efficient, affordable access to health care in rural communities in Texas Developing a blueprint for effective

This grant supports a team at the Rural and Community Health Institute (RCHI) at Texas A&M University to help rural communities at risk of losing a hospital or who have recently lost a hospital evaluate their resources and needs and develop a "community health care blueprint" to help those communities move forward effectively. Specifically, the grantee will: (1) identify at least one and up to three rural communities in Texas at risk of hospital closure; (2) collect data and conduct interviews with local leaders; (3) develop and apply a set of community options--based on data and insights from the community--and construct the blueprint for community leadership; (4) pilot the blueprint; and, along the way, (5) conduct interviews with stakeholders from three to five states that have substantial rural populations who face hospital closures, to place the work in a national context. Final deliverables will include a report on lessons learned from the process, as well as detailed information on how other rural communities can develop and apply similar blueprints. RCHI will publish the results via a webinar and social media. Work in more than a one community will depend upon whether the grantee secures grants from additional funders. The grantee will seek additional funding from the Episcopal Health Foundation and T.L.L. Temple Foundation.

Developing a blueprint for effective, efficient, affordable access to health care in rural communities in Texas Grant