Purpose and Target Population

Purpose: Partnering to build effective systems that create healthier communities
Vision: The SKCCP framework will create health equity for residents of Somerset and Kennebec Counties through coordinated services, improved access to services, increased capacity, and collaboration
Mission: Create a framework for radical multi-sector communication and action that optimizes well-being of all who live in Somerset and Kennebec Counties 
HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Aim Statement: To improve the experiences and outcomes of individuals with IDD, Alzheimer's/dementia, and caregivers, the Somerset & Kennebec Counties Community Partnership will complete a process improvement pilot project that will address specific areas of disconnect between healthcare and community-based partners when serving these populations by May 2026 
The purpose of these HRSA grants is to promote the planning and development of integrated health care networks to address the following legislative aims: (i) achieve efficiencies; (ii) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes; and (iii) strengthen the rural health care system as a whole.

Planning and Implementation

The grant helped SKCCP to transition from initial, very large, system-level and aspirational goals to focus on specific priority populations: individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia

This has involved additional significant engagement with external stakeholders who more directly work with the populations as part of a preliminary gap analysis

The process of interpreting results of these engagements was thoughtfully done by the project steering committee

As a result, steering committee members and external stakeholders became more knowledgeable and engaged

Best Practices

Leveraging the connections of steering committee members and external stakeholders was key to gathering vital insights about the priority populations

The HRSA grant provided a template for success: defined aim statements were required as well as a Network Organizational Assessment that on the group to rank its current and aspirational levels of formality for seven key characteristics, which helped partners reflect on the group’s purpose

Focus on planned implementation activities that are tangible, incremental, and mapped out on a timeline –based on input and support from the entire steering committee

A key deliverable of the HRSA grant is a Strategic Plan to will guide implementation in two areas: Programmatic Goals and Objectives and Network Sustainability Goals

Challenges and Solutions

Need to keep partners engaged/involved when the priority population may not be a focus of their organization, bringing attention back to the larger, statewide RCHIP model and opportunities for shared learning create more collaborative energy

Including activities that require partner participation in meeting agendas; partners can lose sense of process/progress in between meetings; address by briefly regrounding overall context at start of each meeting