Delta Rural Integrated Health Network Program - Brief Description of the Proposed Project: The Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) is a mature rural health network with a nearly twenty-year history of strengthening rural Arkansas health organizations and the communities they serve. Through Delta Rural Integrated Health Network Program funds, the organization is proposing to expand an existing network to strengthen primary care capacity, chronic care management, care coordination, population health strategies & value-based care readiness across rural Central & South Arkansas Delta. Two-year grant funds will support the creation of a new integrated primary care division focused on 20 counties of the rural (South/Central) Arkansas Delta. Efforts will engage rural health leaders in assessing and planning local and regional initiatives to shape integrated primary care strategies. Findings will be widely disseminated to increase understanding, engagement, readiness, and replication. Needs to be Addressed: At the time of submission, there is no coordinated effort in the state to bring together organizations across sectors that provide primary care services. Efforts are predominantly siloed by organization type (e.g., primary care providers at federally qualified health centers meet together but do not include rural health clinics). To make a strategic, sustainable, and lasting impact with limited resources, the project will bring together primary care organizations throughout the (South/Central) Arkansas Delta to coordinate planning efforts and reduce duplication, service area gaps, and strain on scarce resources. Rural community members will benefit from coordinated efforts between various primary care providers, including rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers (including school-based health centers), local health units (managed by the state health department), and emergency medical services (through community paramedics). Proposed Services: With a desire to remain deeply committed to the Arkansas Delta, the applicant seeks to establish a Delta-focused primary care division with funding from the HRSA Delta Rural Health Network Program. By expanding the existing network, the organization will strategically advance the Making America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities (including preventive health, reducing chronic disease, mental health, nutrition, primary and value-based care) while actively engaging primary care leaders in the Arkansas Delta (existing members and additional partners) to assess organizational needs and develop strategy and implementation plans. Planning efforts will establish the foundation for innovative approaches to increase access to primary care services and resources throughout the defined Arkansas Delta region. Population Group(s) to be Served: Rural health organizations, with a focus on primary care. The 20-county service area includes 18 exclusively rural counties (Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Monroe, Ouachita, Phillips, St. Francis, Union) and 2 partially rural counties (Lonoke: rural census tracts: 020400, 020700 and Pulaski County: rural census tract: 980100). Funding Preference: Arkansas Rural Health Partnership qualifies for the Qualification 1: Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) funding preference because the organization is located in a designated Primary Care HPSA, Mental Health HPSA, and Dental Health HPSA. Project Director: Mellie Boagni
