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Networking for Rural Health
by Katherine Browne
Associate, Alpha Center
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Kamlesh Desai, M.D. of Santa Barbara County Health Services and Tara Brown, Assistant Director of Santa Barbara County Health Cares Services, both of Lompoc Valley, listen to Mike Fadden, DRIS Feasibility Consultant. |
Networking for Rural Health is a three-year, $3 million initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the Alpha Center, an independent nonprofit health care policy and technical assistance center located in Washington, D.C. The project is intended to strengthen the rural health care infrastructure by fostering the development of rural health networks that seek to improve access to and the quality of health care services in rural communities.
Network development has captured the attention of providers and health care policy makers as an important strategy for improving access to health care services for rural populations, increasing the effectiveness of network members, and aiding the diffusion of managed care in rural areas. For the purposes of this project, a rural health network is defined as "a formal organizational arrangement among rural providers (and possibly insurers, social service agencies, public health departments, or schools) that uses the resources of more than one existing organization and specifies the objectives and methods by which various collaborative functions will be achieved."
The Networking for Rural Health project will provide a variety of technical assistance tools and services to support network leaders. Broad-based technical assistance resources, to assist network leaders in addressing cross-cutting issues faced by most networks, will be made available to all networks nationally. Network-specific resources (including Site Visits and Targeted Consultations) will be awarded on a competitive basis.
Examples of the "broad-based" technical assistance resources that Networking for Rural Health will offer include the following:
A primer on the legal aspects of network formation that addresses such topics as governance structures, contracting issues, antitrust and tax status issues. Prepared by Jim Teevans, J.D., Rosenberg and Associates, Oakland, California (Available in Summer 1999).
A guidebook on network development and the role of collaboration that outlines the process of network formation and suggests ways to overcome some initial organizational hurdles. Prepared by H.M.S. Associates, Gettzville, New York (Available in Summer 1999).
Workshops for network representatives that focus on a variety of network issues. Workshop participants will include rural network leaders as well as top consultants, researchers and practitioners in a given area. A limited number of travel scholarships will be available upon request.
In May 1999, the Alpha Center will release a Request for Applications for Site Visits and Targeted Consultations. The Networking for Rural Health project is pleased to offer the following network-specific technical assistance services to a limited number of network organizations.
Site Visits
Before a rural health network can engage in productive work, it must have in place an organizational structure and basic management systems. Over three years, the project will provide site visits to up to 20 emerging networks to assist them in assessing their organizational capacity and readiness to engage in substantive activities. Following the visit, the Alpha Center will submit a written report to the network contact person summarizing the team’s findings and making suggestions for future action. This service is intended primarily for newer, or "emerging," rural health networks that are still developing their organizational structures, however, the project would also consider a limited number of applications from more established rural health networks that need help in assessing potential changes to their organizational structure.
Targeted Consultations
Networks often find it useful, if not essential, to engage outside consultants as they plan and implement various substantive activities. It is anticipated that networks will need assistance in obtaining the following kinds of consulting assistance: legal, actuarial, managed care contracting, process/decision making, communications and information systems. The project intends to fund a maximum of 30 networks with grants of up to $40,000 per network. A dollar-for-dollar match by the network for funds contributed by Networking for Rural Health will be required.