The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
located in
North Bethesda, Maryland
North Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just north-west of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 50,094 as of the 2020 census. Among its neighb ...
. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
Comprising six bureaus and twelve offices, HRSA provides leadership and financial support to health care providers in every state and U.S. territory. Its grantees provide health care to uninsured people, people living with
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
/
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, and pregnant women, mothers and children. They train health professionals and improve systems of care in rural communities.
HRSA oversees
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
,
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
and
cord blood
Cord blood (umbilical cord blood) is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders su ...
donation. It supports programs that prepare against
bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...
, a program
to compensate people who experience vaccine adverse events, and maintains databases that protect against
health care malpractice and health care waste, fraud and abuse.
Functions
HRSA's $10 billion budget (FY 2015) provides direct health care to 23 million people. Its health center program supports medical, oral and
behavioral health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
services to uninsured and underinsured individuals through a nationwide network of community-based clinics and mobile medical vans. By bringing comprehensive primary and preventive health care services to inner-city and rural communities that otherwise would be without them, health centers improve the health of their communities and relieve pressure on overburdened hospital
emergency rooms
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
. The agency also recruits doctors, nurses, dentists and others to work in areas with too few health care professionals.
HRSA funds life-sustaining
medication
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...
and primary care to about half of the estimated number of people living with
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
in the United States. The agency also furnishes funds and expertise that save and improve the lives of millions of mothers and children. HRSA also oversees all organ, tissue, and blood-cell donations. It is the federal agency primarily responsible for pediatric
poison control
A poison control center is a medical service that is able to provide immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances. Poison control centers answer question ...
. It also maintains databases that track cases of health care
malpractice
In the law of torts, malpractice, also known as professional negligence, is an "instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional".Malpractice definition,
Professionals who may become the subject of malpractice actions inc ...
and compensates individuals judged to be harmed by
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
s. HRSA monitors trends in the health care workforce and forecasts future demand. Scholarships and academic loan programs encourage greater minority participation in the health professions and seek to maintain an adequate supply of primary care professionals.
Organization
Primary health care
HRSA funds almost 1,400 health center grantees that operate more than 10,400 clinics and mobile medical vans. Health centers deliver primary and preventive care to over 16 million low-income patients in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. possessions in the Pacific.
HIV/AIDS
HRSA's
Ryan White
Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagn ...
HIV/AIDS Program provides primary care, support services and
antiretroviral drug
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple ...
s for about 530,000 low-income people. The program also funds training, technical assistance and demonstration projects designed to slow the spread of the epidemic in high-risk populations. These services avert more costly in-patient care and improve the quality of life for those living with the virus.
Maternal and child health
HRSA administers a broad range of programs for pregnant women, mothers, infants, children, adolescents and their families, and children with special health care requirements. The largest of the programs, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to States, supports local efforts to reduce
infant mortality
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
and childhood illness and control costs associated with poor
pre- and
neo-natal care. The Block Grant includes State Formula Block Grants, Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS), and Community Integrated Service Systems (CISS) projects. Other vital missions include Universal Newborn Hearing Screening,
Traumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...
, Healthy Start,
Sickle Cell
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically Heredity, inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found i ...
Service Demonstrations, Family to Family Health Information Centers,
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
for Children, and
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
.
Among the most successful public health initiatives in U.S. history, HRSA's Maternal and infant health programs annually serve more than 34 million people.
Rural health
In order to make health care more accessible for the 60 million residents of rural America, HRSA funds programs that integrate and streamline existing rural health care institutions and aid in the recruitment and retention of physicians in rural hospitals and clinics. HRSA's
telehealth
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, mon ...
program uses information technology to link isolated rural practitioners to medical institutions over great distances. Many of these activities are designed and operated out of the Agency's
Office of Rural Health Policy
The Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Overview
HRSA is the lead federal agency responsible for monitori ...
.
Health workforce
The agency strives to ensure a health care workforce that is diverse, well-trained and adequately distributed throughout the nation. In exchange for financial assistance through
National Health Service Corps
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, division of Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Workforce.
Members are health professionals providing prim ...
scholarships and student loan repayment programs, more than 28,000 clinicians have served in some of the most economically deprived and geographically isolated communities in America over the past 35 years.
Health systems
HRSA oversees the nation's organ and tissue donation and transplantation systems,"New Transplants Are Changing Lives". ''University Wire'' May 22, 2018. by way of supervising the work of the
United Network for Organ Sharing
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is a non-profit, scientific and educational organization that administers the only Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) in the United States, established () by the U.S. Congress in 1984 b ...
