Kentucky Healthy Rural Communities Grants Program

Transcription

1 Kentucky Healthy Rural Communities Grants Program The Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) through the University of Kentucky s College of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, along with Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) and the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA), is interested in funding efforts to support Healthy Rural Communities. This program provides funds to rural hospitals and healthcare coalitions to assist them in addressing health issues in their communities. Specifically, the funds should be used to address improving a population health need or needs and/or improve quality of care (showing improvement in either MBQIP/QI scores or improved financials) by the end of the project period (days cash on hand, operating margin, etc.) This program was created to support hospitals and their communities as they implement interventions that were identified in the Affordable Care Act mandated Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). We anticipate funding four to five planning or seed grants in Kentucky. This year maximum planning grants will be $7,500. The proposal deadline is Monday May 9, Hard copies and/or electronic copies must be in receipt by 4pm on May 9th. There are no exceptions. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS We will accept proposals from rural health coalitions that include a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) with a maximum of 25 staffed beds; the CAH must be an active member of the coalition, with a well-defined role in the project. In addition to the hospital, coalitions must include at least two additional partners with well-defined roles, such as the public health department, medical or dental care providers, the school system, public-safety agencies (EMS, fire or police), local government, non- profit organizations or the business sector. Preference will be given to health coalitions that participated in the critical access hospital s CHNA. PROPOSAL COMPENENTS The proposal must contain the following sections. Please submit your final proposal as a PDF. Cover Sheet: Use Attachment A to provide general information on your coalition and proposal. Executive Summary: This should be a concise description of the need you have identified in your community, who are the partners, how you will address it and what will be the outcome. A reviewer should have a clear idea of your project from this summary. (5 points) Problem or Need Being Addressed: This represents your needs assessment. Here you will describe why your coalition has chosen this particular problem to address and how you identified it as a problem in your community. A good needs assessment will rely on some quantitative evidence to illustrate the significance of the problem. An effective way to do this is through a comparison, such as a change over time within your community or a comparison of 1

2 your community to other communities, the state or the nation. Explain the process your partners went through to identify the problem. This is the opportunity to illustrate the severity or urgency of the problem to a reviewer. (15 points) Coalition Information: Describe the coalition and explain each partner s planned role in the project. Provide a brief explanation of how your coalition was formed and its history to date on this project. Use this section to convince a reviewer that you and your partners are capable of successfully completing the project. (10 points) Work Plan & Narrative: In the table in Attachment B, briefly describe your project activities. For each activity you must identify when it will be completed, who is responsible for completing it, measures you will use to track your performance and anticipated outcomes. Measures could be the number of nutrition education classes you will hold and the outcome could be that participants will lose weight. Think of measures as a method of counting your activities and outcomes as the response to the So What? question; You held monthly nutrition classes-so what? Participants lost weight. You convened five planning meetings-so what? You now have a completed implementation work plan. The outcome is what you expect to accomplish with each activity, the measures are the means to that end. Expand on this table with a narrative explaining how each activity contributes to achieving your overall project goal. A reviewer should easily understand your project goal and how each of your activities moves your coalition closer to achieving it. (30 points) Evaluation Plan: An evaluation plan will enable your coalition to determine if you are achieving your stated project goals and, when completed at the end of the project, illustrate to CEDIK, KORH and KHA your progress. Use this section to explain how and why you chose the outcome measures you described in the work plan and how you will measure these outcomes. Also describe, in general terms, your anticipated outcomes. The reviewers should understand the impact your project will have in quantifiable terms. A logic model will help your coalition to develop an evaluation plan and identify outcomes. This is a requirement for planning proposals. If you are unfamiliar with logic models you should visit the University of Wisconsin website for several excellent templates and examples on their website: Your logic model does not have to be elaborate, but should identify project inputs (funding, supplies, etc.), outputs (activities) and expected short, medium and long term outcomes or impact. (20 points) Budget & Narrative: Use the table in Attachment C for your budget. Your narrative should expand on your budget by explaining how grant funds will help you in achieving your project goal. The narrative should include your sustainability plans, i.e., how you plan to continue your project after the end of the grant period. Your budget must include a minimum 25% match of cash or in-kind contributions. Grant funds cannot be used for equipment or for the provision of health care services. Reviewers will look for reasonable expenditures that relate to your goals. (15 points) Appendix: Include a minimum of two letters of support from outside your coalition. You can include letters from coalition member, but there should be at least three from non-members. Attach a Memorandum of Understanding between coalition members who will be working on the project describing their responsibilities. 2

3 An example is available here: u.pdf. Include brief, one paragraph biographies of individuals who will work on the project. (5 points) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES Activities in both types of proposals should enable your coalition to achieve its stated project outcome, with clear responsibilities for all partners in the coalition. Projects that consist entirely of internal improvements for one partner are not eligible. Eligible planning activities include identifying additional coalition members and defining their roles, compiling data for and creating a needs assessment for a specific health care issue, and creating a strategic plan that includes project design and evaluation models for the implementation phase. A pilot project is not required but is recommended. Eligible seed funding activities will improve access to quality health care services, address the health and wellness needs of community members, and/or improve health- care provision in rural communities. GRANT REQUIREMENTS If your proposal is selected for a grant, you will be expected to: Submit a Progress Report summarizing activities and expenditures to date and include initial results or measurements. This will be due approximately December 15, Submit a Final report based on your evaluation plan, summarizing activities and outcomes and including final expenditures, which will be due June 30, Host a site visit from CEDIK or KORH at the beginning of the grant period. Participate in three conference calls throughout the grant year. At least one member of the coalition must participate and report on your progress. If your proposal is selected for funding, your proposal and all reports will be posted on the CEDIK and KORH website. ESTIMATED AWARD AMOUNT AND DURATION OF FUNDING The maximum grant amounts are $7,500. It is expected that 3 to 4 projects will be awarded funding. You should not begin project activities until after you ve received notice from CEDIK. You must spend all funds by June 30, You will not be reimbursed for project activities completed after this date and we cannot approve carry- over requests for unspent funds. 3

