[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16282]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 6, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
[Announcement No. 473]

 

Cooperative Agreement for Laboratory Medicine Sentinel Monitoring 
Network

Introduction

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 1994 funds for up to three cooperative 
agreements to become part of the Laboratory Medicine Sentinel 
Monitoring Network. The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to 
achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of 
``Healthy People 2000,'' a PHS-led national activity to reduce 
morbidity and mortality and improve the quality of life. This 
announcement is related to the priority area of Surveillance and Data 
Systems. (For ordering a copy of ``Healthy People 2000,'' see the 
section ``WHERE TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.'')

Authority

    This program is authorized under section 317 (k)(3) [42 U.S.C. 
247b(k)(3)] of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.

Smoke-Free Workplace

    The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients 
to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all 
tobacco products. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect 
and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

Eligible Applicants

    Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations. Thus, 
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, other public 
and private organizations, and State and local health departments or 
their bona fide agents, are eligible for these cooperative agreements.
    We are limiting eligibility to non-profit organizations to provide 
assistance to those organizations and to implement long term laboratory 
medicine monitoring programs.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $250,000 will be available in FY 1994 to fund three 
cooperative agreements. It is expected that the awards will begin on or 
about September 30, 1994, and will be made for a 12-month budget period 
within a project period of up to five years. Funding estimates may vary 
and are subject to change.
    Continuation awards within the project period will be made on the 
basis of satisfactory progress and the availability of funds.

Purpose

    The purpose of these cooperative agreements is to develop data 
collection networks and to provide information about the practice of 
laboratory medicine in hospital, physician office and independent 
laboratories. This cooperative agreement will ultimately improve 
patient care by improving the quality of clinical laboratory medicine 
and increase the availability of laboratory monitoring networks.

Program Requirements

    In conducting the activities to achieve the purpose of the program, 
the recipients will be responsible for the activities under A. 
(Recipient Activities), and CDC will be responsible for those 
activities under B. (CDC Activities).

A. Recipient Activities

    1. Solicit laboratories to voluntarily participate in the 
Monitoring Networks so that sufficient representatives of each 
laboratory type (hospital, physician office, and independent) 
participate in the total network by the end of the first year of 
operation.
    2. Provide leadership in the design and evaluation of 
questionnaires for periodic reporting of laboratory operational 
characteristics and problems, especially those that impact patient care 
and on methods that are used by the network participants during the 
period of the study. Topics investigated by the questionnaires and the 
time period of monitoring may change during the cooperative agreement 
by mutual consent of both network participants and CDC. The actual 
monitoring areas will be decided after the award of the cooperative 
agreement(s) and may differ for each of the laboratory groups.
    The questionnaires should also capture information that determines 
the effectiveness of actions being taken by participants to improve the 
practice of laboratory medicine.
    3. Provide leadership in collecting and sharing raw data both 
within the network and with CDC. Participant identification information 
may be omitted from these data sets if the network manager(s) is able 
to respond to questions concerning the validity of entered data without 
providing participant identification information.
    4. Periodically send the developed questionnaires to network 
participants for them to gather and submit the response data back. The 
network manager will then enter, analyze, and summarize the data for 
the participants in a statistically valid manner.
    5. Prepare manuscripts for peer-review publications, as 
appropriate, that describe the results of one or more of the activities 
listed above. Manuscripts should benefit the public good. All 
manuscripts would note the nature of the funding for the project.

B. CDC Activities

    1. Collaborate with the network in identifying those areas of 
Laboratory Medicine that have Public Health concerns.
    2. Provide technical assistance with questionnaire development, 
data gathering devices, statistical analysis, and writing summaries of 
the results.
    3. Collaborate in the development of a mutually defined data set 
standard for transmission of raw data.
    4. Assist with presentations (including visuals, materials, etc.,) 
of any delivered data at professional forums. CDC staff may also assist 
in the presentation of material derived from these cooperative 
agreements.
    5. Provide technical assistance in the preparation of manuscripts 
related to the activities in this project.

Evaluation Criteria

    Applications will be reviewed and evaluated according to the 
following criteria:
    1. Responsiveness to the objectives of the cooperative agreement 
including: a) applicant's understanding of the objectives of the 
proposed cooperative agreement; and b) the relevance of the proposal to 
the stated objectives. (20 points)
    2. Ability to provide staff, knowledge, and other resources 
required to perform the applicant's responsibilities in this project. 
The qualifications and time allocations of key personnel to be assigned 
to this project and the facilities, equipment, and other resources 
available for performance of this project. (30 points)
    3. The methods to be used in carrying out the responsibilities of 
this project, including the ability to provide the representative 
participants in the laboratory group or groups they will monitor. Steps 
to be taken in the planning and implementation of this project. (30 
points)
    4. Schedule for accomplishing the activities to be carried out in 
this project and methods for evaluating the accomplishments. (20 
points)
    5. The budget will be evaluated to the extent that it is 
reasonable, clearly justified, and consistent with the intended use of 
funds. (Not Scored)

Executive Order 12372 Review

    This program is not subject to the Executive Order 12372 review.

Public Health System Reporting Requirements

    This program is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.283.

Other Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Projects that involve the collection of information from 10 or more 
individuals and funded by the Laboratory Medicine Sentinel Monitoring 
Network will be subject to review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Application Submission and Deadline

    The original and two copies of the application PHS Form 5161-1 
(revised 7/92, OMB Control Number 0937-0189) must be submitted to 
Elizabeth M. Taylor, Grants Management Officer, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 305, Mailstop E-
16, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, on or before August 26, 1994.
    1. Deadline: Applications shall be considered as meeting the 
deadline if they are either:
    (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or
    (b) Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
submission to the objective review group. (Applicants must request a 
legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private 
metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    2. Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
in 1.(a) or 1.(b) above are considered late applications. Late 
applications will not be considered in the current competition and will 
be returned to the applicant.

Where To Obtain Additional Information

    A pre-proposal conference will be held to answer any questions 
needed to clarify the activities of the Sentinel Monitoring Network and 
to disseminate background data that may offer further into the size and 
complexity of the project, as well as the risks of undertaking the 
project. That conference will be held at Division of Laboratory Systems 
Conference Room, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 
Buford Highway, NE., Building 102, Atlanta, Georgia 30341 on July 28, 
1994, from 1:00-4:00 PM.
    A complete program description and information on application 
procedures are contained in the application package. Business 
management technical assistance may be obtained from Bernice A. Moore, 
Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, Procurement and 
Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 
East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 305, Mailstop E-16, Atlanta, Georgia 
30305, telephone (404) 842-6802. Programmatic technical assistance may 
be obtained from Dr. Steven J. Steindel, Supervisory Health Scientist, 
Division of Laboratory Systems, Public Health Practice Program Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, 
NE., Mailstop G-23, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, telephone (404) 488-7680.
    Please refer to Announcement Number 473 when requesting information 
and submitting an application.
    Potential applicants may obtain a copy of ``Healthy People 2000'' 
(Full Report, Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or ``Healthy People 2000'' 
(Summary Report, Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) referenced in the 
``INTRODUCTION'' through the Superintendent of Documents, Government 
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325, telephone (202) 783-3238.

    Dated: June 29, 1994.
Arthur C. Jackson,
Associate Director for Management and Operations, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 94-16282 Filed 7-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P