Program Announcement and Proposed Review Criteria for Grants for Geriatric Education Centers for Fiscal Year 1995

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

Program Announcement and Proposed Review Criteria for Grants for

Geriatric Education Centers for Fiscal Year 1995

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces

the acceptance of applications for fiscal year (FY) 1995, Grants for

Geriatric Education Centers under the authority of section 777(a) of

the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Health Professions

Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-408, dated October

13, 1992. Comments are invited on the proposed review criteria.

Approximately $6,000,000 will be available in FY 1995 for this

program. Total continuation support recommended is $4,100,000. It is

anticipated that $1,900,000 will be available to support 13 competing

awards averaging $145,000.

Applicants should apply for direct costs of no more than $100,000

(for single institutions) and no more than $150,000 (for consortia of

three of more institutions) for the first year of funding.

Eligibility

Section 777(a) of the PHS Act authorizes the award of grants to

accredited health professions schools as defined by section 799(1), or

programs for the training of physician assistants as defined by section

799(3), or schools of allied health as defined in section 799(4), or

schools of nursing as defined by section 853(2).

Applicants must be located in the United States, the Commonwealth

of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the

Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau, the

Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of

Micronesia.

To receive support, applicants must meet the requirements of

regulations as set forth in 42 CFR part 57, subpart 00. The initial

period of Federal support should not exceed 3 years. Projects may

recompete for an additional 3 years.

Purpose

Grants may be awarded to support the development of collaborative

arrangements involving several health professions schools and health

care facilities. These arrangements, called Geriatric Education Centers

(GECs), are established to facilitate training of health professional

faculty, students, and practitioners in the diagnosis, treatment, and

prevention of disease, disability, and other health problems of the

aged. Health professionals include allopathic physicians, osteopathic

physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, pharmacists, nurses,

nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, clinical

psychologists, health administrators, and allied health professionals.

Projects supported under these grants must offer training involving

four or more health professions, one of which must be allopathic or

osteopathic medicine. Projects must address one or more of the

statutory purposes listed below:

(a) Improve the training of health professionals in geriatrics;

(b) Develop and disseminate curricula relating to the treatment of

the health problems of elderly individuals;

(c) Expand and strengthen instruction in methods of such treatment;

(d) Support the training and retraining of faculty to provide such

instruction;

(e) Support continuing education of health professionals and allied

health professionals who provide such treatment; and

(f) Establish new affiliations with nursing homes, chronic and

acute disease hospitals, ambulatory care centers, and senior centers in

order to provide students with clinical training in geriatric medicine.

Grant supported projects may be designed to accomplish the

statutory purposes in a variety of ways, emphasizing interdisciplinary/

multidisciplinary, and discipline-specific approaches to the

development of geriatric education resources. For example:

Health professions schools within a single academic health

center, or a consortium of several educational institutions, may share

their educational resources and expertise through a Geriatric Education

Center to extend a broad range of multidisciplinary educational

services outward to other institutions, faculty, facilities and

practitioners within a geographic area defined by the applicant.

Educational institutions that have limited geriatric

education resources and which traditionally have had linkages to a

geographic area where substantial geriatric education needs exist, may

seek to establish a Geriatric Education Center. Such a center could be

designed to enhance and expand the capability of collaborating

professional schools to provide geriatric education resources in the

geographic area in need.

Projects may support the development of Geriatric

Education Centers designed to focus on multidisciplinary geriatric

education emphasizing high priority services and high risk groups among

the elderly, minority aging, or other special concerns.

National Health Objectives for the Year 2000

The Public Health Service (PHS) urges applicants to submit work

plans that address specific objectives of Healthy People 2000.

Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full

Report; Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or Healthy People 2000 (Summary

Report; Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402-9325

(Telephone 202-783-3238).

Education and Service Linkage

As part of its long-range planning, HRSA will be targeting its

efforts to strengthening linkages between U.S. Public Health Service

supported education programs and programs which provide comprehensive

primary care services to the underserved.

Smoke-Free Workplace

The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients

to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all

tobacco products. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect

and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

Established and Proposed Review Criteria

The following review criteria have been established in 42 CFR part

57, subpart OO and will be considered in the review of applications:

(1) The degree to which the proposed project adequately provides

for the project requirements;

(2) The extent to which the rationale and specific objectives of

the project are based upon a needs assessment of the status of

geriatrics training in the institutions to be assisted and/or the

geographic area to be served;

(3) The ability of the project to achieve the project objectives

within the proposed geographic area;

(4) The adequacy of educational facilities and clinical training

settings to accomplish objectives; [[Page 2397]]

(5) The adequacy of organizational arrangements involving

professional schools and other organizations necessary to carry out the

project;

(6) The adequacy of the qualifications and experience in geriatrics

of the project director, staff and faculty;

(7) The administrative and managerial ability of the applicant to

carry out the proposed project in a cost-effective manner, and;

(8) The potential of the project to continue on a self-sustaining

basis.

In addition, the following review criteria are proposed:

(9) If applicable, the extent to which there is evidence that the

institutions jointly have planned and jointly will conduct the proposed

consortial activities.

(10) The potential of the project to recruit and/or retain minority

faculty members and trainees for participation in long term and/or

short term training experiences.

Application Requests

Application materials will be sent only to FY 1994 applicants and

to those entities making a request. Requests for grant application

materials and questions regarding grants policy and business management

issues should be directed to:

Ms. Jacquelyn Whitaker (D-31), Grants Management Specialist, Bureau of

Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration,

Parklawn Building, Room 8C-26, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland

20857, telephone: (301) 443-6857.

Completed applications should be returned to the Grants Management

Branch at the above address.

If additional programmatic information is needed, please contact:

Ms. Pat Dols, Geriatric Initiatives Branch, Division of Associated,

Dental, and Public Health Professions, Bureau of Health Professions,

Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room

8-103, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, telephone: (301)

443-6887.

The standard application form PHS 6025-1, HRSA Competing Training

Grant Application, General Instructions and supplement for this program

have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the

Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB clearance number is 0915-0060.

The deadline date for receipt of applications is March 3, 1995.

Applications will be considered to be ``on time'' if they are either:

(1) Received on or before the established deadline date, or

(2) Sent on or before the established deadline date and received in

time for orderly processing. (Applicants should request a legibly dated

U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated receipt from a

commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks

shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.)

Late applications not accepted for processing will be returned to

the applicant.

This program, Grants for Geriatric Education Centers, is listed at

93.969 in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. It is not subject

to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of

Federal Programs (as implemented through 45 CFR part 100). This program

is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting Requirements.

Dated: December 30, 1994.

James A. Walsh,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-404 Filed 1-6-95; 8:45 am]

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