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Funding opportunities, news, events, and resources for tribal and urban Indian LTSS programs
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Next LTSS webinar: Alaska Native Traditional Foods Movement, March 24, 2021
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LTSS Technical Assistance Center
Visit the online LTSS TA Center for videos, best practices, toolkits, a resource library, and a step-by-step planning roadmap.
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More than a meal: The benefits of traditional foods
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While many traditional foods support physical health, these meals provide more than nutrition. They promote cultural identity, history, and traditional lifeways. Additionally, gathering traditional foods as a community supports social wellbeing. These foods nourish the spirit.
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The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) promotes traditional foods as a pathway to health in Alaska Native communities. To create a forum for sharing knowledge about traditional foods, the program holds conferences, cooking classes, cooking contests, and other events. A key focus of these events is educating youth about local traditional food sources.
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Learn more about the ANTHC traditional foods program in the video, Tradition of Healthy People & Prevention.
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Alaska Public Media’s video, Shining a spotlight on the traditional foods movement in Alaska, further breaks down some basics of traditional foods benefits, preparation, and meal planning.
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Alaska Native Traditional Foods Movement webinar
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
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Traditional foods are an integral part of Alaska Native cultures. The gathering, hunting, preserving, and eating of traditional foods is more than just a diet—it’s a way of life.
Traditional meals offer nutrition, physical healing benefits, and a sense of comfort and familiarity. Therefore, it is important to keep these traditions alive in tribal communities.
Beginning with the 2014 Farm Bill’s acknowledgement of the importance of serving traditional foods in public facilities, such as long-term care settings, a statewide movement began in Alaska. The Alaska Native Traditional Foods Movement brings together people who are creating resources, recipes, menus, and donation programs to provide traditional foods for those in need.
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Please note your
location's call-in time:
8 a.m. Hawaii
10 a.m. Alaska
11 a.m. Pacific
12 p.m. Arizona
12 p.m. Mountain
1 p.m. Central
2 p.m. Eastern
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This presentation will provide a glimpse into the Alaska Native Traditional Foods Movement to empower attendees to create similar movements in their own communities.
Learning objectives:
- Discuss best practices used to create Alaska Native traditional foods programs
- Learn where to connect with like-minded groups and build relationships based on a deep-rooted belief that food is medicine
- Learn how to use traditional foods resources, such as the National Resource Center for Alaska Native Elders, to create community-specific programs
Have questions for our presenters? Let us know before the webinar by emailing
ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com.
Register now.
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| Presenters |
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Melissa Chlupach
Assistant Professor
Dietetics and Nutrition
University of Alaska
Anchorage
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Flora Deacon
(Athabascan Tribe)
Indigenous Chef Instructor
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Thomas Moore
Assistant Professor
Communications Specialist
National Resource Center for Alaska Native Elders
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| New LTSS TA Center resource |
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2021 Tribal Nursing Home & Assisted Living Facility Directory
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A newly updated Tribal Nursing Home & Assisted Living Facility Directory (PDF, 849 KB, 16 pp) is now available in the CMS LTSS Technical Assistance Center. It identifies the locations of tribal nursing homes and assisted living facilities throughout the United States, listed by region.
In this directory, find details about each facility’s tribal affiliation, contact information, certification type(s), number of beds, number of years in operation, and more.
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Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field? Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn.
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Updated CMS guidance for care facility visits
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Across the country, there are protocols in place for visiting people in nursing homes and other care facilities to help safeguard residents, staff, and visitors during the pandemic.
CMS released revised guidance for nursing home visitation on March 10, 2021. Given increasing vaccination rates and declining cases of the virus, the updated guidance eases some of the previously recommended restrictions on visitations. Overall, outdoor visits are still preferred, regardless of vaccination status, but indoor visits are possible, too. CMS recommends:
- Limiting indoor visitations for unvaccinated residents in facilities where vaccination rates are low
- Continuing to screen visitors and promote infection prevention practices, including masks, hand-washing, social distancing, and frequent cleaning of commonly touched surfaces
- Permitting close contact between a resident and visitor if the resident desires such contact and is fully vaccinated, wears a mask during the visit, and washes their hands before and after contact
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COVID-19 vaccine updates
CDC resources to encourage vaccine uptake
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shared a wealth of resources regarding COVID-19 vaccination from their National Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine. These resources cover a variety of topics, including:
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Recommendations to strengthen vaccine efforts in Indian Country
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How can programs serving AI/AN communities design culturally relevant COVID-19 vaccination campaigns?
