Division of Primary Care and Rural Health

Office of Minority Health and Public Health Policy Receives Just under $1 Million Federal Grant for Virginia Healthy Small Business Initiative

The Office of Minority Health and Public Health Policy was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its new State Health Access Program to provide greater access to affordable health coverage for workers in Virginia’s small firms. The funding period is five years and will bring in over $15 million in federal funds to Virginia. Grant funds will be used to test and then replicate the offer of a small business employee wellness product as an add-on to, or stepping stone toward, enrollment in a three-share health insurance product with subsidies available for employees up to 400% of the federal poverty level. Funds will also be used to establish a Virginia Center for Healthy Small Business as a sustainable public-private partnership. The Center will have a statewide mission to strengthen Virginia small business by spreading employee health innovation and educating small businesses about the value of health coverage and employee wellness.

State Primary Care Office

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The goal of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Primary Care Office Cooperative Agreement Program is to assure the availability of quality health care to low income, uninsured, isolated, vulnerable and special needs populations and to meet these populations’ unique health care needs. Virginia's Primary Care Office (PCO) accomplishes this through the following:

Fostering collaboration across and within various levels of government, communities, and non-profit organizations;
Identifying communities with the greatest unmet health care needs, disparities, and health workforce shortages; identifying the key barriers to access to health care for these communities; and working toward solutions;
Supporting the Virgina Community Healthcare Association [Virginia's Primary Care Association (PCA)] by providing information to assist in their development of a plan to manage the growth of health centers in Virginia; and
Supporting and enhancing the primary care workforce in the State through shortage designations, recruitment and retention activities, and administration of scholarships and loan repayment programs.

State Office of Rural Health

The goal of the the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) grant program is to assist States in strengthening rural health care delivery systems by creating a focal point for rural health within each State. The mission of each State Office of Rural Health is to help its individual rural communities build health care delivery systems. The Virginia State Office of Rural Health (SORH) accomplishes this mission by:

Fostering collaboration and leveraging resources across and within various levels of government, communities, and non-profit organizations;
Collecting and disseminating information to stakeholders;

Providing technical assistance;
Helping to coordinate rural health interests; and
Supporting efforts to improve recruitment and retention of health professionals in rural areas.

For more information about the Division of Primary Care and Rural Health, contact Division Director, Kathy Wibberly.

Last Updated: 10-09-2009

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