Rural Northern Border Region Outreach Program | HRSA 24 083

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 24 083

The Rural Northern Border Region Outreach Program (RNBR-OP) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designed to strengthen and expand health care delivery in rural, underserved communities within the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) region. The program is specifically focused on eligible rural areas in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, and it supports community-driven projects that add new services or enhance existing ones in those Northern Border rural communities. A central idea behind the program is that local organizations can accomplish more when they work together, so applicants are expected to propose projects built around a strong consortium of health care and related service providers that actively participate in planning and delivering services.

The program emphasizes five main outcomes: expanding access to care through new or enhanced services in Northern Border rural communities; delivering those services through a fully engaged consortium (not a passive partnership); using meaningful community engagement along with evidence-based approaches or innovative, evidence-informed models; improving population health and demonstrating measurable health outcomes; and increasing the long-term financial sustainability of the services created or expanded with grant support. Rather than dictating a single clinical topic, HRSA gives applicants flexibility to select focus areas that match local needs and conditions, using community input, local experience, and relevant data to justify priorities.

Applications are expected to clearly define the health care focus area or areas the project will address and explain how rural residents and stakeholders helped identify those priorities. Proposals should spell out how the work will directly benefit the rural community or communities being served and should explicitly address health equity by describing how the project reduces disparities or improves access and outcomes for underserved groups. HRSA provides examples of acceptable focus areas, such as mental and behavioral health, health care workforce development (including community health workers), addressing health disparities, rural hospital financial and operational improvement (including impacts related to rural hospital closure), care coordination, patient engagement, data analytics and health information technology, and telehealth. These examples are not exhaustive, but they illustrate the types of service expansion and system improvements the program is seeking.

Eligibility is broad in organizational type but strict in geography and rural service area. Public or private entities may apply, including non-profits and for-profits, community-based organizations, tribal governments, and tribal organizations, as long as they are physically located in one of the four NBRC member states (Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont) and can demonstrate experience serving rural underserved populations in the NBRC region or show clear capacity to do so. In addition, the applicant must represent a consortium of three or more health care provider organizations (including the applicant). At least 66 percent (two-thirds) of consortium members must be located in a HRSA-designated rural area as determined by the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer. The proposed service area must also be limited to HRSA-designated rural counties or rural census tracts within the NBRC region; applications proposing to serve outside those eligible rural geographies will be considered non-responsive.

There are several clear disqualifiers highlighted in the notice. An application will not be considered if the applicant organization is located outside Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont; if the project proposes to serve populations outside HRSA-designated rural counties or rural census tracts in the NBRC region; or if the organization submits more than one application. HRSA directs applicants to confirm rural eligibility using its online tool at https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health, where eligibility can be checked by county or specific street address.

Key administrative details include the opportunity number HRSA-24-083 and CFDA number 93.912. The funding instrument is a grant, the activity category is health, and the original application closing date listed is 2024-06-25. The award ceiling is $250,000, and HRSA expects to make about 12 awards under this funding notice.

• The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Northern Border Region Outreach Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for HRSA 24 083

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