Public Health Solutions (PHS) proposes to expand and enhance the telehealth infrastructure of its Title X Family Planning Program (hereinafter “PHS’ Title X Program”) to meet the need for accessible, equitable and high-quality telehealth Title X family planning (FP) services in New York City (NYC). PHS aims to build on the existing telehealth infrastructure and capacity of its participating sub-recipients to increase access to high-quality, client-centered telehealth FP services and advance equity in the delivery of these services. The four sub-recipients to be supported by the proposed project include PHS’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Centers, Community Healthcare Network, The Door–A Center for Alternatives, Inc., Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, and their eight total service sites. PHS’ telehealth project proposal complements its Title X Dire Need (PA-FPH-22-003) award and Title X FP Service Grants (PA-FPH-22-001) proposal, through which participating sub-recipients plan to serve nearly 24,000 primarily low-income individuals during the proposed telehealth project period, 5,762 (approximately 25%) of whom will access services via telehealth.
In the 12-month project period, PHS will use grant funds to: (1) lead a nine-month Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative (QILC) that will engage participating sub-recipients in training, technical assistance (TA), and quality improvement (QI) coaching and facilitate collaboration between sub-recipients around telehealth challenges, solutions, and best practices; and (2) provide telehealth grants to participating sub-recipients to support site-specific improvements in telehealth infrastructure enhancement and expansion that will complement QI activities implemented through the QILC. Sub-recipient improvements to be funded by direct grants will focus on four key areas enumerated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity: telehealth technical capabilities and systems, provider telehealth capacity, staffing to support telehealth efforts, and telehealth promotion and outreach. Through the QILC, PHS will provide targeted support to participating sub-recipients to ensure that improvements increase the accessibility, quality and client-centeredness of telehealth services and address the telehealth equity gap in NYC.
With a 37-year successful track record as a Title X grantee and a breadth of experience supporting equity-driven QI through its Sexual and Reproductive Health Capacity Building Program, PHS is uniquely positioned to advance the telehealth infrastructure and capacity of its Title X Program and is well positioned to fulfill Title X statutory and regulatory requirements.