Grants and Contracts Details
Description
HRSA 24 007 Abstract
HRSA-24-007: Rural Health Network Development Planning Program
ABSTRACT HEADING CONTENT
Applicant Organization Information
University of Kentucky Research Foundation 500 South Limestone, 109 Kinkead Hall,
Lexington, KY 40526-0001 on behalf of the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health
(UKCERH) 750 Morton Blvd., Hazard, KY 41701
• Rural Health Center/Academic
• https://medicine.uky.edu/centers/ruralhealth/
Designated Project Director Information
Dr. Frances Feltner, UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health Director, 606-439-3557,
[email protected]
Network Planning Project
Rural Mobile Paramedic Training Program Network
Legislative Aim(s)
(i) achieve efficiencies:
• Conducting community health and/or provider needs assessments at the regional and/or
local level:
o Develop and implement a needs assessment in the community;
o Identify the most critical need of network members to ensure their viability:
o Identify additional collaborating network members in the community/region;
o Identify and develop a plan to address workforce issues; or
• Identify financial resources or gaps available to support services.
• Identifying opportunities for the network to better address regional and/or local population
health needs.
(ii) expand access to and improve the quality of basic health care services and health
outcomes:
• Developing a network business and/or operations plan, which may include:
o A formal memorandum of agreement or understanding (MOA/MOU);
o A shared mission statement;
o The roles and responsibilities of the network members.
• Identifying the degree to which the network members are ready to integrate their functions
and share clinical and/or administrative resources
• Assessing appropriateness/readiness for Patient Centered Medical Home accreditation.
• Identifying strategies to communicate with the community about changes in the health care
landscape and how to maintain access to viable health care services.
• Developing a plan to expand the role of emergency medical services within the
community, including loss of services as a result of a hospital closure/conversion.
• Developing a data use and sharing agreement to facilitate strategic and sustainability
planning for the intervention.
(iii) strengthen the rural health care system
• Identifying ways to encourage cross-organizational collaboration and leadership
commitment.
• Assessing the network’s sustainability and viability.
University of Kentucky Research Foundation 1
HRSA 24 007 Abstract
• Identifying and establishing ways to obtain regional and/or local community support/buy-
in around the development of the network.
Focus Area
The UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health’s focus area is to increase access to emergency
care services and improve health outcomes for rural residents.
Proposed Service Region
Rural Kentucky Counties- Adair, Allen, Anderson, Ballard, Barren, Bath, Bell, Bourbon,
Boyle, Bracken, Breathitt, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Carroll, Carter,
Casey, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Edmonson, Elliott, Estill, Fleming,
Floyd, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Garrard, Grant, Graves, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Harlan,
Harrison, Hart, Henry, Hickman, Hopkins, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Larue, Laurel,
Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Lincoln, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Madison, Magoffin,
Marion, Marshall, Martin, Mason, McCracken, McCreary, McLean, Menifee, Mercer,
Metcalfe, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Nicholas, Ohio, Owen,
Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Robertson, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell,
Simpson, Spencer, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Trimble, Union, Washington, Wayne, Webster,
Whitley, Wolfe and Woodford
ABSTRACT BODY CONTENT
Population to be Served
Kentucky’s mortality rate as a result of chronic disease includes 497.9 per 100,000 (male)
deaths and 325.9 per 100,000 (female) deaths annually. 1 Kentuckians have approximately
14.2 minutes by car to get to the nearest hospital, and the distance to a hospital has been found
to correlate positively with a three percent increase in patient mortality. 1,2 Studies have also
shown a correlation between shorter ambulance response times and increased survival when a
cardiac arrest occurs at home. 3 This is unsettling as 110 out of our 120 Kentucky counties are
considered to have an ambulance desert (91.7%).4 The cardiac arrest death rates in rural areas
are more than twice as high as in urban areas.5 In addition to the distance to the hospital, the
wait for an ambulance to arrive can be 30 minutes or longer. The factors impacting these wait
times include the distance between the coverage area and terrain of rural communities, the
insufficient payment for services, cost and availability of initial and continuing education,
inadequate regional EMS coordination across rural areas leading to workforce shortages and
disjointed oversight of EMS programs.6
Network Members
Provide the organization names and facility/entity type of partner(s) who have agreed to be a
part of the network.
