State
Offices of Rural Health Grant Program (SORH)
The goal of the State Offices of Rural Health
(SORH) grant program is to assist States in strengthening rural
health care delivery systems by creating a focal point for rural
health within each State. The program provides an institutional
framework that links small rural communities with State and Federal
resources to help develop long term solutions to rural health problems.
The SORH grant program features a single grantee from each of the
50 United States. The program is a Federal-State partnership that
requires a State funding match of $3 for each $1 of Federal funding.
SORH Award Amount (FY06): $150,000
Major Accomplishments in FY 2006 (October 1, 2005 – September
30, 2006):
- The Office established initiatived the development of the Virginia
Telehealth Network (VTN) in 2002, co-sponsored a Virginia Telehealth
Initiative Consensus Conference in 2005 and this year completed
a draft statewide strategic plan for telehealth and has assisted
to establish the VTN as an independent incorporated entity (http://ehealthvirginia.org/).
- The Office cosponsored the following conferences: Health Disparities
Reduction Conference with Hampton University and the Annual Rural
Health Conference with the Virginia Rural Health Association (VRHA).
- The Office provided an
analysis of the the impact of the different definition of "rural"
for Virginia communities and posted maps of the most common definitions
on the Web site.
- The Office has contracted for the filing of USAC Rural Health
Care Program Fund Support for the rural health departments across
the state.
- The Office was instrumental in the formation of the Recruitment
& Retention Collaborative Team in September 2003. During this
reporting period, the Office was notified that the Virginia Recruitment
and Retention Collaborative Team won First Place in the 2006 Linkage
Awards presented by the Council on Linkages between Academia and
Public Health Practice of the National Association of County and
City Health Officials (NACCHO).
- The Office developed and launched a new web site, http://CLASActVirginia.org.
This web site serves as a one-stop shopping resource guide for
Virginians regarding culturally and linguistically appropriate
health care services.
SORH Contact Information:
Office: Office
of Minority Health and Public Health Policy, Division of Primary
Care and Rural Health
Address: 109 Governor Street; 10th Floor East; PO Box 2448, Richmond,
VA 23218-2448
Phone: 804-864-7426
Fax: 804-864-7440
Director: Kathy
Hsu Wibberly, Ph.D.
1) Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program (Flex)
The Flex Program helps sustain access to high quality health care
services in rural America. It facilitates the development and support
of community-based collaborative rural delivery systems in all grantee
States through conversion of hospitals to critical access status,
development of rural healthcare networks and integration of EMS.
Flex Award (FY06): $335,000
Program Highlights:
- Number of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) supported: 7
- Number of Critical Access-eligible Hospitals supported: 7
- Number of Rural Health Networks developed: 0
- Number of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) assisted: 2
- Number of Rural Communities assisted: 9
Major Accomplishments:
- Through a contract with the Virginia Center for Diabetes Professional
Education and the University of Virginia Office of Telemedicine,
Diabetes Telehealth Education programming (4 sessions) was provided
to 28 participants from 1 CAH and 2 Community Health Center sites
with uniformly positive feedback from patients and staff. A patient
support group was started as a result of this educational intervention.
Plans are in place to expand this to more CAH facilities.
- Equipment and software upgrades were provided for the diabetic
retinopathy screening program at the University of Virginia. The
program utilizes three Topcon non-mydriatic retinal screening
cameras located at the Wise County Department of Health (supporting
the Remote Area Medical Clinic), a community health centers (the
Saltville Medical Center) and a CAH (Bath County Community Hospital).
The ophthalmic screening encounter is also used for a diabetic
foot exam and patient education. In FY 06, 150 patients were screened.
- Through a contract with the Virginia Health Quality Center
(Virginia’s QIO), VHQC provided technical assistance and
infrastructure for quality improvement. Telehealth was selected
as one measure for improvement. All CAHs began the collection
of data in core measures for twelve indicators in clinical quality
and have begun developing benchmarks specific to CAH facilities.
- Through a contract with the Edward Via Virginia College of
Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), electronic libraries on current evidence-based
medical literature (online texts and journals) have been established
at CAH facilities.
2) Small Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Grant Program (SHIP)
The goal of SHIP is to assist small (less than 50 beds) rural hospitals
pay for any or all of the following: 1) costs related to implementation
of prospective payment systems, (2) compliance with provisions of
HIPAA and 3) reduction of medical errors and quality improvement.
State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) help eligible rural hospitals
to participate in SHIP. Eligible hospitals submit an application
to their SORH; the SORH prepares and submits a single grant application
to HRSA on behalf of all hospital applicants in the State. There
are approximately 1600 eligible hospitals nationwide and each usually
receives approximately $9,000.
SHIP Award (FY06): $112,080
Program Highlights:
- Hospitals receiving funding: 12
- Hospitals in consortiums, networks or systems: 12
- Hospitals using funds for QI and /or reduction of medical errors:
9
- Hospitals using grant funds for Health Information Technology:
7 (as related to computer/software for QI and HIPAA related activities)
Major Accomplishments:
- The Office established CASH-IN (Network of Critical Access
Hospitals and Small Rural Hospitals receiving SHIP funding).
- The Office partnered with VRHA to bring CASH-IN members to
the VRHA Annual Conference.
Total HRSA Funding (FY06): $597,080
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