NC Rural Health Transformation Program Webinar 6.24.2026: Progress Update and ROOTS Hub Introduction — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:09Good afternoon and welcome to today's  webinar. NC rural health transformation
2. 0:14program progress progress update and roots  hub introductions. Before we get started,
3. 0:20here are just a few reminders  about the webinar technology.
4. 0:25Please make sure that you are using a computer  or smartphone, connected to the internet,
5. 0:32and the audio function is on, and the volume is  turned up. Please be sure that your microphone
6. 0:37is muted for the duration of the call.  Questions can be submitted at any time
7. 0:42during the presentation using the Q&A function  on your control panel. We will answer questions,
8. 0:48as many questions as time allows after the  presentation. American Sign Language interpreters
9. 0:54and closed captioning options are available for  today's event. American Sign Language interpreters
10. 1:00for today are Amanda and Jacob. For closed  captioning, select the close caption feature
11. 1:06on your dashboard. To adjust the video layout and  screen view, select the view feature located on
12. 1:13on the top right hand corner of your screen and  choose the view that works best for you. This
13. 1:19webinar will be recorded and made available after  our event. Today's agenda topics include welcome,
14. 1:28opening remarks, NCDHHS updates, presentations  from each of our root root h roots hubs leads,
15. 1:36and a Q&A session. At this time, I would like  to turn it over to Deputy Secretary Fington.
16. 1:46Good afternoon. Thank you all for joining  this afternoon's webinar on the rural health
17. 1:52transformation program. We're delighted that  you've been able to join us and we appreciate
18. 1:58your participation. Um, as many of you know, we've  been implementing the rural health transformation
19. 2:03program for uh a number of months now and we've  achieved a great amount of progress and that's
20. 2:11due in part to uh the input and partnership that  we have with you as community members. We really
21. 2:18appreciate your uh input and your interest in  rural health transformation and we're happy today
22. 2:25to be able to share some update information  um with you. I am happy to um share with you
23. 2:33that we have a list of um distinguished guests who  will be able to provide information to you and and
24. 2:40uh you'll get to learn more about where we  are in our progress towards implementing the
25. 2:44program. I'm grateful that Secretary uh  Debda Sangvi can join us this afternoon.
26. 2:51As Secretary of the Department of Health and  Human Services, Secretary Sangvi has over
27. 2:56the pa last 18 months helped our department make  great strides towards creating a healthier North
28. 3:02Carolina. From implementing the life-changing  medical debt relief program to introducing the
29. 3:09first of its kind child and family specialty  plan to ensuring that those served by the child
30. 3:15welfare system can access care. Secretary  Sangvi is laser focused on creating a North
31. 3:22Carolina where every person can access quality  and affordable care when and where they need it
32. 3:29most. We're happy for his participation today.  And now I will pass it on to Secretary Sangbai.
33. 3:38Thank you, Deputy Secretary Frankington, and  thank you to everyone participating on this
34. 3:42webinar. As I see some of the names popping up, I  see a lot of familiar names. uh familiar because
35. 3:47I know many of you have been following this  process almost for a year now since we first
36. 3:52uh learned that the RHTP was uh proposed and North  Carolina was going to submit an application and
37. 3:58so forth. I see many of you were part of the 400  plus individuals who gave us counsel and guidance
38. 4:02on how to move forward and today's really a  special day. Today's the day to introduce you
39. 4:07to what's really the anchor, the most important  first step that we need to take to get to go on
40. 4:12the rural health transformation project and its  introduction of the roots hubs. I'm not going
41. 4:17to spend a lot of time talking about the rural  imperative in North Carolina. You all know how
42. 4:21important it is with the number of people in  North Carolina who live in rural communities,
43. 4:26the hospitals that are at risk, and how important  it is to identify illness and disease early,
44. 4:30particularly in our most vulnerable communities.  And that's what the roots hubs are going to do
45. 4:35through needs assessments and other processes  that are really designed to understand what our
46. 4:39communities need. Each hub is now starting the  process of establishing their own governance,
47. 4:45conducting regional needs assessments, and  eventually onboarding a diverse network of
48. 4:48partners like many of you. These you will help  us drive community-ledd solutions to improve
49. 4:54health. Our hubs are vital to reaching our goal of  transforming rural health because they're really
50. 4:58based in their communities and understand the  unique needs. Again, one of the most important
51. 5:02things we wanted to make sure is we're making  decisions for the rural communities by the
52. 5:07rural communities, not uh out of Raleigh or any  other part of the state specifically as our hubs
53. 5:13begin to receive resources to build foundational  infrastructure and launch priority programs such
54. 5:18as chronic disease prevention, nutrition access,  perinatal health, and workforce initiatives. It's
55. 5:24my priority to keep our efforts person- centered  so that every North Carolinian can tangibly
56. 5:28benefit from our work. uh we all know that in  order for the non-ural communities to thrive,
57. 5:34we need the rural communities to thrive and  vice versa. I want to again thank each of you
58. 5:38for attending this webinar and for your engagement  in the North Carolina rural health transformation
59. 5:43project. I hope that you're encouraged to get  involved with your hubs and look for additional
60. 5:47opportunities to help the agency transform  rural health in North Carolina. I want to
61. 5:52take a moment and say thank you to all the Roots  hubs for their ongoing work as they're vital to
62. 5:56the long-term success and sustainability of this  program. As you know, our our plan is to to be
63. 6:01able to transform health with a pretty short time  period. We wanted to have significant, meaningful,
64. 6:06sustainable change in 5 years, and it's only  going to require a stable core of roots hubs
65. 6:12uh and a large number of community organizations  helping them achieve their goals. I'm eager to get
66. 6:18started as we create a healthier North Carolina  for 11 million people. Um and so again, thank you
67. 6:24everyone. and welcome to the webinar and I'll turn  things over uh back to uh to deputy serrington.
