The Montana Rural Health Initiative (RHI) Launches Incubator Program.

The Montana Rural Health Initiative (RHI) is proud to announce the launch of the RHI Incubator Program. The Incubator is a program to provide assistance to communities interested in starting a health prevention or wellness program. If you are starting such a program in your community and are looking for assistance in getting the program going, you are invited to apply to the Incubator.

This year, we are opening this opportunity for a short time just to get the Incubator going. If you are interested in applying, please return your application to us by November 20th, 2009. In the future, we expect to be able to operate the Incubator as an ongoing part of the RHI.

We are excited about the launch of this new part of the RHI. The Incubator supports collaboration within the Montana RHI health and wellness community and makes our state a model for state action that can be effective in advancing disease prevention and creating a state-wide culture of wellness. We hope you will join with us on the website, in the webinars, or through the Incubator to stimulate increased health and wellness activity throughout the state.

See below for a description of the Incubator and the application for your information. Please let me know if you have any questions or need assistance in preparing the application.

Best Regards,

Shalina Mirza

Shalina Mirza, Project Coordinator

Montana Office of Rural Health | Montana AHEC Program Office

Montana State University | Division of Health Sciences

P.O. Box 170520 | Bozeman, MT 59717

v: 406.994.5310 | f: 406.994.5653

AHEC & ORH: http://healthinfo.montana.edu

MT RHI: http://www.montanaruralhealthinitiative.org/

***

Montana Rural Health Initiative Incubator

The Rural Health Initiative (RHI) Incubator is a program to help rural communities hatch and grow projects to improve community health and wellness. The intent of the program is to stimulate the creation of more prevention and wellness activities across the state.

Incubator assistance will be determined based on the strength and clarity of the following items:

 Projects in small and rural communities that strive to increase the number of evidenced-based interventions and strategies to improve the health of their community

 Programs with a clear understanding of what achievements (outcomes) are desired

 Projects whose primary focus is on using local resources, supporting sustainability efforts, and incorporating ideas related to health, wellness, and prevention

 Collaboration with other members or organizations in the community

Outcomes of the process:

 Create and support critical resources to stimulate the creation of more prevention and wellness programs across Montana.

 Encourage development of sustainable community programs, and foster local involvement.

 Help support the needs of projects during their critical stages of development.

Community Responsibilities and Expectations

 Assist in organizing and hosting a community advisory committee for the project.

 Involving community support is an essential component to this project, and all programs seeking assistance through the Incubator organize and host local meetings for their advisory committee.

 Cooperate with the RHI during and after the completion of the project.

For more information, please contact:

Shalina Mirza, Project Coordinator

Montana Office of Rural Health | Montana AHEC Program Office

P.O. Box 170520 | Bozeman, MT 59717

v: 406.994.5310 | f: 406.994.5653

***

Montana Rural Health Initiative Incubator Application

Incubator assistance will be determined based on the strength and clarity of the following items:

 Projects in small and rural communities that strive to increase the number of evidenced-based interventions and strategies to improve the health of their community

 Programs with a clear understanding of what achievements (outcomes) are desired

 Projects whose primary focus is on using local resources, supporting sustainability
efforts, and incorporating ideas related to health, wellness, and prevention

 Collaboration with other members or organizations in the community

Outcomes of the process:

 Create and support critical resources to stimulate the creation of more prevention and wellness programs across Montana.

 Encourage development of sustainable community programs, and foster local involvement.

 Help support the needs of projects during their critical stages of development.

OFFICIAL APPLICATION FOR THE RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE INCUBATOR

Please type or print and attach any additional pages if necessary.

Title of Project: _____________________________________________

Organization Name: __________________________________________

Based on the focus points listed above, please provide a page or less to describe:

1. What project would you like to do? Please describe the project, including the goals you plan to accomplish. Visit http://www.montanaruralhealthinitiative.org for examples.

2. When do you plan to implement it, and how long will it last? (e.g. 2 month winter shape up challenge, or a 1 day health screening)

3. What experience or community leadership do you have that will help you be successful?

4. What technical assistance do you foresee in planning, organization, and execution of the program? Are there parts of the project that are hard to fund locally?
If awarded, I verify that the Incubator assistance will be used specifically to for the project approved by the Montana Rural Health Initiative, as detailed in this application.

Montana Rural Health Initiative Incubator Program, Letter of Intent

List Potential Community/Regional/State Partners:

Project’s Lead Contact Person:

Organization:

Address:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

Date:

A check in the box verifies that you have read and agree with the requirements of the RHI Incubator process.

Community Responsibilities and Expectations

0 I will assist in organizing and hosting a community advisory committee for the project.

0 I understand that involving community support is an essential component to this project, and all programs seeking assistance through the Incubator organize and host local meetings for their advisory committee.

0 I agree to cooperate with the RHI during and after the completion of the project. I understand that this may include one or all of the following: sharing results on the RHI Health & Wellness Community Resource Network; writing an article about the program and its accomplishments; placing project results on the website; participating in a webinar about the project; or providing some other acceptable form of communication about their project to other participants in the Network.

*Contact the Incubator for assistance in preparing and submitting this application. The Incubator reviewers will contact the applicant if additional information is needed. In most cases, the application should be reviewed within two weeks.

*Applications are due no later than NOVEMBER 20th, 2009, but we encourage you to apply earlier.

Please contact us with any questions or comments.

Shalina Mirza

[email protected]

406-994-5310

***

Send completed forms to:

Shalina Mirza

P.O. Box 170520

Bozeman, MT 59717

Or fax to: 406-994-5653