Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program - Montana State University Montana Office of Rural Health and Area Health Education Center (MORH/AHEC) PO Box 170520 - Bozeman, MT 59717-0520 Public Institution of Higher Education https://healthinfo.montana.edu/ PI: Kailyn Mock, MHA, Director – 406-994-7709 – Kailyn.mock@montana.edu PD: Natalie Claiborne, MPH, Project Director – 406-994-6001 – natalie.claiborne@montana.edu Track: Regular Network Planning Grant Track Network Name: Montana Rural Health Clinic Network (MT-RHC Network) Legislative Aims: The MT-RHC Network will address Aim #1 – Achieve Efficiencies, Aim #2 – Expand Access, and Aim #3 – Strengthen Rural Health Care System. Focus Area: The MT-RHC Network will focus on developing collaborative, strategic approaches to strengthen RHC operations and quality in rural Montana. Proposed Service Region: The MT-RHC Network will serve rural, frontier, and underserved communities throughout Montana including all areas of the state except for the larger communities of Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls. Montana is the 4th largest state in total square miles and is a rural and frontier state. Of the 56 counties in the state, 45 are considered frontier based on population density. Montana has one urban county and 10 rural counties. The rural nature of Montana is demonstrated by the fact that over 40% of its citizens live outside of incorporated cities and towns, and over 75% live in areas classified as rural and frontier. The size of Montana, low population density, and so many residents living in rural and frontier areas illustrate the challenge of providing accessible quality health care for all. The race /ethnicity of the Montana population is 89.2% white, 6.6% American Indian, 3.6% Hispanic, .8% Asian, and 0.4% African American. The MT-RHC goal is a formalized network to support Montana Rural Health Clinics (RHC) in strengthening financial operations, meeting conditions of participation, and improving quality and performance to serve Montana’s RHCs and their communities. Objective 1: Within the 12-month funding period, the MT RHC Network will conduct assessment and planning activities resulting in a network strategic plan to address RHC prioritized challenges related to financial, operational, and service delivery efficiencies. Network members and a statewide advisory council will access and generate multiple data sets to implement a comprehensive examination of needs and opportunities. Objective 2: The MT RHC Network will develop and implement strategies to ensure its sustainability through stakeholder engagement and network expansion, formal organizational and sustainability policies and procedures, and continual evaluation of network performance. Efforts will be made to include at least 50% of all RHCs. A continuous quality improvement strategy will be utilized to ensure broad partner involvement and program efficacy. MT-RHC Network founding member include the following organizations. All founding members are located in rural areas as defined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer. • MORH/AHEC (Bozeman) • Montana Health Research and Education Foundation (MT Hospital Association) (Helena) • Montana Health Network (Miles City) • Fallon Medical Complex (Baker) • Roosevelt Medical Center (Culbertson) • Prairie Community Hospital (Terry) The MORH/AHEC has effectively served rural, frontier, and underserved communities in Montana for decades. MORH/AHEC leads multiple statewide initiatives around rural health and health workforce. It has been the leader in initiatives around community health needs assessments, interprofessional education, behavioral health, community health support workers, and more recently, advancing health equity. MORH/AHEC has cultivated strong partnerships across the state to meet rural and underserved population needs. MORH/AHEC is requesting a funding preference and meets #1 HPSA and #2 MUC/MUP qualifications. Documentation is provided in Attachment 8.
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).