hygiene College, located minutes away, where over 30 hygiene students and faculty provided 41 quadrant scalings. OHD also provided interpretation services in nine different languages.

This effort is part of OHDs ongoing Bridging Communities and Clinics project, addressing access to oral health services and a primary care provider in the neighborhood of Glendale and the City of South Salt Lake.

Free help available for those needing assistance filing taxes

United Way Salt Lake Announces Enhanced Features for Free Online Tax Filing Tool

MyFreeTaxes^TM users can now file their state, federal taxes in under one hour

United Way announced enhanced features to MyFreeTaxes that allow most filers to complete their taxes in under one hour.

MyFreeTaxes.com is a safe, easy and completely free way for individuals or families earning $66,000 or less to file their state and federal taxes.

For the past nine years, United Way has partnered with H&R Block to provide free tax filing services for federal and state taxes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since that time, the partnership has helped nearly a million people file their returns, bringing more than $1 billion in refunds back to local communities.

MyFreeTaxes users get access to H&R Block Premium Product with enhanced features like:

·        Ability to upload image of your W-2, allowing MyFreeTaxes to automatically fill in your information;

·        Free, unlimited, personalized real-time chat and phone support in English and Spanish from IRS-certified specialists at 1-855-MY-TX-HELP. The helpline operates from mid-January [MM1] through April 30, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, and between noon and 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays;

·        Refund Reveal^TM will show filers how and why their refund amount is changing in real time; and

·        Advanced functionality for those working in the gig economy or need to include information regarding real estate investments, stock options or inheritance taxes.

Taxpayers earning less than $66,000 can enter their data through MyFreeTaxes.com, which links to a secure H&R Block website, making it easy to complete their taxes from home, at work or on mobile devices.

MyFreeTaxes is supported by United Way, and users can contact their local United Way for other local resources, or find ways to volunteer and further support their community. MyFreeTaxes comes with the same brand promise as all H&R Block’s products: that consumers are guaranteed a maximum refund, 100 percent accuracy and 100 percent satisfaction.

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Immerse Yourself in the Immigrant Experience with the 2018 United We Read Campaign
SALT LAKE COUNTY, UT — Library systems across Salt Lake County are uniting for the second-annual United We Read SLC campaign. United We Read SLC, a partnership of Murray Library, Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake County Library, and Utah Humanities, is an initiative for everyone in Salt Lake County to connect by reading the same book and by sharing their experiences with others. The selection for 2018 is The Book of Unknown Americans by award-winning author Cristina Henríquez. Henríquez is visiting the County Library's Viridian Event Center onJanuary 17 to discuss The Book of Unknown Americans and to kick off the 2018 United We Read SLC campaign. Books are available for checkout from all libraries and will be available for purchase and signing at the event from The Printed Garden. Discussions and events will be held January through March at various locations across the county, and are detailed online and on the United We Read SLC Facebook page. Additionally, local independent bookstores The Printed Garden and The King’s English will be selling The Book of Unknown Americans at a discounted rate during the campaign. WHAT: United We Read SLC Kickoff with Cristina Henríquez WHEN: Wednesday, January 17 at 7 pm WHERE: The County Library’s Viridian Event Center (8030 S 1825 W, West Jordan) For more United We Read SLC events and programs, please visitunitedwereadslc.org.
### Contact: Kelsy Thompson – 801.944.7522 kthompson@slcolibrary.org

Medical-Legal Partnership in Action – Adapting MLP to Your Health Center & Community

WEBINAR: “Medical-Legal Partnership in Action –

Adapting MLP to Your Health Center & Community”

Date:  Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Time:  12 pm MST

Register HERE

Addressing patients' health-harming civil legal needs as part of primary care has emerged as a critical strategy for HRSA-funded health centers seeking to tackle the social determinants of health, such as housing, income, and public benefits. Integrating legal services into the care provided at health centers has the potential to address structural barriers and resolve some of the most intractable social problems that our nation’s vulnerable and underserved patients face. The medical-legal partnership (MLP) approach also shows promise in reducing health disparities and improving health equity for underserved particularly vulnerable populations. MLPs have documented experiences improving health outcomes, increasing patient engagement and lowering health care costs.

As of 2016, 113 health centers operated MLPs and 38 additional health centers were in the MLP planning stage, while a cohort of primary care associations are providing leadership and guidance for the growth of MLPs in their state or region. Some of the core characteristics of successful medical-legal partnerships are a lawyer who works on-site as a “lawyer in residence,” bi-directional training between health center and legal staff, strong communication about patients and data, and shared priorities and funding among partner organizations.

This 90-minute webinar aims to help participants understand: (1) the MLP approach and field, and how it aligns with existing health centers' services and priorities, especially enabling services; and (2) the opportunities for multi-sector engagement across all health centers and civil legal aid offices with a focus on population health strategies.

The target audience includes HRSA grantees, healthcare providers, public health officials, community-based organizations and legal aid advocates wanting to learn more about how this intervention could work in their community.

For more information, please contact Valerie Gallo at 415-437-8095 or vgallo@hrsa.gov

WEBINAR: Who’s Leading the Leading Health Indicators? Injury and Violence

January 18, 2018 | 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET | Register Now

Join us on Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. ET to learn about progress made toward achieving the Healthy People 2020 Injury and Violence Leading Health Indicators. This webinar will focus on the injury deaths leading health indicator, with an emphasis on preventing poisoning deaths and opioid overdoses. You’ll also learn how Project Lazarus, our featured community organization, is reducing overdose mortality rates through a public health model based on the twin premises that overdose deaths are preventable and that all communities are responsible for their own health.

Motor vehicle crashes, homicide, domestic and school violence, child abuse and neglect, suicide, and unintentional drug overdoses are important public health concerns in the United States. In addition to their immediate health impact, the effects of injuries and violence extend well beyond the injured person or victim of violence, affecting family members, friends, coworkers, employers, and communities.