Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program - Applicant: Mariposa Community Health Center (FQHC): 825 N. Grand Ave. Suite 100, Nogales, AZ, http://mariposachc.net Service Region: Santa Cruz County, AZ Network name: Mariposa Family Medicine Rural Residency Partnership Legislative aims: 1) Achieve efficiencies; 2) Expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes; 3) Strengthen the rural health care system as a whole. Focus areas based on community need: family medicine provider workforce development, patient quality of care Funding preference: HPSA, MUC/MUP, Primary Care and Prevention Strategies The state of Arizona is meeting approximately 39% of its Primary Care Provider (PCP) need and ranks 42nd out of 50 states in total active PCPs at 80.2 to 100,000 population- vs. 94.4 overall in the U.S. As one of the fastest growing states in population, a long-term plan and investment to address provider shortages is needed. Historically residency training following medical school graduation has taken place in hospital-based urban settings, and 91% of residents receive no rural training. Santa Cruz County is the smallest county in Arizona along the U.S. -Mexico border. All areas within the county are considered rural by the Health Resources and Services Administration; it is also a designated Health Professional Shortage Area, a Medically Underserved Area, and has one Critical Access Hospital. In Santa Cruz County, there is one primary care physician per 2,660 people; and there is one primary care provider other than a physician (e.g., NPs, PAs, clinical nurse specialists) per 3,050 people. Mariposa Community Health Center was created in 1980 to meet the needs of the rural, predominantly low-income, Hispanic community in Santa Cruz County. It has since become the largest and most comprehensive provider of medical, dental, disease prevention, and health promotion services in southeastern Arizona. Together, with Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital and the Arizona Area Heath Education Centers, Mariposa aims to establish the Mariposa Family Medicine Rural Residency Partnership in Santa Cruz County. The purpose of establishing an accredited rural residency program is to reduce the provider shortage in the area and to sustain high quality, culturally competent patient care. Mariposa and its partners are in the planning stages of instituting an independent residency program in partnership with a Sponsoring Institution. The benefits of a residency program include the opportunity to train providers in “border medicine” and enhance the local workforce with the expectation that 50% of residents will stay at Mariposa. A residency program will create diversity in the workplace for providers, as well as enhance the recruitment of providers who are interested in teaching residents. The overall goals of the partnership are to 1) develop a culture of professional development, a high fund of knowledge, teaching and learning, to improve patient quality of care; and 2) retain providers in the long-term for healthcare sustainability in Santa Cruz County The goal for the proposed Network Development Planning year is to conduct a Training Partners Analysis and to formalize the network. These are fundamental steps in planning for a residency program as it will identify potential core faculty, and other training partners, all of whom must be identified for the accreditation process through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Objectives for the one-year planning project include: 1) summarizing key findings from a Community Needs Assessment and Organizational Capacity Assessment and share with network members and potential partners; 2) explore clinical training partner options and prepare an analysis; and 3) develop written operational guidelines, roles, and responsibilities of network members.
