#EVENT.  Registration will be going live in just a few weeks.  Get these dates on your calendars!

#FUNDING.  Here are a list of federal and regional grant and other funding opportunities with either a focus or strong potential for telehealth applications that have fall proposal due dates.  We recommend that you bookmark this page or add it to your home screen as we will be adding to this list periodically from now through November as more opportunities are announced!

• HRSA COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding:    $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes:
  • • $8.5 billion from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare patients.
    • $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic.

Providers will apply for both programs with a single application, and the application portal will open on September 29, 2021.  There are eligibility requirements and an application process.  Click Here for More Information.

• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) Foundation Access to Care Grants:  Supports community-based initiatives throughout the United States and its territories that provide Dental Homes to children whose families cannot afford dental care. Applications are due October 1, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• USDA Rural Development Emergency Rural Health Care Grants – Track Two Impact Grants:  Funds must be used in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and to advance ideas and solutions to solve regional rural health care problems to support the long-term sustainability of rural health care. Long-term sustainability is defined as “improved health outcomes, improved access to quality health care, and creating and maintaining sustainable economic development for small communities.”  Applications are due by  4 PM October 12, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Family Caregiver Alliance Innovations in Alzheimer’s Caregiving Awards:  Monetary awards to recognize organizations that are responding to a community need with a program or project that focuses primarily on family caregivers of adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.  Applications are due by  5 PM (PT) October 18, 2021.  Click Here for More Information

• PCORI Telehealth for Chronic Disease Management Among Vulnerable Populations with Complex Needs:  Supports comparative clinical effectiveness research of interventions to optimize telehealth for chronic disease management among vulnerable populations with complex needs. Applicants are encouraged to consider multisite and multi-health system studies (randomized controlled trials or well-designed natural experiments) as well as mixed methods designs to support the possibility of widespread implementation.  Letters of Intent are due October 5, 2021 by 5:00 PM.  Full applications are due January 11, 2022 by 5:00 PM.  Click Here for More Information.

• Foundation for Rural Service Virtual Living Room Grant Program:  Funding is for blending technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs resources and local support to encourage veteran use of advanced medical technologies.  The Virtual Living Room is intended to feel like home, offering a comfortable, safe space to help veterans simulate the experience they would have while using VA telehealth services at home.  Applications accepted on a rolling basis.  Click Here for More Information.

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Following are funding opportunities with cyclical deadlines:

• NIH/NIMH Effectiveness of Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Mental Health Practices in Low-Resource Settings to Achieve Mental Health Equity for Traditionally Underserved Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional):  This funding opportunity encourages studies that develop and test the effectiveness of strategies for implementation and sustainable delivery of evidence-based mental health treatments and services to improve mental health outcomes for underserved populations in low-resourced settings in the United States.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 5, 2021 – June 5, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH Comprehensive Care for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from Populations with Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional):  Funding will support innovative research to develop, test and evaluate multi-level/multi-component strategies (including models of health care) to effectively adapt and implement comprehensive clinical care for individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus from populations with health disparities concordant with recommended and evidence-based guidelines. Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 5, 2021 – June 5, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH/NIMH Innovative Mental Health Services Research Not Involving Clinical Trials (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed):  Funding will support innovative research that will inform and support the delivery of high-quality, continuously improving mental health services to benefit the greatest number of individuals with, or at risk for developing, a mental illness.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 5, 2021 – June 5, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH/NIMH Effectiveness of Implementing Sustainable Evidence-Based Mental Health Practices in Low-Resource Settings to Achieve Mental Health Equity for Traditionally Underserved Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional):  Funding will support studies that develop and test the effectiveness of strategies for implementation and sustainable delivery of evidence-based mental health treatments and services to improve mental health outcomes for underserved populations in low-resourced settings in the United States. Studies should identify and use innovative approaches to remediate barriers to provision, receipt, and/or benefit from evidence-based practices (EBPs) and generate new information about factors integral to achieving equity in mental health outcomes for underserved populations.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 5, 2021 – June 5, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH/NIMH Service-Ready Tools for Identification, Prevention, and Treatment of Individuals at Risk for Suicide (R34 Clinical Trial Optional):  Funding will support pilot effectiveness projects to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of service-ready tools and technologies that can be used to advance training, quality monitoring, and quality improvement efforts and ultimately improve the availability of evidence-based suicide prevention services.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 15, 2021 – June 15, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH/NIDA New Models of Integrated HIV/AIDS, Addiction, and Primary Care Services (R34 – Clinical Trial Optional):  This funding opportunity will support the development and testing of enhanced models of care that are able to optimally integrate HIV, addiction, and primary care services..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between November 18, 2021 – August 11, 2023.  Click Here for More Information.