In the recent report, Strengthening Vaccine Efforts in Indian Country, the Urban Indian Health Institute presents findings from a survey of 1,435 AI/AN people representing 318 tribes across 46 states.
According to the report, vaccine messaging should:
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- Focus on cultural values
- Promote tribal and urban Indian health clinics as trusted, safe, familiar spaces for vaccination efforts
- Enlist health care providers, elders, and tribal leaders to share clear COVID-19 vaccine information
- Acknowledge sources of skepticism about vaccines and recognize that, for AI/AN people, vaccine hesitancy may stem from safety concerns
- Include community input in designing the campaign
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Dashboard on vaccines for people with disabilities
With the COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Dashboard, see how each state is prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine distribution for the disabled community. Developed in partnership between the Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center and the Administration for Community Living Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities, the dashboard presents information on when people with disabilities will qualify for vaccination in their state.
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New survey to assess the needs of Native urban elders
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To identify priority needs for the wellness of AI/AN elders who live in urban settings, the Coalition on Urban Indian Aging (CoUIA) plans to partner with urban Indian organizations to conduct a needs assessment.
In April, CoUIA will begin recruiting sites to administer the Native Urban Elder Needs Assessment Survey (NUENAS 1.0). The coalition will contact urban Indian organizations shortly to request their participation in NUENAS 1.0. Interested organizations are encouraged to complete a memorandum of understanding (PDF, 139 KB, 4 pp).
Learn more about the survey and the coalition who designed it.
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Outreach to Native elders with HIV
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Native elders who are living with HIV are an underserved population who would benefit from better access to culturally relevant support services.
The National Native HIV Network recently recorded a webinar highlighting the importance of outreach to this population. Titled Bridging the Generations: Caring for Our Elder Relatives, the webinar features presenters from organizations that:
- Refer elders for HIV testing, care coordination, and case management
- Deliver food, face masks, and care packages to elders’ homes
- Host virtual events to help elders stay socially engaged
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Providing home-based palliative care in the context of COVID-19
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed delivery of hospice and palliative care in both home-based and facility settings, presenting new challenges and opportunities.
To learn more about considerations for home-based care provided to those with serious illnesses, view a recording of the webinar, Caring for People with Serious Illness in the Home: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some of the topics covered include:
- Practices to help protect seriously ill patients, family members, and care providers from COVID-19
- Expanded use of telehealth to share best practices, increase access to care in rural communities, and provide caregivers with social support
- The potential role of hospice and palliative care providers in efforts to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination efforts
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TBI Tuesdays webinar series
Join the Administration for Community Living for their Tuesday webinar series on traumatic brain injury (TBI). The series will extend through April.
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Age-Friendly Care in the Great Plains
Tuesday, March 30: for older adults and caregivers
Wednesday, March 31: for health care professionals
Dakota Geriatrics will present a 2-day virtual event, Age-Friendly Care in the Great Plains.
- isolation and loneliness
- brain health and dementia prevention
- legal and ethical implications of vaccines
- functional mobility for the joy of living
Day 2 is designed for health care professionals. Presenters will discuss tips for assessing and supporting older adult patients. Topics cover:
- aging vs. dementia
- prescription management with traditional Indigenous medications
- mobility assessments and action plans
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CHART Model Community Transformation Track Application Deadline Extension
Letters of intent due date: April 13
Application due date: May 11
Apply for CHART Model Community Transformation Track
The deadline has been extended to apply for the CMS Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model funding opportunity. The CHART Model supports rural health care providers in designing systems of care that improve access to sustainable care. The program expects to award 15 rural communities up to $5 million each. Learn more about the CHART model.
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Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19
Application due date: April 20
Apply for Advancing Health Literacy
The funding opportunity Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19, offered through the HHS Office of Minority Health, will support the implementation of culturally appropriate strategies to enhance COVID-19 testing and contact-tracing efforts for minority populations. Programs for urban communities will receive up to $4 million, while programs for rural communities will receive up to $3 million.
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Join the conversation on LinkedIn
Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field? Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn.
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Send us your news
Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com, and we'll include it in a newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.
About the newsletter
American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports Solutions is published monthly by the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs to share information, funding opportunities, and resources with LTSS planners, tribal leaders, and supporters.
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