[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 131 (Friday, July 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41540-41542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15606]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Fiscal Year 2004 Competitive Application Cycle for the Healthy 
Communities; Access Program Demonstration Project (HCAPDP), CFDA Number 
93.890; HRSA 04-107

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
announces the availability of up to $5,400,000 to support 6-8 HCAP 
Demonstration Projects to eligible entities for the purpose of: (1) 
Developing patient-based research infrastructure at historically black 
health professional schools, which have an affiliation, or 
affiliations, with any of the providers identified in section 340(j) of 
the Public Health Service Act, subsection (b)(1)(B); (2) establishment 
of joint and collaborative programs of medical research and data 
collection between historically black health professional schools and 
such providers, whose goal is to improve the health status of medically 
underserved populations; or (3) supporting the research-related costs 
of patient care, data collection, and academic training resulting from 
such affiliations.
    For purposes of this demonstration, a HBHPS is defined as any 
Historically Black College or University (HBCU) that has a school of 
medicine, dentistry, nursing and/or behavioral health.
    Authorizing Legislation: The Healthy Communities Access Program 
(HCAP) Demonstration Project is authorized under section 340(j) of the 
Public Health Service Act, as amended (Health Care Safety Net 
Amendments of 2002, Public Law 107-251, 42 U.S.C. 256).

DATES: The intended timelines for application submission, review and 
award are as follows:
    Application Deadline: August 20, 2004.
    Grant Awards Announced: September 15, 2004.
    Applications will be considered as meeting the deadline if they 
are: (1) Received on or before the established date and received in 
time for the Independent Committee Review; or (2) E-marked on or before 
the deadline date given in the Federal Register Notice. Late 
applications will be returned to the applicant. Applicants should 
obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial carrier or the U.S. 
Postal Service or request a legibly dated U.S. Service postmark. 
Private metered postmarks shall not be accepted as proof of timely 
mailing. Applicants sent to any address other than that specified below 
are subject to being returned.
    Application Requests: To receive a complete application kit (i.e., 
application instructions, necessary forms, and application review 
criteria), contact the HRSA Grants Application Center at: The HRSA 
Grants Application Center, The Legin Group, Inc., Attn: HCAP 
Demonstration Project, Program Announcement No: HRSA 04-107, CFDA No. 
93.890, 901 Russell Avenue, Suite 450, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879, 
telephone: (877)-477-2123, fax: (877)-477-2345, e-mail: 
[email protected].
    When contacting the HRSA Grants Application Center (GAC) please use 
the following program announcement when requesting application 
materials: HRSA 04-107.
    Eligible Applicants: For an entity to be eligible to compete for a 
HCAP Demonstration Project, the applicant entity must:
     Be a Historically Black Professions School [defined as any 
HBCU that has a school of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and/or 
behavioral health]; and
     Have an affiliation, or affiliations, with the providers 
identified in subsection (b)(1)(B) of section 340 of the Public Health 
Act. This includes the following:
     A Federally Qualified Health Center (as defined in section 
1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa));
     A hospital with a low-income utilization rate (as defined 
in section 1923(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-
4(b)(3)), that is greater than 25 percent;
     A public health department; or
     An interested public or private sector health care 
provider or an organization that has traditionally served the medically 
uninsured and underserved.

Application Review and Funding Criteria

    The following criteria will be used by the Independent Review 
Committee (IRC) to assess each HCAP application. The HCAP Demonstration 
Project has 6 review criteria:

Criteria 1--Introduction--10 Points

     Does the applicant describe the purpose of the proposed 
HCAP Demonstration?
     Is there evidence that the Demonstration addresses one or 
more of the purposes of the HCAP Demonstration Project?
     Does the applicant propose 2-4 projects that collectively 
contribute to the overall Demonstration?
     Is the HCAP provider partnering to conduct the 
Demonstration clearly identified?
     Does the applicant explain how the findings of the 
Demonstration will advance and sustain a patient-based research 
infrastructure by establishing joint and collaborative programs of 
health research and data collection between community-based primary 
health care HCAP provider(s) and HBHPS to improve health status of 
medically underserved populations?
     Is there a description of existing partnerships with other 
research-intensive institutions such as the National Institute of 
Health (NIH-Project EXPORT Center of Excellence grants), Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ--Minority Research Infrastructure 
Support Program), and National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR--
Nursing Partnership Centers on Health Disparities)?

