This newsletter is brought to you by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) and the Community Health Systems Development Team at the Georgia Health Policy Center. |
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Network Development Grantee
The Georgia Health Policy Center recently spoke to Diana Matthews, project director, and Shelly Gilbert, network director, for the Rural Dementia Network (hosted by Indiana University [IU] Health Bedford) about efforts to expand outreach and services in Lawrence County and Orange County in Indiana.
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Network Planning Grantee
The Georgia Health Policy Center recently spoke to Andrea Stephenson, CEO of the Lake Okeechobee Rural Health Network (LORHN), about plans to expand the network’s work to include telehealth.
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Rural Health Network Development
Grantee Meeting Travel Funds Re-Budgeting Information
The Rural Health Network Development (RHND) program grantee meeting took place on Wed., August 24, to Thurs., August 25, 2022. Since the meeting was held virtually, funds previously requested to account for travel to the annual partnership meeting for both years 2 and 3 of your grant budget are no longer needed. Therefore, grantees can re-budget their grantee meeting travel funds for both years 2 and 3. Please see below for additional details.
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Grantees who make changes to their awarded grant budget totaling less than 25% of total grant funds can do so without needing to submit a formal prior approval request for re-budgeting in the Electronic Handbook (EHB) as long as there are also no changes to their awarded grant budget’s line-item categories or the activities funded.
- Grantees will need to submit a formal prior approval request for re-budgeting in the EHB if any of the following apply:
- If a grantee changes funds in an amount that are equal to or greater than 25% of their total awarded funds
- If a new line item is added to the budget
- If funds will be used for something that is not already in your approved grant budget
Note: If you have not already, please submit your re-budgeting prior approval requests as soon as possible. Please discuss your options with your project officer.
Upcoming Deliverables
Carryover Requests
If applicable, carryover request guidance was sent out by your project officer in July 2022. As a reminder, a carryover is when unobligated federal funds remain at the end of any budget period that, with approval of the grants management officer or under an expanded authority, may be carried forward to another budget period to cover allowable costs of that budget period (whether as an offset or additional authorization). Begin consulting with your business office now to determine if a carryover will be requested. Carryover requests should be submitted in the EHB no later than November 30, 2022.
Annual Federal Financial Report
All projects are required to submit annually a Federal Financial Report (FFR) for their grant project in the Payment Management System. FFRs are due no later than October 30, 2022.
RHND Sustainability Plan
The RHND Sustainability Plan deliverable is due in the EHB by December 30, 2022. The plan template is required and may be accessed here.
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Rural Health Network Development Planning
Upcoming Deliverable: FY 2021 Network Planning Grantees
A final programmatic report is due in the EHB from the fiscal year 2021 Network Planning grantees in September for those who are not currently in a no cost extension (NCE) period. For grantees who are in an NCE period, the final programmatic report is due 90 days after the end of the NCE period. This report is a narrative that captures grantee responses about the results of their grant sustainability efforts, findings, and recommendations for FORHP.
Upcoming Learning Opportunities/Webinars: FY 2022 Network Planning Grantees
September 2022: A webinar will be taking place on September 21 from 3–4 p.m. ET entitled Applying the Sustainable Network Model. The goal of this webinar is to explore this model as a tool for building adaptive capacity. Please contact your technical assistance (TA) coach with questions.
October 2022: On October 19, a web blast will take place from 3-4 p.m. ET that will focus on strategic planning as a process. The goals of this web blast are to examine the strategic planning process and to demonstrate how deliverables contribute to the process and relate to the Sustainable Network Model.
November 2022: The last webinar of quarter 2 will take place on November 16 from 3-4 p.m. ET and is entitled Moving from a Collaborative Partnership to a Rural Health Network: An Organizational Assessment Roadmap. The goal of this webinar is to prepare grantees to complete a Network Organizational Assessment as one of the fundamental building blocks of strategic planning.
