Friday, April 26, 2024
4/26/2024
The Office of Public Health (OPH) is the only experienced Title X Family Planning Service provider for both administrative and clinical operations in Louisiana. OPH is accountable to the people of Louisiana and held to strict standards of internal management processes and public operations, enabling multiple dimensions of accountability and rapid and effective use of grant funds. Louisiana’s Title X program has continually adapted efforts to reach every population and geographical location within Louisiana and has consistently demonstrated the capacity for efficient administration of the program, innovative approaches to support quality clinical care, and rigorous grant management accountability. Data indicates there are more than 300,000 women in Louisiana in need reproductive health. High rates of unintended and teen pregnancy, poor birth outcomes, high prevalence of STIs among individuals of all genders, and low rates of contraceptive use, compounded by disparities across racial, economic, and geographic lines, further reflect a persistent statewide need for equitable access to quality, comprehensive primary and reproductive health care. OPH provides critical safety net access to reproductive health services and has historically provided services directly through the state’s network of OPH parish (county) health units (PHUs). Community Health Clinics (CHCs), such as Federally Qualified Health Centers, assist in closing gaps in provider shortages for many low income, uninsured and underinsured individuals, as they are mandated to provide "voluntary family planning" as a required primary care service. The scope and quality of these family planning services provided through CHCs vary greatly across the state, highlighting both a need and an opportunity. With a changing healthcare landscape, the role of the program office has been shifting to a greater focus on strategies to develop a broader Title X network and support the efficiency, effectiveness, quality and equitable access to high quality reproductive health services in the state overall. In the upcoming project, Louisiana’s Title X project will build on new capacity within OPH for the day-to-day management of regional and clinical operations as an opportunity for the state’s Title X leadership team to deepen its focus and work to grow and strengthen the performance of the direct service and subrecipient network and utilization of available services. In addition, the OPH RHP team leading the Title X project will develop broader capacity and readiness for Title X services in the state’s healthcare systems. Louisiana’s Title X Project Plan builds upon historical progress and capacity building efforts to address the identified needs and challenges to provide family planning services that are in compliance with the Title X statute, regulations, and legislative mandates and address OPA’s program priorities. The Project Plan is structured around two main goals: • Goal 1: Enhance the capacity of the regional public health clinical network system to provide high quality, efficient, and equitable reproductive health services to individuals statewide. • Goal 2: Spread and scale the integration of Title X-level services in community healthcare settings through intensive targeted support to new and established subrecipient clinics and provide broad capacity-building efforts for clinical systems statewide. This proposal demonstrates how historical and current Title X initiatives create a solid foundation to continue leveraging resources with future funding to reach priority populations of all genders including adolescents, geographically rural communities, clients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), persons of color, the LGBTQ+ population, and those with low-income throughout Louisiana. OPH will introduce innovative new approaches and scale successful past initiatives into robust, comprehensive, high quality, equitable reproductive healthcare services throughout Louisiana.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
