Telehealth Network Grant Program - Turnagain Community Health (TCH), a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Girdwood, Alaska, proposes the Integrated Nutrition Care Initiative to expand access to evidence-based nutrition services for rural and medically underserved residents of the Turnagain Arm communities. The project will establish an integrated telehealth nutrition network that connects patients with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) expertise while embedding nutrition services within TCH’s existing primary care, behavioral health, nursing, Community Health Worker (CHW), care coordination, and quality improvement systems. TCH serves the geographically dispersed communities of Girdwood, Bird Creek, Indian, Hope, Whittier, and surrounding areas. The target population includes children, adults, and older adults who have, or are at risk for, nutrition-related chronic disease and who face geographic, transportation, financial, food-access, workforce, or technology barriers to care. Priority populations include older adults, low-income patients, seasonal and transient workers, patients experiencing food insecurity, and residents of geographically isolated communities. TCH does not currently have an RDN integrated into its care team, requiring patients who need specialized nutrition services or Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) to seek care outside the local service area. The project will primarily address diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with related attention to prediabetes, hypertension, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and food insecurity when clinically appropriate. Through the proposed network, TCH will provide nutrition screening, telehealth RDN services, MNT, individualized nutrition education, longitudinal follow-up, interdisciplinary consultation, CHW navigation, telehealth readiness assistance, food-resource connection, and coordination with medical and behavioral health care. The project will strengthen systematic identification and referral pathways, reduce barriers to participation, and use performance data and continuous quality improvement to refine service delivery and support long-term sustainability. TCH will serve as the applicant organization, network lead, and an originating site. The Hope Community Library will serve as a proposed community telehealth access point and originating site, subject to applicable program requirements. The distant site is pending final selection because the remote RDN role has not yet been hired or contracted. TCH will identify the distant site once the RDN arrangement is finalized. The project builds upon TCH’s longstanding relationship with the Hope Community Library and its commitment to provide private space to support telehealth access for Hope-area residents. TCH requests consideration for the Services, Network, and Connectivity funding preferences. The project will establish telehealth-enabled preventive and chronic disease management services, includes a public library as a community network access point, and will strengthen connections among rural patients, community access sites, CHWs, TCH’s interdisciplinary care team, and remote RDN expertise across the geographically dispersed Turnagain Arm service area. TCH requests $300,000 annually for the five-year period of performance, for a total federal request of $1,500,000. At least 50% of the requested award funding will support activities in rural areas. Federal investment will allow TCH to establish specialized RDN capacity, strengthen telehealth network operations, support CHW-assisted access, integrate nutrition services into chronic disease care, and build a sustainable model for coordinated nutrition services in small rural Alaska communities.
