The Government of Alberta announced two health grants for rural communities across the province
The Government of Alberta (GOA) recently announced two new grants that are intended to provide funding for non-physician clinic team members and funds for municipalities to put towards clinic operations.
Rural Team Recruitment Grant
The Rural Team Recruitment Grant is open to rural community organizations and clinics to hire additional team members, other than a physician assistant or nurse practitioner, to increase clinic capacity. The intent is to:
- Support clinics so that they can see more patients
- Improve access to primary health care through team-based care
The grant will provide 50% of the total funding cost up to a maximum individual salary of $145,000. The applicant must commit to provide the other 50%. The grant appears to provide funding up to 2026.
Applications for this grant close on November 29, 2024.
Municipally Supported Clinics Grant
The Municipally Supported Clinics Grant is intended to improve patient access to primary health care through team-based care. Funding will be used to support rural municipalities to strengthen team-based models of care, which may include support for municipalities taking over clinic ownership or operations within their community. Rural municipalities must have established infrastructure and a defined need to apply or the program.
Applicants must provide a minimum of 50% of the total cost. The province will match costs up to $200,000. Grant funds cannot be used to pay for existing staff salaries, operating expenses currently funded by another sources, or existing capital expenses.
Applications for this grant close on November 30, 2024.
RMA Analysis
While these grants may provide a limited source of new funding for rural healthcare providers and clinics, they may ultimately place the a greater portion of local healthcare delivery costs onto rural municipalities in the long-term (especially in the case of the Municipally Supported Clinics Grant). While municipal ownership or funding of clinics has been an excellent solution in some rural communities, it should not be an expectation as healthcare is a provincial responsibility.
The window to apply for these grants is also very narrow and may cause challenges for RMA members to submit a successful application.
Kallie Wischoff
Policy Advisor
825.319.2245
kallie@RMAlberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@RMAlberta.com