, a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that is contracted to run the complex organ and tissue donation and transplantation system in the U.S.
HRSA oversees a drug discount program for certain safety-net health care providers.
HRSA also supports the nation's poison control centers and
vaccine injury compensation programs, which distribute awards to individuals and families who have been injured by certain vaccines, after proving it to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The awards come from a trust fund that is funded by an excise tax on all vaccines. Whenever anyone gets a vaccine, there is a $.75 excise tax. The fund currently has almost $4 billion available (as of September 2019) for compensations to petitioners and for attorneys fees and costs of the program.
History
Predecessors
Most of HRSA's bureaus have predecessors within the Public Health Service (PHS)
Bureau of Medical Services
The Bureau of Medical Services (BMS) was a unit of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) that existed in two incarnations. The first was one of three principal operating agencies of PHS from 1943 until 1966, while the second was a divis ...
or the Community Health Divisions of the
Bureau of State Services
The Bureau of State Services (BSS) was one of three principal operating agencies of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) from 1943 until 1966. The bureau contained the PHS divisions that administered cooperative services to U.S. states ...
; these were two of the three principal operating agencies of PHS from 1943 to 1966.
During the
U.S. Public Health Service reorganizations of 1966–1973
Between 1966 and 1973, a series of reorganizations occurred of the United States Public Health Service (PHS) within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). The reorganization by 1968 replaced PHS's old bureau structure with two new ...
, these were both absorbed into the short-lived Health Services and Mental Health Administration (HSMHA), which was formed in 1968 to bring together most of the
Public Health Service
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
's divisions other than its research and environmental health programs.
The goal was to coordinate divisions with similar focus with a holistic rather than fragmented approach;
however, it came to be seen as large and unwieldy.
In 1973, HSMHA was abolished and split into four parts: the
Center for Disease Control
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
and
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...
were spun off within PHS, and the remaining functions were split between the newly established Health Services Administration and Health Resources Administration.
The Health Services Administration inherited
the system of hospitals that descended from PHS's founding in 1798.
A few of HRSA's programs have origins outside PHS, though. The
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), is one of six Bureaus within the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in Rockville, Maryland.
MCHB administers the Titl ...
originates from a 1969 split of the
Children's Bureau, with its special projects, training, and research programs moving into PHS.
The
Bureau of Primary Health Care
The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA helps fund, staff and support a national network of health clinics fo ...
's system of Community Health Centers were initially part of the
Office of Economic Opportunity
The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...
, but were moved into the PHS in 1974.
Establishment and later history
HRSA was established on October 1, 1982, when the Health Resources Administration and the Health Services Administration were merged.
Dr. Robert Graham was the first administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
In November 2019,
Thomas Engels was appointed administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, replacing administrator George Sigounas. Engels left the post on January 20, 2021.
On January 20, 2021, the incoming
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
named Deputy Administrator Diana Espinosa, a career civil servant, to serve as Acting Administrator until a permanent successor is named.
On December 17, 2021 it was announced that
Carole Johnson (health official)
Carole Johnson is an American health official serving as the administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration since January 2022. She was previously a member of the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Johnson is a former commissioner ...
would be named as Administrator, having previously served as testing coordinator on the
White House COVID-19 Response Team
The White House COVID-19 Response Team is the task force during the presidency of Joe Biden to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It was set up by Joe Biden on his first day in officeJanuary 20, 2021and replaced President Tru ...
. Johnson took up her administrator role in the first week of January 2022.
On August 1 of 2022, the HRSA vaccine injury database revealed that 6,088 claims had been made for injuries/deaths attributed to the COVID-19 vaccination, only a very small number of which had been denied, but no payouts had yet occurred. Any payout resulting from the remaining granted claims will automatically trigger a Congressional review of the PREP Act's medical fraud section, as vaccines were certified to Congress as being "safe and effective." In addition, under the 1986 Healthcare Quality Improvement Act, Congress is responsible for reviewing the HRSA vaccine injury database every three years.
References
External links
*
The Health Center ProgramThe HIV/AIDS ProgramMaternal & Child HealthRural Health PolicyNational Health Service CorpsHealth WorkforceHealthcare SystemsHealth Resources and Services Administrationin the ''
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
''
Health Resources and Servicesaccount on
USAspending.gov ttp://www.usaspending.gov USASpending.govis a database of spending by the United States federal government.
History
Around the time of the Act's passage, OMB Watch, a government watchdog group, was developing a site that would do essentially eve ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Health Resources And Services Administration
Government agencies established in 1982
Rockville, Maryland
1982 establishments in the United States