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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 153 / Thursday, August 12, 2021 / Notices
expenses and long-term access and availability of rural health care services that have been further hampered as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. In response to these challenges, this ERHC
Grant Program NOFA provides two tracks of funding: Track One for recovery grants to support immediate financial relief needs and Track Two for impact grants to advance ideas and solutions to support the long-term sustainability of rural health care.
Overview Federal Agency: Rural Housing Service RHS, USDA.
Funding Opportunity Title: The American Rescue Plan Act Emergency Rural Health Care ERHC Grant Program.
Funding Opportunity Number:
USDARHSERHC2021.
Announcement Type: Notice of Funds Availability.
Assistance Listings AL Number:
10.766.
Due Date for Applications: Track One, Recovery applications will be accepted on a continual basis and will be evaluated as long as funding remains available. Complete applications received by 4:00 p.m. local time on October 12, 2021 will be evaluated and ranked according to the scoring criteria in this Notice. Applications subsequently received and/or deemed complete will be evaluated and ranked as long as funding remains available.
Applications for Track Two, Impact applications must be received by 4:00
p.m. local time on October 12, 2021.
Applications received after 4:00 p.m.
local time on October 12, 2021 will not be considered.
For further information, visit the Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program web page at https
www.rd.usda.gov/erhc.
Items in Supplementary Information I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Federal Award Information III. Definitions IV. Eligibility Information V. Application Submission Information VI. Application Review Information VII. Federal Awarding Administration Information VIII. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts IX. Other Information
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I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Background This NOFA is being issued pursuant to the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is considered to be Economically Significant and Major.
Funds will be administered in accordance with this NOFA and will be
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distributed between two tracks of funding: Under Track One, Recovery grants are designed to provide emergency grant funding for eligible CF
applicants to help rural hospitals and local communities broaden access to COVID19 vaccines and testing, health care services including telehealth services, and food assistance through food banks and food distribution facilities in rural areas.
Track Two, Impact grants are designed to plan for, implement, and evaluate models to support the longterm sustainability of rural health care.
Long-term sustainability is defined as improved health outcomes, improved access to quality health care, and creating and maintaining health care as a key economic driver of small communities. Details on eligible Community Facilities CF applicants and eligible CF facilities may be found in Section IV. Eligibility Information of this Notice.
Applicants may request assistance for costs for a performance period of up to 36 months. Track One, Recovery applicants may additionally request preaward costs incurred on or after March 13, 2020. Applicants may not request assistance for expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other Federal sources or that other Federal sources are obligated to reimburse.
Rural communities face unique challenges due to the COVID19
pandemic that include financial and economic vulnerability. At the same time, rural communities have essential community infrastructure needs that are essential to promote vaccine administration and distribution, conduct COVID19 testing, provide access to quality health care services, and support the needs of food banks and food distribution facilities. This program provides critical grant funding to support rural communities health care needs in the face of COVID19.
B. Program Description This program is designed for essential community facilities located in rural areas, primarily serving rural areas, and serving populations with median household income that is lower than ninety percent of the State nonmetropolitan median household income. Within these parameters, the Agency is further encouraging investment in distressed communities.
RD utilizes the Distressed Communities Index, developed by the Economic Innovation Group EIG, which combines seven publicly available metrics to assess the economic wellbeing of communities. For more information on EIGs Distressed
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Communities Index, visit https
eig.org/dci. EIGs Distressed Community Map can be found at the following website: https
ruraldevelopment.maps.arcgis.com/
apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=
06a26a91d074426d944d22715a90311e.
As part of its annual performance plan and strategic goals and objectives, the Agency tracks the percent of RD
assistance that goes to distressed communities in its loan and grant programs and will do the same for this program.
C. Implementation of the American Rescue Act of 2021 Provisions Track One, Recovery grant funds will be allocated to USDA Rural Development State Offices. The allocation of funds will be based on an adaptation of 7 CFR part 1940, subpart L, Methodology and Formulas for Allocation of Loan and Grant Program Funds. USDA Rural Development State Offices will have until June 30, 2022 to obligate funds allocated to their respective state. After June 30, 2022, unobligated funds may be pooled into the USDA Rural Development National Office Reserve to fund additional qualified applications based on the evaluation criteria specified in this Notice. The Agency intends to provide a minimum $350,000,000 to fund eligible facilities under Track One.
Track Two, Impact grant funds will be held within the USDA Rural Development National Office Reserve.
The Agency intends to provide up to $125,000,000 to fund no more than 15
projects under Track Two. Any unobligated funds for Track Two, Impact grants will be made available for Track One, Recovery grants.
II. Federal Award Information A. Assistance Listings AL Number:
10.766
Assistance Listings AL Title:
American Rescue Plan Act Emergency Rural Health Care ERHC Grant Program.
B. Available Funds The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides $500,000,000 in budgetary authority for this program through September 30, 2023. The Agency may publish future notices in the Federal Register to align with the demand for these grants.
C. Funding Limitations The Agency will review and evaluate applications received as set forth in this NOFA. The Agency anticipates that demand for grant funding may exceed the supply of funds and will assign
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