Centers of Excellence Program (COE)

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The Centers of Excellence program, hereafter referred to as COE, is authorized by Title VII, Section 736 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148). The amended legislation expands the funding allocation formula by identifying a methodology to distribute appropriations in excess of $40M among awarded health professions schools serving underrepresented minority (URM) individuals. This funding opportunity announcement solicits new and competitive continuation applications for the COE grant program. The COE program grantees serve as innovative resource and education centers to recruit, train, and retain URM students and faculty at health professions schools. Programs are implemented to improve information resources, clinical education, curricula, and cultural competence as they relate to minority health issues. These grantees also focus on facilitating faculty and student research on health issues particularly affecting URM groups. The ultimate goal of the program is to strengthen the national capacity to produce quality healthcare workforce whose racial and ethnic diversity is representative of the U.S. population. COE Program Legislative Requirements The COE program applicants must address each of the following seven legislative requirements in their application: -1 Competitive Applicant Pool: Develop a large competitive applicant pool through linkages with institutions of higher education, local school districts, and other community-based entities and establish an educational pipeline for health professions careers. -2 Student Performance: Establish, strengthen, or expand programs to enhance the academic performance of URM students attending the school. -3 Faculty Development: Improve the capacity of such schools to train, recruit, and retain URM faculty including payment of such stipends and fellowships as the Secretary may determine is appropriate. -4 Information Resources, Clinical Education, Curricula, and Cultural Competence: Carry out activities to improve the information resources, clinical education, curricula and cultural competence of the graduates as they relate to minority health issues. -5 Faculty/Student Research: Facilitate faculty and student research on health issues particularly affecting URM groups, including research on issues relating to the delivery of health care. -6 Student Training in Providing Health Care Services: Carry out a program that trains students of the school in providing health care services to a significant number of URM individuals at community-based health facilities that provide such health care services and are located at a site away from the main teaching facilities of the school. -7 Stipends: Provide stipends as the Secretary determines are appropriate, in amounts the Secretary determines appropriate.

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