Criteria 2--Response--30 Points

a. Project Narrative and Focus Area
     Does the applicant propose 2-4 projects that focus on one 
or more of the infrastructure-building components of the HCAP 
Demonstration Project (Primary Care Research, Faculty Development, and/
or Clinical Information Systems)?
     Does the applicant clearly demonstrate the feasibility and 
scope of each proposed project?
     Is the Demonstration Project interdisciplinary? Does it 
focus on patient-based, primary care research in community-based 
settings?
     Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and 
analyses adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the 
aims of each project of the Demonstration?
     Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and 
consider alternative tactics?
     Does the applicant present details of project 
implementation and descriptions of how each project will develop/
strengthen one or more of the three-specific infrastructure building 
components outlined in the Project Narrative (Primary Care Research,

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Faculty Development, and Clinical Information Systems)?
     Is each individual project within the Demonstration 
thematic, highly focused, and interrelated so that they collectively 
contribute to the goals of the Demonstration Project to a greater 
extent than if the projects undertaken as individual components were 
pursued separately?
     Does the applicant provide a clear description of each 
proposed project, including major goals and objectives as well as how 
it integrates with the other project components in relation to the 
overall Demonstration Project?
     Does the applicant enhance the plan by describing existing 
partnerships with other research-intensive institutions such as the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH-Project EXPORT Center of Excellence 
grants), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ--Minority 
Research Infrastructure Support Program), and National Institute of 
Nursing Research (NINR--Nursing Partnership Centers on Health 
Disparities)?
     Does the applicant propose any pilot projects? If so, does 
the applicant provide specific information that enables adequate 
scientific evaluation by the objective review committee?
b. Project Work Plan
     Does the applicant provide a project work plan that 
depicts the relationship between activities (including MIS-related 
activities if applicable), goals, objectives, responsible 
organization(s), timelines and measures of success for each project 
described in the Project Narrative?
     Does the project work plan summarize project activities, 
its related goals, objectives, responsible member(s) (i.e., HCAP 
provider, HBHPS, or other project member), action steps and timeline 
proposed to complete each project described in the Project Narrative?
     Are the proposed objectives for each project specific, 
measurable, achievable and tied to realistic steps and time-lines?
     Are the proposed measures of success for each project 
appropriate for the specified goals and objectives?
     In reviewing the specific ``responsible member(s)'' listed 
for each project of the Demonstration, do the assigned tasks provide 
evidence of input and involvement from all members of the stated HCAP 
Demonstration?
     Do the activities, goals and objectives of each project 
appear aligned with and appropriate for the proposed budget and the 
applicant's resources and capabilities?
c. Management Information Systems
     Are the applicant's total MIS-related expenses greater 
than $100,000 of the total HCAP Federal funds requested? If so, did the 
applicant submit a completed MIS Specific Budget form?
     Does the applicant only propose ``enhancements'' of an 
existing MIS, and not the ``development'' of a new MIS?
     For enhancements of an existing MIS only, does the 
applicant adequately:
    i. Describe the functionality of the MIS component and how it will 
address the overall goals and needs of the HCAP Demonstration Project?
    ii. List the number and type of HCAP demonstration project members 
that will be users of the planned or enhanced MIS system?
    iii. Provide a description of (if existing) the current MIS and 
proposed enhancements, specifically discussing:
     Plans to manage data, including how the enhanced system 
will complement other systems in the organizations?
     Plans to create or purchase software?
     Compliance with Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements for patient privacy and 
confidentiality, and security plans?
     Connectivity: i.e., use of wide area networks, web-based 
access, smart cards and expanded connections to existing mainframe 
systems?

Criteria 3--Evaluate Measures--20 Points

     Is there an appropriate plan in place for evaluating the 
projects carried out under the Demonstration?
     Are the goals and objectives of each project within the 
Demonstration clear, concise and appropriate?
     Are the objectives of each project time-framed and 
measurable?
     Are the proposed activities of each project capable of 
attaining goals and objectives?
     Does the applicant present a plan for collecting input 
from all collaborators of the Demonstration (HBHPS and HCAP providers) 
to monitor the progress of achieving goals and measurable objectives of 
each project?
     Does the applicant present a sound evaluation plan for 
each project and the overall Demonstration?
     Is it clear how the applicant will make changes to the 
Demonstration based on evaluation findings?

