The Heart Network, on behalf of the North Country Chronic Disease Prevention Coalition, has received a grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to support increased access to evidence-based chronic disease prevention and self-management services across the region.

The Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant, awarded earlier this year, will also support Coalition efforts to prepare for contracting with health care payers such as insurance companies. This contracting ability will allow members of the Coalition to be reimbursed for the work they do and ensure that long-term efforts to provide more chronic disease prevention services will be sustainable.

“Our Coalition is working to build region-wide capacity to secure funding to support delivery of chronic disease prevention and self management services,” said Ann Morgan, executive director of The Heart Network, which facilitates the Chronic Disease Prevention Coalition. “The funding from this grant allows the Coalition to designate and prepare one organization to represent a network of program delivery partners and act as a single point of contracting with payers, so that health insurance companies don’t have to negotiate contracts with multiple organizations.”

The HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Program promotes the planning and development of integrated rural health care networks with three primary goals: to achieve efficiencies; to expand access to, coordinate and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes; and to strengthen the rural health care system as a whole.

The North Country Chronic Disease Prevention Coalition is a collaborative group of healthcare providers, community-based organizations and other chronic disease prevention program stakeholders located in northeastern New York State. Formed in 2019, the Coalition aims to expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of chronic disease prevention in the region by building a community integrated health network with capacity to sustain ongoing, regular delivery of evidence-based chronic disease prevention and self-management services.

“Chronic disease rates in North Country counties remain high, especially for diabetes,” Morgan said. “The Coalition has made significant strides to offer more prevention and self-management services in community settings, but we still have a long way to go to make sure everyone who needs these services can access them.”

Early in 2022, the Coalition launched Get Healthy North Country, a website that acts as a one-stop shop for those looking to enroll in local workshops and wellness programs to help them prevent or better manage diabetes, high blood pressure or other chronic diseases. To learn more, visit gethealthnoco.org.

The North Country Chronic Disease Prevention Coalition includes organizations in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, Washington and St. Lawrence counties. The nearly three dozen member agencies represent a diverse array of health care interests, from direct care to public health and social services.

To learn more about the Coalition, contact Ann Morgan at amorgan@heartnetwork.org or (518) 891-5855.

The Heart Network collaborates with health systems and public health agencies across the North Country to design, develop, and implement strategies to decrease the incidence of cardiac disease, stroke, and related chronic disease. To learn more, visit heartnetwork.org.