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Home Resources Grants and Funding Information

External LinkGrant and Funding Opportunities

Agency:
 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Program:
 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program External Link

Funding:

Approximately $220 million will be available to fund up to 15 awards averaging $15 million for a project period of 3 years.

Deadline:

February 1, 2010.

A letter of intent is required and is due January 8, 2010. 

Purpose:
 To build and strengthen community health IT infrastructure and health information exchange capabilities, achieving measurable improvements in health care quality, safety and efficiency.

Summary:

Communities will receive funding and/or support from the different agencies with expertise in health IT, such as the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Indian Health Service.

Communities must already be national leaders in the advancement of health IT, workflow redesign and care coordination or quality monitoring and feedback and must have advanced rates of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and health information exchange (HIE), with the readiness to incorporate health IT to advance community-level care coordination and quality monitoring.

Applicants are to:

  • Build off of existing health IT infrastructure and exchange to demonstrate care and cost savings;
  • Have rates of EHR adoption that are significantly higher than published national estimates; and,
  • Coordinate with recently announced Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) programs for Regional Extension Centers and State Health Information Exchange to develop and disseminate best practices for adoption and meaningful use of EHRs to support national goals for widespread use of health IT.

Eligibility:

Lead applicants must be a U.S.-based nonprofit organization or a government entity falling into one of the following categories: State, local, tribal, or territorial government entity with a public health focus; Integrated delivery network or health system with broad community partnerships; independent physician association or consortium of medical groups; public/private partnership aimed at health system improvement and/or community health improvement; or ONC-funded regional extension center with the capacity to expand its services.

The Beacon Community may represent a consortium of stakeholder organizations and healthcare providers that includes, but is not limited to: primary care providers, practicing clinicians, hospitals, public and private payers, consumers, local and State public health departments, safety net providers, employers, academic institutions, charitable foundations, industry, laboratories, pharmacies, employers, quality improvement organizations, hospital associations, government entities, and medical societies.