68. 6:32Thank you, Secretary. We appreciate your  remarks and we are terribly delighted to
69. 6:36have our roots hub partners with us today. Let  me start though by introduc introducing you to
70. 6:42Maggie Woods who is the director of our North  Carolina rural health transformation program.
71. 6:49Uh Maggie brings a wealth of knowledge of  rural systems and is a great leader who's
72. 6:56committed to supporting our communities. Maggie  comes to us from a background of public service,
73. 7:02having previously served as the director of  the North Carolina Department of Information
74. 7:07Technologies Office of Digital Opportunity. Maggie  led efforts at that office to close the state's
75. 7:16digital divide, enabling North Carolinians to  benefit from online resources and services through
76. 7:24access to the necessary technology and digital  skills. Maggie grew up in rural America and she
77. 7:32understands firsthand many of the healthc care  challenges that our rural communities face. Um,
78. 7:39this program represents a terrific opportunity  for Maggie to lead us to strengthening our
79. 7:44health systems, expanding care and access, and  making sure that everyone across our state has
80. 7:50the opportunity to achieve their best health.  So, we're terribly delighted to have Maggie
81. 7:56here in one of maybe her first webinars in her  new role. So, Maggie, we'll turn it over to you
82. 8:02now. Thank you so much and good afternoon  everyone. I'm so excited to be here. Uh,
83. 8:08as Deputy Secretary Fington said, I'm brand new to  the program, but I'm not brand new to working in
84. 8:15communities across North Carolina. So, as I look  on who's here today, I know I've worked with many
85. 8:21of you. I look forward to continuing to work with  you over the course of the next five years. And
86. 8:26for those of you I don't know, I look forward to  uh uh connecting with you and working with you in
87. 8:34the future. So today I'm going to start with an  overview of rural health transformation. I know
88. 8:40that many of you have already uh been involved in  this program pretty significantly, but for those
89. 8:46of you who might be new, I think it's always good  to level set. And then I'm going to talk through
90. 8:51some of our accomplishments and what we expect to  achieve over the next six months. And then I have
91. 8:57the absolute best job, which is to introduce  you to the roots hubs leads. And you'll have
92. 9:02a chance to hear from them. So, uh, I'll start,  but then we'll we'll hear directly from them. So,
93. 9:07if you see on this slide, you know, the funding  for the rural health transformation program is
94. 9:11designed to address longstanding challenges in  rural health care, including workforce shortages,
95. 9:17hospital sustainability, gaps in access to mental  health and primary care services, and access to
96. 9:24and training of technology for both providers  and patients alike. And if you move to the next
97. 9:30slide, we have a little bit of rural health  transformation by the numbers. So on the next
98. 9:36slide, there we go. Um really the goal of rural  health transformation is to ensure that every
99. 9:42North Carolinian benefits from improved access to  health care and modernized care delivery. Um as
100. 9:49uh the secretary said, uh North Carolina has a  very large rural population, right? We have the
101. 9:54second largest rural population in the United  States. And rural health care transformation is
102. 10:01uh an expected $1 billion of federal investment  over five years starting with just over 213
103. 10:10million in year 1. Um and these funds uh have  been approved by the US Centers for Medicare and
104. 10:16Medicaid Services. Uh this program will support  more than 400 rural healthc care facilities and
105. 10:23we really see that this investment will not only  help to advance care in our rural communities but
106. 10:29it will do so by working collaboratively which is  why uh we are excited to introduce the roots hubs
107. 10:35but we'll be working collaboratively as a program  across state agencies, healthc care providers,
108. 10:41academic institutions, community- based  organizations and the private sector. So this
109. 10:47really is a program that's meant to work together  and so we need all of you who are on this call to
110. 10:54do this with and to move forward. So if you move  to the next slide, rural health transformation is
111. 11:00built around six integrated initiatives and you  can see each of those initiatives on this slide.
112. 11:06And I know that there's a lot of words here, but  we hope you can take this back and continue to use
113. 11:10it for your own uh for your own purposes. But you  can see this is expanded primary care and chronic
114. 11:17disease management to workforce development and  behavioral health expansion as well as expanding
115. 11:23digital solutions and financial sustainability.  So these initiatives work closely together to
116. 11:30advance community-led solutions and the roots hubs  themselves are critical to making that happen.
