Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Notices 5237

Health Resources and Services

Administration

Program Announcement for

Cooperative Agreements for Basic/

Core Area Health Education Center

Programs, and Model Area Health

Education Center Programs for Fiscal

Year 1997

The Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA) announces that

applications will be accepted for fiscal

year (FY) 1997 Cooperative Agreements

for Basic/Core Area Health Education

Center (AHEC) Programs authorized

under section 746(a)(1), and Model

State-Supported Area Health Education

Center Programs authorized under

section 746(a)(3), title VII of the Public

Health Service Act. To receive support,

these programs must meet the

requirements of the regulations as set

forth in 42 CFR part 57, subpart MM, to

the extent they are not superceded by

Statutory Amendment to section 746.

This announcement for the above

stated programs is subject to

reauthorization of the legislative

authority. In fiscal year (FY) 1997 the

total amount available for the AHEC

Program, including Basic/Core AHEC

and Model State-Supported AHEC

awards, is $28.495M of which

approximately $12.0 M will be available

for competing awards. It is estimated

that awards will be made to 12–15

competing applicants including

renewals and new starts. These include

approximately 7–9 Basic/Core AHEC

Program awards and 5–6 Model AHEC

Program awards.

In FY 1996, the average award for the

Basic/Core AHEC Program was

$1,033,130; and the average award for

the Model AHEC Program was $211,111.

These awards support AHEC programs

that employ a statewide or regional

approach.

Cooperative Agreements for Basic/Core

Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

Program; Section 746(a)(1)

Purpose

Section 746(a)(1) of the PHS Act

authorizes Federal assistance to schools

of medicine (allopathic and osteopathic)

which have cooperative arrangements

with one or more public or nonprofit

private area health education centers for

the planning, development and

operation of area health education

center programs.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive support for

an area health education center

cooperative agreement, the applicant

must be a public or nonprofit private

accredited school of medicine

(allopathic or osteopathic) or

consortium of such schools, or the

parent institution on behalf of such

school(s).

Period of Support

Applicants may request up to 3 years

of support with the expectation that

AHECs planned and developed in years

1 and 2 would be fully operational no

later than the 3rd year. The period of

Federal support should not exceed 12

years for an area health education center

program and 6 years for an area health

education center.

General Requirements:

To obtain funds for a basic AHEC

under section 746(b), a medical school

(allopathic or osteopathic) must:

(a) Maintain preceptorship

educational experiences for health

science students;

(b) Maintain community-based

primary care residency programs or be

affiliated with such programs;

(c) Maintain continuing education

programs for health professionals or

coordinate with such programs;

(d) Maintain learning resource and

dissemination systems for information

identification and retrieval;

(e) Have agreements with communitybased organizations for the delivery of

education and training in the health

professions;

(f) Be involved in the training of

health professionals (including nurses

and allied health professionals), except

to the extent inconsistent with the law

of the State in which the training is

conducted; and

(g) Carry out recruitment programs for

the health science professions, or

programs for health-career awareness,

among minority and other elementary or

secondary students from the areas the

program has determined to be medically

underserved;

Provisions Regarding Funding

1. Section 746(e)(1)(B) of the Act

requires that not more than 75 percent

of total operating funds of a program in

any year shall be provided by the

Federal Government. However, as

provided in section 746(e)(2), for an

AHEC center developed as part of an

AHEC program first funded under the

basic AHEC authority on or after

October 13, 1992, a ceiling of 55 percent

of any fifth or sixth year of the

development or operation of a center is

established.

2. The participating medical schools

must provide for the active participation

of at least two schools or programs of

other health professions (including a

school of dentistry), if there is one

affiliated with the medical school’s

university, and a graduate program of

mental health practice, if there is one

affiliated with the university.

3. At least 75 percent of the total

funds provided to a school under any

AHEC program authority (Basic/Core

AHEC Program(s), or Model StateSupported AHEC Program(s)) must be

expended by the AHEC program in

AHEC centers and the school is required

to enter into an agreement with each of

such centers for purposes of specifying

the allocation of the 75 percent of funds.

Review Criteria

The following review criteria apply to

the Basic/Core AHEC Programs, section

746(a)(1) and the Model AHEC

Programs, section 746(a)(3). These

review criteria were established after

public comment at 60 FR 24638, dated

May 9, 1995.

