 is a health collaborative network focused on meeting the diverse health needs of our rural community by:
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Increasing access to health care in our community through outreach programs, health education and social marketing;
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Providing a voice for our community by influencing local, state and national rural health policy development;
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Engaging our local communities and stakeholders.
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NEON was awarded the HRSA Consolidated Health Centers Planning Grant that would allow our network a one year planning process Union, Wallowa, and Baker counties. The one-time funds are to be used for a planning process engaging the seven regional rural health clinics, three county public health departments, and three critical access hospitals in implementation of the following goals:
 Conduct a comprehensive, regional community health needs assessment for the tri-county area- Apply for Health Provider Shortage Area (HPSA) designation for the tri-county area;
- Identify barriers in previous network area FQHC applications that have prevented the region from accessing those resources;
- Research the possibilities for a network-structured FQHC.
FAQs about a Federally-Qualified Health Center
- Are we locked into applying for an FQHC? No, we only will submit an application if all of some of the clinics want to.
- Will NEON run the FQHC? No, NEON will help submit an application on behalf of any interested clinics, but will not be a provider of services, or an administrator of the FQHC. That will be up to the clinics involved.
- What is a HPSA? HPSA is a health professional shortage area designation. This is a federal designation that gives access to important benefits, such as increased Medicare reimbursement rates, access to National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment slots and J1 visa slots.
- How will a networked FQHC work? That is us to up to shape. Normally FQHCs are designed as single clinics or a single organization, however, the Bureau of Primary Health Care is interested in locating FQHC resources in frontier areas. It was clear in our application that we were interested in a networked structure rather than a traditional structure, and in accepting our planning grant, the Bureau of Primary Health Care has indicated they will consider a different type of FQHC application.
- What kind of involvement will be needed from clinics, hospitals and public health departments? We will need to connect with office managers of all providers to gather information for the HPSA designation, people to participate in various components of a community health assessment, and clinic staff/providers to participate in a planning committee.
- What time commitment will be required from people participating in the planning activities? The most time intensive involvement will be for those participating on the planning committee, but commitment should be limited to participation in planning meetings, as NEON staff will be dedicated to carrying out any work required by the planning committee. Work relating to the community health assessment and the HPSA designation data collection will be done at your office site or in your community.
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