117. 11:37They serve as the regional connectors that bring  these initiatives together and bring this work
118. 11:43to life. And I did just want to note because I  know we've gotten some questions on this that
119. 11:48initiatives 1, 2, 4, and five are implemented  directly through the roots hubs. So that's
120. 11:56um you know that's prevention and chronic  disease management, workforce development
121. 12:01and financial sustainability implemented directly  through the roots hubs. whereas uh hubs will in
122. 12:08ensure the coordination of programs related to  initiatives three and initiative six but those
123. 12:14are implemented se separately. So just wanting to  note that. So I want to transition just a little
124. 12:21bit to the next slide to talk about what has  been accomplished over the last couple months
125. 12:27and where we are going. So over the next year,  it's my team's priority to demonstrate effective,
126. 12:35efficient investment of these dollars and to show  impact in real ways in rural communities. And so
127. 12:42I'm excited about what we get to announce today.  So we're obviously, you know, we've awarded the
128. 12:46five roots hubs across uh the six Medicaid regions  serving all 100 counties. We'll dig into that
129. 12:52more, but we also have late breaking news. Uh this  was just announced today. Uh but we have launched
130. 13:00a partnership with the North Carolina Department  of Information Technology. Uh so through NCDIT we
131. 13:06are funding the health information exchange  which is a data exchange uh which will help
132. 13:12onboard rural providers and train them on how  to use the data exchange and we believe that
133. 13:18this program will onboard over 400 eligible rural  providers. Additionally through uh DIT we are also
134. 13:27partnering to expand patient access to digital  uh digital skills training and digital health
135. 13:33literacy training. So coming in July anyone can  call into United Way's NC211 service and ask for
136. 13:41a digital health navigator and they can be trained  on how to do teleaalth how to connect to a patient
137. 13:48portal and how to connect with their doctor's  office in a virtual manner. So again, this is
138. 13:52that encompassing of of providing technology to  providers, but also ensuring that patients have
139. 13:59the training that they need in order to connect  virtually. And then finally, we just announced
140. 14:05$10 million of awards to 39 EMS agencies to expand  and strengthen mental health crisis response and
141. 14:13improve treatment access for substance use  disorders. So, this is going to increase the
142. 14:18capacity of emergency services across 39 counties  in North Carolina. Uh, so we've we've done a lot
143. 14:26in a short period of time. Uh, we do have a lot  more to do. So, if you go to the next slide,
144. 14:31you can see uh what we plan for June and July. Uh,  we'll be doing a lot of onboarding for our roots
145. 14:37hubs. That's what we are actively doing right  now. And the roots hubs will begin to complete
146. 14:42their regional needs assessments. they have 60  days uh to do that. Uh we'll also be launching
147. 14:49a rural health transformation advisory committee  and I'm excited that we've just announced uh the
148. 14:55release of an expanded North Carolina minority  diabetes prevention program. Uh so you can look
149. 15:01at that on our website. This is specifically for  uh targeted counties in eastern North Carolina.
150. 15:07Uh but it's a really exciting program. And then as  an office, we're going to be continuing to recruit
151. 15:13and fill for positions so that we can make sure  that we are effectively and efficiently getting
152. 15:18funds out the door to um make real impact in rural  communities. So if you know good people, uh please
153. 15:25send them our way. And then if you look at the  next uh several months moving into the fall,
154. 15:30our hub leads will complete their action plans.  Um, we will be launching a rural health innovation
155. 15:37fund that will allow providers to apply to receive  funding to purchase needed technologies. And we'll
156. 15:44begin some behavioral health programming. And  then later into the fall, we'll really see our
157. 15:49roots hubs uh community programming launch  and and funds getting out the door in those
158. 15:54rural communities and then some expansion of some  workforce and mental health programming. So, we've
159. 15:59got a lot to do over the next six months. uh we  will make sure that we are communicating regularly
160. 16:05uh with the public um and we will also be updating  our our website regularly. But I want to get us
161. 16:12to what the the whole exciting part of today is  and that is to introduce the roots hub. So just a
162. 16:18quick background on what are the roots hubs and  what's the roots hub lead. So, as a reminder,
163. 16:24the roots hub is that initiative one. It's the  lynchpin of rural health transformation for North
164. 16:29Carolina. And these are locally governed networks  of community stakeholders that implement the rural
165. 16:35health transformation initiatives. And the hub  lead is the organization that's responsible for
166. 16:41coordinating and guiding a regional network of  partners to improve health services in their
167. 16:48region. Right? uh as the secretary mentioned,  we wanted there to be regional ownership over
168. 16:53this work. So you can see there on that graphic  that you have the roots hub lead, they're setting
169. 16:59up a governance structure with partners in their  regions. You can see examples of those partners,
170. 17:04though this is not a full list of partners  that would be involved. And then once they have
171. 17:09developed their needs assessment, their action  plans, and have their governance structure set up,
172. 17:14that's when they can start awarding subgrants  and contracts to meet needs in their region. If
173. 17:19you go to the next slide, you'll see a map of our  hub leads um and which regions they're serving.
174. 17:26You'll hear from each of them. And then finally,  we know there's been a lot of questions about how
175. 17:32to connect with the roots hub. And if you go to  the next slide, you'll see that on our website, we
176. 17:37have a pretty easy way for you to learn more about  each roots hub and uh how to contact with them
177. 17:43directly. I'm going to pause there because I think  I've reached my time aotment and I want to make
178. 17:50sure we have enough time for the roots hubs. Uh  and so the way this is going to work is each roots
179. 17:56hub is going to introduce themselves. They'll have  about five minutes uh to introduce themselves um
180. 18:02and uh talk about the work that they're doing in  in their communities. Uh if we start to run out of
181. 18:07time, I'll I'll be timekeeper and move us along,  but then they will pass to the next root hub and
182. 18:13uh you'll have a chance to hear uh from the from  the five hubs serving the six regions. So without
183. 18:19further ado, I will pass it to Impact Health and  region one to uh to introduce themselves. Hi,
184. 18:28good afternoon. My name is Lori Stradley and  I have the privilege of serving as the CEO at
185. 18:33Impact Health based in Asheville and serving the  19 westernmost counties of North Carolina. If you
186. 18:40could show the next slide. Um, we came into being  for just this kind of work. Our mission is to lead
187. 18:47innovative strategies that bridge community  and clinical systems of care to ensure that
188. 18:52all Western North Carolinians can access the  resources they need to thrive. Our goal is to
189. 18:59live in a region where we are a model for thriving  fully engaged communities where all people live
190. 19:06healthy lives. And we're excited to join you and  be a part of rural health transformation. If you
191. 19:14can go to the next slide. Um, we represent a  region that has been a part of this work in
192. 19:19many cases for generations. And so what impacts  health brings is our ability to connect. You can
193. 19:25see the image here of the swirling circles. There  is nothing uh that can happen all by itself. Uh
194. 19:31we've had the opportunity um to serve as health  related social need or non-medical driver health
195. 19:38or social health whatever you want to call it.  uh about a part of the innovative work of healthy
196. 19:43opportunities. Uh and we've carried that through  in all areas of our work. We launched the impact
197. 19:50primary care network just a little over a year  ago to continue this work to bring our uh social
198. 19:57care whole person health care closer together and  make sure that our clinicians have what they need
199. 20:03um to better meet the patients needs overall.  We are community centered. We are rooted here
200. 20:08in Asheville but have staff across the region.  And it's always our goal to make sure that we
201. 20:13are deeply embedded in our community, always in  listening mode and ready to draw together our
202. 20:20leader, our leaders from around the region into  the state and national conversation. And finally,
203. 20:25we try to do that work. We believe that all of  the learning we've had the opportunity to do out
204. 20:31here should be shared. So our goal is to host, to  train, to teach, to make sure that others are able
205. 20:38to make make this happen in their own regions.  If you can go to the next slide. I always have to
206. 20:43share a little bit of information about healthy  opportunities. We are so proud to have been a
207. 20:47part of the beginning of that. Hope to get to  continue that soon. Uh we connected with over 60
208. 20:53organizations across our region, serving nearly  14,000 individuals and countless more families.
