Rural Health Network Development Grant Program

• Program Purpose
• Network Development Planning Grant Program
• Program Overview
• Reference Materials
• Geographic Eligibility for Rural Health Grant Programs

The Rural Health Network Development Grant Program Technical Assistance Conference call for potential applicants will be held Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 2:00PM EST. Contact Mary Collier at (301) 443-0836 or email mcollier@hrsa.gov to receive further information.

Guidance for the FY08 Rural Health Network Development Grant has been released. The deadline for submitting an application is October 15, 2007.

Program Purpose
Network Development Grants provide funding to help rural communities strengthen their health care systems. Grants support rural providers for up to three years who work together in formal networks, alliances, coalitions, or partnerships to integrate administrative, clinical, financial, and technological functions across their organizations. This integration of functions and services helps to overcome the fragmentation of health care services in rural areas, improves coordination of those services, and achieves economies of scale. This program does not support direct patient care services.

Network Development Planning Grant Program
Congress recently amended the Network Development program to include Planning Grants as an option for those communities not ready to implement a full Network Development project. More information.

Program Overview
These grants are designed to further ongoing collaborative relationships among health care organizations by funding rural health networks that focus on integrating clinical, information, administrative, and financial systems across members. The goal is to strengthen rural health care systems at the community, regional and State levels by funding these formal, horizontally or vertically integrated networks. Grant funds typically are used to acquire staff, contract with technical experts, and purchase other resources to 'build' the network. Grants awards support up to a three-year implementation process. To be eligible, the applicant organization must be a public or nonprofit entity that is a network or is a member of a network that includes at least three separately owned health care providers or other entities that provide or support the delivery of health care services. Additionally, the applicant's administrative headquarters must be located in a designated rural county or rural zip code of an urban county. For further information on eligibility, see Geographic Eligibility for Rural Health Grant Programs. Rural located but urban-owned organizations may apply for a network development grant if their parent organization submits a letter assuring the applicant's autonomy in receiving and administering the grant funds.