Advocacy Alerts, Funding Wins & New Opportunities for Health Centers

Advocacy Alert: Ask SD Legislators to Support Health Centers
Right now, South Dakota lawmakers are considering legislation that would bring financial stability to South Dakota’s health centers and ensure they can continue providing the full range of high-quality primary and preventative care to South Dakotans who need it most – including behavioral health, dental, and medical care. HB1150 would provide fair Medicaid payments to health centers and is urgently needed to protect the future of health care in our communities.

Take action today by sending a quick message to your state legislators. You can find a sample message, along with your legislators’ contact information here.

Rural Health Transformation Program: Stay Informed
North Dakota and South Dakota have approved a historic five-year investment through the Rural Health Transformation Program to strengthen rural health, with funding focused on workforce, access, technology, prevention, and care innovation. Grant opportunities will roll out in phases, and CHAD will host state-specific webinars in late February to highlight priorities and upcoming funding opportunities.

FY26 Funding Package: What it Means for Community Health Centers and Tribal Health Systems
A bipartisan FY 2026 funding package has passed, delivering increased federal support for community health centers, the Indian Health Service, and Tribal health programs. The legislation boosts CHC funding, extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities, and continues key workforce and Tribal health investments. Learn what this means for health centers and Tribal communities—and why advocacy mattered.

South Dakota House Rejects Proposal Asking Voters to Repeal Medicaid Expansion
HJR5002, which would have asked voters to repeal Medicaid expansion from the state constitution, was defeated on the House floor last week. CHAD applauds lawmakers for honoring the will of voters and protecting access to care for over 30,000 South Dakotans!

North Dakota Special Session Update
North Dakota’s special legislative session delivered major wins for rural health, approving nearly $400 million for the Rural Health Transformation Program, passing all related policy bills, and authorizing bridge loans to support providers. Lawmakers also addressed hospital stability, property tax relief, and other statewide issues. Read more for a full breakdown of what passed—and what didn’t.

LMSWs Can Now Generate FHQC Medicaid Encounters in North Dakota
Effective January 2026, North Dakota Medicaid's FQHC coverage policy includes LMSWs as eligible providers. This means that LMSWs can generate behavioral health encounters at FQHCs. CHAD applauds this update as an important step in supporting the sustainability of high-quality, accessible behavioral health care.

The South Dakota Department of Health’s Cancer Programs have released the Cancer Implementation Grant RFA seeking projects that support the South Dakota Cancer Plan and expand evidence-based cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship services statewide. Eligible applicants include health care organizations, non-profits, tribal and university partners, and other entities with capacity to implement interventions.

Applications due: By 5:00 pm CT on February 13 (for projects running June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027)
Learn More

Two major CHWSD conferences are scheduled for this year:

April 29-30: 5th Annual South Dakota CHW Conference in Mitchell, SD, offering education, network and breakout sessions for CHWs, CHRs, supervisors, and allies

October 14: 12th Annual Fall Forum in Sioux Falls, SD, co-sponsored with SD Health Link, focused on integrating technology and health data into practice.

Additional details, agendas, and registration information available soon.

SDUIH was featured on KELOLAND Living in 2026’s Tradition of Caring, highlighting its work providing culturally grounded health services and holistic wellness for the Urban Indian communities.

Horizon Health announced Meghan Eisma joins their behavioral health staff.

CHAD CEO, Shelly Ten Napel, said the steep drop in South Dakota’s Medicaid enrollment in 2025 underscores serious concerns about access to care as the state faces one of the nation’s highest disenrollment rates.

Rural Health Transformation Program: Deep Dive for Health Centers

Join CHAD for a state-specific session on the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to explore funding priorities, proposed activities, and opportunities, with state partners on hand to answer questions and guide discussion—ideal for health center staff looking to align their work with RHTP goals.

FEB 24 | North Dakota | 12:30 PM – 2:00 pm CT / 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM MT
FEB 26 | South Dakota | 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM CT / 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM MT

Maternal Mental Health Series
Perinatal Mental Health in Every Setting: Practical Strategies for Screening, Treatment, and Coordinated Care
This three-part Maternal Mental Health webinar series is designed to help health center teams strengthen perinatal mental health care across every setting. The series covers the full continuum of care, from early screening and identification to clinical response and treatment planning, and referral and community care coordination. Each session provides evidence-based tools and actionable strategies that can be immediately integrated into obstetric, midwifery, pediatric, and primary care workflows. Participants will leave better equipped to identify at-risk patients, respond appropriately to positive screens, and support continuity of care for pregnant and postpartum patients, including those in rural and underserved communities.

MAR 4: Screening Early Identification of Perinatal Depression & Anxiety
12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT

Learn More

MAR 18: Clinical Response & Treatment Pathways for Positive Screens
12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT

Learn More

MAY 27: Referral, Care Coordination, & Community Resource Integration
12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT

Learn More

Target: BP 2026 Award Achievement 101 for FQHCs
In this webinar, the American Heart Association will introduce key Target: BP quality improvement tools for hypertension control and demonstrate how federally qualified health centers can achieve awards recognizing their work.

