The Minnesota Department of Health www.health.state.mn.us (MDH) supports the integration of emerging professions into the health workforce. This concept is part of the Minnesota Accountable Health Model being implemented through the State Innovation Model www.mn.gov/sim a joint effort between MDH and the Minnesota Department of Human Services http://mn.gov/dhs (DHS).
The Minnesota Accountable Health Model is facing the fact that the number of patients served by team-based integrated coordinated care is expanding and will continue to expand in the coming years.
On July 28, 2014 MDH issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the “Minnesota Emerging Professions Integration Grant Program” with the goal to integrate emerging professions into the workforce that will include models of accountable care.
The grant program will have three funding cycles. This specific RFP is the “Minnesota Emerging Professions Integration Grant Program for Round Two” Grant funds from Round Two are focused on three emerging professions to include community health workers, community paramedics, and dental therapists.
As health reform continues to change towards deeper coordination of services, better sharing of information, and more accountability for the care delivered, this grant program is exploring new relationships along with team-based approaches by using people in emerging professions to work with this change.
MDH is particularly interested in projects that focus on patients and clients who are transitioning between care settings or from a care setting to home especially individuals who have multiple chronic conditions such as behavioral health along with physiological conditions.
The application for grant funding must describe:
- How the emerging professions employee will be used to coordinate care across other sectors such as behavioral health, long-term care, local public health, and/or social services
- How the organization awarded the funding will achieve specific goals and how the progress towards these goals will be measured
- How the grant funding will improve health outcomes of the community to be served especially the potential to impact health disparities or the population being served
- How the project will deal with local public health needs, hospital community health needs, address county surveys on gaps for long term care, and/or for other state or local health planning efforts
The proposal is due September 19, 2014. The grant period is from November 2014 to October 2015 with $120,000 funding available with up to four grants available.
Go to www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/emerging/rfpround2.pdf to view the RFP. For more information, contact Kay Herzfeld at 651-201-3846.