The CHW+AFIM grants support collaborative arrangements between a Kansas-based organization and an eligible provider to integrate community health workers into clinical settings and connect people to health and social services. The program also supports Accountable Food is Medicine, a medically integrated, outcomes-based nutrition approach that can include medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions to help improve chronic disease outcomes; federal funding restrictions prevent the program from directly purchasing food, but it can support services and structures that reinforce the role healthy food plays in overall health.
KDHE selected awardees through a competitive application process that considered community need, long-term financial sustainability, innovation, and alignment with federal and state rural health priorities. KDHE received 18 CHW+AFIM applications.
Grant recipients and amounts include Hutchinson Regional Medical Center ($150,000), Hospital District No. 6 of Harper County ($150,000), Great Plains of Smith County ($150,000), Hospital District No. 1 of Dickinson County, DBA Memorial Health System ($150,000), CommonSpirit Kansas ($149,960), and Newman Memorial County Hospital ($110,716).