93.155: Rural Health Research Centers

93.155

Active

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) [HHS]

Sept. 2, 2022

Sept. 2, 2022

The Rural Health Research Center and Telehealth Focused Rural Health Research Center programs are designed to increase the amount of publically available, high quality, impartial, policy-relevant research to assist decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels to better understand the challenges faced by rural communities and providers. The research conducted by these research centers provides information that will improve access to health care and population health. The Rapid Response Rural Data Analysis and Issue Specific Rural Research Studies program recipient assists rural communities with conducting rapid data analyses and short-term research studies to understand the impact of current and proposed policies and regulations as well as to provide information that will improve access to health care and population health in rural communities across the United States. Due to the nature of rural policy analysis and formulation, rural organizations and health care providers often require timely information that is available only through specialized analysis of databases of information compiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), and other federal and state agencies or provider organizations. Most rural groups and individuals do not have the capacity to store the data sets, the staff expertise to refine and analyze the data, nor the technology necessary to run statistical analyses. Findings from these analyses are used to help inform rural health care providers and stakeholders that set policies impacting rural communities. The Rural Health Research Dissemination Program recipient disseminates and markets policy-oriented information for use by diverse audiences, such as rural stakeholders at national, state, and community levels and policy decision-makers, to inform and raise awareness of issues regarding policy implications, access, quality and status of health care delivery, services, and management on behalf of rural communities. The information includes the body of research funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and is designed to help decision-makers and policy analysts concerned with a variety of rural health issues at national, state, and community levels better understand the problems rural communities face in assuring access to health care and promoting good health for their members. The Rural Policy Analysis Program supports research and analysis of key policy issues affecting rural communities to inform rural policy makers. Funded projects focus on the changing rural environment and (1) facilitate public dialogue on key rural policy issues by tracking emerging rural health and human services policy issues; (2) identify opportunities for integrating health and human services in rural policy, program, and evaluation in a local community context; (3) identify opportunities to demonstrate broad community impact of policies and programs in rural health and human services, consistent with policy goals related to rural revitalization and sustainability of rural regions; and (4) provide analysis of policies and regulations in the form of policy briefs, reports, webinars, and oral presentations. The purpose of the Rural Health Innovation and Transformation Technical Assistance Program (formerly called Rural Health Value) is to provide technical assistance to rural stakeholders and the public to help them understand and engage in the value-based care landscape in the context of rural health care. The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Evaluation Cooperative Agreement supports monitoring, and evaluation to Critical Access Hospitals nationwide and to the State Rural Hospital Flexibility Program recipients to inform hospital performance improvement efforts. The Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program provides technical assistance, support, and education to the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program. The goal of the program is to provide support and resources to assist in building capacity for rural providers. The purpose of the National Rural Health Policy, Community, and Collaboration Program is to identify, educate, engage, and collaborate with rural stakeholders on national rural health and policy issues and promising practices in an effort to improve the health of people living in rural communities nationwide. Program objectives include: identifying and educating rural stakeholders about national policy issues and promising practices for rural health; maintaining projects that will help support engagement of rural communities in a broad range of activities; facilitating partnerships and collaborations at the local, regional, state, and national levels to improve the exchange of information and promising practices that support rural health; and identifying and promoting broader collaborative federal efforts to support, promote, and address unique rural health issues. The State Offices of Rural Health Coordination and Development Program (SORHCDP) builds the capacity of the 50 State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) and rural stakeholders nationwide through strengthening leadership, increasing opportunities for collaboration, offering education on policy and emerging health issues, and supporting the core functions of the SORH. The goal of the SORHCDP is to support the 50 SORH and rural stakeholders nationwide to better coordinate and improve rural health services. The Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement provides technical assistance to Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) recipients, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and other rural providers, to assist them in demonstrating improvement in quality of care for rural patients. Assistance will be provided to Flex grantees in the areas of: data collection and analysis, understanding measure specifications, benchmarking and target setting, developing and implementing efficient and effective improvement strategies, and tracking the outcomes of quality improvement efforts. The Frontier Community Health Integration Program (FCHIP) Technical Assistance, Tracking, and Analysis program provides technical assistance, site implementation assistance, and other tracking