Monday, May 29, 2023
5/29/2023
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC) is submitting this grant application for funding through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support "Strengthening U.S. Public Health Infrastructure, Workforce, and Data Systems" under funding opportunity CDC-RFA-OE22-2203. The CNMI currently faces a population mortality threat as the rate of infectious and non-communicable diseases continues to rise. There is an evident need to increase and improve current public health and healthcare human resource and systems capacities to be able to effectively and seamlessly respond to emerging and evolving public health threats. The CHCC aims to enhance and strengthen the workforce and infrastructure of the healthcare system. To accomplish this, the CHCC strives to hire, retain and sustain staff, provide strategic support for professional growth while closing operational gaps, invest in systematic changes, and enhance the current data capacity and modernization framework. The efforts will ultimately aid in improving the health outcomes of the CNMI community. The proposed strategies for Year 1 will be focused on assessing and laying the foundation of the overall program. The CHCC will conduct a system-wide assessment of processes, procedures, and protocols, staff training needs and interests, data infrastructure, and organizational efficiency. The CHCC will establish an Educational and Certifications Program to offer learning incentives for staff pursuing academic degrees and technical certifications. As an organization, we will enhance the Workplace Wellness Initiative to include benefits for preventive behaviors and developing wellness policies and environmental changes. The CHCC will create a robust Hardware Loan Program to enable innovative and flexible work options for staff members to work remotely. Most essentially, we will work to hire personnel to fill needed positions minimizing the burden of staff shortage. Additionally, in Year 1, the CHCC will begin the pre-application processes towards application for Public Health accreditation. In Year 2 CHCC will focus on the implementation of established programs set in Year 1 and track progress measures and outcomes. In Year 2, the CHCC will begin to work on Public Health Accreditation. From Years 2-4, CHCC will continue to build on initiatives and efforts utilizing the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle, hire needed staff, amend retention efforts as needed, train staff to increase capacity, and develop a sustainability plan. In Year 5, CHCC will begin implementing a transition plan so that the organization will shoulder the financial and programmatic support of the strategies set forth.
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).