The review of applications will take

into consideration the following criteria:

1. The degree to which the proposed

project adequately provides for the

program requirements set forth in

sections 746(a)(1) and 746(a)(3);

2. The capability of the applicant to

carry out the proposed project activities

in a cost-efficient manner;

3. The extent of the need which the

proposed AHEC program is addressing

in the area to be served by the area

health education center(s);

4. The potential of the proposed

AHEC program and participating

center(s) to continue on a self-sustaining

basis; and

5. The extent to which the proposed

project adequately responds to AHEC

Program performance measures and

outcome indicators.

Substantial Programmatic Involvement

The Bureau of Health Professions,

within the Health Resources and

Services Administration, has substantial

programmatic involvement in the

planning, development, and

administration of the Basic/Core AHEC

and Model AHEC projects by:

1. Reviewing and approving plans

upon which continuation of the

cooperative agreement is contingent in

order to permit appropriate direction

and redirection of activities;

2. Reviewing and approving all

contracts and agreements among

recipient medical or osteopathic

schools, other health professions

schools and the community-based

AHEC centers;

3. Participating with project staff in

the development of funding projections;

4. Developing, with project staff,

individual project data collection

systems and procedures; and
5238 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Notices

5. Participating with project staff in

the design of project evaluation

protocols and methodologies.

Model Area Health Education Center

Programs Section 746(a)(3)

Purpose and Eligibility

Section 746(a)(3) authorizes Federal

assistance to any school of medicine

(allopathic or osteopathic) that is

operating an area health education

centers program and that is not

receiving financial assistance under

section 746(a)(1). Applicants must meet

the eligibility conditions of programs as

set forth in section 746(b), and the

AHEC centers they wish to have

included must meet eligibility

requirements in accordance with section

746(d).

Therefore, applicants in States where

more than one eligible entity exists are

encouraged to collaborate in the

submission of a single Model AHEC

Program application, which reflects a

consortium of Statewide programs to

coordinate community-based health

professions training activities.

Requirements for Model AHEC

Programs

a. Coordinate the activities of the

program with the activities of any office

of rural health established by the State

or States in which the program is

operating;

b. Conduct health professions

education and training activities

consistent with national and State

priorities in the area served by the

program in coordination with the

National Health Service Corps, entities

receiving funds under section 329

(Migrant Health Centers) or 330

(Community Health Centers) and public

health departments; and

c. Cooperate with any entities that are

in operation in the area served by the

program and that receive Federal or

State funds to carry out activities

regarding the recruitment and retention

of health care providers.

Matching Funds Requirement

With respect to the costs of operating

the Model State-Supported AHEC

program, the school must make

available (directly or through donations

from public or private entities) nonFederal contributions in cash toward

such costs in an amount that is not less

than 50 percent of such costs. These

funds must be for the express use of the

AHEC Program and Centers, and not

funds designated for other categorical or

specific purposes.

Section 746(a)(3)(D) states that

schools must maintain expenditures of

non-Federal amounts at a level that is

not less than the level of such

expenditures for the fiscal year

preceding the first fiscal year for which

the school receives an award. The nonFederal contribution to the AHEC

program(s) in the current year is at least

equal to the amount to be received from

the Federal program as required by

section 746(a)(3)(B).

Other Considerations

The principal objective of this

legislation is to encourage State

coordination and support for AHEC

activities. An effective approach for

obtaining support from State legislatures

is to present a unified plan showing

how all the programs are working

together to provide the needed services

in the State. Competitive applications

from one State tend to be divisive rather

than unifying in reaching common

goals.

Criteria for Allocation of Available

Funds

The following criteria for allocation of

funds were established in the Federal

Register on September 14, 1993, (at 58

FR 48068) after public comment and are

being continued in FY 1997.

HRSA will fund approved

applications based on the following

formula:

1. Annually, the total amount

available for funding under section

746(a)(3) will be divided by the total

number of AHEC centers in approved

applications. This will yield the per

center allocation.