and analytic activities to support providers participating in the FCHIP Demonstration. Activities are in support of identifying potential new approaches to health care delivery, reimbursement, and coordination in sparsely populated areas. The Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement provides technical assistance to rural health clinics (RHCs) and disseminates information regarding RHC issues such as Medicare survey and certification, billing and payment, quality improvement, best practices, disease management, and applicable regulatory issues. The program provides technical assistance calls or webinars, and an electronic mailing list (listserv) for RHC staff that serves as a resource for RHCs needing assistance to understand and comply with applicable regulations. The Rural Coronavirus Technical Assistance program provides TA to RHCs and small rural hospitals on COVID-19 testing, mitigation, and responding to COVID-19. The Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence Technical Assistance program provides TA to RHCs on addressing COVID-19 related health equity gaps and improving health care in rural areas by engaging RHCs to improve vaccine confidence and counter vaccine hesitancy in rural communities. The Rural Residency Planning and Development - Technical Assistance program establishes a rural residency planning and development technical assistance center to assist HRSA Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) program recipients creating new allopathic medicine rural residency programs associated with specialties such as primary care, internal medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and public health and general preventive medicine. Subsequent to the availability of resources, the secondary purpose of the cooperative agreement is to provide technical assistance to other entities that a) would have been eligible for the RRPD program, and b) are not selected for RRPD program awards. The RRPD program and this cooperative agreement are complementary and will expand the number of rural residency training programs and subsequently increase the number of physicians who choose to practice in rural areas. The purpose of the Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Assistance Program is to provide targeted in-depth assistance to vulnerable rural hospitals within communities struggling to maintain health care services. The goal is for residents in rural communities to continue to have access to essential health services. The Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program develops newly, accredited and sustainable rural residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, public health and general preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, to support expansion of the physician workforce in rural areas. The funds will support planning and development costs accrued while achieving program accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The purpose of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Evaluation cooperative agreement is to evaluate the impact of RCORP initiatives, which currently include RCORP-Planning, RCORP-Implementation, and a number of RCORP pilot programs. The evaluation activities include data collection and analyses of RCORP activities, as well as developing valuable RCORP-based evaluation tools and resources for use in rural communities and to inform future rural health initiatives. The purpose of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program- Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorder is to support the identification, translation, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based programs and best practices related to the treatment for and prevention of substance use disorders (SUD) within rural communities, with a focus on the current opioid crisis and developing methods to address future SUD epidemics. The program outlines three Focus Areas, to each be addressed by one RCORP-RCOE recipient. Focus Area 1 emphasizes innovative and effective treatment interventions for SUD, particularly OUD, in rural communities; Focus Area 2 emphasizes recovery housing programs for SUD intervention in rural communities; and Focus Area 3 emphasizes the burden of overdose mortality related to the misuse of synthetic opioids in rural communities in the Delta and/or Appalachian regions. The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project provides technical assistance that will assist eligible small rural hospitals and RHCs in strengthening their foundation in key elements of value-based care, including, but not limited to quality, efficiency, patient experience, and safety of care. This program will help small rural hospitals and RHCs that are in need of assistance in building the foundation for participating in value-based healthcare, but that are not yet at the level to participate in value-based programs. The purpose of the Rural Telementoring Training Center program is to train academic medical centers and other centers of excellence (COEs) to create or expand technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models (such as Project ECHO, ECHO-like models, and other emerging models in the field). The recipient will develop and share freely accessible tools and resources that are adaptable to culturally and regionally diverse populations to provide training nationwide to facilitate the dissemination of best practice specialty care to primary care providers and care teams in rural and underserved areas. The purpose of the Rural Health and Economic Development Analysis program is to increase public and stakeholder awareness of the economic impacts of rural health care sectors on rural, state, and national economies. Additionally, the Rural Health and Economic Development Analysis Program seeks to quantify the impact of rural health care and conduct analyses of the link between the health of the economy in a rural community and the health outcomes of the residents of those communities. The purpose of the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program will provide one-time funding to support hospitals for testing education, establishment of alternate testing sites, test result processing, arranging for the processing of test results, and engaging in other activities within the CDC Community Mitigation Framework to address COVID-19 in rural communities.