• Virginia Health Care Foundation Health Access Grants:  Funding is to help uninsured Virginians receive medical, dental, and/or mental health care either through a new approach or by replicating one of VHCF’s Models That Made It..  Funding focuses on projects that address one or more of these priorities:  1) Developing or expanding patient capacity; 2) Establishing a broader scope of services; 3) Accelerating licensure of behavioral health professionals, 4) Creating local coordinated systems of care and 5) Conquering the consequences of COVID-19.  The Foundation has two formal grant cycles each year, beginning in the winter and the summer.  Concept papers for the summer funding cycle are due on January 21, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH/NCI Intervening with Cancer Caregivers to Improve Patient Health Outcomes and Optimize Health Care Utilization (R21 Clinical Trial Optional):  This funding opportunity is for intervention research designed to support caregivers of adult cancer patients. Interventions are intended to provide caregivers with care training, promote coping skills, and ultimately help them manage care. Outcomes of such interventions are expected to (1) optimize patient health care utilization, (2) improve caregiver well-being, and (3) improve patient physical health and psychosocial outcomes.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 16, 2019 – September 8, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Small Research Grant Program (R03):  This funding opportunity supports health services research projects, including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology.  Rural and frontier areas are priority populations.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between September 17, 2018 – July 7, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH Palliative Care in Home and Community Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional):  to stimulate research aimed at determining needs and best practices for the integration of palliative care into home and community settings. Home and community in this FOA refer to the place where an individual resides or lives. Home- and community-based palliative care programs ensure those with serious, advanced illness who do not require hospitalization but are not appropriate for hospice have access to high quality end-of-life and palliative care. Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between September 5, 2019 – September 8, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Grants (R18):  Funding is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more ac­cessible, equitable and affordable, and to work with HHS and other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. Within the mission, AHRQ’s specific priority areas of focus are: 1) research to improve health care patient safety; 2) harnessing data and technology to improve health care quality and patient outcomes and to provide a 360-degree view of the patient; and 3) research to increase accessibility and affordability of health care by examining innovative market approaches to care delivery and financing.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between August 24, 2018 – September 30, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Using Innovative Digital Healthcare Solutions to Improve Quality at the Point of Care (R21/R33 – Clinical Trial Optional): Funding is  research projects that test promising digital healthcare interventions aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services delivery at the point of care.  Research should be designed to test promising digital healthcare solutions that enable or facilitate technology-driven, point of care process solutions that use advanced analytics, patient-centered clinician and patient facing digital healthcare technologies, or clinical decision support systems to improve quality and health outcomes at the point of care. A theoretical framework should inform the research study and incorporate the use of care models when appropriate..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between February 9, 2021 – July 18, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Telehealth Strategies for Individuals with HIV and Substance Use Disorders:  Funding is for research to explore and develop telehealth methods and strategies for diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and population analysis in individuals living with HIV and substance use disorder (SUD)..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between May 7, 2021 – September 8, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• Kent Richard Hofmann Foundation Grants:  Funding is to support developing or established programs, with emphasis on direct benefit to clients or target audiences in the fight against HIV and AIDS.  Funding can be used in support of 1) Care and direct services; 2) Education and/or 3) Research.  The Foundation makes grant funds available semi-annually, with cycles in the spring and fall.  Letters of inquiry for the spring 2022 funding cycle will be due some time around early March 2022.   Click Here for More Information.

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Following are funding opportunities that are forecasted to come available in Fall/Winter 2021:

• HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant: The purpose of the Network Planning Grants Program is to promote the development of integrated health care networks in order to: (i) achieve efficiencies; (ii) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services; and (iii) strengthen the rural health care system as a whole. This program brings together key parts of a rural health care delivery system, particularly those entities that may not have collaborated in the past, to work together to establish or improve local capacity and coordination of care. The grant program supports one year of planning to develop and assist integrated health care networks in becoming operational.

