Telehealth Network Grant Program - Nourish Arkansas is a five-year telehealth nutrition services network that will expand access to telehealth-delivered nutrition services integrated into primary care for adults with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and co-occurring obesity living in rural, medically underserved Arkansas. Led by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Community Health Innovation, the project will establish an integrated telehealth network connecting registered dietitians (RDs), community health workers (CHWs), primary care providers, and telehealth partners to improve chronic disease prevention and management in Union and Independence Counties. Union and Independence Counties are federally designated rural and medically underserved areas with high rates of diabetes and obesity and limited access to registered dietitians and medical nutrition therapy (MNT). Geographic isolation, transportation barriers, and workforce shortages contribute to limited access to evidence-based nutrition care. Nourish Arkansas will address these challenges by integrating telehealth-delivered nutrition screening, MNT, nutrition counseling, and remote patient monitoring into existing rural primary care practices. The telehealth network includes the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation as the distant site; UAMS Family Medicine clinics in El Dorado and Batesville as rural originating sites; the South Central Telehealth Resource Center; and the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association. Together, these partners will provide clinical services, telehealth technical assistance, workforce development, community outreach, and implementation support to establish a sustainable telehealth nutrition network. The project will expand access to telehealth-delivered nutrition services, strengthen interdisciplinary primary care teams, and establish a sustainable model for integrating registered dietitians and community health workers into rural primary care. Over the five-year project period, Nourish Arkansas will serve at least 300 participants, increase access to medical nutrition therapy, improve glycemic management and weight-related outcomes, strengthen rural telehealth capacity, and generate evidence supporting long-term integration of nutrition services into primary care. Requested federal funding is $300,000 annually for five years. The project addresses the chronic disease focus areas of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity through nutrition screening, medical nutrition therapy, nutrition counseling, and remote patient monitoring. The applicant requests funding preference under Qualifications 2 (Services), 3 (Coordination), 4 (Network), and 5 (Connectivity). Consistent with HRSA requirements, more than 50% of requested funding will support activities conducted in rural, medically underserved areas.
