DHHS Division/Office issuing this notice: Office of Rural Health
Date of this notice: March 19, 2020
Working Title of the funding program: Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program Grant
Purpose- description of function of the program and reason why it was created:
The Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) is a federal grant program administered by the North Carolina Office of Rural Health (ORH) to support rural hospitals with 49 beds or fewer. Funding helps small, rural hospitals by assisting hospitals in participating in improvements in value and quality to health care such as:

•    Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Investment: Technical Assistance activities that facilitate quality reporting and improvement.
•    Accountable Care Organization (ACO) or Shared Savings Investment: Technical Assistance activities that support becoming or joining ACO, development or the basic tenets of ACOs or shared savings programs.
•    Payment Bundling (PB): Technical Assistance activities that improve hospital financial processes.

This grant will continue to assist the 32 SHIP eligible hospitals in improving both quality of care and operations by providing hospitals with focused quality and operational technical assistance. The grant funds will be awarded to an eligible organization (as defined in eligibility section) to conduct the scope of work. The grantee will utilize these SHIP funds to:

1. Ensure all SHIP hospitals implement and/or participate in approved activities.
2. Ensure SHIP hospitals report on required performance measures.
3. Ensure each SHIP hospital receives a maximum $10,465 (or $11,121 if grantee does not include indirect expenses in project budget) in technical assistance time or activities.
4. Conduct quarterly performance assessments tracking hospitals’ progress in achieving the agreed-upon deliverables.
5. Track and report each participating hospital’s status. Report successful completion of performance measures and achievements of target goals.
6. Submit Annual Report of North Carolina hospitals that meet SHIP eligibility requirements.
7. Facilitate group activities to provide technical assistance and project sharing between SHIP hospitals.
8. Convene small rural hospitals, at least once annually, to coincidence with annual Flex Critical Access Hospital Meeting.
9. Submit monthly expense reports that document technical assistance activities provided to each SHIP hospital.

The maximum total grant award cannot exceed $355,884.  All funding must be expended by May 31, 2021. 

Only one grant application per organization will be accepted for review. You must request a link to your application through the online survey tool by clicking on the following link:https://ncruralhealth.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_en5nKrYpuZ2BwNL

Questions regarding the application may be directed to Renee.Clark@dhhs.nc.gov

Funding Cycle:
It is anticipated that notification of grant awards will be made by April 29, 2020.  Funding Period is June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021. Regardless of application or approval date, grant funds must be expended by May 31, 2021.

Eligibility:
Any organization that is staffed to provide quality and operational technical assistance to small rural hospitals is eligible to apply. All eligible applicants must submit a complete grant application to be considered for funding.

How to Apply:
Grant applications must be received electronically by the Office of Rural Health by the 5:00 PM deadline on April 20, 2020.
Only electronic applications will be accepted. Access to the electronic application is a two-step process:

1 - You must submit your organization name and contact information through the following link: https://ncruralhealth.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_en5nKrYpuZ2BwNL

2 - Once you submit your contact information in the link above, you will receive an email with a personalized link specific to your organization. The link in the e-mail will give you access to the electronic application. The application closes 5:00 PM on April 20, 2020 

Deadline for Submission:
Grant applications must be submitted electronically by 5:00 pm, April 20, 2020.  Hard copies will not be accepted.  Applications must be submitted by the survey process in the 'How to Apply' section above.

How to Obtain Further Information:
Questions regarding the grant application may be directed to Renee.Clark@dhhs.nc.gov or by telephone at 919-527-6442.

Supporting grant documents below:

SHIP Instructions for 2020 RFA

SHIP RFA 2020 Application Information

SHIP RFA Budget Document