[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2396-2397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-404]



-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration


Program Announcement and Proposed Review Criteria for Grants for 
Geriatric Education Centers for Fiscal Year 1995

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces 
the acceptance of applications for fiscal year (FY) 1995, Grants for 
Geriatric Education Centers under the authority of section 777(a) of 
the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Health Professions 
Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-408, dated October 
13, 1992. Comments are invited on the proposed review criteria.
    Approximately $6,000,000 will be available in FY 1995 for this 
program. Total continuation support recommended is $4,100,000. It is 
anticipated that $1,900,000 will be available to support 13 competing 
awards averaging $145,000.
    Applicants should apply for direct costs of no more than $100,000 
(for single institutions) and no more than $150,000 (for consortia of 
three of more institutions) for the first year of funding.

Eligibility

    Section 777(a) of the PHS Act authorizes the award of grants to 
accredited health professions schools as defined by section 799(1), or 
programs for the training of physician assistants as defined by section 
799(3), or schools of allied health as defined in section 799(4), or 
schools of nursing as defined by section 853(2).
    Applicants must be located in the United States, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau, the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of 
Micronesia.
    To receive support, applicants must meet the requirements of 
regulations as set forth in 42 CFR part 57, subpart 00. The initial 
period of Federal support should not exceed 3 years. Projects may 
recompete for an additional 3 years.

Purpose

    Grants may be awarded to support the development of collaborative 
arrangements involving several health professions schools and health 
care facilities. These arrangements, called Geriatric Education Centers 
(GECs), are established to facilitate training of health professional 
faculty, students, and practitioners in the diagnosis, treatment, and 
prevention of disease, disability, and other health problems of the 
aged. Health professionals include allopathic physicians, osteopathic 
physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, pharmacists, nurses, 
nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, clinical 
psychologists, health administrators, and allied health professionals.
    Projects supported under these grants must offer training involving 
four or more health professions, one of which must be allopathic or 
osteopathic medicine. Projects must address one or more of the 
statutory purposes listed below:
    (a) Improve the training of health professionals in geriatrics;
    (b) Develop and disseminate curricula relating to the treatment of 
the health problems of elderly individuals;
    (c) Expand and strengthen instruction in methods of such treatment;
    (d) Support the training and retraining of faculty to provide such 
instruction;
    (e) Support continuing education of health professionals and allied 
health professionals who provide such treatment; and
    (f) Establish new affiliations with nursing homes, chronic and 
acute disease hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and senior centers in 
order to provide students with clinical training in geriatric medicine.
    Grant supported projects may be designed to accomplish the 
statutory purposes in a variety of ways, emphasizing interdisciplinary/
multidisciplinary, and discipline-specific approaches to the 
development of geriatric education resources. For example:
     Health professions schools within a single academic health 
center, or a consortium of several educational institutions, may share 
their educational resources and expertise through a Geriatric Education 
Center to extend a broad range of multidisciplinary educational 
services outward to other institutions, faculty, facilities and 
practitioners within a geographic area defined by the applicant.
     Educational institutions that have limited geriatric 
education resources and which traditionally have had linkages to a 
geographic area where substantial geriatric education needs exist, may 
seek to establish a Geriatric Education Center. Such a center could be 
designed to enhance and expand the capability of collaborating 
professional schools to provide geriatric education resources in the 
geographic area in need.
     Projects may support the development of Geriatric 
Education Centers designed to focus on multidisciplinary geriatric 
education emphasizing high priority services and high risk groups among 
the elderly, minority aging, or other special concerns.

National Health Objectives for the Year 2000

    The Public Health Service (PHS) urges applicants to submit work 
plans that address specific objectives of Healthy People 2000. 
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) through the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402-9325 
(Telephone 202-783-3238).

Education and Service Linkage

    As part of its long-range planning, HRSA will be targeting its 
efforts to strengthening linkages between U.S. Public Health Service 
supported education programs and programs which provide comprehensive 
primary care services to the underserved.

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.

Established and Proposed Review Criteria

    The following review criteria have been established in 42 CFR part 
57, subpart OO and will be considered in the review of applications:
    (1) The degree to which the proposed project adequately provides 
for the project requirements;
    (2) The extent to which the rationale and specific objectives of 
the project are based upon a needs assessment of the status of 
geriatrics training in the institutions to be assisted and/or the 
geographic area to be served;
    (3) The ability of the project to achieve the project objectives 
within the proposed geographic area;
    (4) The adequacy of educational facilities and clinical training 
settings to accomplish objectives; [[Page 2397]] 
    (5) The adequacy of organizational arrangements involving 
professional schools and other organizations necessary to carry out the 
project;
    (6) The adequacy of the qualifications and experience in geriatrics 
of the project director, staff and faculty;
    (7) The administrative and managerial ability of the applicant to 
carry out the proposed project in a cost-effective manner, and;
    (8) The potential of the project to continue on a self-sustaining 
basis.
    In addition, the following review criteria are proposed:
    (9) If applicable, the extent to which there is evidence that the 
institutions jointly have planned and jointly will conduct the proposed 
consortial activities.
    (10) The potential of the project to recruit and/or retain minority 
faculty members and trainees for participation in long term and/or 
short term training experiences.

Application Requests

    Application materials will be sent only to FY 1994 applicants and 
to those entities making a request. Requests for grant application 
materials and questions regarding grants policy and business management 
issues should be directed to:

Ms. Jacquelyn Whitaker (D-31), Grants Management Specialist, Bureau of 
Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, 
Parklawn Building, Room 8C-26, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 
20857, telephone: (301) 443-6857.

    Completed applications should be returned to the Grants Management 
Branch at the above address.
    If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact:
Ms. Pat Dols, Geriatric Initiatives Branch, Division of Associated, 
Dental, and Public Health Professions, Bureau of Health Professions, 
Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 
8-103, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, telephone: (301) 
443-6887.

    The standard application form PHS 6025-1, HRSA Competing Training 
Grant Application, General Instructions and supplement for this program 
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB clearance number is 0915-0060.
    The deadline date for receipt of applications is March 3, 1995. 
Applications will be considered to be ``on time'' if they are either:
    (1) Received on or before the established deadline date, or
    (2) Sent on or before the established deadline date and received in 
time for orderly processing. (Applicants should request a legibly dated 
U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a 
commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks 
shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)
    Late applications not accepted for processing will be returned to 
the applicant.
    This program, Grants for Geriatric Education Centers, is listed at 
93.969 in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. It is not subject 
to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of 
Federal Programs (as implemented through 45 CFR part 100). This program 
is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.

    Dated: December 30, 1994.
James A. Walsh,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-404 Filed 1-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P