[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5237-5239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2682]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration


Program Announcement for Cooperative Agreements for Basic/Core 
Area Health Education Center Programs, and Model Area Health Education 
Center Programs for Fiscal Year 1997

    The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces 
that applications will be accepted for fiscal year (FY) 1997 
Cooperative Agreements for Basic/Core Area Health Education Center 
(AHEC) Programs authorized under section 746(a)(1), and Model State-
Supported Area Health Education Center Programs authorized under 
section 746(a)(3), title VII of the Public Health Service Act. To 
receive support, these programs must meet the requirements of the 
regulations as set forth in 42 CFR part 57, subpart MM, to the extent 
they are not superceded by Statutory Amendment to section 746.
    This announcement for the above stated programs is subject to 
reauthorization of the legislative authority. In fiscal year (FY) 1997 
the total amount available for the AHEC Program, including Basic/Core 
AHEC and Model State-Supported AHEC awards, is $28.495M of which 
approximately $12.0 M will be available for competing awards. It is 
estimated that awards will be made to 12-15 competing applicants 
including renewals and new starts. These include approximately 7-9 
Basic/Core AHEC Program awards and 5-6 Model AHEC Program awards.
    In FY 1996, the average award for the Basic/Core AHEC Program was 
$1,033,130; and the average award for the Model AHEC Program was 
$211,111. These awards support AHEC programs that employ a statewide or 
regional approach.

Cooperative Agreements for Basic/Core Area Health Education Center 
(AHEC) Program; Section 746(a)(1)

Purpose

    Section 746(a)(1) of the PHS Act authorizes Federal assistance to 
schools of medicine (allopathic and osteopathic) which have cooperative 
arrangements with one or more public or nonprofit private area health 
education centers for the planning, development and operation of area 
health education center programs.

Eligibility

    To be eligible to receive support for an area health education 
center cooperative agreement, the applicant must be a public or 
nonprofit private accredited school of medicine (allopathic or 
osteopathic) or consortium of such schools, or the parent institution 
on behalf of such school(s).

Period of Support

    Applicants may request up to 3 years of support with the 
expectation that AHECs planned and developed in years 1 and 2 would be 
fully operational no later than the 3rd year. The period of Federal 
support should not exceed 12 years for an area health education center 
program and 6 years for an area health education center.

General Requirements:

    To obtain funds for a basic AHEC under section 746(b), a medical 
school (allopathic or osteopathic) must:
    (a) Maintain preceptorship educational experiences for health 
science students;
    (b) Maintain community-based primary care residency programs or be 
affiliated with such programs;
    (c) Maintain continuing education programs for health professionals 
or coordinate with such programs;
    (d) Maintain learning resource and dissemination systems for 
information identification and retrieval;
    (e) Have agreements with community-based organizations for the 
delivery of education and training in the health professions;
    (f) Be involved in the training of health professionals (including 
nurses and allied health professionals), except to the extent 
inconsistent with the law of the State in which the training is 
conducted; and
    (g) Carry out recruitment programs for the health science 
professions, or programs for health-career awareness, among minority 
and other elementary or secondary students from the areas the program 
has determined to be medically underserved;

Provisions Regarding Funding

    1. Section 746(e)(1)(B) of the Act requires that not more than 75 
percent of total operating funds of a program in any year shall be 
provided by the Federal Government. However, as provided in section 
746(e)(2), for an AHEC center developed as part of an AHEC program 
first funded under the basic AHEC authority on or after October 13, 
1992, a ceiling of 55 percent of any fifth or sixth year of the 
development or operation of a center is established.
    2. The participating medical schools must provide for the active 
participation of at least two schools or programs of other health 
professions (including a school of dentistry), if there is one 
affiliated with the medical school's university, and a graduate program 
of mental health practice, if there is one affiliated with the 
university.
    3. At least 75 percent of the total funds provided to a school 
under any AHEC program authority (Basic/Core AHEC Program(s), or Model 
State-Supported AHEC Program(s)) must be expended by the AHEC program 
in AHEC centers and the school is required to enter into an agreement 
with each of such centers for purposes of specifying the allocation of 
the 75 percent of funds.

