Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

Date: December 22, 2021

HRSA Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program – applications due March 18.  The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) anticipates awards for more than 30 community-based organizations that will join an effort to train and place public health professionals in rural and tribal areas. Eligible applicants include minority-serving institutions of higher education, Critical Access Hospitals, community health centers, nursing homes, Rural Health Clinics, substance use providers, and state or local workforce development boards. Each grantee will receive approximately $1.5 million for a three-year project. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will hold a webinar for applicants on Wednesday, January 5 at 1:00 pm ET.

HRSA Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program  – deadline extended until January 11. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) revised the program sustainability requirements and extended the deadline for RRPD grant applications. Applicants should review the changes and can resubmit their applications if needed. HRSA will only review your last submitted application. This program aims to increase opportunities for physicians to train in rural residencies. A total of $10.5 million will develop 14 new rural residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Eligible applicants include rural hospitals, GME consortiums, and tribal organizations. For questions, email RuralResidency@hrsa.gov

HRSA Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program Funding Opportunity – applications due March 21. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be making approximately 40 awards of up to $200,000 each to support the planning and implementation of quality improvement activities in rural communities. Applicants must be rural domestic public or private nonprofit entities with demonstrated experience serving, or the capacity to serve, rural underserved populations in a HRSA-designated rural area.  The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will hold a technical assistance webinar for applicants via Zoom on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 from 2-3 p.m. ET. A recording will be available for those who cannot attend. 

Share Your Experiences on Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response. The Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) wants to hear about how rural communities, health care facilities, public health departments, first responders, tribes, rural serving organizations, and others have had to adapt, collaborate, and innovate in the face of disasters and public health emergencies. RHIhub is looking for examples of lessons learned, successes, challenges, or other helpful information to highlight related to emergency preparedness, response, and recovery for a variety of disasters. Please include a brief synopsis describing the example that includes contact information, if possible. RHIhub may reach out to you or the contact provided to learn more about the public health emergency or disaster to be shared in an emergency preparedness toolkit on the RHIhub website. E-mail examples to Makenzie Atherton at makenzie@ruralhealthinfo.org with the subject line: Rural Emergency Preparedness Example.

Spread the Word About Vaccine Boosters. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released new resources – posters, flyers, videos, and talking points – to help promote the extra protection from COVID-19 boosters. All vaccinated adults aged 18+ are eligible for a booster. Search by zip code to find nearby locations providing adult and pediatric vaccines and boosters for COVID-19 and the flu at vaccines.gov.

Ongoing: HRSA Payment Program for RHC Buprenorphine-Trained Providers. In June 2021, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched an effort to improve access to substance use disorder treatment by paying for providers who are waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) still have the opportunity to apply for a $3,000 payment on behalf of each provider who trained to obtain the waiver necessary to prescribe buprenorphine after January 1, 2019.  Approximately $1.5 million in program funding remains available for RHCs and will be paid on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Send questions to DATA2000WaiverPayments@hrsa.gov. There is ongoing availability of a free online course for waiver eligibility training from the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine and the Providers Clinical Support System.