Section 596.320  Project Requirements

a)         Projects funded through this Subpart shall respond to requests for proposals distributed by the Department and delineating project expectations.

b)         Requests for proposals prepared by the Department shall address one or more of the following goals:

1)         Use innovative methods that expand the ability of existing  health and social service providers located in or near the service area to meet the overall primary care needs within a project's targeted area;

2)         Increase the numbers or types of primary health care providers within a designated shortage area;

3)         Increase the level of collaborative working arrangements among a variety of health and social service providers in a project's service area;

4)         Target those rural areas identified by the Department as having the greatest need for primary health care and public health interventions.

c)         Projects funded through this Part shall avoid duplicating resources in areas where primary health care services are already available (Section 4.1 of the Act) and are meeting health care demands.

d)         Projects shall identify a project director who shall be responsible for administrative and fiscal management of the project.

e)         Projects that establish a primary health care clinic using grant funds under this Subpart shall meet the following minimum requirements:

1)         Seek designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center or FQHC Look-Alike;

2)         Make services available and accessible to all residents of the project's service area;

3)         Ensure that physicians with whom the clinic contracts or whom the clinic employs have staff privileges at a minimum of one hospital in or near the service area and are responsible for arranging 24-hour coverage; and

4)         Have referral arrangements with other service providers, including  local health departments, local mental health agencies, dentists, senior services agencies, pharmacies, and, where available, transportation providers to assist clinic patients in receiving needed health and social services.

f)         Evidence of the solicitation and consideration of input and potential participation in the project by the local health department and other health and social service providers in the service area shall be included in an application. This evidence may include copies of correspondence soliciting input.

g)         Projects selected for funding that build on existing activities shall demonstrate an increase in service recipients and, at a minimum, the maintenance of or an increase in the level of previously available funds used to support the project prior to receipt of funds under this Part.

h)         Projects that propose to provide health care diagnostic and treatment services shall submit as part of the application a projected budget estimating entire project costs and all revenue sources.

i)          Projects developed under the auspices of a Public Health Service Act, section 329, 330 or 340, funded entity or an FQHC Look-Alike, that are outside their service areas, and that develop a primary health care clinic, shall develop a board of directors representative of the new service area.

(Source:  Amended at 35 Ill. Reg. 14147, effective August 4, 2011)