Grant Announcements

 RFGA - Flex Grant 

Date Posted: 11/14/2008

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    Addendum 1 - 8/5/2008
    Addendum 2 - 8/12/2008
    Applicant Conference Information - 8/20/2008
    Applicant Questions & Answers - 9/2/2008
    Applicant Conference Transcript   9/4/2008 

The DCH has a monetary resource obtained from breast cancer tags, estimated at $1.2 million.    It is the desire of OHI to award up to 3 grants to provide Treatment Services (not to exceed $300K each) and up to 5 grants to provide Prevention/Educational Services (not to exceed $50K each). This money will be dispersed through the Department's Request for Grant Application (RFGA) to organizations to the grantee that proposes the best strategy for providing and performing either:

1. Treatment Services which provides a process to identify pre-qualify and provide treatment services (chemotherapy, radiation treatment, prescriptions, etc.) to indigent applications with breast cancer or who have been diagnosed positively with any type of breast pathology.    Treatment partners must have an active agreement with a primary care provider and secondary or tertiary providers within the targeted region.  

B. Educational and Preventative Services with a targeted dissemination   strategy to educate indigent communities and provide screening services (mammograms) to ensure mammography and l programs

  Addendum # 1 - 8/1/2008
 Georgia ACTS Questions and Answers - Posted 7/17/2008
 Georgia ACTS; Access, Care, Treatment and Services - Offeror's Call - Updated 6/25/2008

The State of Georgia, through the Department's SORH Office, is poised to make a significant investment in the creation of these RHCS. The RHCS will facilitate the economic development and the creation of sustainable non-traditional, regional health care delivery systems that are financially viable and designed to meet the needs of the citizens within the regions. Through the RHCS, Georgia will develop and implement a financially viable health care delivery system that includes integration of services involving all community-based health care agencies.   It is expected that the project will result in significant and quantifiable benefits for the region and will clearly illustrate financial savings generated by providing an appropriate delivery system for health care.   The Department believes that with an investment of "seed" dollars the State of Georgia will foster the development of regional health care systems that will have a dramatic impact on improving the health status of the communities served that will lead to self-sustaining Regional Health Care Systems.

This initiative is based upon a two phased approach as described below:

Phase One - Planning and Development Phase.   This Phase consisted of multiple awards for six (6) project sites to:

•  Establish a Regional Health Care System; and             

•  Create a consortium and business plan for the purpose of developing a regional system of health care.

Phase Two - Implementation Phase.    Offerors who successfully complete Phase One are eligible to compete in the Application Phase, which will consist of two (2) to three (3) awards based upon funding availability to:

•  Implement the newly developed Regional Health Care System(s).

 Georgia's Rural Health Safety Net Program Phase 2  

Date Posted: 1/2008

  Addendum 2 - Rural health Safety Net Program - Phase 2 - Updated 8/5/2008
  Addendum 3 - Rural health Safety Net Program - Phase 2 - Updated 8/14/2008
 Rural Health Saftey Net II - Grantee Conference Transcript  - Posted 6/30/2008
  Rural Health Saftey Net II - Questions and Answers - Posted 6/30/2008
  Rural Health Safety Net II - Questions and Answers 2 - Posted 8/11/2008
  Rural Health Safety Net II - Questions and Answers 3 - Posted 8/21/2008
  Rural Health Safety Net II - Questions and Answers 4  - Posted 8/28/2008

The purpose of this grant is for the grantee to develop online tools and resources to assist Critical Access Hospitals and small rural hospitals with the data entry of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Outpatient Prospective Payment (OPPS) quality measures.

 (Flex) Outpatient Quality Assurance Grant

Date Posted: 1/2008   

   Addendum 2 - FLEX Outpatient Quality Assurance Grant - Updated 8/5/2008

Racial and ethnic disparities in health have been well-documented across a broad range of medical conditions and for a wide range of ethnic and racial groups. These differences have been noted in health outcomes, such as quality of life and mortality; processes, quality, and appropriateness of care; and the prevalence of certain conditions or diseases.   The Georgia Office of Health Improvement (OHI) and its Office of Minority Health (OMH) has selected to focus on efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities for cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, HIV/AIDS, as well as, co-morbidities associated with these chronic diseases such as hypertension, stroke and obesity.   These illnesses and conditions have the highest incidence, prevalence, mortality and place extreme burden of disease among Georgia's minority populations, the uninsured and the medically underserved.  

The OHI is committed to working in partnership and collaboration with intrastate agencies, private and public entities, as well as, with minority and other community based organizations throughout the state.   And, the Department of Community Health recognizes that it is imperative that we align state and federal resources to bring community based solutions to Georgians to improve their health status and quality of life.   Improved health status not only strengthens physical and mental wellness but also our economy. Creating a healthy community will stimulate strong families and communities across Georgia resulting in greater economic viability at the state and local levels.

Toward that end, the Office of Health Improvement (OHI), Office of Minority Health has appropriated $1,000,000.00 to develop a statewide grant program to:

1. Reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities;
2. Promote health and quality of life of individuals and communities;
3. Build on community strengths and assets to address health issues;
4. Develop effective working relationships among community members and the organizations and leaders who serve them; and
5. Focus on prevention and early detection.

The national focus on health disparities is, as defined, the unequal burden in disease morbidity and mortality rates experienced by ethnic/racial groups as compared to the dominant group has been centered on minority groups who have consistently demonstrated higher risk of certain diseases and poorer health outcomes.    In Georgia, like the nation, most of the data and the discussions focus on African-American/Black and Latino/Hispanic comparisons of health outcomes to majority populations. Although there have been some improvements in access to quality health care among minority populations, the gap has not narrowed over time.

