[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39577-39578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16620]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
announces that applications are being accepted for grants to help small 
rural hospitals do any or all of the following: (1) Pay for costs 
related to the implementation of prospective payment systems (PPS), (2) 
comply with

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provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
(HIPAA) of 1996, and (3) reduce medical errors and support quality 
improvement.
    Name of Grant Program: Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant 
Program (SHIP). The OMB Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) 
number is 93.301.
    Program Authorization: Section 1820(g)(3) of the Social Security 
Act, 42 U.S.C. 1395: 4(g)(3).
    Amount of Funding Available: Approximately $15.0 million is 
available for grants in fiscal year 2003.
    Eligible Applicants: All small rural hospitals located in the fifty 
States and Territories, including faith-based hospitals. For the 
purpose of this program, (1) small is defined as 49 available beds or 
less, as reported on the hospital's most recently filed Medicare Cost 
Report, (2) rural is defined as located outside a Metropolitan 
Statistical Area (MSA); or located in a rural census tract of a MSA as 
determined under the Goldsmith Modification or the Rural Urban 
Commuting Areas, and (3) hospital is defined as a non-Federal, short-
term, general acute care facility. There is no requirement for matching 
funds with this program.
    Funding Criteria: To help facilitate the awards process, eligible 
hospitals that did not receive funds during fiscal year 2002 are asked 
to submit a brief letter of application to their State Office of Rural 
Health (SORH) that describes their need, and intended use and 
expenditure of grant funds. Hospitals that did receive funds during 
fiscal year 2002 should contact their SORH for application instructions 
if they wish to receive funds for fiscal year 2003. In turn, the SORH 
will prepare and submit a single grant application using Standard Form 
PHS 5161-1 (revised 7/00) (approved under OMB number 0920-0428) for 
applications to HRSA on behalf of all hospital applicants in their 
State. An award will be made to each State based on the total number of 
eligible applicants in that State. Grantee hospitals will receive their 
award from the SORH. Eligible hospitals in states that have chosen not 
to participate in this Federal-State partnership may submit a grant 
application (PHS Form 5161) directly to HRSA.
    It is anticipated that all eligible hospitals (approximately 1,500) 
will apply for this grant program, which would result in awards of 
about $10,000 per hospital. It is expected that most of these grant 
funds will be used to purchase technical assistance, services, training 
and information technology. To help maximize purchasing power through 
economies of scale, eligible grantees are very strongly encouraged to 
organize themselves into consortiums and pool their grant funds for the 
purchase of these services. SORHs may help their eligible hospitals 
form consortiums and also purchase the goods and services they need.
    Annual funding will be available for up to a three-year project 
period, with funding contingent upon: (a) Availability of Federal 
funds, and (b) satisfactory performance by the grantee. The SORH may 
charge up to five percent to the grants to cover its administrative 
costs.
    Review Criteria: Applications will be evaluated on the extent to 
which they: (1) Are responsive to the requirements and purposes of this 
program, (2) describe need and strategies to address those needs, and 
(3) propose an allowable use of the grant funds. Further description of 
the review criteria is contained in the program guidance.
    Requesting Applications: The application and program guidance for 
both the hospitals and SORHs may be downloaded via the web at http://www.ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/ship.htm. Hard copies of the application and 
program guidance are available from: HRSA Grants Application Center, 
Grants Management Officer, 901 Russell Avenue, Suite 450, Gaithersburg, 
MD 20879. Phone (877) 477-2123, E-mail [email protected]. To request an 
application please ask for announcement number HRSA-03-107.
    Submitting Applications: All hospital applications must be 
submitted to the appropriate SORH in hard copy and postmarked before 5 
PM EDT on June 27, 2003. All SORH applications must be submitted in 
hard copy and postmarked before 5 PM EDT on August 1, 2003 to the HRSA 
Grants Application Center, Grants Management Officer, 901 Russell 
Avenue, Suite 450, Gaithersburg, MD 20879. All applications from 
hospitals in States where the SORH has chosen not to participate must 
be submitted to the above address by 5 PM EDT on August 1, 2003. 
Applicants will receive a confirmation of receipt notice from the HRSA 
Grants Application Center.
    Please note that HRSA anticipates accepting grant applications 
online in the last quarter of the Fiscal Year (July through September). 
Please refer to the HRSA grants schedule at http://www.hrsa.gov/grants.htm for more information.
    Program Contact Person: Jerry Coopey or Emily Costich, Office of 
Rural Health Policy, HRSA, Rm. 9A-55, Parklawn Bldg, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD 20857. Phone (301) 443-0835, Fax (301) 443-2803, E-mail 
[email protected] or [email protected].
    Paperwork Reduction Act: The application for this grant program has 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB clearance number is 0920-0428.
    This program is not subject to the Public Health Systems Reporting 
Requirements.
    Executive Order 12372: This program has been determined to be a 
program that is subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372 
concerning intergovernmental review of Federal Programs by appropriate 
health planning agencies, as implemented by 45 CFR part 100. Executive 
Order 12372 allows States the option of setting up a system for 
reviewing applications from within their States for assistance under 
certain Federal programs. The application packages to be made available 
under this notice will contain a listing of States that have chosen to 
set up such a review system and will provide a single point of contact 
(SPOC) in the States for review. (Please visit the following Web site: 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html). Applicants (other than 
federally-recognized Indian tribal governments) should contact their 
State SPOC 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 of each affected State. The 
due date for State process recommendations is 60 days after the 
application deadline for new and competing awards. The granting agency 
does not guarantee to ``accommodate or explain'' State process 
recommendations it receives after that date. (See Executive Order 12372 
and 45 CFR part 100 for a description of the review process and 
requirements.)

    Dated: June 4, 2003.
Elizabeth M. Duke,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-16620 Filed 7-1-03; 8:45 am]
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