The two categories of awards include:

Category 1: Small, Rural and/or Safety Net Providers/Organizations

To be eligible to be nominated under this category, the nominated program or project must meet at least ONE of the following criteria:

• The program or project serves a rural OR underserved area based on either program eligibility, common rural definitions OR shortage designations criteria. To determine eligibility, plug the address into the Am I Rural Tool (https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/am-i-rural). The program/project if after running the report the service area is considered eligible for FORHP – Grant Programs or is considered a Shortage Designation (either a HPSA or MUA/MUP)
• The program or project is administered by a small practice or organization (under 50 regular full-time employees).
• The program or project is administered by an organization that is considered a health care safety net organization (e.g., public health/mental health, Federally Qualified Health Clinic, free/charitable care clinic, private nonprofit clinic). Organizations are considered part of the health care safety net if: (1) either by legal mandate or explicitly adopted mission they maintain an “open door,” offering access to services for patients regardless of their ability to pay; and (2) a substantial share of their patient mix is uninsured, Medicaid, and other vulnerable patients.

Category 2: All Other Providers/Organizations

REQUIREMENTS: All nominations must be submitted online on/before the stated due date. By submitting a nomination for this award, you are granting MATRC and its assignees permission to use and disseminate the content of the nominations for the purpose of education, promotion of the value of telehealth and/or promotion of MATRC sponsored activities and events.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Nominations should not exceed 3 pages in length single spaced, with 1 inch margins and using 12 point font. All nominations must include the following information:

• Submitters Name, Title, Phone Number and Email Address
• Name of Program/Project
• Award Category: (Category 1 or Category 2)
• Name, Title, Phone Number and Email of Program/Project Manager/Coordinator (if different than Submitter)
• Name and Address of Program/Project Organization (if applicable)
• Brief Overview of the Program/Project (a description of the purpose of the project and the key components of the project – if the project had explicit goals and objectives, include those here as well)
• What Barriers Did This Project Try to Address? (a description of the targeted area or population and the nature and extent of the problem(s)/barrier(s) or unmet need(s) that the project was designed to address)
• Why Do You Feel This Was a Barrier Breaking Program/Project? (a description of the outcomes and impact achieved by the project)
  • Optional supporting documents: As evidence of impact of the program/project, nominees may upload:
    • Letters of support and/or brief testimonials from those who have been impacted by the program/project
    • Outcomes data from efforts to asses or evaluate the project
    • Newspaper articles or other materials that discuss the project
    • Promotional materials about the program/project
• Were There Any Elements of this Program/Project that You Felt Were Innovative? (a description of any elements of this project that you could consider new or previously untried – innovation may take many forms, including new methods for reaching underserved populations, previously untried methods, processes, strategies or technologies, or simply a different way to drive adoption of telehealth by providers and/or patients)

To support MATRCs mission for providing education and technical assistance to others, the following are some informational elements, that if available, would be great to include in the nomination:

• What Were the Most Important Lessons Learned through this Program/Project? (recommendations for success should someone want to replicate this project)
• What Costs Were Involved in this Program/Project and How Feasible Would It Be to Replicate the Project in Another Setting or for Another Population?

AWARD CRITERIA:

• 25% Need: Is there evidence that this program/project was designed to use telehealth as a way to break down barriers to accessing quality care and/or addressing an unmet need?
• 50% Impact: Is there evidence that the program/project has succeeded in breaking down barriers to accessing quality care and/or addressing an unmet need and has led to improvements in health and/or quality of life for the targeted population?
• 15% Replicability: Can this program/project be successfully replicated in other areas or populations?
• 10% Originality: Is this a new idea or previously untried concept?

2024 Call For Nominations Flyer