Background
Research has shown that health is broader than the activities which take place in a hospital, clinic or a health care provider’s office. Many social factors impact an individual’s and a community’s health status before they get sick, their access to health care resources, the quality of care they receive, and their overall outcomes. These social determinants of health are key to quality health throughout a community.
For full details, download the Community Health Worker Initiative RFP here (pdf)
Plan: The Health Fund plans to fund at least four organizations up to $125,000 total over two years to hire and integrate one FTE community health worker (CHW) for two years as part of their care team. CHWs can be found throughout a community including rural hospitals, clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), early childhood sites, health departments, social service organizations, and school districts. CHWs go by many names, such as health navigator, promotor(a), advocate, and educator, but their important function remains the same regardless of title: to serve as a bridge between community members and the medical and social services they need. CHWs engage in a variety of activities, such as providing assistance or guidance to community residents, culturally or linguistically appropriate education services, advocacy, coordination of care, and insurance enrollment. Many times, a CHW works outside of health care settings, meeting clients where they are most comfortable – in community settings, fast-food restaurants, or homes.
Goals and Outcomes: The goal is to fund organizations seeking to pilot a CHW component into provider care teams to achieve greater effectiveness of care and better care outcomes. We hope this project will provide long-term data which shows that through implementation of CHWs, providers can deliver a higher level of care and that families will achieve better care outcomes. Intermediate outcomes for providers are anticipated to be spending more time maximizing their time providing clinical services only they can provide and delivering care to more people. Intermediate outcomes for families are anticipated to be connecting to services which meet their immediate and long-term needs and addressing social determinants of health that would otherwise limit adherence to health treatment recommendations.
Requirements: Sites must serve rural settings, communities of color, and/or early childhood populations and be able to collect data in the Intraprise system that was specifically designed for this project. Partnerships with social service agencies, education providers, and other health care providers are expected.
All pilot sites must commit to participating in a learning community which will meet at least once per quarter, either virtually for 2-3 hours or in person for 5-6 hours to discuss lessons learned, challenges, and evaluation outcomes, and to engage in professional development pertinent to the use of CHWs. The CHWs and a site supervisor must attend all such meetings. It is expected that CHWs will participate in core competency education offered by the Kansas CHW Coalition leading to credentialing for the CHW.
Sustainability efforts will be built alongside the pilot project. The evaluation, anecdotal stories collected, and employers will help to tell the story of the value of CHWs. Return on investment (ROI) studies may be done as well to demonstrate the feasibility and cost savings to the health system through the use of CHWs.
Application Process
This is a two-stage competitive RFP. Interested organizations must file an online Letter of Interest (LOI) no later than September 27, 2022. Health Fund staff will review submissions and invite a limited number to submit full proposals. Invited full proposals are due November 7, 2022. A sample of the LOI form is included in the Community Health Worker Initiative RFP.
Online LOI form instructions:
- Click here to start your LOI
- Log in or create an account
- Follow online instructions and begin filling out LOI form
- Use the “Next” buttons or section tabs at the top to navigate through the form. Entered data will be saved before the next page is loaded.
- The Save & Finish Later button will allow you to save progress and exit. You will receive an email with instructions and a copy of your current form data.
- Once you’ve started your LOI, login via this link instead to return and continue editing.
- When finished, use the Review and Submit link to check over and submit the LOI form. You will receive a confirmation email.
- For submissions invited by Health Fund staff to proceed to the full proposal stage, LOI information entered will carry forward to the proposal form for convenience.
Timeline
- Sept. 27 – Letter of Interest due
- Oct. 3 – RFP invitations issued
- Nov. 7 – Invited proposals due
- Dec. 2 – Notice of awards
- Jan. 1, 2023 – Initial project year begins
- Jan. 15, 2023 – CHWs hired*
*A job description template will be made available upon award to facilitate timely hiring.
For additional information/RFP questions, please contact:
Katie Schoenhoff
Director of Programs
katie@healthfund.org
620.662.8586
For online form questions/help, please contact:
Jeff Gamber
Technology Manager
jeff@healthfund.org