#EVENT.  This interactive four-week Project ECHO mini-series will explore the telehealth challenges encountered by FQHCs during the start of the pandemic, including engagement of hard to reach populations, staff engagement, making smart and effective telehealth technology decisions and decisions about where to go with telehealth after the end of the public health emergency.  Registration is free!   We are working on CEs/CMEs for participation and will update should this come to fruition.  Click Here to Register! 

Project ECHO Mini Series

#FUNDING.  Here are a list of federal and regional grant and other funding opportunities with either a focus or strong potential for telehealth applications that have summer proposal due dates.  We recommend that you bookmark this page or add it to your home screen as we will be adding to this list periodically from now through August as more opportunities are announced!

• AAMC Telehealth Equity Catalyst Awards Call for Nominations:  The AAMC seeks to recognize and highlight the efforts of AAMC-member institutions that are advancing health care equity through telehealth and health technology in new and effective ways. Through the AAMC’s new Telehealth Equity Catalyst “TEC” Awards, AAMC-member institutions are encouraged to nominate programs that demonstrate a positive impact on barriers associated with telehealth and health technology. Nominated programs can fall into one of two tracks: clinical delivery or medical training and may be eligible to receive $15,000.  Nominations are due on June 7, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET.  Click Here for More Information.

• Opioid Crisis Innovation Challenge 2021: Funding is provided for multi-disciplinary teams to develop innovative projects that address the national opioid crisis by reducing overdoses, increasing access to treatment, and supporting long-term recovery. Projects should focus on vulnerable populations, which includes rural communities.  Applications are due on June 19, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program:  Funding is for for states, tribes, and local governments to plan, implement or expand a criminal justice and mental health collaboration program. This will allow for a comprehensive response for people with mental illness (MI) and and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse (CMISA). Applications are due on June 22, 2021 at 11:59 PM.  Click Here for More Information.

• Positive Action Southern Initiative:  Funding is for supporting community programs that are engaging those typically ‘out of reach’ and left behind – including people who use drugs, young LGBTQ people, folks who experience homelessness, live in rural areas, have experienced incarceration, engage in sex work and many others. In the South (Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia). Applications are due on June 23, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• HRSA Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program (TTELP):  Funding is to connect specialists at academic medical centers with primary care providers (PCPs) in rural, frontier, and underserved populations providing evidence-based training and support to help them treat patients with complex conditions in their communities. TTELP recipients will develop learning community models that emphasize collaborative partnerships between such providers (i.e., telementoring models such as Project ECHO, ECHO-like models, distance learning, clinical decision support, and other emerging models in the field), to provide training and facilitate the dissemination of best practice specialty care to PCPs and care teams in rural, frontier, and underserved populations. Proposals are due on June 25, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Johnson & Johnson Decoding Disparities QuickFire Challenge:  Funding is for US-based innovators to submit data-driven research methodologies, tools, or technologies leveraging data aiming to better detect, understand, or reduce the root causes of health inequities and inform the crucial next steps needed to take towards achieving equity, with considerations to 1) Data Integration aspect of population health management and 2) Barriers to equitable access to health care across the patient journey including the patient/physician level and clinical encounter with the following priority focus areas:  1) Mental Health; 2) Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and 3) Cardiovascular Disease.  Proposals are due on June 25, 2021.  Click Here for More Information

• Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children’s Mental Health Innovation Awards:  Funding is for new or piloted projects from direct-service organizations that will help address the far-reaching challenge of stress, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues in children and young adults on a national or local level in the U.S.  Projects must tackle specific issues and address unmet needs, with a goal of reducing stigma, increasing access to care, improving equity in mental health, enabling early identification/prevention or enhancing intervention, especially among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.. Applications are due on July 2, 2021 at 5 PM ET.  Click Here for More Information.

