Overview
On March 16th, the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the provision of Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), telepsychiatry, and teletherapy services in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that are accepting OMH long-stay patients, who are generally older adults with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or dementia. Through this program, OMH will award one not-for-profit applicant with $6 million in total funding to provide telehealth services and virtual psychiatric consultations for eligible SNF residents.
The full RFP is available here. Applications are due on May 10th.
Funding
The awarded applicant will receive $1.2 million in annual funding for the provision of services. Administrative costs cannot exceed 15 percent of the total budget. Contracts will last for five years beginning on October 1st.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants are not-for-profit 501(c)(3) agencies and academic institutions affiliated with a medical center. Applicants must have experience providing mental health services to individuals with serious mental illness and must be licensed to provide telehealth services.
Target Population
The target population for services through this program includes individuals who live in SNFs and have mental illness or SMI who:
- Are Medicaid eligible;
- Are long-stay residents of State-operated Transitional Living Residences (TLRs) and Congregate Residences (SOCRs), or live at State Psychiatric Centers and are at risk of becoming long-stay TLR or SOCR residents;
- Have had an evaluation demonstrating that their medical needs outweigh their psychiatric needs and are eligible for SNF level of care as the least restrictive setting; and
- Are individuals discharged from OMH facilities to SNFs.
Application
Proposals will be scored based on the following criteria:
- Population (10 points)
- Description of Program (20 points)
- Implementation (20 points)
- Agency Performance (20 Points)
- Reporting and Quality Improvement (10 points)
- Financial Assessment (20 points)
Proposals must receive a minimum score of 70 to be considered for funding. In the case of a tie, the proposal with the highest score on the “Description of Program” section will be considered for funding.
Timeline
Proposals must be submitted by May 10th. Applicants must submit a non-binding Letter of Intent via email to Deborah Beaudin at Deborah.Beaudin@omh.ny.gov by May 4th. Awards are expected to be announced on June 14th.
Questions may be submitted to the email address above by April 6th. Questions and answers will be posted on the OMH website on April 19th.