Rowan-Virtua RISN Center receives $2M commitment

The Rowan-Virtua Regional Integrated Special Needs Center (Rowan-Virtua RISN) was named one of two New Jersey institutions to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to train primary care medical students, physician assistant students, and medical residents in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate care for individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with physical or intellectual and developmental disabilities. Under the grant, Rowan-Virtua RISN will receive $400,904 in the first year of a program, with potential to continue for four additional years at the same funding level for a total of $2,004,520. 

HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson announced the award at a September 15 roundtable event at the RISN Center on the Sewell campus of the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences of Rowan University. HRSA’s mission focuses on improving health care access for historically underserved communities, and today’s investments address critical gaps that can occur in health care training and impede access to care.

“At the Health Resources and Services Administration, we work every day to improve access to health care services for individuals and families in underserved and rural communities and to support the health care workforce necessary to deliver this care,” Johnson said. “By helping medical schools and primary care residency programs build trainees’ skills and giving them hands-on experience caring for individuals with physical or developmental disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency, we are investing in building a workforce that matches what communities need.”

U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross attended the event and commented on the important progress in the care for special needs patients that is exemplified by the award to the RISN Center. “This is nothing short of remarkable,” he said. “Ten years ago, none of this opportunity existed. Yet, here we are on the cutting edge of delivering health care in a different way to those who need it most.”

The award to the RISN Center was one of 18 awards, totaling $8 million, announced that same day to fund programs to train medical students and new physicians to care for individuals with disabilities or limited English proficiency. The program at RISN will focus on training medical students and medical residents in providing primary care for individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. Founded in 2019, the Rowan-Virtua RISN Center is the first primary care practice dedicated to serving special needs patients with comprehensive, coordinated, and accessible primary care and behavioral health services.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to improving health equity and ensuring that all patients have access to health care providers with the training and skills to meet their needs,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Today we are making it easier for a person with a physical or developmental disability or who speaks limited English to see a physician who understands them and their health care needs. HHS will continue to take action to reduce barriers to care and support the health care workforce and the patients they serve.”

A 2022 survey of more than 700 physicians found that only 41 percent of respondents were ‘very confident’ about their ability to provide the same quality of care to people with disabilities as those without, and only 57 percent strongly agreed that they welcomed people with disabilities into their practices, leading researchers to conclude that improvements in medical education and training are needed to better prepare physicians to care for people with disabilities. HRSA’s investments will support primary care trainees in building culturally competent skills to provide care to individuals with physical or intellectual and developmental disabilities through clinical and classroom training and rotations providing health care services to individuals with disabilities.  

Individuals with limited English proficiency disproportionately experience poor health outcomes and often substandard provider experiences, including challenges understanding doctors’ questions and diagnoses and with reading and using prescriptions, referrals, and follow-up directions. Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans make up the majority of people with LEP, and noncitizens are significantly more likely than U.S. born people to have LEP.

Awardees will focus on either disability, limited English proficiency, or both. To view the full list of awardees, see https://bhw.hrsa.gov/funding/apply-grant/pcte-lda-fy2023-awards.