Criteria 4--Impact--10 Points

    Does the applicant address the extent and effectiveness of plans 
for dissemination of the Demonstration results and/or the extent to 
which the Demonstration results may be regional or national in scope 
and/or the degree to which the projects of the Demonstration are 
replicable? Specifically, does the applicant:
     Provide a publication and dissemination plan for each 
project of the Demonstration?
     Describe how the Demonstration findings will be applicable 
to more than one situation?

Criteria 5--Resources/Capabilities--20 Points

     Does the applicant describe the extent to which personnel 
are qualified by training and/or experience to implement and carry out 
the Demonstration to assure that all proposed projects of the 
Demonstration would function optimally and in an interactive, 
synergistic manner?
     Does the applicant describe the capabilities of the HCAP 
provider in carrying out the Demonstration?
     Is the work proposed for the Demonstration appropriate to 
the experience level of the personnel?
     Is there documentation of the capabilities of the 
applicant organization and the quality and availability of facilities 
and personnel to fulfill the needs and requirements of the 
Demonstration?
     Has the applicant designated an institutional official to 
serve as the Principal Investigator for the Demonstration?
     Has the applicant designated a lead coordinator for each 
project of the Demonstration?
     Are the plans of the project staff to manage the overall 
planning activities adequate?
     Is there appropriate justification for the project staff, 
including the duplication of existing resources or services and 
anticipated future use of project staff?
     Are the provisions for day-to-day oversight, coordination, 
support and logistical services sufficient for each project to yield 
success?
     Is there evidence that the Principal Investigator and key 
staff of the partnering HCAP providers are working closely together to 
develop the application?
     Does the project have a Coordinating Council, and if so, 
have the composition and function been adequately described?
     Are there plans for developmental activities, including 
recruitment and

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expansion, insofar as the proposed projects of the Demonstration and/or 
training?
     Are there letters of support/commitment from a HCAP 
consortium supporting the planning activities?

Criteria 6--Support Requested--10 Points

    Assess the reasonableness of the proposed budget and the requested 
period of support in relation to the objectives, the complexity of the 
proposed projects of the Demonstration, and anticipated results.
     The extent to which costs, as outlined in the budget and 
required resources sections are reasonable given the scope of work.
     The extent of to which the budget line items are well 
described and justified in the Budget Justification.
     The extent to which key personnel have adequate time 
devoted to each project to achieve project activities.
     Does the applicant budget travel of 3 Demonstration 
personnel for 1-2 HCAP Demonstration Project grantee meetings?
    Estimated Amount of Available Funds: Up to $ 5,400,000 will be 
available in fiscal year 2004 for this program.
    Estimated Project Period: Up to 3 years.
    Estimated Number of Awards: It is estimated that 6-8 awards will be 
issued.
    Cost Sharing/Matching: There is no cost sharing/matching 
requirement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cicely Nelson, Public Health Analyst, 
Division of Health Center Development, Attn: Healthy Communities Access 
Program, Bureau of Primary Health Care, HRSA, 4350 East West Highway, 
3rd floor, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, telephone: (301) 594-4496, fax: 
(301) 594-4997, e-mail: [email protected].
    Executive Order 12372: This program has been determined to be 
subject to provisions of Executive Order 12372, 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 Form PHS 5161 contains a 
listing of States that have set up a review system and will provide a 
State Point of Contact (SPOC) in the State for the review. A list of 
SPOC contacts is also available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. Applicants (other than federally-recognized Indian 
tribal governments) should contact their SPOCs as early as possible to 
alert them to the prospective applications and receive any necessary 
instructions on the State process. For proposed projects servicing more 
than on 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'' for 
State process recommendations it receives after that date. (See part 
148, Intergovernmental Review of Public Health Service Programs under 
Executive Order 12372 and 45 CFR part 100 for a description of the 
review process and requirements.)

    Dated: July 2, 2004.
Stephen R. Smith,
Senior Advisor to the Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-15606 Filed 7-6-04; 3:44 pm]
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