Healthcare baby boomer training grant

[From Philanthropy News Digest] Civic Ventures, a think tank devoted to baby boomers, work, and social purpose, and the MetLife Foundation have announced that they will award six $25,000 Community College Encore Career Grants to institutions working to re-traini adults age 50 and over for careers in health and education.

The grants will support and highlight college programs that match the skills and interests of experienced adults with specific high-need careers such as home and community health workers, nursing, adjunct community college faculty, and teaching in areas of critical shortage.

Accredited two-year community, junior, and technical colleges offering associate degrees are eligible to apply. Community colleges that received prior Community College Encore Career Project grants are not eligible to apply for a second grant at this time.

For complete information, including the full Request for Proposals and application froms, visit the Encore program Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Erie Community Foundation health center forum

Did you know that over 1,700 school-based health centers are working effectively across the country, but Erie County has none?

On Monday, March 22nd from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., The Erie Community Foundation will host a community forum at the Erie Playhouse, 13 West 10th Street, to discuss school-based health centers for the Erie Community. Guest speaker, Kate Keller, board member of the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care and an experienced grantmaker on the topic, will describe the school-based health center model and the benefits it brings to a community.

“School-based health centers are a proven model for increasing access to care--particularly for low-income and medically underserved populations,” said Shiloh Turner, vice president of Programs, The Erie Community Foundation. “Often these children and their families do not have an identified medical home and go without care.”

Across the country over 1,700 school-based health centers are effectively working. The centers literally bring the doctor’s office into the school environment and provide students with a multidisciplinary team of providers. Besides the obvious health benefits, the school-based health center is also beneficial in reducing health-related absences, and supports students by allowing them to be ready to learn in the classroom.

“Thanks to the work of our Community Advisory Panel on health care, we will soon release a Request for Proposal (RFP) to bring the school-based health center model to Erie,” Turner added. “The upcoming community forum is a real opportunity for any school, parent organization, medical provider, or social service provider to learn how to partner with others to respond to the RFP and capitalize on this funding opportunity.”

If you are interested in attending please RSVP by calling 814-454-0843.

Michael J. Fox Foundation commits $5.75 million

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has announced a commitment of up to $5.75 million as part of its 2010 Critical Challenges in Parkinson's Disease program.

This year, two of the challenges aim to streamline field-wide efforts focused on alpha-synuclein and LRRK2, two leading genetic targets for PD drug development. The third is designed to drive scientific collaborations that can accelerate progress by taking advantage of the unique repository of well-characterized biological samples collected through the brain and body donation program at the Arizona Parkinson's Disease Consortium.

Accepted projects will work to advance one or more of MJFF's key research priorities in PD drug development: defining Parkinson's disease and its progression, altering the course of the disease, reducing symptoms and complications of treatment to increase quality of life, and developing pre-clinical and clinical research tools to broadly accelerate Parkinson's research. Including the Critical Challenges commitment, MJFF expects this year to invest about $25 million in driving research focused on these priorities.

For details on each of the 2010 Critical Challenges, visit the MJFF Web site.

Rural Health Workforce

The purpose of the Rural Health Workforce Development Program is to support the development of rural health networks that focus on activities relating to the recruitment and retention of primary and allied health care providers in rural communities. This Program will provide support to established and sustainable rural health networks that can develop innovative community-based educational and clinical health training programs to encourage the recruitment and retention of emerging health professionals (students and residents) in rural communities to train and eventually practice. Networks develop from ongoing collaborative relationships between health care organizations and accredited health care workforce training organizations (institutions). These networks can emphasize using community-based training opportunities to interest students and/or residents in rural health practice. Networks funded by this program can focus on a variety of different training program models and activities including the development of a training program, providing support to students/residents for housing and transportation and the payment of a preceptor. This can, in turn, help reduce recruitment costs, creating a potential revenue stream for continuing the network after Federal funding. Achieving the above will fundamentally lead to strengthening the rural health care delivery system. The program's goals are as follows. Providing students and residents training opportunities and experiences within culturally competent, community focused rural settings, which will build and reinforce ties within these rural communities; Improving the viability of the network partners by enhancing recruitment and retention of needed health care professionals within their rural communities; Identifying innovative approaches for using a network model to train health care professionals in rural community-based clinical settings; Providing an opportunity for students/residents to become involved in community activities so that they become engaged in the community; and/or Establishing viable rural health networks within the community that can serve as an ongoing vehicle for addressing workforce challenges. Workforce and rural recruitment and retention are a critical component of the 2010 President's Rural Initiative. As part of the Initiative, the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) created the Rural Health Workforce Development Program. The Workforce Development Program supports HRSA's goals of improving access and quality of health care, improving health outcomes, and improving public health and health care systems. The Program also supports HHS goals to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of health care and to promote the economic and social well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

Geriatric Academic Career Award

The Health Resources and Services Administration intends to make approximately 72 awards from a $5 million initiative for health careers. The purpose of the Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) is to increase the number of junior faculty at accredited schools of allopathic and osteopathic medicine and to promote the development of their careers as academic geriatricians who emphasize training in clinical geriatrics including the training of interdisciplinary teams of health professionals. The provision of such training shall constitute at least 75 percent of the obligations of such individual under the award. The Geriatric Academic Career Award is an individual career development award. Funds are awarded directly to the individual awardee. No funds are awarded to an institution. Full announcement available here.

NIH Training Funds by Agency

For a comprehensive listing of National Institute of Health training funds available by agency, visit this useful website: http://grants.nih.gov/training/trainingfunds.htm

Forensic Peer Support Services

Harrisburg – Pennsylvania is making available $400,000 in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to provide certified forensic peer support services to individuals within the criminal justice system who are suffering from mental illness, as well as psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. The funding, announced by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, is being awarded on a competitive basis to any non-profit group or organization capable of providing forensic peer support services by trained and licensed behavioral service specialists. These specialists offer support in areas of wellness and recovery, education and employment, housing and crisis support.

More information on how to apply, including eligibility requirements and special conditions, is available at www.pccd.state.pa.us by clicking “Grant Opportunities.” Applications must be received through PCCD’s Egrants system by Monday, March 15.

Equipment to Enhance Training for Health Professionals

This funding opportunity is one of many for the Equipment to Enhance Training for Health Professionals (EETHP) program, hereby known as EETHP Equipment Initiative. Twenty-one health professional training programs comprise this initiative. As defined by this program, a Health Professional Training Program is a program authorized under Titles III, VII and VIII of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act which focuses all or in part on the training of health professionals. HRSA is announcing the availability of funds to support multiple programs in the purchase of health professions training equipment. While the overall goals of the EETHP Equipment Initiative are the same for each program, applicants must satisfy the statutory requirements of the health professions training program under which they are applying for equipment. Accordingly, a different funding announcement is being offered for each of the 21 eligible programs that comprise the Initiative.

This funding opportunity is for entities eligible for the EETHP-NWD grant program only. The equipment requested under this announcement should support activities and the goals of the Nursing Workforce Diversity program. To be eligible for the EETHP-NWD funding opportunity, an applicant does not need to be a current Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grantee, but must be eligible to apply for the NWD grant program. Deadline is March 26, 2010. More details available here.