• American Rescue Plan Act – Pediatric Mental Health Care Access – New Area Expansion:  Funding is for the expansion of state and/or regional networks of pediatric mental healthcare teams into new states and geographic areas. Teams will provide tele-consultation, training, technical assistance, and care coordination for pediatric primary care providers to diagnose, treat, and refer children with behavioral health conditions. Applications are due on July 6, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH Investigator-Initiated Research on Genetic Counseling Processes and Practices (R01 Clinical Trial Optional): Funding is for investigator-initiated research on genetic counseling processes and practices in genomic medicine. Research is needed to optimize the genetic counseling process in the context of limited resources. Applications will assess, innovate, scale, and/or research the implementation of novel genetic counseling practices to address the need for more healthcare professionals trained in genetic counseling; the uneven access to in-person genetic counseling across U.S. health care systems; and the challenges of effective and efficient communication of genomic findings to clinicians, patients, and families.. Applications are due on July 8, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Community Mobility Design Challenge 2021:  Funding is to support communities in seeking innovative ways to address the personal well-being of community members that face transportation barriers to health care access, economic opportunity, healthy food, or community and peer support opportunities. Teams will address populations that currently do not have access to equitable transportation because of income status, minority status, location, a pre-existing condition, or other reason.. Applications are due on July 12, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Family-Centered Approaches to Improving Type 2 Diabetes Control and Prevention: Funding is to support the identification of effective approaches for improving health outcomes with the ultimate goal of promoting dissemination and sustainability of these approaches to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities.  Applications are due on July 13, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Cares USA: Funding is to support the identification of effective approaches for improving health outcomes with the ultimate goal of promoting dissemination and sustainability of these approaches to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities.  Applications are due on July 13, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• HRSA Bureau of Primary Care Optimizing Virtual Care: Funding is to support new and existing free health clinics to care for the uninsured in areas of need across the United States.   Funds are to support the purchase of durable, sustainable equipment and instruments necessary for diagnosis and treatment related to primary care.  .Applications are due on July 15, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Alzheimer’s Disease Programs Initiative – Dementia Capability in Indian Country: Funding is to support 1) enhancing the ability of tribal systems and programs to embed dementia-capability in their service networks; and 2) through delivery of dementia-capable supportive services including dementia specific evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions. . Applications are due on July 19, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts:  Funding is for projects that bring an innovative approach to long-standing, complex issues related to stemming the tide of the nation’s opioid crisis. This RFP will support projects that can explore and/or evaluate new “outside-the-box” ideas, bring together approaches from several diverse fields, and engage multi-disciplinary, cross-sector teams to solve some of the most intractable problems created by the crisis.  Applications are due on July 19, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Centers on Telehealth Research for Cancer-Related Care (P50 Clinical Trial Required):  Funding is to develop  three research centers that can advance a national cancer-related telehealth research agenda in a rapidly changing healthcare, policy, and communication environment. Each center will support one signature project: a large pragmatic trial with the potential to generate findings with broad applicability to clinical practice and heterogenous patient populations. This collective of research centers will also support the infrastructure needed for designing innovative pilot studies on emerging issues in telehealth and cancer.  Applications are due on July 20, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge:  Funding provides planning support, technical assistance and training to foster placemaking activities in rural communities.  Qualified entities can use the funds to help rural communities create plans to enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support the development of transportation, housing, and recreational spaces.  Applications are due on July 26, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation Board Certified TeleMental Health Provider Training Award (BC-TMH):  Funding is prioritized for applicants who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to financial strains, unemployment, or underemployment in order to increase the reach and professional development of counselors throughout the nation.    Applications are due by July 31, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• American Pharmacists Association Foundation Incentive Grants:  Incentive Grants offer pharmacists, students, and community pharmacy residents seed money to implement or support an existing innovative patient care service within their pharmacy practice.  Applications are due by August 23, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Medline Community Impact Grant Program:  Medline is investing resources to help non-profit organizations address prevalent health challenges, stimulate health equity and improve population health in under resourced areas. We will award results-focused grants that offer community- centered solutions and immediate impact.   Applications are due on August 27, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• iTHRIV Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program:  Funding is to support innovative approaches to clinical and translational research to foster collaborative research across the iTHRIV partner institutions in Virginia:  Carilion Clinic, Inova Health, the University of Virginia, and Virginia Tech.  Applications are due on August 30, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• PCORI Improving Postpartum Maternal Outcomes for Populations Experiencing Disparities: Funding is for large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and/or well-designed observational studies comparing multicomponent strategies to improve early detection of, and timely care for, complications up to six weeks postpartum for groups more often underserved or experiencing the greatest disparities in health outcomes, including Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Hispanic, rural, and low socioeconomic status (SES) populations.   Letters of intent are due June 1, 2021 by 5 PM ET.  Full applications are due on August 31, 2021 by 5 PM ET.  Click Here for More Information.

