Planning grant will bring healthcare and community partners together to improve access to care, support rural healthcare transformation and integration for more than 500,000 residents in the Southern Tier region
Earlier this month, Care Compass was awarded $3,350,000 through New York State’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) initiative. This award represents the single largest RCHI planning grant in New York State. Care Compass will serve as the RCHI planning lead for seven counties including: Broome, Tioga, Chemung, Cortland, Chenango, Schuyler, and Tompkins.
RCHI creates an opportunity for hospitals, primary care providers, behavioral health organizations, public health departments, and community-based organizations to collaborate and create alignment to increase access to the right care at the right time, address gaps in services, and strengthen the healthcare infrastructure rural communities rely on.
“Care Compass is excited to continue our work to improve clinical and social care outcomes for residents across the Southern Tier region and facilitate integration across the rural health and social care continuum,” shares Roseanna Gecan, Chief Strategy Officer at Care Compass. “This initiative will strengthen our partnerships across regional health systems, community organizations, and county health departments. We look forward to collectively making a positive impact for rural residents over the next five years.”
The RCHI planning grant award creates a phenomenal opportunity to lay the foundation for long-term success in the nation-wide RHTP initiative, positioning the region to secure future funding to make transformative investments in healthcare delivery infrastructure, and technology improvements, which will benefit the region for years to come. Care Compass will serve as the regional planning lead entity, providing the foundation required to implement an aligned regional strategy for rural healthcare transformation. Care Compass will organize essential providers, coordinate the planning process, support local planning efforts to identify the unique needs of each county, and align priorities across regional health systems and local providers.
Ultimately, the goal of the Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) is to effectively align, integrate and coordinate providers across the continuum of rural health and social care. These efforts will establish the framework to implement innovative and transformative projects over the five year RHTP performance period.
About the Rural Community Health Integration Initiative
Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) is one of four initiatives included in the broader New York State Rural Health Transformation Program. “This initiative will assist rural hospitals and community providers to build or grow integrated health networks to enhance health care delivery, coordination, and outcomes in rural areas while increasing financial sustainability through collaborative partnerships,” NYS DOH.
RHTP is supported through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The federal program is designed to strengthen and modernize rural healthcare, expand access to care, support the rural health workforce, and advance sustainable models of care for rural communities.
This initiative is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $212,058,207.80 in Budget Period 1, with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.