209. 21:00Over 400,000 services were provided through  the engagement of those organizations and over
210. 21:08450 farms in our area were able to provide local  food into this program. It's not just uh specific
211. 21:17health and health outcomes that we do together  both in healthy opportunities and in rural health
212. 21:22transformation. It's about creating a thriving  economy where everyone can access uh great work,
213. 21:28great benefits, and great resources. Um just  through healthy opportunities, we we increased,
214. 21:35we provided um and not through direct funding,  but through indirect supports uh,11 full-time jobs
215. 21:43generating over 138 million in total business  activity. Um, if I can go to the next slide,
216. 21:52you'll hear this repeated by my colleagues  across the state. Uh, and you've already heard
217. 21:57it a little bit from Maggie that we are extremely  focused on listening, connecting to the region,
218. 22:03not just assessing our needs, but cataloging our  assets. We know that um impact health's role is
219. 22:09not to be the expert and to lead the change but to  invest in all of our partners, colleagues, experts
220. 22:16across the region who already know how to do this.  Um ultimately coming together on an action plan
221. 22:21that will guide this work for the next four years.  And if we can go to that last or the next to last
222. 22:27slide. Um our focus is to strengthen, expand and  sustain. There is so much good work happening here
223. 22:34already. we don't see a need to innovate new  processes or new programs rather to innovate
224. 22:39the ways that they are connected, sustained and  engaged in the work we do together. And lastly,
225. 22:46um one of the areas that we believe will  help us do that on the last slide I have
226. 22:52um oh one of my slides seems oh there it is. Thank  you. Uh is to build a a stronger data exchange. We
227. 22:59have a lot of great technology and communication  happening already, but it's too often happening in
228. 23:04silos. And for the benefit of the individual who  should have access to whole person care, we need
229. 23:10to make sure that all the folks who are engaged in  providing that care have access to real-time data
230. 23:15both on the needs of the individual and on the  resources of the community and clinical spaces
231. 23:20to get that care more effectively, efficiently,  and consistently. Um, and with that, I'm going
232. 23:26to wrap up region one and hand things over to my  colleagues in regions two and five at Trillium.
233. 23:36Thank you so much, Lori. U appreciate you and  all the the information you've shared certainly
234. 23:43been super helpful. Uh, I'm Cindy Ellers uh with  Trillium Health Resources. I'm our chief strategy
235. 23:50and innovation officer and the interim executive  director for regions two and five of the NC roots
236. 23:57hubs. Uh Trillium was awarded uh two uh roots  hubs and uh regions two as you see here on the
237. 24:07map on the left uh and region five uh on the lower  part of the southeastern part of the state. Um,
238. 24:16Trillium is also, if you look to the map on the  right with the purple, uh, is also a health plan,
239. 24:23a tailored health plan, uh, one of our our  public plans in the state of North Carolina
240. 24:28serving individuals with behavioral health,  uh, substance use, ID, traumatic brain injury,
241. 24:35uh, in 46 counties, 42 of which are considered  extremely rural um, counties in our state. And
242. 24:45so we are uniquely positioned uh to to work in  this NC roots space. Uh we aren't starting from
243. 24:55scratch. We already have the infrastructure  data community trust uh across much of the
244. 25:01area that we're serving. Uh and we're building new  relationships in uh region 2 where Trillium does
245. 25:08not currently have a footprint. Meeting uh lots of  new people. uh hearing about the exciting things
246. 25:14that are going on uh from Wataga, Ash, Alagany  all the way through down to Davidson and Foresight
247. 25:22uh areas that we we don't currently cover. Um in  addition to that, we because we're a health plan,
248. 25:29we have the capability not only to pull  together uh complex provider networks,
249. 25:34but also uh create local coalitions, which we  have done. Uh, Trillium worked with Access East
250. 25:40and Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear as  they stood up to HOP programs uh in Eastern
251. 25:46North Carolina uh that were as as Lorie said very  successful uh at changing the health care along
252. 25:54with impact health in western North Carolina.  Our core mission as a public health plan has
253. 26:00been serving these individuals with some of the  most significant needs. Uh and that role remains
254. 26:06unchanged while we're embracing this new role  uh working with the whole population, not just
255. 26:12the carveout for behavioral health and ID, but  every person that lives in the rural communities
256. 26:18uh in regions two and five. Our core mission is  making sure that people get their needs met at
257. 26:25Trillium. Um and the the NC roots population is  no different. The health goals are all something
258. 26:34uh that we we can do something about. Um we  can work to find some sustainable outcomedriven
259. 26:41business solutions that outlast this temporary  grant funding. Uh our goal here isn't just to
260. 26:48manage this program as a grant, but to leverage  our position as a health plan and to turn this
261. 26:54state investment into permanent thriving  new reality for North Carolina. Next slide.
