This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Delta Health Systems Implementation Program (DSIP). The purpose of this program is to improve healthcare delivery in rural areas by implementing projects that will improve the financial sustainability of hospitals and allow for increased access to care in rural communities. These projects focus on financial and operational improvement, quality improvement, telehealth, and workforce development in hospitals in the in the rural counties and parishes of the Delta region.

The DSIP provides funding to support critical access hospitals, small rural hospitals (inpatient prospective payment system facilities with up to 100 beds) in the Delta region that have received previous technical assistance (TA) through the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program or another similar TA program within the last five years.

Program Objective:

• Improve health care in rural areas through projects in these focus areas:
• Financial and operational improvements;
• Implementation of quality improvement initiatives;
• Expansion of telehealth services and financial/operational systems enhancements; and
• The development of new service lines to address the needs of the community, including populations in the community that have been historically underserved.

Implementation projects could include, but are not limited to increasing inpatient and swing bed volume, increasing outpatient services, developing new service lines, reducing readmissions, improving transitions of care and discharge planning, optimizing emergency department operations, implementing revenue cycle best practices to increase point of service collections, expanding telehealth services, implementing performance measurement systems, utilizing data analytics, enhancing cybersecurity, clinical documentation integrity training, simulation training for clinicians, leadership training such as rounding to improve patient and employee satisfaction, and implementing new technology to increase clinical efficiency. HRSA will work with recipients of this grant to identify the appropriate measures to show improvement in financial sustainability and the impact of their specific implementation projects.