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The guidance for the next competitive cycle of the Rural Health Network Development grant program will be released during the summer of 2010 and awards will be issued in the spring of 2011.
Program Purpose
Network Development Grants provide funding
to help rural communities strengthen their health care systems.
Grants support rural providers for up to three years who work together
in formal networks, alliances, coalitions, or partnerships to integrate
administrative, clinical, financial, and technological functions
across their organizations. This integration of functions and services
helps to overcome the fragmentation of health care services in rural
areas, improves coordination of those services, and achieves economies
of scale. This program does not support direct patient care services.
Network Development
Planning Grant Program
Congress recently amended the Network Development
program to include Planning Grants as an option for those communities
not ready to implement a full Network Development project. More
information.
Program Overview
These grants are designed to further ongoing
collaborative relationships among health care organizations by funding
rural health networks that focus on integrating clinical, information,
administrative, and financial systems across members. The goal is
to strengthen rural health care systems at the community, regional
and State levels by funding these formal, horizontally or vertically
integrated networks. Grant funds typically are used to acquire staff,
contract with technical experts, and purchase other resources to
'build' or further integrate the network. Grant awards support up to a three-year implementation
process. To be eligible, the applicant organization must be a public
or nonprofit entity that is a network or is a member of a network
that includes at least three separately owned health care providers
or other entities that provide or support the delivery of health
care services. Additionally, the applicant's administrative headquarters
must be located in a designated rural county or rural zip code of
an urban county. For further information on eligibility, see Geographic
Eligibility for Rural Health Grant Programs. Rural located but
urban-owned organizations may apply for a network development grant
if their parent organization submits a letter assuring the applicant's
autonomy in receiving and administering the grant funds.
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