Maryland Community Health Resources Commission

January 31, 2023 | Issue 88

UPDATE: FY 2023 Call for Proposals

The application period for the CHRC’s FY 2023 Call for Proposals closed on December 19. The RFP generated 55 applications requesting $33 million. The Commission is currently reviewing the applications received. Applicants will be advised of their status in mid-February, and final grant award decisions will be made by the CHRC Commissioners in March.

Under the FY 2023 Call for Proposals, the Commission will provide a total of $7 million in new grant funding for the following four areas: (1) chronic disease prevention and disease management, (2) maternal and child health, (3) behavioral health including the ongoing impact of the opioid crisis, and (4) dental care.

For more information on the RFP, please click HERE.

UPDATE: Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports

The Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports is a new initiative to support student behavioral health and other related needs.  The full Consortium and its four Subcommittees continue to meet regularly to develop a statewide framework for the delivery of behavioral health and wraparound services. In December, the Consortium submitted its first annual report, which summarizes the Consortium’s activities to date, including comments received during the public comment period. 

The next full Consortium meeting will be held on February 21 at 9:30 AM at 45 Calvert Street in Annapolis.  Meetings are open to the public, but participation is limited to Consortium members. Members of the public are invited to attend in-person or virtually.  Meeting information, including Zoom links and recordings, can be found on the Consortium's Website.

To sign up for the Consortium’s mailing list, click HERE.

UPDATE: Pathways to Health Equity

The nine Pathways to Health Equity grants awarded in February 2022, are implementing their projects.

This month’s newsletter highlights the Pathways to Health Equity grant awarded to Baltimore Healthy Start. This project addresses disparities in hypertension, Substance Use Disorder (SUD), Low Birth Weight, and Severe Maternal Morbidity for pregnant and postpartum women and their infants in the Sandtown-Winchester and Rosemont areas of Baltimore City (zip codes 21216 and 21217). The project will demonstrate a service coordination model between home-visiting programs that serve pregnant and postpartum women and FQHC primary care services to jointly promote maternal and infant health equity.

Implementation of the project is underway, and more than 50 individuals have been served so far, the majority of whom are African-American.  Project participants are receiving case management and care coordination services. Sixteen (16) women with elevated blood pressure readings received home blood pressure monitors. Belly Buddies groups have formed. Pathways project partner Total Health Care has begun implementing the Dyad care model that schedules mother and infant visits together.  The Pathways Project Neighborhood Health Advocate is receiving referrals and linking patients to services.  Looking ahead, the program plans to add services for women with substance use disorder. 

To sign up for the Health Equity Resource Community (HERC)/Pathways Mailing List, visit Sign Up. 

The CHRC Provides Presentation to Health and Government Operations Committee 

CHRC Chair Ed Kasemeyer and Executive Director Mark Luckner briefed the Maryland General Assembly Health and Government Operations Committee on CHRC activities and the impact of its grants. A copy of the briefing can be found HERE.

Council on Advancement of School-Based Health Centers Issues 2022 Annual Report

The Maryland Council on Advancement of School-Based Health Centers, which is staffed by the Commission, has issued its 2022 Annual Report. Key deliverables of the Council in 2022 include: 

• Implementation of a number of Council recommendations by the Maryland Department of Health’s Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, including: increased staffing for the SBHC program, implementation of a statewide SBHC Needs Assessment, infrastructure grants to SBHCs, support for SBHCs to become COVID-19 vaccination sites, alignment of program activities with asthma-related SIHIS goals, and supporting more robust utilization of the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) by SBHCs;
• Collaboration with the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health to update the Maryland SBHC Standards; and
• Recommendations to increase SBHC revenues generated through billing.  

To access the annual report, click HERE.

Grantee News

Lower Shore Clinic Completes Grant to Provide Healthy Food to Clients with Serious Mental Illness 

Lower Shore Clinic recently completed a grant to improve access to healthy food for vulnerable clients with serious mental illness (SMI). The program followed the Geisinger Health System Fresh Food "Farmacy" model. The program worked with farmers, food distribution companies, and local supermarkets to secure fresh produce and healthy shelf stable foods. Lower Shore Clinic clients also received nutrition education, training on food preservation techniques and safe food storage, and opportunities to engage in physical activity. 

As the program progressed, the grantee found that providing raw and unprocessed healthy food was not enough, as many clients had difficulty cooking it. They decided to pivot to a pre-packaged meal format to make healthy foods more accessible, affordable, and enjoyable. The grantee also researched food preparation processes and containers, and purchased an Oliver meal packaging machine to provide ready-made dinners and weekend meals. 

Over the grant’s two years, 428 clients received 12,911 healthy food packages. The grantee reported improvement in clients’ A1C measures, blood pressure, BMI, and weight loss.

For more information about CHRC grants that address food security and diabetes, visit the CHRC WEBSITE.