Description
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is seeking applications to establish Centers of Excellence that will serve as hubs within a hub-and-spoke model of care, designed to strengthen regional health networks, improve care coordination, and expand access to high-quality, integrated healthcare for rural Iowans. The Centers of Excellence will function as regional hubs that specialize in targeted areas of medicine, leverage shared resources and technology, and collaborate with surrounding healthcare providers, public health agencies, and community-based organizations to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care. The project will focus on areas such as maternal health, mental/behavioral health, specialty care, and/or chronic disease management.
• The applicant must be a health system or healthcare facility/organization representing health systems and facilities.
• The applicant's proposed service delivery region must include four or more contiguous rural counties or rural portions of counties in the state of Iowa.
• The applicant must demonstrate a clear understanding of the health landscape in the region and identify populations experiencing disproportionate barriers to care.
• The applicant must provide a comprehensive assessment of the proposed service region, including data and analysis related to demographics, infrastructure, healthcare gaps, and service needs.
• The applicant must identify and describe gaps or shortages in healthcare services, such as maternal health, mental/behavioral health, specialty care, or chronic disease management, using relevant data to support findings.
• The applicant must describe how the proposed Center of Excellence builds on or enhances current efforts to address identified healthcare needs in the region.