Review Criteria

    The following review criteria apply to the Basic/Core AHEC 
Programs, section 746(a)(1) and the Model AHEC Programs, section 
746(a)(3). These review criteria were established after public comment 
at 60 FR 24638, dated May 9, 1995.
    The review of applications will take into consideration the 
following criteria:
    1. The degree to which the proposed project adequately provides for 
the program requirements set forth in sections 746(a)(1) and 746(a)(3);
    2. The capability of the applicant to carry out the proposed 
project activities in a cost-efficient manner;
    3. The extent of the need which the proposed AHEC program is 
addressing in the area to be served by the area health education 
center(s);
    4. The potential of the proposed AHEC program and participating 
center(s) to continue on a self-sustaining basis; and
    5. The extent to which the proposed project adequately responds to 
AHEC Program performance measures and outcome indicators.

Substantial Programmatic Involvement

    The Bureau of Health Professions, within the Health Resources and 
Services Administration, has substantial programmatic involvement in 
the planning, development, and administration of the Basic/Core AHEC 
and Model AHEC projects by:
    1. Reviewing and approving plans upon which continuation of the 
cooperative agreement is contingent in order to permit appropriate 
direction and redirection of activities;
    2. Reviewing and approving all contracts and agreements among 
recipient medical or osteopathic schools, other health professions 
schools and the community-based AHEC centers;
    3. Participating with project staff in the development of funding 
projections;
    4. Developing, with project staff, individual project data 
collection systems and procedures; and

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    5. Participating with project staff in the design of project 
evaluation protocols and methodologies.

Model Area Health Education Center Programs Section 746(a)(3)

Purpose and Eligibility

    Section 746(a)(3) authorizes Federal assistance to any school of 
medicine (allopathic or osteopathic) that is operating an area health 
education centers program and that is not receiving financial 
assistance under section 746(a)(1). Applicants must meet the 
eligibility conditions of programs as set forth in section 746(b), and 
the AHEC centers they wish to have included must meet eligibility 
requirements in accordance with section 746(d).
    Therefore, applicants in States where more than one eligible entity 
exists are encouraged to collaborate in the submission of a single 
Model AHEC Program application, which reflects a consortium of 
Statewide programs to coordinate community-based health professions 
training activities.

Requirements for Model AHEC Programs

    a. Coordinate the activities of the program with the activities of 
any office of rural health established by the State or States in which 
the program is operating;
    b. Conduct health professions education and training activities 
consistent with national and State priorities in the area served by the 
program in coordination with the National Health Service Corps, 
entities receiving funds under section 329 (Migrant Health Centers) or 
330 (Community Health Centers) and public health departments; and
    c. Cooperate with any entities that are in operation in the area 
served by the program and that receive Federal or State funds to carry 
out activities regarding the recruitment and retention of health care 
providers.

Matching Funds Requirement

    With respect to the costs of operating the Model State-Supported 
AHEC program, the school must make available (directly or through 
donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions in 
cash toward such costs in an amount that is not less than 50 percent of 
such costs. These funds must be for the express use of the AHEC Program 
and Centers, and not funds designated for other categorical or specific 
purposes.
    Section 746(a)(3)(D) states that schools must maintain expenditures 
of non-Federal amounts at a level that is not less than the level of 
such expenditures for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year 
for which the school receives an award. The non-Federal contribution to 
the AHEC program(s) in the current year is at least equal to the amount 
to be received from the Federal program as required by section 
746(a)(3)(B).

Other Considerations

    The principal objective of this legislation is to encourage State 
coordination and support for AHEC activities. An effective approach for 
obtaining support from State legislatures is to present a unified plan 
showing how all the programs are working together to provide the needed 
services in the State. Competitive applications from one State tend to 
be divisive rather than unifying in reaching common goals.