262. 27:02So, I grew up in eastern North Carolina. Spent  my whole life here in the rural parts of North
263. 27:08Carolina. Um, and uh in in my life, I've  spent a fair amount of time in farming,
264. 27:15especially in my younger years, uh, working in the  summers like right now, uh, in tobacco and other,
265. 27:22uh, crops. And I would just say that, you  know, I couldn't help but use this type of of
266. 27:28uh graphic to sort of share uh how we're going  to grow uh NC roots uh from this small sprout
267. 27:36to a fully rooted thriving plant. Uh so it's not  just a visual visual metaphor here. It represents
268. 27:43exactly how we intend to make this uh sustainable  uh for a harvest down the road. Um, so first it's
269. 27:51partnership. Uh, as a health plan operating  in the 46 counties we serve now, just under
270. 27:57half of North Carolina, we know the infrastructure  doesn't grow in a vacuum. U, you have to leverage
271. 28:03this position to to pull together local networks  and community leaders. And I will just say for
272. 28:09for all the community leaders listening or or  participating in this webinar, uh the outreach
273. 28:15has just been amazing to see the number of people  that are emailing or calling or finding a way to
274. 28:21get through to us to make sure we know about  what they're doing and how they're doing it.
275. 28:26It's just amazing to to see how many people are  showing up already uh just to to get this done uh
276. 28:33for our rural communities is is nothing short  of amazing. Um second, accountability. Uh one
277. 28:41of our deepest leadership philosophies is to be  accountable uh for the outcomes for each of these
278. 28:47rural communities. As a public system, we invest  every dime we have in our stakeholders and making
279. 28:54sure that our rural communities that we serve  and all the communities Trillium serves and the
280. 29:00communities that we will serve in NC roots uh get  the benefit of every penny of money that we can
281. 29:05leverage. uh not just the roots money but other  funds that we may be able to bring to the table
282. 29:10through philan philanthropic efforts or other  grants to blend and braid funds together to really
283. 29:17make this happen and make it sustainable. Uh  alongside all our other partners in the Medicaid
284. 29:23health plans across North Carolina. Uh third, we  believe in transparency and making sure that you
285. 29:31know what we know when we know it. uh and sharing  how we're going to go about doing things in region
286. 29:37two and in region five. Uh Trillium is going to  be uh hoping hoping to make sure that we answer
287. 29:45your questions before you ask them. Uh we are  committed to open communication, sharing data
288. 29:51and strategic clarity with all of our state and  local partners every step of the way. And finally,
289. 29:57in investment, this is where roots really take  hold in the soul. We aren't just looking at this
290. 30:04is a temporary grantf funded program that will be  here and go away. We are looking at how to turn
291. 30:10this state investment uh through the federal  government into a valuebased outcome driven
292. 30:16business solution that outlasts any single  funding cycle. Uh so getting grounded in this
293. 30:23um I want to just take a real brief second  to introduce uh our standup team. Next slide.
294. 30:32So, as I mentioned, I'm Cindy Ellers and I'll  be the NC Roots Hub executive director for a
295. 30:37little while while we're recruiting our executive  director in region two and five. We'll have a a
296. 30:42director in both of those. I'm joined by Anthony  Ward, who is our interim vice president for region
297. 30:48two, uh, and Haley Sink, who's our interim vice  president for region five, and then Kay Freeman,
298. 30:55who is our interim director of community and  tribal engagement. And then we have a whole host
299. 31:00of other folks that are part of our standup team.  And at this point, I'd like to hand it off to our
300. 31:05interim vice president of region five, Haley Sink.  Haley, thank you so much, Cindy. Good afternoon,
301. 31:12everyone. Thrilled to be with you today. Haley  Sink. I serve as senior vice president of strategy
302. 31:18and innovation uh here at Trillium and have  the privilege of being part of this incredible
303. 31:24uh rural health transformation work with NC roots  born and raised in for scythe county and actually
304. 31:29I'm coming to you today from Wilks County in  region 2. We're taking one of our uh innovative
305. 31:34technologies statewide to increase employment  opportunities uh for folks with behavioral
306. 31:40health needs and disabilities. So really excited  to be joining you today. Um, we are going to just
307. 31:45briefly go over a few opportunities that are  already out and posted as part of our NC roots
308. 31:51work and commitment to both region 2 and region  5. And in our first 90 days, these are the key
309. 31:57priorities. Uh, that listening, that learning,  that transparency, as Cindy mentioned, we know
310. 32:03that our communities, our our neighbors have the  answers, right? They've been doing this work for
311. 32:09decades. uh they are the trusted leaders and and  trusted uh messengers in their communities. So
312. 32:14leveraging that and really making u making an  impact. We're getting to do that through our
313. 32:20regional needs assessment using both the data that  we are getting both on the numbers side and the
314. 32:25listening sessions so we can get those stories  too. Um establishing our board that is all on
315. 32:31our website. You can go to trillium and search  NC roots and it'll be on our homepage too. you
316. 32:36can apply for uh those those boards and also some  funding opportunities. So um our our commitment
317. 32:43was rule ready now and and we intend to uh carry  that forward. So uh next slide please. I will
318. 32:49quickly chat through these. There's our website  uh again trillium roots and we have a dedicated
319. 32:56website you'll see here. You can click for region  two or region five. Next slide. Uh these are some
320. 33:03letters of interest that we have put out already.  Some you could apply for for across region. Um but
321. 33:09also again it's important that you go to region  2, region five. Those are separate regions,
322. 33:13separate communities, separate needs. Uh and apply  for the one that you are interested in. So this is
323. 33:18our first roll out of funding opportunities um  and and different opportunities to get involved
324. 33:23in this work. And then we intend for much more  investment and funding opportunities to come
325. 33:28um in the fall. All right. And moving right along.  I think this is our last slide maybe. There you
326. 33:33go. There's a sample of the letter of interest.  Most of the current ones are due by June 30th. So,
327. 33:37um here next next week. All right. Next slide.  And this is just ways to stay connected. We're
328. 33:44happy to uh drop this in the chat or this will be  in the the slides that are sent out. Um you can
329. 33:49sign up for our engagement list there. The link  the bit.ly link there. You can use the QR code
330. 33:54to get to the website. Um certainly we are honored  to to be part of this work in region five with our
331. 34:00uh Lumbi tribe of North Carolina, the 575th uh  recognized tribal nation and in our country.
