22 Jul Funding Alert! Training Opportunities for Residency

Health Resources and Services Administration

Attention institutions of higher education, community-based healthcare organizations, elected officials, and school districts! The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has various upcoming opportunities for healthcare professional training programs. This announcement features three forecasted opportunities specifically focused on nursing for rural and underserved communities. Upcoming posts through the end of July will feature opportunities for training related to nursing, residency, secondary education outreach, and substance abuse.

About the agency

HRSA programs provide equitable health care to people who are geographically isolated and economically or medically vulnerable. This includes programs that deliver health services to people with HIV, pregnant people, mothers and their families, those with low incomes, residents of rural areas, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and those otherwise unable to access high-quality health care. HRSA programs also support health infrastructure, including training health professionals and distributing them to areas where they are needed most, providing financial support to health care providers, and advancing telehealth. In addition, HRSA oversees programs for providing discounts on prescription drugs to safety net providers, facilitating organ, bone marrow, and cord blood transplantation, compensating individuals injured by vaccination, and maintaining data on health care malpractice payments.

As part of a series, funding Friday will highlight HRSA opportunities focused on training for the healthcare workforce, both available and forecasted. This week includes training programs for doctors, managed by the Division of Medicine and Dentistry, featuring the following opportunities:

• Preventive Medicine Residency (PMR) Program aims to increase the number, quality, and diversity of preventative medicine residents and physicians to support access to preventative medicine and integrate population health with primary care to improve community health (November 2022 forecasted deadline).
• Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program supports the training of residents in primary care residency training programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers. Programs will prepare residents to provide high-quality care, particularly in rural and underserved communities, and develop competencies to serve diverse populations and communities (January 2023 forecasted deadline).
• Teaching Health Center Planning and Development (THCPD) Program supports the development of new accredited primary care residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, general dentistry and geriatrics to address the physician workforce shortages and challenges faced by rural and underserved communities (January 2023 forecasted deadline).

Who is eligible to apply?

PMR: Applicants for this opportunity can include accredited schools of public health or schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine, accredited public or private nonprofit hospitals, state, local, or tribal health departments, or a consortium of two or more eligible entities.

THCGME & THCPD: Eligible applicants include federally qualified health centers (FQHC); community mental health centers; rural health clinics; health centers operated by Indian Health Service; tribe, tribal, or urban Indian organizations; entities receiving funds under Title X of PHS Act; critical access hospitals; and community-based Graduate Medical Education (GME) consortiums that operate as accredited primary care residency programs.

What are the program details?

PMR: Residents will participate in the longitudinal placement of a minimum of two months in a FQHC along with coursework in public health, management, population or community health, and leadership. Rotations will focus on the analysis of health outcomes data related to populations served by the FQHC. Programs will strengthen the public health workforce through training preventative residents and collaborative community-based projects at FQHCs to address critical local public health needs. Programs will be up to 60 months with up to 16 awards anticipated.

THCGME: This opportunity supports the training of residents in primary care residency training programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers. There are two types of awards available, expansion awards for full-time equivalent (FTE) positions at exiting HRSA THCGME Programs, and new awards for resident FTE positions at new teaching health centers. This program anticipates awarding 28 applications over a four-year period.

THCPD: This program aims to support the expansion of primary care residency training in community-based patient care settings by providing funds to support the development of new programs in these settings, which are often located in underserved areas where resources may not be easily attainable. New community-based programs will achieve accreditation, ensure a sustainability plan through public or private funding beyond the THCPD period of performance, and track residents’ career outcomes post-graduation. With award amounts up to $500,000, this opportunity will fund approximately 65 projects for up to 24 months. The institutional ask amounts are formula-based, and the department anticipates 80 awards.

What makes a project a good fit?

While the requirements of the opportunity will be made available in the notice of funding opportunity, projects that support HRSA’s overall goals will be better aligned. These include project designs which clearly demonstrate the applicant’s ability to:

1. Take actionable steps to achieve health equity and improve public health;
2. Improve access to quality health services;
3. Foster a health workforce and health infrastructure able to address current/emerging needs; and
4. Optimize HRSA operations and strengthen program engagement.

Based on previous NOFOs, these are suggestions for what might make a project a good fit:

PMR: identifies and addresses a need for preventative medicine physicians in the medical and public health systems and is committed to increasing diversity in health professions training programs and workforce; provides services to a high-need population; addresses the department of health and human services priorities.

THCGME: sponsoring institutions of the residency program must be a community-based ambulatory patient care center or a GMEconsortium that supports the costs associated with resident FTE training; addressing one or more of the three funding priorities – health professional shortage areas, medically underserved communities, or rural community locations as defined in the NOFO.

THCPD: applicants who clearly understand the challenges and obstacles of establishing a new residency program, incorporating innovative approaches, recruitment, and proposing strategies to address these will be well-positioned for this opportunity. In addition, preference may be given to organizations with an existing affiliation with an area health education center program.

What if I am ready to apply? To move your project forward, take the following action steps as soon as possible:

• Review the HRSA application resources page and the opportunity pages (PMR, THCGME, THCPDP) for past applicant webinars and awards for additional detail;
• Check the HRSA funding opportunities page periodically for announcements and information; and
• Make sure your System for Award Management (SAM) registration is active and be sure you have a Grants.gov 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 (AGS) 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. Julie Assel, GPC, President/CEO, will be happy to talk with you about this opportunity and provide you with a quote for grant services.

What if I am not ready to apply this year?

Start planning ahead for next year! HRSA also has a variety of other workforce-focused programs available through its Bureau of Health Workforce. You can view the full list (and search other HRSA funding programs) here.

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 Federal Grants Training Series in 2022! 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.

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Skill 1.2: Identify major trends in public funding and public policy

Skill 1.6: Identify fundable programs and projects for specific organization

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