Hawkeye Reporter

On June 8 Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced up to $1.5 million in grant funding to enhance health care service delivery throughout Iowa by supporting Centers of Excellence with a focus on innovation and collaboration. The Centers of Excellence are innovative care models that specialize in specific areas of medicine, offer a variety of services and treatments, and create regional access to specialty care.

“Centers of Excellence serve as coordinated systems of care, delivering primary care locally with regional hubs that provide specialty services to surrounding counties to meet the health care needs of the community,’ said Governor Reynolds. “St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll has demonstrated that this innovative model of care is an ideal solution for sustaining high quality OB services for families in rural Iowa.”

Forty percent of Iowans reside in rural communities, and like the national trend, people living in rural Iowa also experience social, economic, and health-related disparities. Establishing access to comprehensive, quality health care services is critical to promote and maintain health, prevent and manage disease and achieve health equity for all Iowans.  

Funding for this project may be used for activities such as, but not limited to:  

• Attract specialty care providers
• Redesign or remodel physical space to accommodate services
• Invest in necessary technology.

HHS anticipates up to $1,500,000 available for two awards of $750,000 each with a three-year contract period and an allocation of $250,000 per year. More information about the RFP requirements can be found on the HHS website. Priority will be given to applications that propose to serve a large number of rural residents within their service region.

Original source can be found here.