Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program - PROJECT ABSTRACT – Rural Health Network Planning Program Applicant: Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC), 3033 S. Parker Road, #606, Aurora, CO 80014. Colorado State Office of Rural Health. https://coruralhealth.org/ Designated Project Director: Emilee Vuksta, Workforce Projects Manager, 303.832.7493, evuksta@coruralhealth.org Project Track: Planning Grant Track, HRSA-23-036, 93.912 Network Planning Grant Project: The Network for Strengthening the Clinical Support Staff Workforce Legislative Aim: Aim #3: Strengthen the rural health care system as a whole Focus Area: Regular Network Planning Track: CRHC’s focus area is strengthening the rural health care workforce Proposed Service Region: Archuleta, Delta, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Montrose, Montezuma, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel Population to be Served: Residents of the rural and frontier counties and surrounding areas of southwestern Colorado. These populations tend to be older, have more complex health issues, experience higher rates of poverty, increased health care provider shortages, fewer insurance carriers, and higher insurance costs resulting in poorer health outcomes and reduced access to care. Network Members: 1. Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN), the Primary Care Association for Colorado 2. Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center (AHEC), AHEC 3. Western Colorado AHEC, AHEC 4. River Valley Family Health Center, Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) 5. Axis Health System, FQHC and Behavioral Health Organization 6. Pediatric Associates Professionals, LLC., Rural private pediatric practice 7. Delta Health, Rural Prospective Payment System Hospital and four certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) 8. Southwest Health System, Critical Access Hospital and four RHCs Over 66% of the network members (75%) are in a HRSA-designated rural area. The network members have a high degree of integration related to patient care and referrals. The degree of integration around health professions education and training is unknown, but is a primary aim of the proposed project. Experience in Serving Rural Underserved Populations: CRHC has over 30 years' experience serving rural Colorado and the populations that reside there. CRHC’s main program areas are quality improvement, technical assistant, workforce, policy, advocacy, health information technology, and emergency services. CRHC collaborates with reliable and knowledgeable partners including CCHN, co-lead on this grant, to meet its mission. CRHC workforce related programs including the Colorado Provider Recruitment and Retention program, which connects health care professionals with rural clinics and hospitals across the state and activities to strengthen the workforce to combat health disparities and build equity for vulnerable populations. This project aims to strengthen rural clinics ability to engage and train the next generation of the health care workforce by assessing what resources and relationships currently exist along with what opportunities are available for new partnerships and programs. Network Partners will engage in a landscape assessment of health profession education and training (HPET) opportunities within target rural communities. Results will be utilized to drive coalition building focused on strengthening partnerships and increasing opportunities for accessing a career in health care. The goal of this program is to create a sustainable workforce pipeline for the residents of southwestern Colorado. Funding Preference: This application is being submitted under Qualification 1: Health Professional Shortage Area and Qualification 2: Medically Underserved Community/Populations. See Attachment 8: Funding Preference Documentation for details.
