Maryland Community Health Resources Commission

March 31, 2023 | Issue 90

UPDATE: FY 2023 Call for Proposals

Earlier this month, CHRC Commissioners voted to award $8.5 million to 21 applicants under the FY 2023 Call for Proposals. Click HERE to read a press release on the issuance of these grants, and click HERE for an overview of the 21 programs.  The FY 2023 Call for Proposals had four areas of focus: chronic disease, maternal and child health, behavioral health, and dental.  Grantees were selected from rural, suburban, and urban areas throughout the state. These programs are expected to serve more than 14,000 Marylanders.  

For more information regarding future grant funding opportunities, please contact Jen Clatterbuck at [email protected] or 410-260-6086.

UPDATE: Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports

The Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports is an initiative to support student behavioral health and other related needs.  

Led by the Consortium’s Outreach Subcommittee, chaired by Tammy Fraley from the Allegany County Board of Education, the Consortium is continuing to meet with key stakeholders to discuss the Partnerships model and planning for the first RFP that will be released later this spring or early summer. Outreach briefings have been held with multiple stakeholder groups, and presentations can be accessed HERE.  

To request a briefing, please contact Lorianne Moss at [email protected] or (410) 456-6525.

The next meeting of the full Consortium will be held on April 4 in Annapolis.  Meeting information can be found on the Consortium’s webpage.  Consortium meetings are open to the public, but participation is limited to Consortium members.  Members of the public are invited to attend in-person or virtually. 

On March 15, the Consortium submitted is FY 2022-FY 2024 implementation plan to the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board.  The plan can be found HERE.

To sign up for the Consortium’s mailing list, click HERE.

UPDATE: Pathways to Health Equity

On March 2, HERC Advisory Board members Elizabeth Chung and Jonathan Dayton discussed the Maryland Health Equity Resource Communities and Pathways to Health Equity grants at a roundtable discussion on Equitable Rural Healthcare hosted by National Governors Association.

Pathways Grantee News

This month’s newsletter highlights the Pathways to Health Equity grant awarded to TidalHealth. The Rural Equity and Access to Community Health (REACH) program addresses disparities in diabetes and hypertension experienced by the African American and Haitian populations on the Lower Shore. The program is providing culturally and linguistically appropriate programming to address diabetes and non-medical Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).

The program is reaching out to priority communities in a number of ways. REACH staff are engaging high-risk patients as they discharge from the hospital. Partners are promoting REACH services and healthy lifestyle programming at local community events and health fairs. Mobile health vans are being used to provide community screenings. The REACH coalition is working with the Wicomico Library to expand health literacy through the Wellness Made Easy collection and promotion of Wellness Wednesdays. The program is engaging with parish nurses at African American and Haitian churches.

Community-based healthy lifestyle programming includes Chronic Disease Self-Management, the Diabetes Prevention Program, and community-based Diabetes Support Groups. Community Health Workers (CHWs) work with patients and community members to identify and address SDOH. TidalHealth and its partners will increasingly use the Findhelp platform to complete SDOH screenings and make referrals. Remote patient monitoring will be offered in the future for eligible patients.

Pictured below are Amy Sorg, Branch Associate Executive Director at the Richard A. Henson Family YMCA; Rochelle Tyler, REACH Program Coordinator; Rev. Leon Copeland, St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church; and Katie Sabater, RN, TidalHealth at the Men in Black service at St. Paul on January 28, 2023.

Events and Grants

Maryland School-Based Health Center Conference - May 9

The Maryland Assembly on School-Based Health Care (MASBHC) will hold its annual conference on May 9, 2023, in person at The Meeting House in Columbia Maryland. The theme of the conference is "Targeting Health and Healing." The keynote speaker will be John Woodrow Cox, who will speak on "How Gun Violence Impacts Children - and What You Can do to Help Them." For more  information click HERE. 

Maryland Rural Health Association Event on April 21

 The Maryland Rural Health Association will host a post-legislative reception in Annapolis on April 21.  The event will feature remarks by Secretary of Health Laura Herrera Scott, Maryland House of Delegates Health and Government Operations Committee Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk, and Secretary of Disabilities Carol Beatty.  Click HERE for more information.

Opioid Crisis Grant Funding - Applications due April 6

 The Maryland Opioid Operational Command Center is accepting applications for its fiscal year 2024 grant program.   All proposals must address the opioid crisis through the policy priorities of prevention & education, enforcement & public safety, and/or treatment & recovery, and must align with the goals of the Inter-Agency Opioid Coordination Plan.  The application deadline is Wednesday, April 6.  For more information, click HERE. 

 Maryland Loan Repayment Program - Applications due April 15

 The Maryland Loan Repayment Programs (MLRP) offers higher education loan repayment assistance to health professionals including physicians, physician assistants, medical residents, nurses, and nursing support staff. Thanks to broadened legislative authority and greater state and federal resources, the program is accepting applications from an expanded pool of health care professionals. In exchange for service obligations, providers and support staff can earn loan repayment awards from $5,000 to $100,000.  The deadline to apply is April 15.  For more information, click HERE.