SAC Grant NOFOs are Posted! Note Changes!

By Leanne Cardwell, CLC Senior Grant Consultant

With the recent announcement of the FY2022 Service Area Competition grant calendar, the first Notice of Funding Opportunities are posted, and there are a few notable changes to grant requirements this year.  

Period of Performance Extensions

Last year, for health centers in a multi-year period of performance, HRSA extended periods of performance scheduled to end in FY 2021 by one year to enable health centers to focus on COVID-19 public health emergency response efforts. This year, these organizations will prepare to submit a FY 2022.

 Similarly, for health centers in a multi-year period of performance, HRSA extended periods of performance scheduled to end in FY 2022 by one year. These service areas will be included in the FY 2023 SAC. HRSA plans a similar process for health centers whose multi-year periods of performance are scheduled to end in FY 2023.

A focus on COVID-19 in the Need Section of the Project Narrative

This year’s SAC Project Narrative includes a new question in the NEED section where health centers must describe how the COVID-19 public health emergency impacted the service area and target populations.

 From health outcomes to health factors to the social and economic factors, the pandemic impacted all communities in diverse ways, and health centers will need to integrate this into needs assessment narrative.

Removed Clinic and Financial Performance Measure Forms

The Clinical and Financial Performance Measure forms will not be used in the FY2022. Instead, the third question in the EVALUATIVE MEASURES section of the Project Narrative has been expanded.

Here, health centers will use narrative to describe how you will focus efforts to improve clinical quality and/or health outcomes, and reduce health disparities within your patient population, including within the following specified areas:

  • Hypertension

  • Diabetes

  • Mental health

  • Substance use disorder (e.g., access to medication-assisted treatment

  • Improving maternal and child health

  • Ending the HIV epidemic

Funding Priority Points for Competing Continuation Applicants

This year’s SAC includes an opportunity for Competing Continuation Applicants to earn priority points on their SAC application.

To be eligible for priority points you must:

  • Be a competing continuation applicant

  • Have no active health center program requirements-related conditions at the time of application submission

  • Not have a current one-year period of performance.

Health centers that meet this can earn up to ten priority points on their application if they:

  • Show a positive or neutral two-year or three-year patient growth trend (+/- 5 percent) as documented in UDS (5 priority points)

  • Operate one or more sites with Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition at the time of application review (5 priority points)

If your health center is scheduled for a SAC grant this year and you would like CLC’s support, we provide custom grant writing services to meet your needs. Contact us at leannec@communitylinkconsulting.com.