On December 15, HRSA Deputy Administrator Jordan Grossman and Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Associate Administrator Dr. Michael Warren joined a White House roundtable led by Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden and Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President Kristine Lucius to discuss the Agencys efforts to improve maternal and infant health. In addition to announcing the release of a funding opportunity for the State Maternal Health Innovation program, which supports state maternal health task forces, HRSA highlighted several of its foundational maternal health programs, including the Health Center Program; Healthy Start; the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant; the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; and the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program.

The discussion is one of the many actions taken to advance the Biden-Harris Administrations White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis.

In observance of the event, HRSA Chief of Staff Garrett Devenney and HRSAs HIV/AIDS Bureau Associate Administrator Dr. Laura Cheever joined members of the DC community with HIV along with federal and local leaders, health care providers, and community health workers at Family Medical and Counseling Services, Inc., in Washington, DC, for a tour and roundtable discussion about HIV care, prevention, and treatment services funded by HRSA in Southeast DC.

In addition, HRSA released the latest Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Annual Data Report (PDF - 3 MB). As spotlighted in HHS's press release, the report showed approximately 9 out of 10 people who receive HIV medical care through the program are virally suppressed, which means they cannot transmit HIV and can live longer and healthier lives.

Findings from the report also showed that the percentage of Black/African American clients, Hispanic/Latino clients, and youth and young adult clients receiving care through the program achieved viral suppression that exceeded overall national viral suppression rates.

Additionally, HRSA-supported health centers across the nation observed World AIDS Day through awareness-raising walks, parades, and HIV-specialist panel sessions, and by providing HIV services and education to their communities.

HRSA Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) participated in a World AIDS Day observance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, attended by the mayor of San Juan, members of the Puerto Rico Department of Health, and HRSA grantees.

HRSA Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee) participated in a World AIDS Day event in North Georgia to share HRSA resources, including the Find a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Provider Tool. The event was hosted by the North Georgia Health District's Ryan White Clinic and The Living Bridge Center, which offered free HIV testing and PrEP education.

HRSA Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin) collaborated with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to share information about HRSA programs, technical assistance, and funding opportunities with grantees during a World AIDS Day event in Chicago, Illinois.

Last year, HRSA launched the Health Equity Fellows program to foster the next generation of HRSA leaders by providing recent graduates and others early in their careers with hands-on experience in implementing HRSAs mission of addressing health disparities, improving health outcomes, and achieving health equity.

For more than two decades, the HRSA Scholars Program has also served as a recruitment pipeline for high-quality job candidates and future leaders by providing participants with exposure to offices and programs across the Agency.

On December 26, HRSAs Associate Administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau Dr. Laura Cheever was selected as the 2023 winner of the Beyond AIDS Foundations Nettie award for her outstanding work contributing to HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

The Nettie Award is named after New York Assembly Member Nettie Mayersohn, author of state legislation for HIV reporting, notification, and testing.

On December 2, HRSA Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) joined a Spanish-language HHS M.O.M.S Tour stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico. HRSA provided opening remarks for the event. More than 75 attendees, pregnant women, and their families participated. Several HRSA grantees served as exhibitors in the event, including:

• Dr. Marianela Rodriguez of the Puerto Rico Department of Health Maternal Child Health Program, a HRSA Maternal Child Health Program grantee, who encouraged attendees to receive early prenatal care services and use the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA).

On December 9, Associate Administrator Dr. Michael Warren joined HRSA Region 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia) and their exhibit at the Prince Georges County M.O.M.S Tour stop.

On December 7, HRSA Chicago and Kansas City staff hosted a Grants 101 workshop in Quincy, Illinois, for over 45 participants from Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. The workshop educated potential grant applicants about HRSA programs and resources.

The workshop also included a federal funding panel featuring members from HRSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Agriculture. Attendees also learned about technical assistance and resources provided by the Illinois State Office of Rural Health.