• Foundation for Rural Service Virtual Living Room Grant Program:  Funding is for blending technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs resources and local support to encourage veteran use of advanced medical technologies.  The Virtual Living Room is intended to feel like home, offering a comfortable, safe space to help veterans simulate the experience they would have while using VA telehealth services at home.  Applications accepted on a rolling basis.  Click Here for More Information.

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Following are funding opportunities with cyclical deadlines:

• Kent Richard Hofmann Foundation Grants:  Funding is to support developing or established programs, with emphasis on direct benefit to clients or target audiences in the fight against HIV and AIDS.  Funding can be used in support of 1) Care and direct services; 2) Education and/or 3) Research.  The Foundation makes grant funds available semi-annually, with cycles in the spring and fall.  Letters of inquiry for the fall funding cycle are due on September 3, 2021.  Click Here for More Information.

• Virginia Health Care Foundation Health Access Grants:  Funding is to help uninsured Virginians receive medical, dental, and/or mental health care either through a new approach or by replicating one of VHCF’s Models That Made It..  Funding focuses on projects that address one or more of these priorities:  1) Developing or expanding patient capacity; 2) Establishing a broader scope of services; 3) Accelerating licensure of behavioral health professionals, 4) Creating local coordinated systems of care and 5) Conquering the consequences of COVID-19.  The Foundation has two formal grant cycles each year, beginning in the winter and the summer.  Concept papers for the summer funding cycle are due on January 21, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Small Research Grant Program (R03):  This funding opportunity supports health services research projects, including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology.  Rural and frontier areas are priority populations..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between September 17, 2018 – July 7, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH Palliative Care in Home and Community Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional):  to stimulate research aimed at determining needs and best practices for the integration of palliative care into home and community settings. Home and community in this FOA refer to the place where an individual resides or lives. Home- and community-based palliative care programs ensure those with serious, advanced illness who do not require hospitalization but are not appropriate for hospice have access to high quality end-of-life and palliative care. Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between September 5, 2019 – September 8, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Health Services Research Demonstration and Dissemination Grants (R18):  Funding is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more ac­cessible, equitable and affordable, and to work with HHS and other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. Within the mission, AHRQ’s specific priority areas of focus are: 1) research to improve health care patient safety; 2) harnessing data and technology to improve health care quality and patient outcomes and to provide a 360-degree view of the patient; and 3) research to increase accessibility and affordability of health care by examining innovative market approaches to care delivery and financing.  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between August 24, 2018 – September 30, 2022.  Click Here for More Information.

• NIH Comprehensive Care for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from Populations with Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)):  Funding will support innovative research to develop, test and evaluate multi-level/multi-component strategies (including models of health care) to effectively adapt and implement comprehensive clinical care for individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus from populations with health disparities concordant with recommended and evidence-based guidelines. Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between October 5, 2021 – June 5, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• AHRQ Using Innovative Digital Healthcare Solutions to Improve Quality at the Point of Care (R21/R33 – Clinical Trial Optional): Funding is  research projects that test promising digital healthcare interventions aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services delivery at the point of care.  Research should be designed to test promising digital healthcare solutions that enable or facilitate technology-driven, point of care process solutions that use advanced analytics, patient-centered clinician and patient facing digital healthcare technologies, or clinical decision support systems to improve quality and health outcomes at the point of care. A theoretical framework should inform the research study and incorporate the use of care models when appropriate..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between February 9, 2021 – July 18, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Telehealth Strategies for Individuals with HIV and Substance Use Disorders:  Funding is for research to explore and develop telehealth methods and strategies for diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and population analysis in individuals living with HIV and substance use disorder (SUD)..  Applications are due in a repetitive cycle between May 7, 2021 – September 7, 2024.  Click Here for More Information.

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Following are funding opportunities that are forecasted to come available in Fall 2021:

• HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant: The purpose of the Network Planning Grants Program is to promote the development of integrated health care networks in order to: (i) achieve efficiencies; (ii) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services; and (iii) strengthen the rural health care system as a whole. This program brings together key parts of a rural health care delivery system, particularly those entities that may not have collaborated in the past, to work together to establish or improve local capacity and coordination of care. The grant program supports one year of planning to develop and assist integrated health care networks in becoming operational.

