Rural Health Partnerships to Address Systemic Inequities and Reduce Tobacco (ASIRT) Use in Louisiana

Stephanie Kennedy
skennedy@lphi.org

The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) is providing a learning collaborative, technical assistance, and funding for Rural Health Centers (RHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and community-based organizations (CBOs) to address systemic inequities and reduce tobacco use in rural African American communities in Louisiana.

Selected RHCs and FQHCs will commit to a 12-month project and the following deliverables:

• Complete health center/clinic and provider assessments and help facilitate patient health assessments and tobacco cessation clinical health assessment
• Create a 3- year work plan to implement a comprehensive clinical workflow for tobacco treatment
• Participate in educational sessions and trainings via the virtual learning collaborative
• Participate in monthly technical assistance calls to implement phase 1 of the 3-year work plan
• Embed tobacco use screening and treatment and/or referral fields into existing electronic health records (EHR) systems
• Communicate and promote any tobacco cessation services offered by the health provider throughout the community
• Connect patients, other community members and leaders/key decision-makers to the project
• Develop a referral relationship between rural health centers and community-based organizations to support clients in quitting tobacco
• Collaborate on the development of a community-centered tobacco cessation program

If selected for this project CBOs will commit to a 15-month project and the following deliverables:

• Complete organizational and community capacity assessment
• Participate in educational sessions and trainings via the ASIRT learning collaborative
• Participate in monthly technical assistance calls
• Identify community priority for policy change initiative, create policy change, introduce policy change for priority consideration in coalition
• Join a local community, state, or specialized coalition to advance policy priorities
• Host community education and engagement events around the identified priority and its impact on tobacco use and community health
• Connect other community members and leaders/key decision-makers to the project
• Utilize the existing and developing media resources, including the digital media toolkit, to educate the community on tobacco use and other identified community health priorities
• Develop a referral relationship with local Rural Health Clinics or Federally Qualified Health Centers to support clients in quitting tobacco
• Develop a sustainability plan to continue to address systemic barriers and tobacco use in the community

Rural Health Centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and 501(c)(3) community-based organizations in Louisiana are eligible to apply.

ASIRT target population includes African-Americans living in low-income, rural communities in Louisiana with a high incidence of tobacco use. The 10 priority communities are Ferriday, Jonesville, Lake Providence, Tallulah, Bastrop, Delhi, Opelousas, Kentwood, St. Joseph, and Newellton.

Up to $10,000 for RHCs and FQHCs.

Up to $20,000 for CBOs.

Payments will be made in installments based on the completion of deliverables.

Select the appropriate application instructions from the program website.

• RHCs and FQHCs
• Community-based organizations

Submit applications online.

• Form for RHCs and FQHCs
• Form for community-based organizations