February 12 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CT / 10:00 am – 11:00 am MT

CHAMPS Spanish Language Trainings for Healthcare Providers
Registration is open for CHAMPS’ Spanish Language Trainings for Healthcare Providers, led by Ríos Associates. These online, intensive courses teach medical vocabulary and conversational skills through mock patient dialogues and daily practice, designed for clinicians and support staff who want to quickly apply Spanish in patient care. The five courses offered are:

Two-Day Spanish Language for Oral Health Providers (April 6-7)
Four-Day Medical Spanish Language for Providers (April 9-10 & April 16-17)
Two-Day Spanish Language for Behavioral Health Providers (April 13-14)
Two-Day Medical Spanish Language for Advanced Speakers (April 20-21)
Two-Day Medical Spanish Language for Medical Assistants (April 23-24)

Registration Deadline: March 13

Learn More Here

CHAMPS Next Level Skills for Health Center Supervisors and Managers Training
Registration is open for the CHAMPS Beyond CORE Competencies: Next Level Skills training for health center supervisors and managers. This virtual program strengthens essential and advanced management skills, covering hiring, coaching, conflict resolution, decision-making, and change management. It is suitable for both graduates of the CHAMPS CORE Competencies training and those seeking to enhance higher-level management skills.

Program Dates: April 8 – May 6

Registration Deadline: March 9

Learn More Here

Telehealth Everywhere 2026 - Early-Bird Registration is Now Open
This conference is for executives, providers, managers, and staff engaged in the operational aspects of telehealth. It will focus on delivering information and experiences that will help drive organizations’ telehealth program forward into the future while also providing information for telehealth beginners.

April 7-9 | Hyatt Regency in Bloomington, MN

Dakota Conference on Rural Health
The Dakota Conference on Rural Health, which has been a mainstay in North Dakota for over 40 years, is being reimagined. This year the conference will take a stronger look at leadership, workforce, and innovation happening throughout rural North Dakota communities.

June 3-4 | Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND

RM-PHTC's Facilitation Foundations Course
Registration is open for the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center’s winter run of Facilitation Foundations—a highly interactive, deep-dive course designed for those new to facilitation.

Over 10 weeks, you’ll build your capacity to facilitate meetings and coalitions that are efficient, effective, and lead to results. By the end, you’ll be equipped to help groups meet their goals and take ownership of the process.

Registration deadline: April 14

Role-Based Series: DRVS for Quality Improvement, Part 2
The QI Director is often at the helm when it comes to setting up DRVS for success. Matching the right tools, to the right role, for the right situation and goals can be tricky. In this second session, Azara will focus on strategies for configuring and customizing DRVS to advance your practice's unique priorities and goals. During this session, Azara will review functionalities such as Alert Admin, Provider Groups, Cohorts, Report Customization, and DRVS for PCMH. This webinar is recommended for team members focused on quality improvement.

Tuesday, February 10

12:00 pm CT/11:00 am MT

Role-Based Series: DRVS for Providers

Have you ever considered all the different ways that providers can leverage DRVS? DRVS has extensive functionality that goes far beyond the point-of-care to support providers in evaluating performance and population-level trends. In this webinar, attendees will review a wide range of functionality – including dashboards, scorecards, cohorts, and more – and discuss how it can be used by providers to track health outcomes across key populations, improve the quality of care for patients, and drive performance improvement within their organization. This session is recommended for providers or health center staff that work closely with providers. This might include the quality team, MAs, Nurses, etc.

Thursday, February 12

1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT

Role-Based Series: DRVS for Operations

With current EHR technology, it can be difficult to have insight into your organization’s inner workings. Who are your patients and where are they coming from? How many appointments are being kept, lost, or recouped? How does this impact your organization’s supply and demand? What does workload distribution look like across your providers and non-provider care team members? Join this webinar to learn about stock DRVS functionality that can help your organization discover the answers to these questions and create more capacity for decision-making related to capacity, ROI, expansion, and more. This webinar is recommended for staff who play a role in practice operations, including Admin, C-Suite, Directors and more.

Thursday, February 19

1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT

Reporting Features and Functionality in Azara Care Connect - Care Coordination

New year, new functionality to learn and utilize in Azara Care Connect. Join Azara as they take a deep dive into the reporting capabilities within Azara Care Connect. This session is specifically related to Care Coordination workflows within the Coordination Activity Report and our new Network Coordination Activity Report. This webinar is recommended for CC users, managers, and population health leadership focused on actions of CC initiatives across a center or a network of centers.

Tuesday, February 24

12:00 pm CT/11:00 am MT

This publication is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,561,267.00 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. CHAD makes available upon request its annual 990 report. Please make your request directly to the Director of Programs and Training at 605-309-0873.