332. 34:07And so uh we are doing some great work there. If  you have any questions uh related to the tribe,
333. 34:12please reach out to or tribal engagement, please  reach out to K Freeman. Her email address is there
334. 34:17and more to come very soon. And at this time uh  we will wrap it up. Thank you all so much and
335. 34:22hand it off to our um wonderful partners in region  three. Hey, good afternoon everyone. Uh my name is
336. 34:30Rhonda Cox. I'm the executive vice president  and chief operating officer for VIA Health,
337. 34:35which is a tailored plan that currently covers  32 counties primarily in western North Carolina.
338. 34:41And then in October um we will be joining  forces with partners um to cover 47 counties
339. 34:49um primarily again similar to the Trillium  team uh uh which has always been uh rural
340. 34:55counties. I think one of the things we'd want  to start with is uh we were very intentional
341. 35:00um about and I'm using the collective we so  somehow we've jumped ahead on a slide and I'm
342. 35:06not sure how we did that. Can you go back please?  Thank you. So um Via Health AppState uh which is
343. 35:12also has comprised with Appwell and Partners  Health Management. Um we we have been here
344. 35:19uh like Cindy and Lori mentioned um but many of us  have been here in systems and organizations that
345. 35:25have lived in western North Carolina and supported  western North Carolina for decades. Um and so I
346. 35:31think we wanted to make sure because we have lived  experience where there have been many wonderful
347. 35:36um initiatives that were started and well intended  and they were not sustainable and often the impact
348. 35:42for many of us were west uh rural counties in  particular were left uh in a worse position
349. 35:47um than before. So with that in mind, we said,  you know what, we believe we can do this. We can
350. 35:53make sure the money gets um to rural counties  and we believe that we can create a sustainable
351. 35:58program. Um and we had the great privilege of  doing that with region 3 and so grateful to the
352. 36:03department uh for the opportunity um to have some  additional fundings uh to launch that. Next slide.
353. 36:12Maybe the next slide. Oh, there we go. Um tech I  may be tech. So, you've already heard some of my
354. 36:19teammates mention um but we believe this. We're  a public entity. We believe in leveraging public
355. 36:24infrastructure. Again, these are are decades long  trusted partnerships um across North Carolina. And
356. 36:30we wanted to not only focus on the resources  of a health plan uh which Cindy mentioned,
357. 36:36but also leveraging AppState, which has been a  core educational resource um who works closely
358. 36:42with public health workforce pathways. they have  um largecale evaluation and training capacity
359. 36:48um uh expertise already in play and then partners  uh like VA is bringing their LMECO experience and
360. 36:56many long-standing relationships in region 3  uh in addition to the counties that we serve
361. 37:01and then also sister agency I think Julian has a  little bit in there as well and the opportunity
362. 37:06to just partner I think across the system taking  what we know and using the local relationships and
363. 37:13trust relationships because if you're from a small  town, you know, if you're not from there, people
364. 37:17don't immediately trust you. Um, and it takes time  to build that. Um, I think it's important for us
365. 37:22because we do believe that you have to use what  communities have, people that they know, um, and
366. 37:28then strengthen those things uh, in a way um, that  helps build a path for sustainability. Next slide.
367. 37:39So, um, we have learned from many  years experience. We don't have any
368. 37:43uh desire to come in and be the boss of  anybody. We want to take the infrastructure
369. 37:48um that we have. We know that communities already  assess what they need and routinely prioritize on
370. 37:54cycles. So we will listen because that is the job  um and take the uh existing information I think
371. 38:02uh that they will provide and then prioritize  um and decisions allowing those communities to
372. 38:08drive those decisions process. a transparent  and accountable process. I liked what Cindy
373. 38:13said about you'll know it when we know it.  I think it's also important as decisions are
374. 38:17made regardless of county or political kind of  influence, you want to ensure that people know
375. 38:23um how decisions are made um and how they work  together. And then the implementation and ability
376. 38:30to measure and sustain programs is the key  because again if we don't provide the data
377. 38:35back uh to the department and to our communities  and that also means that we potentially put at
378. 38:40risk the opportunities for additional funding for  the citizens of North Carolina. So we believe that
379. 38:45everything should be traceable that it's validated  that there's a clear plan and a measurable output
380. 38:52um as well as always maintaining sustainability as  the the forefront of our our approach. Next slide.
381. 39:01Go back one. Thank you. Um, so again, how do  we fit together? So, VIA is leveraging our
382. 39:08experience, our infrastructure, our size,  and sort of our existing long-standing
383. 39:14um history with managing large-scale financial  um implementations, large-scale regional
384. 39:19and statewide implementations, contracting,  reporting, compliance, and those kinds of things.
385. 39:24Um we are very very fortunate and appreciative  of the strong relationship that we have had
386. 39:30uh with AppState and they already as I mentioned  previously have a strong presence uh both in
387. 39:37their own right but as well as other university uh  institutions across um across the various regions.