It is well documented that minority populations-- generally classified as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics--have a higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality rates, and poorer health outcomes than individuals classified as white.   In addition to race and ethnicity, other characteristics such as culture, gender, and class or socio-economic status are associated with poor health outcomes.

Social determinants of health such as unemployment, housing and food availability contribute to racial and ethnic health disparities (REHD).   These socio-economic factors combined with access to care barriers, lack of health insurance, poor health literacy, linguistic barriers, and provider discrimination are significant contributors to health disparities.

 Georgia Health Equity Grant Initiative 

Date Posted: 7/10/2008 

   Addendum 2 - FLEX Outpatient Quality Assurance Grant - Updated 8/5/2008

 Georgia Health Equity Initiative Grant Answers - Posted 6/26/2008
 Health Equity Q&A

The Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health (SORH) recognizes the tremendous value of collaboration in efforts to improve the health status of Georgia's rural underserved citizens.   It is our desire to offer a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Health Information Technology (HIT) Network Grant Program to promote the implementation of HIT and electronic health records (EHR) in Critical Access Hospitals and the providers they work with directly.

Funding will support one CAH HIT Network pilot program.   A CAH HIT Network may include up to three CAH hospitals as collaborators in the development of health information exchange among themselves and the providers they work with directly.   Network provider members may include, but are not limited to emergency medical services, physicians, public health departments, home health facilities, rural health networks, federally qualifying health centers, pharmacies, volunteer clinics and other state and federal programs that together provide a full continuum of care for rural residents in their service area.

Examples of HIT that may be included are: practice management systems, disease registry systems, care management systems, clinical messaging systems, personal health record systems, electronic health record systems and health information exchanges.

The programmatic intent is to utilize HIT as a tool to improve the safety, quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care delivery.   The aims include the adoption and effective use of HIT; the creation of sustainable business models for deploying HIT in CAH Networks; enhancing the ability of safety net providers to leverage initiatives and resources as well as improving quality and performance improvement within the CAH Network.

In the event a CAH HIT grant similar to the 2007 Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (FLEX) CAH HIT Network Grant Program becomes available, the selected State grantee will be identified as the CAH HIT Network in the federal grant application submitted by the SORH. The State grantee will be required to provide network-specific information for submission of the federal grant.
NOTE: This is totally contingent upon the availability of a federal CAH HIT Network Grant opportunity, the SORH receiving the award, and the satisfactory performance of the grantee under the State grant.

 Critical Access Hospital Health Information Technology Network Grant (CAH HIT Network)

Date Posted: Revised February 7, 2008

Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (FLEX) Grant Program - Critical Access Hospital Quality Improvement Initiative - Due February 28, 2008
 Deadline Extension Notification
 CAH HIT Cancellation Notice 

The Department of Community Health (DCH), through the Office of Minority Health, has two goals:

Goal 1

Develop Communities of Practice (CoP) to create a more cohesive approach to addressing minority HIV/AIDS care and prevention issues at the state, county and local levels, or both, thereby creating system changes to improve the continuum of care and prevention. This goal will further create the necessary system change around information dissemination and access to services in the continuum of care for the following minority communities in Georgia:

• Community and Faith Based CoP;
• Hispanic/Latino (CoP); and
• Intergovernmental (CoP).

Goal 2

Project TAKE will increase knowledge and awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS among minorities in Georgia.

The purpose of the funding is to reduce the HIV/AIDS health disparities among minorities by supporting government, community and faith based entities that work to improve the HIV/AIDS continuum of care and prevention within Georgia. Eligible entities outside the Metro Atlanta area are encouraged to apply.

Proposals must address at least one (1) of the following priority areas in a minority population:

• Expand and/or enhance advocacy plan;
• Increase access to mental health services;
• Increase access of HIV+ persons to care/treatment services;
• Reducing stigma and increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS; and
• Expanding/enhancing HIV testing services.

 Take Action, Keep Educated (TAKE) Project Mini-Grants - Updated 4/9/08

Date Posted: Revised April 9, 2008

  Addendum # 1

The purpose of this announcement is to provide notification of intent to award this grant opportunity as a sole source to Migrant Farmworker Clinic, LLC to provide migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families in Lowndes and Echols Counties with primary and preventive health care services.

Grant funds are to be used to:

•  Provide primary and preventive healthcare services to Georgia's Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker populations in Lowndes and Echols Counties resulting in 2900 medical users.

Lead applicants include: CHC, RHC, Community Hospitals and other Agencies Licensed to practice primary and preventive medicine in Georgia.

 Sole Source Notification - Primary and Preventive Health Care To Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in Lowndes and Echols Counties

The Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health recognizes the tremendous value of FQHCs. The State of Georgia has provided grant funds to encourage communities to develop new sites and expand existing centers into communities that currently are lacking access to FQHCs. It is our belief that with an investment of "seed" dollars the State of Georgia will foster the development of a new or expansion of existing FQHCs and will greatly facilitate a "Healthier Georgia".  

Grantee will develop a grant application and allow communities to compete for a $150,000 grant as bridge to funds to maintain operations until federal designation is achieved as well as provide technical assistance directly or through consultants to communities as they work to expand the prevalence of FQHCs throughout Georgia.   FY 08 funding will support the twenty-four (24) existing participating communities as well as newly interested communities.

Federally Qualified Health Center Development 2008 - Due March 4, 2008

  Addendum # 1