4 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CEDIK or KORH will provide general technical assistance with proposal preparation. Contact Melody Nall (CEDIK) at or Ernie Scott (KORH) for assistance GRANT AWARD PROCESS Proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprised of personnel from CEDIK, KORH, KHA and an external review committee. The committee will make recommendations for funding and we will notify all project contact persons of the final determination. If selected for a grant, CEDIK will send a contract for review and signature. When the agreement is fully executed through the University, invoicing instructions will be sent to the contact person. You should not begin projects until notified in writing/ that you have been awarded a grant. SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL Send three (3) complete paper copies and one electronic copy to Melody Nall at the mailing and addresses below. These must be received by CEDIK by 4:00 p.m. on Monday May 9 th, 2016; we will not accept late proposals. CONTACT INFORMATION Direct any questions regarding the Rural Community Grant Program to: Melody Nall Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky 404 CE Barnhart Building Lexington, KY Phone: E- mail: melody.nall@uky.edu Guidelines are also available on the CEDIK website, Additional guidelines for preparing a good proposal: We define a coalition as an association of at least three organizations working toward a common goal. It can be a temporary, project- specific coalition. Each coalition member should have an active, well defined role. Describe each member s role in the narrative and indicate their responsibilities in the work plan and MOU. This includes the hospital they must be an active coalition member. We don t expect each member to have equal responsibilities but all members must have a role in the project. At least three of the support letters should not be from other coalition members. They should be from other organizations in the community or people who will benefit from 4

5 and/or support your project. They should provide evidence of broad community support. This is an opportunity to show reviewers that the community welcomes this project. The Work Plan (Attachment B) and Budget Template (Attachment c) are the required formats. If applicable, please include 1 copy of the hospital s Community Health Needs Assessment finalized report or a draft of the CHNA that has not yet been approved by the hospital board. The short biographies need only include enough information on key personnel that confirms that they re capable of carrying out their responsibilities. Address sustainability in the budget narrative. How will you continue this project after June 2017? What resources will you pursue? Spell out acronyms, at least the first time you use them. Formatting: follow standard font (10-12 size) and margin styles (1 ). Proposals should be single spaced. Follow instructions, e.g., page length, number of copies, deadline, etc. Due to the competitive nature of the Kentucky Rural Health Community Grants program, we re unable to accommodate late submissions and proposals that don t follow guidelines will be scored appropriately. 5

6 Use the following outline to prepare a planning grant application. Applicants should include each point below. You may submit additional documentation, but such material should be limited to information that is relevant to the scope and purpose of your proposed project. Applications should not exceed 7 pages, excluding Cover Sheet and Appendices. Section page lengths are recommendations only. Organize your grant application in the following order: A. Application Cover Sheet (Attachment A) B. Executive Summary 400 words or less... 5 Points 1. Title and Description of Project C. Problem/Need Being Addressed 1-2 pages Points 1. Description of the problem or need 2. Describe how you identified this need D. Coalition Information 1 page Points 1. Description of the coalition, its partners and their roles in the project 2. History of the planning process to date E. Work Plan & Narrative 2 pages Points 1. (Attachment B is the REQUIRED format) 2. Project goal 3. Objectives categories of activities that will move you toward that goal 4. Activities within each category, with measures and outcomes F. Evaluation Plan 1-2 pages Points 1. Expected outcomes and how they will be measured G. Budget & Narrative 1-2 pages Points 1. Categories: (Attachment C is the REQUIRED format) a. Salary, Fringe, Travel, Supplies, Contracts/Consultants and Misc. Costs 2. In- Kind/Matching versions of the above categories 3. Brief Narrative to explain above and describe plans for sustainability H. Appendix 1. Letters of Support: minimum 3 distinct... 5 Points 2. Short bios of key project staff PLANNING GRANT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: 3. Copy of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by coalition partners 4. Most recent Community Health Needs Assessment for participating hospital 6

7 CEDIK, KORH, and KHA Kentucky Healthy Rural Communities Grant Program 2016 GRANT APPLICATION COVER SHEET - - Attachment A Project Coalition Name: Title: Grant Amount Requested: 1. Applicant Organization (who will contract with CEDIK) Legal Name Address Phone FAX 2. Administrator, Executive Director, or CEO 3. Person authorized to sign the grant Name contract Name Title Title Phone 4. Contact Person for Application Name Title Address Phone 7

8 5. List all active partners (those responsible for activities and/or contributing matching/in- kind contributions). Use an additional page if necessary this will not count against your page total: I certify that the information contained within this application is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I submit this application on behalf of the applicant organization. Date 8

9 ATTACHMENT B Work-plan Project Goal Outcome Objective # 1: Activities Completio n Date Responsible Organization Measures Outcomes Objective # 2: Activities Completion Date Responsible Organization Measures Outcomes Objective # 3: Activities Completion Date Responsible Organization Measures Outcomes 9

10 Attachment C Budget Template Project Name: BUDGET CATEGORY DESCRIPTION GRANT REQUEST MATCHING/IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS TOTAL PROJECT EXPENSE TOTAL 1 0