2. In accordance with the provisions

of section 746(e)(l)(A), at least 75

percent of the awarded funds must be

spent by an AHEC program in approved

AHEC centers. The remaining 25

percent may be allocated to the AHEC

program office and/or other

participating schools.

3. A school may expend not more

than 10 percent of an award for

demonstration project purposes as

defined in section 746(a)(3)(E).

National Health Objectives for the Year

2000

The Public Health Service (PHS) is

committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention

objectives of Health People 2000, a PHSled national activity for setting priority

areas. The Basic/Core Area Health

Education Centers (AHEC) Program and

the Model State-Supported AHEC

Program are related to the priority area

of Educational and Community-Based

Programs. Potential applicants may

obtain a copy of Healthy People 2000

(Full Report; Stock No. 017–001–00474–

0) or Healthy People 2000 Summary

Report; Stock No. 017–001–00473–1)

through the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20402–9325

(Telephone 202–783–3238).

Academic and Community Partnerships

As part of its long-range planning,

HRSA will be targeting its efforts to

strengthening linkages between U.S.

Public Health Service supported

education programs and programs

which provide comprehensive primary

care services to the underserved.

Smoke Free Workplace

The Public Health Service strongly

encourages all grant and cooperative

agreement recipients to provide a

smoke-free workplace and promote the

non-use of all tobacco products and

Public Law 103–227, the Pro-Children

Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in

certain facilities that receive Federal

funds in which education, library, day

care, health care, and early childhood

development services are provided to

children.

Application Availability

Application materials are available on

the World Wide Web at address: ‘‘http:/

/www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/bhpr/grants.html’’.

In Fiscal Year 1997, the Bureau of

Health Professions (BHPr) will use

Adobe Acrobat to publish the grants

documents on the Web page. In order to

download, view and print these grants

documents, you will need a copy of

Adobe Acrobat Reader. This can be

obtained without charge from the

Internet by going to the Adobe Web page

(‘‘http://www.adobe.com’’) and

downloading the version of the Adobe

Acrobat Reader which is appropriate for

your operating system, i.e., Windows,

Unix, Macintosh, etc. A set of more

detailed instructions on how to

download and use the Adobe Acrobat

Reader can be found on the BHPr Grants

Web page under ‘‘Notes on this WWW

Page’’.

If additional programmatic

information is needed, please contact

Carol S. Gleich, Ph.D. Chief, AHEC and

Special Programs Branch,

(cgleich@hrsa.dhhs.gov.)Division of

Medicine, Bureau of Health Professions,

Health Resources and Services

Administration, Parklawn Building,

Room 9A–27, 5600 Fishers Lane,

Rockville, Maryland 20857. Telephone:

(301) 443–6950, FAX: (301) 443–8890.

Questions regarding grants policy and

business management issues should be

directed to Ms. Wilma Johnson, Acting

Chief, Centers and Formula Grants

Section (wjohnson@hrsa.dhhs.gov),
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Notices 5239

Grants Management Branch, Bureau of

Health Professions, Health Resources

and Services Administration, Parklawn

Building, Room 8C–26, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

For applicants who are unable to

access application materials

electronically, a hard copy will be

provided be contacting the HRSA Grants

Application Center. The Center may be

contacted by: Telephone Number: 1–

888–300–HRSA; FAX Number: 301–

309–0579; Email Address:

HRSA.GAC@IX.NETCOM.COM.

Completed applications should be

returned to: Grants Management Officer

(CFDA#), HRSA Grants Application

Center, 40 West Gude Drive, Suite 100,

Rockville, Maryland 20850.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The standard application form PHS

6025–1, HRSA Competing Training

Grant Application, General Instructions

and supplement for these grant

programs have been approved by the

Office of Management and Budget under

the Paperwork Reduction Act. The OMB

Clearance Number is 0915–0060.

Deadline Date

The deadline dates for receipt of

applications for each of these programs

are shown in Table 1. Applications will

be considered to be ‘‘on time’’ if they are

either:

(1) Received on or before the

established deadline date, or

(2) Sent on or before the established

deadline date and received in time for

orderly processing. (Applicants should

request a legibly dated U.S. Postal

Service postmark or obtain a legibly

dated receipt from a commercial carrier

or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered

postmarks shall not be acceptable as

proof of timely mailing.)

