The Louisiana Department of Health is seeking input on an initiative that's aimed at improving health care for people who live in rural areas.
A large number of Louisiana parishes - 44 of the 64 - are designated as fully or partially rural and almost 30 percent of Louisianians live in rural areas. Those folks who live in rural areas have higher rates of heart disease, obesity and diabetes, along with higher tobacco use. That makes reliable access to high-quality healthcare a top priority, officials say.
LDH is making application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rural Health Transformation Program, and they need information and input from hospitals, healthcare providers, academic institutions, community-based organizations, technology suppliers, and rural residents on specific strategies to address challenges in delivering rural healthcare.
The transformation program was created by a new law that took effect this summer. Congress allocated $50 billion to support rural health transformation over five years, and states must submit a plan by early November. Application action is expected before the end of the year.
“As a state, we have an opportunity to rethink the way we offer health in our rural communities, and I’m excited about the opportunities this program will bring to transform lives in meaningful ways for our rural residents,” said LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein in a release. “Our rural task force is composed of stakeholders who truly understand rural Louisiana. We’ve thought of some innovative ideas, but we want input from around the state to ensure we’re submitting a robust application.”
The input LDH is seeking now will build on the work already done by a state rural health task force, which is trying to "fundamentally rethink how rural healthcare is delivered to improve outcomes for all Louisiana citizens living in rural areas," the release states.
Here are the details, as laid out in the LDH release:
Responses will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, and must be submitted via this online form.
As directed by CMS, the five strategic focus areas for the RHT Program include:
1. Make Rural America Healthy Again: Support rural health innovations and new access points to promote preventative health and address root causes of diseases.
2. Sustainable access: Help rural providers become long-term access points for care by improving efficiency and sustainability.
3. Workforce development: Attract and retain a highly skilled healthcare workforce by strengthening recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in rural communities.
4. Innovative care: Spark the growth of innovative care models to improve health outcomes, coordinate care, lower costs, and promote flexible care arrangements.
5. Tech innovation: Foster the use of innovative technologies that promote efficient care delivery, data security, and access to digital health tools by rural facilities, providers, and patients.
To supplement responses gathered by the Request for Information (RFI), the Department will host multiple Community Idea Raisers throughout the state to gather additional feedback from stakeholders. These meeting dates, times, and locations will be posted to the Department’s Rural Health Transformation Program webpage and published on all social media channels.
For questions regarding this request, email RuralHealthTransformation@la.gov.
View and submit the RFI here.