Criteria for Allocation of Available Funds

    The following criteria for allocation of funds were established in 
the Federal Register on September 14, 1993, (at 58 FR 48068) after 
public comment and are being continued in FY 1997.
    HRSA will fund approved applications based on the following 
formula:
    1. Annually, the total amount available for funding under section 
746(a)(3) will be divided by the total number of AHEC centers in 
approved applications. This will yield the per center allocation.
    2. In accordance with the provisions of section 746(e)(l)(A), at 
least 75 percent of the awarded funds must be spent by an AHEC program 
in approved AHEC centers. The remaining 25 percent may be allocated to 
the AHEC program office and/or other participating schools.
    3. A school may expend not more than 10 percent of an award for 
demonstration project purposes as defined in section 746(a)(3)(E).

National Health Objectives for the Year 2000

    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Health People 
2000, a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. The 
Basic/Core Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program and the Model 
State-Supported AHEC Program are related to the priority area of 
Educational and Community-Based Programs. 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).

Academic and Community Partnerships

    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 and 
cooperative agreement recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and 
promote the non-use of all tobacco products and Public Law 103-227, the 
Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities that 
receive Federal funds in which education, library, day care, health 
care, and early childhood development services are provided to 
children.

Application Availability

    Application materials are available on the World Wide Web at 
address: ``http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/bhpr/grants.html''. In Fiscal Year 
1997, the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) will use Adobe Acrobat to 
publish the grants documents on the Web page. In order to download, 
view and print these grants documents, you will need a copy of Adobe 
Acrobat Reader. This can be obtained without charge from the Internet 
by going to the Adobe Web page (``http://www.adobe.com'') and 
downloading the version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is 
appropriate for your operating system, i.e., Windows, Unix, Macintosh, 
etc. A set of more detailed instructions on how to download and use the 
Adobe Acrobat Reader can be found on the BHPr Grants Web page under 
``Notes on this WWW Page''.
    If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact 
Carol S. Gleich, Ph.D. Chief, AHEC and Special Programs Branch, 
([email protected].)Division of Medicine, Bureau of Health 
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn 
Building, Room 9A-27, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857. 
Telephone: (301) 443-6950, FAX: (301) 443-8890. Questions regarding 
grants policy and business management issues should be directed to Ms. 
Wilma Johnson, Acting Chief, Centers and Formula Grants Section 
([email protected]),

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Grants Management Branch, Bureau of Health Professions, Health 
Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 8C-26, 
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.
    For applicants who are unable to access application materials 
electronically, a hard copy will be provided be contacting the HRSA 
Grants Application Center. The Center may be contacted by: Telephone 
Number: 1-888-300-HRSA; FAX Number: 301-309-0579; Email Address: 
[email protected].
     Completed applications should be returned to: Grants Management 
Officer (CFDA#), HRSA Grants Application Center, 40 West Gude 
Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, Maryland 20850.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The standard application form PHS 6025-1, HRSA Competing Training 
Grant Application, General Instructions and supplement for these grant 
programs have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB Clearance Number is 0915-
0060.

Deadline Date

    The deadline dates for receipt of applications for each of these 
programs are shown in Table 1. 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. In addition, applications which exceed the page 
limitation and/or do not follow format instructions will not be 
accepted for processing and will be returned to the applicant.

                                 Table 1                                
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                                                 Period of              
 PHS Section No., Title, CFDA      Type of        support      Deadline 
       No., Regulation            assistance      (years)        date   
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746(a)(1), Basic/Core AHEC,    Cooperative                3      3/21/97
 93.824, 42 CFR part 57         Agreement.                              
 subpart MM.                                                            
746(a)(3), State Supported     Cooperative                3      3/21/97
 Model AHEC, 93.107.            Agreement.                              
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    These programs are not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 
12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (as implemented 
through 45 CFR part 100) or the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements.

    Dated: January 28, 1997.
Ciro V. Sumaya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-2682 Filed 2-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P