Each year, MATRC takes nominations for compelling stories of telehealth programs or projects that have led to breaking down of barriers to accessing quality care and/or addressing an unmet need that has led to improved health outcomes and/or quality of life for those residing in the MATRC region.  Today after the Luncheon Keynote Address #MATRC2021, we announced this year’s award recipients.  Congratulations go out to the following winners of the 2021 MATRC Breaking Barriers through Telehealth Award:

For Category 1:  Small, Rural and/or Safety Net Providers and Organizations:

• Winner:  Natalie Holden, RN, MSN, NP-C, CDCES, Family Health Nurse Practitioner with Change Inc. Family Medical Care Community Health Center for their efforts using telehealth to support implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program to residents of northern West Virginia, overcoming both traditional and COVID-19 related barriers to meeting the needs of an underserved population.
• Honorable Mention: Doug Smith, CEO of Greene County Health Center for their FCC COVID-19 funded Remote Patient Monitoring Program, touching close to 500 minority population patients with hypertension, diabetes, cardiac and pulmonary and other chronic conditions in rural Eastern North Carolina.

For Category 2:  All Other Providers/Organizations

• Winner:  Francoise A. Marvel, 3rd Year Cardiology Fellow at The Johns Hopkins Hospital for their Acute Myocardial Infarction Quality Improvement Program for improving quality of care and patient engagement and reducing preventable readmissions through the use of cost-effective digital health tools.
• Honorable Mention: Alpa Uchil (Clinical Nurse Practitioner), Lora L. Clawson, MSN, CRNP, (Founder and Director) Kristen Riley, PhD (Clinical Trials Manager) and Kirsten Labbe (Clinic Coordinator) with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ALS Clinic for their efforts successfully transitioning the Johns Hopkins ALS Clinical Care and Management Program to a telehealth format during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

#EVENT.  #MATRC2021 is just around the corner.  Learn how to lead change in your organization by applying design thinking to real world challenges.   It’s not too late to register.

We are offering this third special Pre-Summit Bonus Session immediately before our Virtual Welcome Reception a week from Sunday for all our registered attendees at no additional cost.  This is a fully interactive 3.5 hour workshop that will be time well spent.  For more information or to register for the Summit, visit https://matrcsummit.org/  If you are already registered, mark your calendars and plan to join!

#EVENT.  #MATRC2021 is just around the corner.  It’s not too late to register.  We have two Special Pre-Summit Bonus Sessions coming up next week for all our registered attendees.  For more information or to register for the Summit, visit https://matrcsummit.org/

#EVENT.  #MATRC2021 is just around the corner.  It’s not too late to register.  We have two Special Pre-Summit Bonus Sessions coming up next week for all our registered attendees.  For more information or to register for the Summit, visit https://matrcsummit.org/

#FUNDING.  Here are a list of federal and regional grant and other funding opportunities with either a focus or strong potential for telehealth applications that have spring/summer proposal due dates.  We recommend that you bookmark this page or add it to your home screen as we will be adding to this list periodically from now through June as more opportunities are announced!

• Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Psychostimulant Support (RCORP-PS):  
  Grants to enhance and expand psychostimulant use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery service delivery in high-risk rural communities. The focus will be on strengthening and expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services for rural individuals who misuse psychostimulants to enhance their ability to access treatment and move towards recovery. Over the course of a three-year period of performance, RCORP-PS award recipients will implement a set of core psychostimulant use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery activities. Application Deadline: Apr 12, 2021

• AARP Community Challenge: This program provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. Applications are accepted for projects to improve public spaces, housing, transportation, civic engagement, coronavirus recovery, diversity and inclusion, and more.  Applications are due by 8:00 PM ET on April 14, 2021.  

• Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Grant Program:  The purpose of this program is to implement screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment services for children, adolescents, and/or adults in primary care and community health settings (e.g., health centers, hospital systems, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred-provider organizations (PPOs), Federally Qualified Health Care (FQHC) systems, behavioral health centers, pediatric health care providers, Children’s Hospitals, etc.) with a focus on screening for underage drinking, opioid use, and other substance use. For the purposes of this FOA, pediatric health care providers are a provider of primary health care to individuals under the age of 21 years.  Application are due April 19, 2021.  

