20 Aug Funding Alert! Resilience, Mental Health, and Wellness for Health Professionals
Health Resources and Services Administration
Does your organization provide health care in rural and medically underserved areas? The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently opened a funding opportunity through its Promoting Resilience and Mental Health Among Health Professional Workforce (PRMHW) program. The overall goal of the PRMHW program is to support health care organizations in the adoption, promotion, and implementation of a culture of wellness for their health professional workforce(s), including building resilience against burnout and supporting mental health. This program also places an emphasis on addressing social determinants of health, health equity and disparities, and the needs of rural and medically underserved communities. The due date for this year’s funding opportunity is coming up on August 30, 2021.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants are organizations that provide health care services, including health care providers associations and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). In addition, this program encourages collaborative partnerships with entities that have established programs and demonstrated success with providing resilience, mental health, and wellness training for a health professional workforce.
Applicants should also note that the proposed project director (employed by the applicant organization) ideally will have a graduate degree in health sciences, psychology, social work, or public health and experience managing a large organization with a culture that promotes wellness and mental health.
What are the program details?
PRMHW aims to increase the capacity of organizations to establish, enhance, expand, and integrate evidence-informed or evidence-based programs and practices that promote resilience, mental health, and wellness among their professional workforces. These workforces include providers, other personnel, and members of entities providing health care, health care providers associations, and FQHCs. Possible activities could include in-service trainings, call centers, hotlines, support groups, motivational interviewing, and other strategies that support these goals and help health professionals manage common workplace stressors.
As part of this program, awardees will develop partnerships with organizations that have demonstrated success in these types of activities. These collaborations should take into consideration the needs of health professional workforces in rural and medically underserved communities, health equity and health disparities, and social determinants of health, among other factors.
HRSA will fund this program through cooperative agreements. Funding will be awarded in decremental amounts for each year of the three-year period of performance:
- Year 1: up to $1,425,000;
- Year 2: up to $897,000; and
- Year 3: up to $634,000.
HRSA expects to award ten cooperative agreements under this funding opportunity.
What makes a project a good fit?
Proposed projects should address the needs of rural and medically underserved areas. Applicants will receive full points if they are located in an area considered a rural community, as defined by the HRSA Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer tool, and a medically underserved community, as determined by HRSA’s “Find Shortage Areas” tool.
Applicants should also keep in mind that because these are cooperative agreements, HRSA will have greater program involvement in addition to the typical monitoring and technical assistance. For example, this may include assisting with the planning, development, and evaluation of all phases of the project; assisting with establishing collaborative relationships; and providing ongoing programmatic input and consultation.
What if I am ready to apply? To move your project forward, take the following action steps as soon as possible:
- View the full funding opportunity announcement, available here under the “Related Documents” tab, for a full list of program requirements and eligible activities.
- Watch this year’s technical assistance webinar for additional information.
- Determine whether your organization’s service area meets HRSA’s qualifications for rurality and/or a medically underserved area.
- Make sure your System for Award Management (SAM) registration is active and be sure you have agov profile. You can check your SAM status here: https://sam.gov/content/status-tracker.
What if I need help with this application?
Contact Assel Grant Services today! Our team can help with all aspects of preparing the application and managing the grant if you are awarded. If you would like to discuss this possibility, please contact AGS as soon as possible. Rosie Brennan, community engagement specialist, will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you a quote for grant services.
What if I am not ready to apply this year?
HRSA has a variety of other programs and funding opportunities for serving rural communities through their Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The office’s website has ample resources, webinars, and descriptions of other available or upcoming opportunities.
How do I learn more about federal grant proposal writing, so my application is more likely to be successful?
AGS is excited to offer a new Federal Grants Training Series throughout 2021! The series is designed to support nonprofit leaders before and during the application process. AGS also offers several on demand webinars on a variety of topics to support the full grant cycle. Check out our website to learn more and sign up for our training newsletter.
AGS blogs, funding alerts, and trainings are aligned with the Grant Professional Certification Institute’s Competencies and Skills
Competency #1: Knowledge of how to research, identify, and match funding resources to meet specific needs
Skill 1.2: Identify major trends in public funding and public policy
Skill 1.6: Identify fundable programs and projects for specific organization
Skill 1.7: Determine best matches between funders and specific programs