B - Cooperative Agreements

The Rural Health Research Center and Telehealth Focused Rural Health Research Center cooperative agreements are open to domestic public, for-profit, and non-profit entities. Institutions of higher education, faith-based and community based organizations, Tribes, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply. The Rural Health Research Dissemination cooperative agreement is open to all domestic public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit. Eligible entities may include, but are not limited to, public and private institutions for higher education, public and private health research organizations, foundations, tribes and tribal organizations, and faith based entities. Eligible applicants for the National Rural Health Policy, Community, and Collaboration Program include public, private and nonprofit organizations including domestic faith-based and community organizations, state governments and their agencies such as universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, and local governments or their bona fide agents. Federally recognized tribal governments, tribes, and tribal organizations are also eligible. The Rapid Response Rural Data Analysis and Issue Specific Rural Research Studies cooperative agreement is open to all domestic public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit. Eligible entities may include, but are not limited to, public and private institutions for higher education, public and private health research organizations, foundations, tribes and tribal organizations, and faith based entities. Rural Health Innovation and Transformation Technical Assistance Program eligibility is open to domestic public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply. Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Evaluation Cooperative Agreement: Eligible applicants include public and private nonprofit entities. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply for this cooperative agreement. Federally recognized tribal government and Native American Organizations are eligible to apply. Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program: Any public or private entity is eligible to apply for this Federal funding opportunity. Applicant organizations that are federally recognized Native American tribes or tribal organizations are eligible to apply. Faith-based and community-based organizations are eligible to apply for this cooperative agreement. The State Offices of Rural Health Coordination and Development Program (SORHCDP) applicant is an organization that is national in scope with experience providing coordination and development to enhance the rural health infrastructure in each of the 50 states. Federally recognized tribal Government and Native American Organizations are eligible to apply. Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement: Eligible applicants include domestic public, private, and nonprofit organizations, including tribes and tribal organizations, and faith-based and community-based organizations. The Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement: Eligible applicants include domestic public, private, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, as well as faith-based and community-based organizations and federally recognized tribal governments and organizations. Rural Residency Planning and Development - Technical Assistance program: Eligible entities include any domestic public or private nonprofit entities including faith-based and community-based organizations; state governments and their agencies such as universities, colleges and research institutions; hospitals; local governments or their bona fide agents; and federally recognized tribal governments, tribes and tribal organizations. Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Assistance Program: Eligible applicants include domestic public or private, non-profit entities. Domestic faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are also eligible to apply. The eligible applicant (VRHAP recipient) shall provide targeted assistance to selected rural hospitals in need. Rural hospitals are eligible to receive targeted assistance from the VRHAP recipient. Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program eligible applicants are domestic public or private non-profit entities including domestic faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations. Specifically, these organizations include: 1) rural hospitals, 2) rural community-based ambulatory patient care centers, including federally qualified health centers (FQHC), community mental health centers or rural health clinics, 3) health centers operated by the Indian Health Service, tribe or tribal organization, or an urban Indian organization; 4) graduate medical education consortiums, including schools of allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine, 5) entities such as faith-based and community-based organizations, capable of carrying out the grant activities. Either the applicant organization or a consortium’s primary training partner must be located in a rural area. The applicant organization must demonstrate it has the capacity to acquire accreditation and provide ongoing support for resident training, including financially, by the end of the period of performance. Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-Evaluation cooperative agreement: Eligible applicants include domestic public or private, non-profit or for-profit organizations. Institutions of higher education, faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply. Applicants may be a single entity or a consortium. Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorder: Eligible applicants include all domestic public or private, non-profit or for-profit entities, including state, county, or city or township governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities or Indian housing authorities; public or private institutions of higher education; small businesses; faith-based and community-based organizations; and federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal governments; or consortia of these organizations. Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project: Eligible applicants include domestic public or private, non-profit entities. Domestic faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are also eligible to apply. Rural Telementoring Training Center program: Eligible applicants include domestic public, private, and nonprofit organizations, including tribes and tribal organizations, and faith-based and community-based organizations. Rural Health and Economic Development Analysis program: Eligible applicants include domestic public or private, non-profit and for-profit entities. Domestic faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply. Eligible entities may include, but are not limited to, public and private institutions for higher education, public or private health research organizations, and foundations. Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program: Eligible entities include existing Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program grantees.

The entities that will benefit from this program are health care personnel, health research personnel, policy makers, and the general public. Underserved populations in rural areas; facilities and services in rural areas. States with at least one hospital that is located in a non-metropolitan statistical area or county and provides CMS with necessary assurances.

https://sam.gov/fal/7eeb4139d7dc461db6a0f4cdf446c0e5/view