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QUARTERLY TA-RELATED ACTIVITIES |
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Rural Health Network Development
August 2022 Grantee Meeting Recordings and Materials
For your future reference, the recording, slides, and resources shared during the RHND grantee meeting on August 24-25, “Leveraging Partnerships and Programs for Sustainable Impact” are here, in the Grantee Meetings section. (All previously shared TA resources and events are archived on this webpage for Network Development grantees.) Let your TA provider know if you are having difficulty retrieving anything from the page and it can be emailed to you. While on the site, check out the new Health Equity Landscape Analysis Report and highlights video uploaded in September!
Upcoming Conversations on October TA Calls
Just a reminder that the first month of the quarter, October, will include a work plan check-in conversation with your project officer and TA provider. The purpose of this discussion is to celebrate recent accomplishments and look ahead to determine any resources or other support that you may need. In addition, your TA provider and project officer will talk with you about your business plan in October and November.
Technical Assistance Support for your Sustainability Planning Deliverable
Congrats on submitting the bulk of your 2022 Network Development grant deliverables! We are in the home stretch with the sustainability plan due in December. While you have some time to complete it, keep in mind that the holiday season will be here before we know it. Your TA provider is here to support you as you complete the plan so, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your TA provider for assistance. You and your TA provider may decide to use routine monthly TA call time to work through sections, or you may schedule an extended time to do so. This is a good opportunity to consider a virtual site visit that may include your team, core network members or others to create the plan. Your sustainability planning resources may be found here.
Save the Date
Our next sustainability-related webinar will be held on November 2, 2022, at 2 p.m. ET. More details to come!
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Rural Health Network Development Planning
Over the course of your planning grant, your TA coach and project officer will be working with you to prepare to submit a series of program deliverables that are designed to walk you and your network partners through assessment, strategy and infrastructure development work that will culminate in your Network Strategic Plan due at the end of your planning year. Through your monthly calls and a site visit, your coach and project officer are here to help you plan, facilitate, review and finalize your deliverables.
You will be able to find the templates, instructions, webinar recordings and other supporting resources on the Network Planning grantee portal.
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RESOURCES, NEWS AND UPDATES |
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The Georgia Health Policy Center recently published a financial sustainability workbook. The workbook includes information on identifying the financial resources in your local system, community approaches to financing innovation, engaging and building relationships with payers to create new funding streams, and case examples. Click here to access the workbook.
The Building Healthy Places Network recently published a playbook on rural partnerships. The playbook is an action-oriented guide designed for healthcare organizations wanting to pursue partnerships with local community and economic development and other sectors in rural areas to create the community conditions that support improved community health. The playbook includes information on identifying cross-sector partners, a five-step path to multi-sector rural partnerships, various strategies, case studies, and more. Click here to access the playbook.
The Georgia Health Policy Center recently published a postcard on conversational capacity. Conversational capacity is a core skill for adaptive leadership, systems thinking, and complex problem solving. The postcard walks readers through an example of putting conversational capacity into action. Click here to access the postcard.
ProviderBridge.org was created by the Federation of State Medical Boards through the CARES Act and the FORHP-supported Licensure Portability Grant Program. The site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing by state as well as a provider portal to connect volunteer health care professionals to state agencies and health care entities.
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Below is a list of additional opportunities that you may find useful for your network planning and development. Attendance is not required.
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September 19–20, 2022
Communities Joined in Action (CJA) is hosting their annual conference. The mission of CJA is to connect and equip communities with tools to improve health equity and well-being. CJA is a national membership organization committed to improving health and eliminating disparities. This year’s conference theme is Bridging Communities to Achieve Equity for All: 20+ years of improving health, increasing access, and eliminating disparities.
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September 20-23, 2022 | Kansas City, MO
The National Rural Health Association is hosting their annual Rural Health Clinic and Critical Access Hospital conferences. This year conferences will have sessions on medical billing and coding, engaging rural communities to improve health outcomes, value-based care, regulatory updates, and more.
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October 2-4, 2022 | Minneapolis, MN
The Root Cause Coalition is hosting their annual National Summit on the Social Determinants of Health. This year theme is Achieving Health Equity: What Are You Prepared To Do? The Summit will feature nationally recognized experts in health equity, plenary panels, breakout sessions, poster presentations, and more.
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