Rural Telementoring Training Center | HRSA 20 108

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 20 108

The Rural Telementoring Training Center (RTTC) Program is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding opportunity designed to strengthen rural and underserved health care by expanding telementoring as a workforce and capacity-building strategy. Through this cooperative agreement, HRSA aims to train academic medical centers and other centers of excellence to launch or grow technology-enabled, collaborative learning models that connect specialty expertise to frontline primary care teams. The opportunity specifically highlights models such as Project ECHO, ECHO-like approaches, and other emerging telementoring frameworks that use virtual, case-based learning and guided mentorship to spread best practices beyond major medical hubs.

At its core, the RTTC is expected to act as a national training and technical assistance resource that helps organizations implement telementoring programs in a practical, cost-effective way. A key deliverable is the development of freely accessible tools and resources that organizations across the country can use to plan, implement, and improve telementoring initiatives. These materials are expected to be adaptable to culturally and regionally diverse populations, reflecting the different realities of rural communities and medically underserved areas. By making the resources open and broadly usable, HRSA intends for the RTTC to accelerate adoption of effective telementoring and reduce the need for each organization to rebuild infrastructure and curricula from scratch.

The program also places a strong emphasis on improving care through team-based delivery models, where each member of the care team can work at the top of their license or training. In practice, this means telementoring is not just aimed at individual clinicians, but at strengthening entire care teams so they can manage complex conditions locally with support from specialists. The expected long-term result is better access to quality specialty-informed care for rural patients, using telehealth and innovative technology solutions to reduce unnecessary travel, close service gaps, and improve continuity of care.

Another central component is evaluation and measurement. The RTTC is expected to create a standardized telementoring learning program data set and an evaluation toolkit so participating programs can track implementation, outputs, and outcomes more consistently. HRSA is looking for methodology that can identify what is working, where programs are achieving impact, and how telementoring influences provider capacity, quality of care, and access in rural settings. This focus on shared metrics is meant to support learning across programs and help establish more comparable evidence about telementoring effectiveness nationally.

The main objectives outlined in the announcement include identifying and expanding existing and new telementoring learning programs, developing freely accessible tools and resources to support program planning and implementation, and creating the standardized data set and evaluation toolkit. Overall, the opportunity aligns with HRSA priorities around building a health care workforce that can meet current and emerging needs, improving access to quality services, advancing health equity, and improving population health outcomes in rural and underserved communities.

Administrative details included in the notice indicate this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through HRSA. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial federal involvement during the project period, such as collaboration on priorities, deliverables, and performance expectations. The opportunity number is HRSA-20-108 under CFDA 93.155. HRSA anticipated making one award, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000. The opportunity was originally posted April 17, 2020, with an original closing date of June 16, 2020. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with further clarification expected in the full eligibility section of the original announcement.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Telementoring Training Center" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.155.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 16, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HRSA 20 108

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