Grant Amount
$1,091,518
Priority Area
Primary Care
Date Awarded
November 13, 2023
Region
Statewide
Status
In Progress
In 2023, NYHealth selected a cohort of organizations from across the State for grants totaling nearly $1,100,000 to expand access to and advance racial health equity in primary care.
Primary care is often a patient’s first and most regular point of contact with the health care system. High-quality primary care provides ongoing, relationship-based care that meets the health needs and preferences of individuals, families, and communities, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It is a rare “win-win” in health care that improves individual and community health, enhances health equity, and saves money. Despite the benefits, too little is invested in primary care and too many New Yorkers, especially New Yorkers of color, have difficulty getting care when and where they need it.
In New York’s primary care system, we see both glaring inequities and momentum for improvement—making now the right time to invest in and strengthen the system. Policy efforts are underway in New York and nationally to increase the proportion of overall health care spending directed toward primary care. At the practice level, primary care providers are implementing new models that place patients at the center of their care, use multidisciplinary care teams, and employ innovative uses of technology.
In 2023, NYHealth issued an inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), “Primary Care: Expanding Access and Advancing Racial Health Equity,” in our new Primary Care priority area to support two of our core strategies: (1) expand access to primary care, and (2) advance racial health equity through primary care. Expanding access to primary care is inextricably linked to advancing racial health equity, as shortage areas in New York State are often communities of color. Additionally, improving racial health equity through primary care is not only about increasing access to care, but also about improving the quality and experience of care for patients of color.
Through this RFP, NYHealth is supporting the selected organizations to test replicable models to improve the accessibility, quality, and equity of primary care in regions across the State.
Grant recipients are: