Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program

For program and eligibility questions:
Kristin Martinsen
301.594.4438
kmartinsen@hrsa.gov

For financial and budget questions:
Eric Brown
301.945.9844
EBrown@hrsa.gov

Grants.gov contact center:
800.518.4726
support@grants.gov
Self-service knowledge base

HRSA contact center:
877.464.4772
TTY: 877.897.9910
HRSA contact page

System for award management (SAM):
866.606.8220
Federal service desk

The Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program offers grants to support the planning, development, and implementation of quality improvement activities for rural primary care providers or providers of healthcare services, such as Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, or a network of rural health providers, to increase access to high quality healthcare services and improve health.

Applicants are required to use an evidence-based model or promising practice to demonstrate impact by the end of the performance period.

Awardees must implement 3 strategies:

• Develop, enhance, and implement quality improvement strategies and train staff to create a sustained culture of quality improvement within the organization. This includes identifying the measures relevant to the clinical health service focus area identified to meaningfully assess care quality, health outcomes, access to services, and performance improvement in rural healthcare settings.
• Strengthen data collection by using electronic health records, health information technology, artificial intelligence, and/or other technology tools.
• Implement billing and coding strategies and training to drive increased revenue from the new or expanded services provided, with the goal of financial sustainability for these services.

Applicants must be a rural domestic public or nonprofit private healthcare provider or provider of healthcare services, such as a Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic; or be another rural provider or network of small rural providers identified by the Secretary as a key source of local or regional care; and not previously have received an award under this subsection for the same or similar project. The applicant organization must be located in an eligible rural area.

Types of eligible organizations:

• State, territory, county, city, township, and special district governments
• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Nonprofit organizations with and without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

Additional eligibility requirements

Award ceiling: $250,000 per year
Project period: 4 years
Estimated number of awards: 20
Estimated total program funding: $5,000,000

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

Applicants must notify the appropriate State Office of Rural Health (SORH) of an intent to apply for this program and include the SORH's response in the application materials.

If the applicant is from a U.S. territory, documentation of communication with a functional equivalent of a SORH should be provided. If the territory does not have the functional equivalent of a SORH, this requirement does not apply.

Applicant webinar recording