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Rural Texas Strong - Initiative 2 Posting

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is providing notice that Initiative 2: Rural Texas Patients in the Driver’s Seat (RFA No. HHS0017518) is coming soon.

Rural Texas Strong is a funding opportunity under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program.

Description

This initiative plans to invest in technology to establish consumer-facing health portals that engage patients and facilitate the exchange of health information between patients, providers and payers. This includes healthcare portals that will integrate with other applications and consumer technology to make information more attainable.

In addition to the patient portal, funds will be available to purchase equipment that remotely monitors the health of consumers, or other portable health technology that is compatible with the portal.

Eligibility

Eligible entities include clinically integrated networks, accountable care organizations or similar cooperatives whose membership is at least 60 percent rural providers.

Application dates, deadlines, and timelines will be released soon.

When applying, please make sure all required information and materials are submitted before the deadline within the HHSC Grants Management System. Late submissions will not be considered.

To apply, your organization and appropriate staff must have active IAMOnline accounts and access to the HHSC Grants Management System.

To Register an Account with IAMOnline

1. Go to the IAMOnline website.
2. Click the “Register Non-HHS employee account or organization.”
3. If your organization is already registered, select “Register an Individual.”
4. If your organization isn’t registered, “Register an Organization.” (You will automatically be registered as an individual, but others in your organization will need to register as individuals).
5. You must register as a Partner in order to access GMS
6. List Bianca.Hernandez01@hhs.texas.gov as agency sponsor.
7. Follow the instructions on the page to register your account.
8. You’ll get an email confirming registration application.
9. You’ll get a second email when your registration is approved – this process can take several days to complete.

To Access the Grants Management System (GMS)

1. Go to the IAMOnline website.
2. Sign the Authorized User Access (AUA) form located in the AUA tile on your IAMOnline portal if you have not yet completed this
3. Click on the Manage my Access tile or the Manage Users Access tile (if you are an organization approver)

4. If you are an organization approver you must click on the user’s name that you are requesting GMS access for prior to proceeding to Step 4.

1. Type “GMS” into the search bar and select “GMS External” by clicking on the check mark to the left of the GMS title
2. Enter the business justification for this request – the field for this is highlighted in red on the right side of the screen.
3. Follow the remaining instructions to submit your request for access to the GMS application tile.

To Start and Submit Your Application in GMS

1. Click on the GMS tile to access the GMS dashboard. Locate Rural Texas Strong Initiative 2 on the HHSC Grants Portal and click the link for the RFA posting.
2. Click on the “Apply Now” button.
3. Locate the Required Tasks in the Tasks tab of the GMS Dashboard – all tasks must be completed and marked “Complete.”
4. Locate the Application Forms of the GMS Dashboard – all forms must be completed and marked “Complete.”
5. When all Tasks, Application Forms and Budget are marked “Complete”, you must click the “Submit Application” button to submit your application in GMS.

The GMS FAQ and Resources page in the HHS Grants Portal contains GMS resources including the External User Pre Award Guide.

Thank you for your continued commitment to supporting and strengthening rural health initiatives across Texas.

Rural Texas Strong is supported by CMS of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $381,319,360.67 with 100 percent of funding by CMS/HHS. The contents of this email are those of HHSC and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Important Note

In addition to Initiative 2, Initiative 3: Lonestar Advanced AI and Telehealth (RFA No. HHS0017519) will also be coming out soon. Access to, and requirements related to the Grants Management System will be the same for Initiative 3. More information to follow.

Questions

If you have questions or need help, please contact: RuralTexasStrong@hhs.texas.gov.

For GMS or IAMOnline assistance, please contact GMSSupport@hhs.texas.gov.

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