Covid 19: SHIP COVID Testing and Mitigation

The goal of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) with regards to the ARP SHIP COVID Testing and Mitigation is to implement the program in the most efficient and effective manner possible. In addition, the KORH will assist the small rural hospitals in achieving the purpose and objectives of the grant. In FY21, the ARP SHIP grant will provide 47 small rural hospitals in Kentucky funding towards their costs to increase COVID-19 testing efforts, expand access to testing in rural communities, and expand the range of mitigation activities to meet community needs within the CDC Community Mitigation Framework. The Kentucky Office of Rural Health will provide these 47 small rural hospitals with program guidance and oversight related to the use of their funds: • Increase COVID-19 testing efforts - increased COVID-19 testing to rural populations ensuring an equitable distribution across the state. • Develop and implement strategies to address patient hesitancy around testing. • Ensure access for specific community populations to address long-standing systemic health and social inequities that have put some rural residents at increased risk of getting COVID-19 or having severe illness. • Installing temporary structures, leasing of properties, and retrofitting facilities as necessary to support COVID-19 testing and COVID-19 mitigation. • Education, rehabilitation, prevention, treatment, and support services for symptoms occurring after recovery from acute COVID-19 infection, including, but not limited to, support for activities of daily living—this includes services for the range of symptoms described as Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) (i.e. long COVID). • Other activities to support COVID-19 testing including planning for implementation of a COVID-19 testing program, hiring staff, procuring supplies to provide testing, training providers and staff on COVID-19 testing procedures, and reporting data to HHS on COVID-19 testing activities • Expand the range of mitigation activities to meet community needs within the CDC Community Mitigation Framework • The goal of community mitigation in areas with local COVID-19 transmission is to slow its spread and to protect all individuals, especially those at increased risk for severe illness, while minimizing the negative impacts of these strategies. These strategies are used to minimize morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 in societal sectors such as schools, workplaces, and healthcare organizations.