System-level Workforce Capacity Building for Integrating HIV Primary Care in Community Healthcare Settings ¿ Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center Cooperative Agreement

 

This announcement solicits applications for fiscal year (FY) 2014 to support a single organization that will serve as an Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center (ETAC) for a new Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) multi-site initiative entitled System-level Workforce Capacity Building for Integrating HIV Primary Care in Community Healthcare Settings.  Funding will be provided in the form of a cooperative agreement to support one (1) organization for up to four years to evaluate and provide technical assistance to up to 15 demonstration projects funded under a separate announcement (HRSA-14-055).  The demonstration project initiative will support organizations to promote the design, implementation, and evaluation of system-level changes in staffing structures that improve health outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum.  Demonstration project awardees will implement innovative Practice Transformative Models (PTMs) for the delivery of HIV treatment and comprehensive care services through workforce efficiencies that improve health outcomes.  Specific examples of system-level PTMs include but are not limited to task shifting or physician extension; patient navigation; restructuring staff to meet the standards of patient-centered medical homes; integration of community health workers into the medical team; and interprofessional team-based care and practice.  The initiative seeks to enhance the capacity and readiness of demonstration site awardees to adapt and re-align their workforce systems to better identify and provide quality care to persons living with HIV (PLWH) along the HIV Care Continuum.  ETAC applicants are encouraged to review the interprofessional education and workforce development programs funded by HRSA.[1]  ETAC applicants should also carefully read the requirements for the demonstration sites under Announcement Number HRSA-14-055 to better understand the expectations for the PTMs. Evaluation of these innovative PTMs will identify best practices and methods to support organizations in adapting and re-aligning their workforce in a changing healthcare landscape, as well as factors that increase the potential for successful integration of HIV care into primary care and community healthcare settings serving vulnerable populations.  Dissemination of successful PTMs and best practices will help to build capacity and readiness of the HIV primary care workforce to identify, link, and retain PLWH on a path towards achieving viral load suppression.  The Evaluation and Technical Center (ETAC) will be expected to fulfill three important functions for this SPNS initiative. The ETAC will 1) provide technical assistance to the demonstration projects over the course of the initiative; 2) conduct a rigorous multi-site evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of the PTMs; and 3) lead and coordinate the efforts for publication and dissemination of successful models, lessons learned and other findings from the initiative. The ETAC will work in close consultation with the SPNS program in all aspects of the initiative, but especially in the implementation of the multi-site evaluation. ETAC applicants should propose a theory-based multi-site evaluation design to assess the PTMs¿ effectiveness in implementing system-level change in staffing structures to increase HIV workforce capacity and improve health outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum.   The ETAC¿s proposed multi-site evaluation also must address other relevant factors that characterize the dynamic healthcare environment, and how these factors impact the successful integration and replication of these models in other primary care settings. This initiative provides an opportunity to assess the workforce capacity of demonstration project organizations providing HIV treatment and comprehensive care services to better respond to changing demands in HIV care.  By promoting the design, implementation, and evaluation of system-level changes in staffing structures that improve health outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum, access to well trained, qualified, and diverse HIV care providers and support staff can become more available, despite the projected shortage of HIV specialist physicians.  The identification of successful PTMs and best practices can help to ensure that PLWH receive optimal care across the HIV Care Continuum, with the goal of achieving increased rates of viral suppression, and the reality of an AIDS-free Generation.[2]  [1] For an example of a HRSA-funded interprofessional education and practice program, see: http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/pressreleases/120914interprofessional.html; http://nexusipe.org/about [2] See http://hab.hrsa.gov/deliverhivaidscare/aidsfreegeneration.pdf

Deleted 05/16/2014 (Archived.) HRSA-14-058 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Office: Health Resources and Services Administration Cooperative Agreement 1 https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/SFO.asp?ID=b6e67775-6ca6-4698-900f-32cfce50fbb1 Community Health Centers receiving support under Section 330 of the PHS Act; and Federally qualified health centers as described in Title XIX, Section 1905 of the Social Security Act; faith -based and community-based organizations. 03/10/2014 This program does not have cost sharing or matching requirements. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HRSA Grants Application Center, 910 Clopper Road, Suite 155 South, Gaithersburg, MD, 20878
CallCenter@HRSA.GOV
CallCenter@HRSA.GOV $550,000.00 Awards up to $550,000.00