CSRHA Submits First-Ever Federal Grant Proposal to USDA

The California State Rural Health Association (CSRHA) is proud to announce that it submitted its first-ever federal grant to the USDA through the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) on January 25, 2005. The purpose of the RCDI program is to provide grants to qualified intermediary organizations to provide technical and financial assistance to recipients to develop their capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities, or community and economic development.

CSRHA responded by developing a program designed to build the capacity of rural health organizations to acquire needed funding for the purpose of financing community health facilities. The program is titled Building Success Through Economic Development: Sustaining the Future of Rural Healthcare Communities. If funded, CSRHA will provide 14 participating rural health provider organizations with training and technical assistance surrounding the planning and development of a capital campaign. The education and training provided to rural health organizations will focus on increasing the leadership skills and capacity of boards and management staff to begin the implementation of capital campaign projects in their communities.

The program concept initially came from a CSRHA workshop at its December 2004 annual rural health conference titled, Building a Capital Campaign from the Ground Up. The workshop was provided by Lou Mendonsa, immediate past CEO of the Shingletown Medical Center, and Michael Rodriguez, Projects Director of John Snow, Inc., both of whom will also assist CSRHA with capital campaign training if the program is funded.

More information will be forthcoming regarding the opportunity to assist CSRHA members with these types of projects through the Rural Health Advocate. If you would like to learn more about this project, please contact Lauri Medeiros, CSRHA Executive Director at (916) 453-0780 or lmedeiros@csrha.org.

Article Posted 02/09/05