[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 180 (Monday, September 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48790-48791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23252]
[[Page 48789]]
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Part III
Department of Health and Human Services
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Public Health and Science
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Funding Availability: National Center for Primary Care; Notice
Federal Register / Vol.61, No. 180 / Monday, September 16, 1996 /
Notices
[[Page 48790]]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of Public Health and Science
Office of Minority Health; Notice of Availability of Funds--
Construction Grant for a National Center for Primary Care
SUMMARY: The Office of Minority Health (OMH), Office of Public Health
and Science announces that Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 funds are available
for the construction of a National Center for Primary Care. Funds were
appropriated for this purpose by the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act
II, Pub. L. 104-134 for FY 1996.
Authority: This program will be conducted under the authority of
section 1701 of the Public Health Service Act and Pub. L. 104-134.
DATES: To receive consideration, applications must be received by
(enter 45 days from date of publication) by the Grants Management
Officer, Mrs. Carolyn Williams, at the address below. Applications will
meet the deadline if they are either: (1) Received on or before the
deadline date; or (2) postmarked on or before the deadline date. A
legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. Postal
Service will be accepted instead of a postmark. Private metered
postmarks will not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing. Grant
applications that are received after the deadline date will be returned
to the applicant.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information related to
technical and program issues may be obtained from Ms. Tuei Doong,
Deputy Director, Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II Building, Suite
1000, 5515 Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, telephone number (301)
443-5084. Grant application kits and information regarding business,
administrative or fiscal issues related to the awarding of the grant
under this Notice may be requested from Ms. Carolyn Williams, Grants
Management Officer, Office of Minority Health, Rockwall II Building,
Suite 1000, 5515 Security Lane, Rockville, MD 20852, telephone number
(301) 594-0758. Applicants for grants will use Form PHS 5161.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Program and Background Information
Minority individuals and communities suffer disproportionately from
excess morbidity and mortality from causes that are known to be
preventable by community-oriented prevention and primary care. For
example, minority individuals have nearly twice the prevalence of
diabetes as the general population, and minority diabetics suffer
complications at twice the rate of nonminority diabetics.
Minority communities' lack of access to health care is a causative
factor for this disparity in health outcomes. Despite a similar
prevalence of cardiovascular disease, African-Americans with heart
disease have mortality rates twice that of their white counterparts.
Minority Women are only half as likely to have had a Pap smear or other
preventive health care in the past year as are their majority
counterparts, despite a significantly higher risk of cervical
neoplasia.
Minority individuals are also significantly under represented among
health professionals and faculty and leadership of health professional
schools. The availability of minority health professionals is critical
to the improvement of health outcomes for minority populations.
Minority physicians are significantly more likely to enter generalist
careers and to serve in underserved areas. A study of physician
practice locations and the racial and ethnic makeup and socioeconomic
status of communities was recently published in the New England Journal
of Medicine. This study concluded that black physicians cared for
significantly more black patients and Hispanic physicians for
significantly more Hispanic patients. Black physicians cared for more
patients covered by Medicaid and Hispanic physicians for more uninsured
patients. Achieving the goals of Health People 2000 for the entire
nation will require additional well-trained health professionals and
researchers who are experts in the unique problems and strengths of
low-income minority communities. To reach these objectives there must
be more minority faculty and leadership in academic institutions.
The National Center for Primary Care will provide an academic
infrastructure for research, training, communications, and
demonstration projects designed to promote the improvement of the
health of underserved communities and populations at the national
level. While a variety of programs and demonstrations are being
undertaken around the country, efforts are autonomous and disconnected.
The National Center for Primary Care will serve both as a clearinghouse
for existing activities and as a catalyst for new cutting-edge efforts
to achieve equity in health status, health care delivery, and in
developing the health professional workforce for under represented
minority individuals.
Availability of Funds
A total of $7.5 million is available in FY 1996 for one award to a
school of medicine for the construction of a National Center for
Primary Care.