388. 39:43They have a strong presence already with workforce  public health and evaluation. Um and that learning
389. 39:48infrastructure we will believe is great not only  for the short-term lift but also for supporting
390. 39:53communities in the longer term lift. And then  partners health uh many of the counties they
391. 39:57have been there for I think over 50 years like us  have been around. Um and again being able to just
392. 40:04leverage existing community relationships. Um  our staff live and work in these counties and
393. 40:10have for for many many years. Um which helps build  that trust. And then again at the grassroots level
394. 40:16really leveraging our public health anchors which  give us that community insight. Um they're also
395. 40:22many times the driver for the community health  assessments and the need for coordination and they
396. 40:26are trusted partner and then also um creating  cross community regional decision council so
397. 40:33that voices can genuinely be heard. um we can  genuinely we can use a an appropriate and clear
398. 40:38process for validating needs and priorities and  then making sure that there are truly transparent
399. 40:44uh local recommendations. And then I think we're  on the home stretch. Last slide. Um so thank you
400. 40:50so much. Um we have information uh on our website  and um are just a few weeks away from sort of a
401. 40:58little bit more splashy dip in. I want to tip my  hat to the trillion folks who've done a great job
402. 41:03of getting out and getting information as well  uh in it. And so we will um be seeing you. We've
403. 41:10uh similarly appreciated all the interest that  we've experienced uh from many many local and
404. 41:16state level partnerships as well as a lot of  outreach and community between the respective
405. 41:23uh roots hug leads. though we know that humans  don't live neatly in a box or in regions and so
406. 41:29again I think not only the individual region  strengths of of our respective hubble lead
407. 41:34uh participants but also I think the community um  and coordination across uh these respective areas
408. 41:42will will really help us build a long-term strong  program for the citizens of North Carolina. And
409. 41:49with that, I will hand it off um to uh Matt Ginger  uh from Region 4. Hey, good afternoon. My name
410. 41:56is Matt Getser. I serve as the executive director  for rural health strategy and partnerships at UNCC
411. 42:02Health. On behalf of UNCC Health and our partners,  Scramble Advance Public Health and Pedmont Health
412. 42:08Services, I want to thank you for your interest in  the RHTP program uh and the NC roots region 4 hub.
413. 42:16Uh before we begin, I'd like to briefly introduce  UNCC Health. Many of you are familiar with UNCC,
414. 42:21but I want to make you more familiar with what  this state-owned healthcare system is all about.
415. 42:26Uh we're headquartered in Chapel Hill, as you  can imagine, but we have a mission to improve the
416. 42:31health and well-being of all North Carolinians.  Our vision is to reinvent and the means to be what
417. 42:39it means to be uh North Carolina's health system  by working alongside communities, providers,
418. 42:44public health organizations, and local partners.  The mission is exactly what brings us together
419. 42:50today. We're honored that UNCC Health was selected  uh by the North Carolina Department of Health and
420. 42:56Human Services. It's an honor to be selected  among the folks who have already presented
421. 43:01and we're honored to be a lead organization for  this region for hub. Our region spans 14 counties
422. 43:09uh next slide please. Um and northern  in eastern and central and northern
423. 43:14North Carolina. It includes communities that are  incredibly diverse urban rural and everything in
424. 43:19between. The purpose of this program, as you know,  is ambitious uh to strengthen healthcare access,
425. 43:25improve coordination, and support healthier  communities across the state, particularly in
426. 43:30those that have faced barriers to care. We're  especially proud of the work our organization
427. 43:34has done to expand across North Carolina to train  physicians and clinicians who remain in the state
428. 43:39and to advance clinical and practice practical  research. This work cannot be accomplished
429. 43:46by any single organization and it requires  collaboration, shared leadership and meaningful
430. 43:51community engagement. Next slide please. One of  the strengths that that UNCC health brings to the
431. 43:59table is that we have an ability to collaborate  across organizations, sectors and obviously as
432. 44:06you can see here the map. Through UNCC Health  Alliance, our clinically integrated network,
433. 44:10we work with independent physician practices,  health systems, community organizations, and
434. 44:15public health partners throughout North Carolina.  That experience has taught us an important
435. 44:20lesson. Sustainable change happens when local  expertise and community voices guide that work.
436. 44:28Excuse me. This NC roots initiative builds  on that same philosophy. Next slide.
437. 44:38It's why we're especially excited about our  trianchor partnership model. As you see here,
438. 44:44UNCC Health serves as the hub lead, but we're  joined by two outstanding anchor partners,
439. 44:49Granville Vance Public Health and Pedmont Health  Services. Together, we bring complimentary
440. 44:54strengths to the table. UNCC Health provides broad  regional healthcare infrastructure and clinical
441. 45:01expertise. Granled Vance Public Health brings deep  public health leadership and strong connections
442. 45:08across local health departments and their region  and Pedmont Health Services contributes decades of
443. 45:13experience serving communities through safety net  and federally qualified health centered networks.
444. 45:20Together, we think these partnerships allow us  to combine scale with local rootedness, ensuring
445. 45:25that every county and community in region 4 has  a voice and a pathway to participate. Next slide.
446. 45:34As you see here, this is how we envision  our trior partnership to work. Each of us
447. 45:41contributing strengths as well as reach  into this 14 county region. Next slide.
