The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on September 19, 2013 announced that DHHS is going to fund the “Rural Health Center Operational Grant Program”. The State’s Office of Rural Health and Community Care (ORHCC) will award the grants to assist underserved communities and populations and help this population develop innovative strategies to use to improve access, quality, and cost effectiveness.
The grant applications are due October 7, 2013. The total grant funding for all awards is a maximum of $50,000 per application and is dependent upon the needs at the rural health centers and available funding.
ORHCC established rural health centers to enable local communities provide access to their underserved populations who would otherwise be unable to receive needed primary care services due to geographic, economic, or other barriers. The rural health centers have become an integral part of the healthcare safety net for North Carolina’s rural and underserved residents.
The funding will be specifically geared toward programs and strategies that address three project areas such as:
- Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) project where an individual can be provided quality, timely, efficient and patient-centered comprehensive care and care coordination from a compassionate team of healthcare professionals
- Meaningful use projects that will provide applicants the means to work towards certification of Stage 1 meaningful use or achieve steps towards Stage 2 depending on baseline information
- Fund development projects directed towards identifying and securing potential funding opportunities. This includes obtaining a certificate of participation in fund development education, securing funding partnerships, creating a fund development team, securing new payment models, and obtaining grant writing training skills from an established grant writer
Grant funds must be utilized at the physical location specified in the grant application where primary medical care is provided. Grant funds may not be used to purchase and/or lease vehicles or pay down existing mortgages and/or other loans and debts.
Eligible applicants include state-designated rural health centers that are 501-(C)-3 non-profit primary care organizations currently funded in State FY 2013-2014 under the Rural Health Center Operations Medical Access Plan Grant Program. Preference will be given to the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient Centered Medical Home and Meaningful Use projects.
Go to www.ncdhhs.gov/orhcc/partners/fundingops.htm or email Andrea Murphy at andrea.murphy@dhhs.nc.gov for more information.