Project Requirements
Proposals will be accepted for the construction of a facility with
the dedicated purpose of housing programs designed to promote, at the
national level, the improvement of health in underserved minority
communities and populations. At a minimum, the Center should include
office space, conference rooms, classroom space, auditorium/lecture
halls, library or reading room, and computer facility to house most or
all of the following program elements:
(1) Medical education program enhancements to expand the number of
physicians and other health professionals trained to serve poor and
minority populations
(2) Research an demonstration projects designed to assess the
impact of various health care delivery models and treatments on health
outcomes specifically in minority populations
(3) Community-based intervention demonstration projects designed as
reproducible models for improving the health of minorities and other
underserved populations
(4) Practical research from primary and secondary data sources on
the causes and risk factors related to excess mortality and morbidity
in minority communities and populations
(5) Practical research from primary and secondary data sources on
issues related to minorities in the health professional workforce, and
design interventions to increase minority representation in all
segments of the health professions
(6) Provision of conference, publications, and electronic
mechanisms (e.g., access to Internet, bulletin boards, etc.) to
coordinate communication with other programs and institutions with the
same minority health emphasis, focused on the health of minority
communities and populations
Title 45 CFR 74.32(2) requires that this facility be used for the
purpose for which it was constructed for its entire useful life.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicatons will be accepted only from medical schools or academic
consortia that have a demonstrated track record of commitment to
improvement of health in underserved minority communities and
populations. Applicant schools must submit
[[Page 48791]]
documentation demonstrating that they meet all of the following
criteria as evidence of this commitment. Applicants who do not provide
such documentation will be determined ineligible and their applications
will be returned without further review.
(1) Mission statement emphasizes commitment to health of minorities
and other underserved populations as a central theme
(2) The curricula in the departments and graduate training programs
in the areas of Preventive Medicine, Public Health, and primary care
(particularly Family Medicine) contain elements specifically focused on
minority health
(3) More than 50% of students and trainees at the institutions are
from minority groups that are under-represented in the medical
professions
(4) More than 40% of the institution's full and part-time faculty
and senior leadership are from under-represented minority groups
(5) A strong track record of partnership with community-based
organizations to improve health in the minority community
(6) Capability to undertake program leadership at a national scale
for all project requirements described in this notice
(7) A strong track record of having 50% or more of its physician
graduates over the last five years who have chosen to enter primary
care specialities
(8) A strong track record of having at least 30% of its physician
graduates over the last five years serving in undeserved communities
Evaluation Criteria
Applications must meet the following criteria. Projects will be
reviewed on a competitive basis by an objective review committee based
on an assessment of how well applications meet the following evaluation
criteria:
(1) Clarity and strength of justification of the need for the
proposed facility
(2) Clarity of defined program goals and objectives; degree to
which the specific activities required to accomplish the goals of the
proposed Center are defined
(3) Strength and documentation that the institution is capable of
carrying out project requirements described above, strength of the
qualifications of staff to ensure that program elements are undertaken
(4) Documentation of affiliations with other health professions
training institutions and health care facilities that serve
predominately minority populations
(5) Documentation that a large proportion of clinical activities
are devoted to serving the health care needs of rural or inner-city,
low-income, minority populations
(6) Documentation that a large proportion of its clinical
activities are devoted to research or demonstration projects directly
aimed at improving the health of minorities and other undeserved
populations
(7) Strength and clarity of justification for the amount and type
of space requested to support program requirements
(8) The appropriateness of the project design, facility
construction plans and schematic drawings, and time frames for
initiation through completion of the project
(9) The reasonableness and justification for the itemized costs in
the construction budget
(10) The ability of the applicant to contribute funds for the
construction project. It is expected that the recipient will contribute
at least 25% of the total project cost.
Other Award Information
The application is subject to the provisions of Executive Order
12372, as implemented under 45 CFR Part 100, which allows State the
option of setting up a system for reviewing applications within their
States for assistance under certain Federal programs. Applicants (other
than federally recognized Indian tribal governments) should contact
their State Single Point of Contact (SPOCs) as early as possible to
alert them to the prospective applications and receive any necessary
instructions on the state process. For proposed projects serving more
than one state, the applicant is advised to contact the SPOC for each
affected State. All comments from a state office must be received
within 60 days after the application deadline by the Office of Minority
Health's Grants Management Officer. A list of addresses of the SPOCs is
enclosed with the application kit material.
Provision of Smoke-Free Workplace and Non-Use of Tobacco Products
by Recipients of PHS Grants: The Public Health Service strongly
encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and
to promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law
103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain
facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early
childhood development services are provided to children.
The PHS is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease
prevention objectives of Healthy People 2000, a PHS-led national
activity for setting priority areas. This announcement is related to
all of the priority areas 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 Summary Report (Stock No. 017-001-00473-
1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone: 202/783-3238).
Use of Metric Units in Application Plans, Design, and Project
Construction
Per Executive Order 12770, July 1991, all construction projects
funded in whole or in part with Federal funds must use System
International (SI) Metric Units. Usage shall conform to Federal
Standard 376B, Preferred Metric Units for General Use by the Federal
Government. Applicants must use this system (SI) for planning,
estimating, design and construction phases of Federally supported
projects.
This program is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting
Requirements.
There is no CFDA number for this program since it is viewed as a
one-time project.
Dated: August 29, 1996.
Clay E. Simpson, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.
[FR Doc. 96-23252 Filed 9-13-96; 8:45 am]
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