Late applications not accepted for

processing will be returned to the

applicant. In addition, applications

which exceed the page limitation and/

or do not follow format instructions will

not be accepted for processing and will

be returned to the applicant.

TABLE 1

PHS Section No., Title, CFDA No., Regulation Type of assistance

Period of

support

(years)

Deadline

date

746(a)(1), Basic/Core AHEC, 93.824, 42 CFR part 57 subpart MM .............. Cooperative Agreement ..................... 3 3/21/97

746(a)(3), State Supported Model AHEC, 93.107 .......................................... Cooperative Agreement ..................... 3 3/21/97

These programs are not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order 12372,

Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs (as implemented through 45

CFR part 100) or the Public Health

System Reporting Requirements.

Dated: January 28, 1997.

Ciro V. Sumaya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–2682 Filed 2–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

National Institutes of Health

National Heart, Lung, and Blood

Institute; Notice of Meeting

Pursuant to Pub. L. 92–463, notice is

hereby given of the meeting of the

following National Heart, Lung, and

Blood Institute Special Emphasis Panel.

The meeting will be open to the

public to provide concept review of

proposed contract or grant solicitations.

Individuals who plan to attend and

need special assistance, such as sign

language interpretation or other

reasonable accommodations, should

inform the Contact Person listed below

in advance of the meeting.

Name of Panel: Heart and Vascular

Diseases Research Opportunities.

Dates of Meeting: March 26, 1997.

Time of Meeting: 8:30 a.m.

Place of Meeting: NIH, Building 31, C

Wing, Conference Room 6, 31 Center Drive,

Bethesda Maryland 20892.

Agenda: Discussion of Future Initiatives

with Emphasis on Critical Health Care Needs

and Research Opportunities Related to Heart

and Vascular Diseases.

Contact Person: Frank Altieri, Ph.D.,

NHLBI/DHVD, Two Rockledge Center, 6701

Rockledge Drive, Rm. 9166, MSC 7940,

Bethesda, Maryland 20892, (301) 435–0494.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Programs Nos. 93.837, Heart and Vascular

Diseases Research; 93.838, Lung Diseases

Research; and 93.839, Blood Diseases and

Resources Research, National Institutes of

Health.)

Dated: January 29, 1997.

Paula N. Hayes,

Acting Committee management Officer, NIH.

[FR Doc. 97–2725 Filed 2–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

National Heart, Lung, and Blood

Institute; Notice of Closed Meetings

Pursuant to Section 10(d) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as

amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice

is hereby given of the following Heart,

Lung, and Blood Special Emphasis

Panel (SEP) meetings:

Name of SEP: Conjugated Pneumococcal

Vaccine in Sickle Cell Disease.

Date: February 25, 1997.

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Place: Hyatt Regency Hotel, One Metro

Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.

Contact Person: Ivan Baines, Ph.D., Two

Rockledge Center, Room 7184, 6701

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892–7924,

(301) 435–0277.

Purpose/Agenda: To review and evaluate

grant applications.

This notice is being published less than

fifteen days prior to this meeting due to the

urgent need to meet timing limitations

imposed by the grant review and funding

cycle.

Name of SEP: Collaborative Study on the

Genetics of Asthma.

Date: March 18, 1997.

Time: 8:00 a.m.

Place: Crystal City Marriott, 1999 Jefferson

Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202.

Contact Person: C. James Scheirer, Ph.D,

Two Rockledge Center, Room 7220, 6701

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892–7924,

(301) 435–0266.

Purpose/Agenda: To review and evaluate

grant applications.

These meetings will be closed in

accordance with the provisions set forth in

Sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5,

U.S.C. Applications and/or proposals and the

discussions could reveal confidential trade

secrets or commercial property such as

patentable material and personal information

concerning individuals associated with the

applications and/or proposals, the disclosure

of which would constitute a clearly

unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Programs Nos. 93.837, Heart and Vascular

Diseases Research; 93.838, Lung Diseases

Research; and 93.839, Blood Diseases and

Resources Research, National Institutes of

Health.)

Dated: January 29, 1997.

Paula N. Hayes,

Acting Committee Management Officer, NIH.

[FR Doc. 97–2727 Filed 2–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M