• Eastern Kentucky University- Academic
• Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services (KBEMS)- Licensure Board
• Kentucky Ambulance Provider Association (KAPA)- Membership Association
• Kentucky EMS Association (KEMSA)- Membership Association
Rural EMS services
• HRSA requires an attestation that at least sixty-six percent (66%), or two-thirds of
network members (members with signed Letters of Commitment) of the proposed
project are physically located in a HRSA-designated rural area, as defined by the Rural
Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer.
University of Kentucky Research Foundation 2
HRSA 24 007 Abstract
Each network member has confirmed their commitment and role in partnering in the planning
grant through signed letters of commitment.
Experience in Serving Rural Underserved Populations
UK CERH also has over thirty years of working in rural communities across the
Commonwealth. Established in 1990, UK CERH has worked to partner with local
communities, academic partners, and funders to find ways to address workforce shortages and
reduce health disparities in the rural communities of Kentucky. In recent years the Center has
established a research conference, a rural health magazine, and a youth leadership and research
development program. Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit on the Porch is an annual
conference hosted by the UK CERH with the purpose of sharing local research findings back
to the community. Healthy WAY is a leadership and research development program for high
school students. The Bridge Magazine is published quarterly with the KORH, to highlight best
practices and innovative solutions to Kentucky''s rural health challenges.
To ensure we are on track and addressing the challenges facing the rural participants, we will
solicit information from the rural providers to guide our operations plan. We also want to
ensure that rural emergency management service providers are incorporated into our network
and the community advisory board as it is developed.
Funding Opportunity Notification
Kentucky Office of Rural Health notified us of the planning grant opportunity.
Funding Preference- waiting on a response on how to do this
• Applicants must explicitly document a qualifying funding preference and cite the
qualification that is being met (see 42 U.S.C. 254c(h)(3)) to receive a funding
preference. HRSA highly recommends you include concise language making it clear to
HRSA which funding preference you qualify for. If you do not qualify for a funding
preference, please state that you do not qualify.
• If applicable, you need to provide supporting documentation in Attachment 8. Please
refer to Section V.2 for further information.
1Chronic Care Policy Alliance. (2021). State of chronic disease in Kentucky. https://chroniccarealliance.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/06/CCPA-Kentucky-State-of-Chronic-Disease-jun21.pdf
2Nicholl, J., West, J., Goodacre, S., & Turner, J. (2007). The relationship between distance to hospital and patient
mortality in emergencies: An observational study.?Emergency Medicine Journal,?24(9), 665–668.
https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.2007.047654
3 National Rural Health Association. (2022). Emergency Medical Services in Rural America. 2022-NRHA-Rural-
EMS-Position-Paper.pdf (ruralhealth.us)
4 Jonk, Y., Milkowski, C., Croll, Z., & Pearson, K. (2023). Ambulance Deserts: Geographic Disparities in the
Provision of Ambulance Services [Chartbook]. University of Southern Maine, Muskie School, Maine Rural Health
Research Center.
5 Christensen, T. (2022). As cardiac arrest deaths fall, Black and rural communities lag. American Heart Association
News. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/11/04/as-cardiac-arrest-deaths-fall-black-and-rural-communities-lag
6 Rural Policy Research Institute. (2021). Characteristics and Challenges of Rural Ambulance Agencies- A Brief
Review and Policy Considerations. Characteristics-and-Challenges-of-Rural-Ambulance-Agencies-January-
2021.pdf (rupri.org)
University of Kentucky Research Foundation 3
Status | Active |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 9/30/24 → 9/29/25 |
Funding
- Health Resources and Services Administration: $100,000.00
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