Maine Rural Health Transformation Program Announces $12M Partnership with University of New England to Expand Rural Health Initiatives

Maine - The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is investing $190 million in the first year of Maine’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The five-year federal grant program is designed to improve health outcomes, expand access to care, strengthen health care workforce, advance innovation, and support sustainable rural health

systems. As part of Initiative One: Population Health, Maine has allocated $12 million for a comprehensive partnership with the University of New England’s (UNE) Shaw Institute for Public and Planetary Health.

Through this partnership, UNE will support two primary population health activities:

• The expansion of trained community health workers (CHWs) across the state
• The integration of evidence-based practices into critical programs supporting rural health

Expanding Community Health Workers Across Maine

UNE will support the sustainable expansion of CHWs across Maine’s nine Public Health Districts, which includes the five Tribal Health Centers, to ensure that CHWs are best able to serve rural patient populations.

UNE’s work will complement a partnership between Medical Care Development Global Health (MCD) and the Maine Community Health Worker Initiative that is advancing CHW training and certification efforts for the State.

UNE will provide this support by establishing subrecipient agreements with organizations in Maine’s Public Health Districts and with each Tribal Health Center. The agreements will include four key components:

• Integration: CHWs will be integrated into collaborative teams with other providers within clinics, schools, social service agencies, and other settings.
• Training: CHWs will receive ongoing, comprehensive training to reinforce the knowledge and skills relevant to their work.
• Deployment: CHWs will be deployed within their assigned public health district or Tribal health center service area to assist with the delivery of a wide range of public health services in coordination with the Maine CDC programs.
• Sustainment: UNE will support the establishment of policies and system changes that promote continued CHW employment after the contract term.

Advancing Evidence-Based Practices

UNE will support the State in implementing evidence-based practices during Year 1 and developing a sustainable work plan for Year 2 and beyond. UNE will solicit proposals and feedback from partners and other interested parties as it works collaboratively with the State to design an innovative set of activities designed to have a lasting impact beyond RHTP’s five-year funding period.

An online solicitation for evidence-based activity proposals will be published by UNE, and the timeline will be shared once finalized.

UNE will also manage previously identified projects, including subcontracts with Maine’s Prevention Network to provide rural services; implementation of the Hospital to Home – Social Needs Screening and Support program; and a pilot project to monitor indoor air quality and help identify triggers for individuals with uncontrolled asthma.

Supporting Population Health Across Rural Maine

In addition to the work facilitated by UNE, Maine’s population health activities will increase and expand several community-based health services across rural Maine.

State offices and partners are already working to increase the number and scope of school-based health centers and integrate primary care services into Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs). Maine’s RHTP is also supporting the placement of recovery coaches and peer support services in emergency departments and the development of Nourish ME, a nutrition education program.

Additional funding opportunities and program activities aligned with Maine’s approved Rural Health Transformation Program application will be announced in the coming weeks and months. Providers, partners, and community members are encouraged to visit Maine’s RHTP website for updates.

 

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This program 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 $190,008,051.09 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS, pending approval of revised budget. 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.