• Medication-Assisted Treatment – Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction (Short Title: MAT-PDOA) Grants: The purpose of this program is to expand/enhance access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for persons with an opioid use disorder (OUD) seeking or receiving MAT. The desired outcomes for this program are:  1) an increase in the number of individuals with OUD receiving MAT; and 2) a decrease in illicit opioid drug use and prescription opioid misuse at six-month follow-up.  Applications are due April, 27, 2021.

• FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program – Round 2:  The FCC announced on March 30, 2021 that they will be moving forward with Round 2 funding.  Priority will be given to Round 1 eligible applicants that were not awarded funding.  There will be at least one award to each state and the District of Columbia.  All awards will be announced at one time and not on a rolling basis.  Total funding available is $249,950,000 with a max award of $1 million per applicant.  There will be a seven day filing window (dates not yet announced but anticipated to open before the end of April).

• Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model: This CMS opportunity is a voluntary payment model designed to meet the needs of rural communities.  The model will test whether aligned financial incentives, increased operational flexibility and robust technical support promote the capacity of rural healthcare providers to implement effective healthcare delivery system redesign on a broad scale.  Applications for the Community Transformation Track are due on May 11, 2021. 

• Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Rural Health Care Program: This funding mechanism is used to support eligible healthcare facilities with their telecommunications and broadband service costs through rate discounts.  If you are not familiar with the program, here is a good introductory webinar.  The filing window for FY2021 opened on January 4, 2021 and all funding requests must be submitted on/before 11:59 PM on June 1, 2021.  
  • USAC has also put together these resources for those new and needing to Learn More About the Program

• Service-Ready Tools for Identification, Prevention and Treatment of Individuals at Risk for Suicide (R34 Clinical Trial Optional): This NIMH funding opportunity announcement (FOA) seeks pilot effectiveness projects to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of service-ready tools and technologies that can be used to advance training, quality monitoring, and quality improvement efforts and ultimately improve the availability of evidence-based suicide prevention services.   Letter of Intent is due 30 days prior to application due date.  Applications are due on October 15, 2021 and June 15, 2022.

• Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Telehealth Strategies for Individuals with HIV and Substance Use Disorders:   This NIH/NIDA opportunity invites research applications to explore and develop telehealth methods and strategies for diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and population analysis in individuals living with HIV and Substance Use Disorder (SUD).  Applications are being accepted between after May 7, 2021 through September 7, 2024.

• William Randolph Hearst Foundation: The Hearst Foundations assist leading regional hospitals, medical centers and specialized medical institutions providing access to healthcare for high-need populations. In response to the shortage of healthcare professionals necessary to meet the country’s evolving healthcare demands, the Foundations also fund programs designed to enhance skills and increase the number of practitioners and educators across roles in healthcare. The Foundations also support medical research and the development of young investigators to help create a broad and enduring impact on the nation’s health. The board meets to approve grants in March, June, September and December. The average time from proposal submission to grant award is six months.  Click Here to Apply.

#NEWS.  We received multiple requests for an extension to the submission deadline, so we have extended the deadline to midnight on Friday March 12!  Get those nominations in!

MATRC is seeking nominations that tell a compelling story of a telehealth program or project that has led to breaking down barriers to accessing quality care and/or addressing an unmet need that has led to improved health outcomes and/or quality of life.  For more information and to submit a nomination, go to: https://matrcsummit.org/breaking-barriers.html

Examples of applications of telehealth include live interactive videoconferencing, store-and-forward, remote patient monitoring, as well as the use of mobile health apps, games and wearables.

To be eligible, the story must be about a telehealth program or project within the MATRC Service Area. This includes DC, DE, KY, MD, NC, NJ, PA, WV and VA. Awards will be announced and presented at the 2021 MATRC Telehealth Summit (http://matrcsummit.org/). Nominees need not be present to win.

Two awards will be given, one in each of two categories, as selected by a panel of judges. Each of the two winners will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize and free registration to the 2022 MATRC Telehealth Summit. Winners may also elect to donate the amount of their cash prize to the nonprofit of their choosing.

Nominations are due by midnight on Friday, March 12, 2021.