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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):
- Administered over $20 million in federal and state funding to rural
health networks and hospitals.
- Conducted an extensive evaluation with 3 rural health networks that
included detailed interviews and meetings with stakeholders to identify
key development and implementation activities. Each network received
a report detailing milestone development, core functions, and sustainability
plans for the future to assist them develop their future strategic plans
and financing options.
- Provided staff support and sponsored three meeting of the NYS Rural
Health Council. The Rural Health Council provides a forum for an open
statewide dialogue on rural issues and provide advice to the Commissioner
of Health. The Council focused on health care financing and quality
improvement.
- Sponsored Network Director Meeting in Cooperstown, NY
SORH Contact Information:
Office: Charles D. Cook Office of Rural
Health
Address: Corning Tower Room 1119
Phone: 518 474-5565
Fax: 518 473-6195
Email: orh@health.state.ny.us
Director: Karen Madden
Other Grant Programs
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): $390,000
Program Highlights:
- Number of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) supported: 13
- Number of Critical Access-eligible Hospitals supported: 13
- Number of Rural Health Networks developed: 13
- Number of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) assisted: 5
- Number of Rural Communities assisted: 19
Major Accomplishments:
- Supported 13 Critical Access Hospitals implement projects that focused
on establishing electronic connections for administration and clinical
services with support hospitals, recruitment, community education and
outreach, and quality improvement.
- Continued a partnership with Island Peer Review Organization, New
York's Quality Improvement Organization, to develop a statewide performance
improvement program that complements the 9th Scope of Work.
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 between approximately $9,000.
SHIP Award (FY 06): $161,010
Program Highlights:
- Hospitals receiving funding: 17
- Hospitals in consortiums, networks or systems: 0
- Hospitals using funds for QI and /or reduction of medical errors:
12
- Hospitals using grant funds for Health Information Technology: 8
Major Accomplishments:
- Information Systems servers and software purchased to digitalize
paper documents and allow secure, private transmission of patient information
between hospitals.
- Installation of web-based tool for patient and medication safety
in all
patient care units.
- Retained expert quality improvement consultant resulting in Quality
Improvement/Assurance programs for all departments.
- Coding classes conducted for all Business Office staff to improve
coding compliance and improve reimbursement.
Genesee Valley Health Partnership
D06RH00254
Reid Perkins
Livingston County Department of Health
10950 County Road 92
Wayland, New York 14572
Phone: (585) 728-5738
Fiscal Year 2006
Grant Award $121,460
The Genesee Valley Health Partnership (GVHP) consists of 32 government
and human service organizations, health care providers, insurers, and
educational institutions in Livingston County, New York. GVHP's guiding
mission is to improve the health outcomes of Livingston County residents
through collaboration, education, prevention, and practice. Specific partnership
objectives include strengthening the local health system by building community
coalitions and using the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership
(MAPP) process, and improving health care access for residents, including
prehospital care, primary care, hospital, and aftercare health services.
Livingston County, located directly south of Rochester, New York, has
a population of 64,328 and comprises 17 towns and 9 villages. More than
11 percent of the general population lives below the poverty level; 16.1
percent of the region's children live at or below poverty. Forty physicians
and 21 dentists practice in Livingston County, but none accepts new Medicaid
patients. Using health assessments, GVHP and the local health department
have identified the region's most significant health care problems. They
include chemical dependency, lack of immunization, violence, mental health
problems, teen pregnancy, inactivity and poor nutrition, lack of respite
care, inadequate access to health care, exposure to toxins and infectious
agents, and five leading screenable causes of death.
Past, current, and future partnership activities are driven by studies
conducted in the county. They include lack of nonemergency transportation
to and from health care appointments; difficulty recruiting and retaining
volunteer emergency medical services personnel; difficulty in retaining
health care professionals; a lack of dentists accepting Medicaid; lack
of an efficient, user-friendly referral system between aging service providers;
lack of health prevention and education for school-age children addressing
violence, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse; and lack of outreach materials
concerning environmental health hazards. The 5-year-old partnership strives
to continue offering services to Livingston County that fill the gaps
in these community services.
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