448. 45:52While they're not all on this call to join  and share today, I just want to take a moment
449. 45:57to recognize the leaders here who've made this  possible and who will continue to be incredibly
450. 46:04involved in the work that we do together. This  work will be not just guided by these leaders, but
451. 46:09also by community partners, healthcare providers,  local governments, faith-based organizations,
452. 46:15social service agencies, and residents throughout  the region. Over the coming months, we'll be
453. 46:20building advisory councils, workg groups, and  broader regional networks to help shape priorities
454. 46:26and guide implementation. We want this effort  to reflect uh the needs and the strengths of the
455. 46:32communities we serve. Much like you've heard from  the prior presenters, while our regions all have
456. 46:38needs, we also believe they also have strengths to  contribute. This work is largely about connecting
457. 46:44those strengths, connecting those community  organizations to make the most out of this
458. 46:49opportunity. Whether you're a healthcare provider,  community organization, public health leader,
459. 46:56local government representative, advocate, or  resident, your perspective matters to us. If
460. 47:01you'd like to learn more, as you see below,  feel free to connect with us via the email
461. 47:05you see or fill out the organizational interest  form that's linked here. Uh we believe this is a
462. 47:12once- in a generational opportunity opportunity  to strengthen our rural health. And as a native
463. 47:19North Carolinian in Tar Hill, I'm especially proud  of our opportunity to serve you all. So with that,
464. 47:25I'll close and I'll hand it to our region six  partners. Tina. Hey, I'm Pam Cowen and I'm
465. 47:34going to um pick us off and then turn it over to  Tina. and I get the pleasure of introducing you
466. 47:39to Access East and to also region 6 and what  I like to refer to region 6 as the state's
467. 47:45hidden gem. If you haven't visited eastern North  Carolina, I would certainly encourage you to. It's
468. 47:50a wonderful, wonderful place. But saying that, I  have to give you just a little bit of background
469. 47:55setting the stage for region six and then you'll  understand the work of access and why we are so
470. 48:01passionate about um RHTP and the opportunities.  So, in reason six, you're never really alone
471. 48:08because there are a lot more hogs than there  are people and they don't have to have access
472. 48:13or appointments to health care. So, keep that that  in mind. And then also in eastern North Carolina,
473. 48:18your GPS and um directions to healthcare may sound  something like turn left at the soybean field,
474. 48:24drive 20 miles, and you will get there eventually.  So, keeping all that in mind with how rural we are
475. 48:32in region six and how vast of an a a geography  we serve, the programs at Access East are
476. 48:40um essential and our partners are essential. So,  if we can go to the next slide. So, Access East,
477. 48:47our our our mission really is to improve  health through access to and and coordination
478. 48:53of quality care in Eastern North Carolina.  Access East has been around for a long time.
479. 48:58We have over a 30-year history of providing whole  person care to um folks across rural counties
480. 49:06largely in region six but also touching region  four and five. And importantly, we are a nonprofit
481. 49:12501c3 affiliate of ECU health and ECU health is  the largest provider of health care in the region.
482. 49:21So some of the programs and services that  we provide um we do provide Medicaid care
483. 49:26management and practice support which obviously  aligns with some of the initiatives you've heard
484. 49:31about. We also have a robust health assist  uninsured network and this links patients to
485. 49:38um resources that they may not know about or may  not have have previously had access to. This also
486. 49:43includes a large farmworker um program healthy  opportunities pilot much like impact health.
487. 49:50We were a network lead for healthy opportunities  and Tina, you'll hear from her, was the leader
488. 49:56for that program. Um, ACA navigators is a program,  remote patient monitoring. How else are we going
489. 50:02to reach everybody in that rural area and then  nurse triage s um services and so that's a 247
490. 50:09support because we are so vast in region six.  We need ways to keep up with with our patients.
491. 50:16And with that, I'm going to turn over to Tina  to dig more into um the specifics of how we're
492. 50:21approaching RSTP. Next slide, please. Good  afternoon, everyone. And I am Tina Dixon. I'm
493. 50:28the vice president of rural health and social care  integration. Um and I will be sharing a little bit
494. 50:34more with you about how we're planning to stand up  our roots hub. Um I will not delve into the goals
495. 50:42and priorities but I do want to highlight some of  the chronic diseases that we will be focusing on
496. 50:47we think which is diabetes and hypertension. Um  and then for paranatal health we'll be engaging
497. 50:54in just like the other roots hubs in locate I gave  birth CHW doula model and in other areas but I do
498. 51:01want to just say out loud that I gave birth was  born in eastern North Carolina. Next slide please.
499. 51:10Okay, our key strategies will be much like what  we've used in the past where we leverage existing
500. 51:16relationships and knowledge in order to build  things and using that method has allowed us to
501. 51:23build things that last. It will be a very  engaged collaborative process with support
502. 51:29from local health systems, hospitals, um, ack  colleges, FQC's, CHC's and community members.
503. 51:38We actually have three Indian tribes and tribal  communities in our area. We will be engaged with
504. 51:45them there. The um Halawasaponyi, the Maharin, and  the Chonoke Nation. So, we will be touching those
505. 51:51communities as well as our large Latino community  um and populations in this area because we have
506. 51:57lots of farm industry here. Um we will be talking  to economic development um uh organizations as
507. 52:05well as our philanthropic organizations that  support um programs and services in the east
508. 52:12um as well as community- based organizations and  faith-based organizations. We feel like partnering
509. 52:18with all of these organizations and individuals  will allow us to build something that we can keep
510. 52:24um for several years and hopefully forever  in Eastern North Carolina because we've had
511. 52:29so many experiences where things will come and  things will go and then as a previous speaker
512. 52:35said then we're worse off than we were before it  happened and we don't want that to happen with
513. 52:41um RHTP. Um, as far as our structure, um, we  will of course be communicating regularly with
514. 52:49the stakeholders. Back to that slide. Go back  one slide. We will be, um, communicating with
515. 52:56our stakeholders regularly. And the stakeholders  for us is everybody in the community, everyone who
516. 53:02has touched us or we've touched them because we  want to keep everybody involved in this process.
517. 53:09We of course will have a governance structure  where we will have a network council that will
518. 53:14meet regularly. But the big star is going to be  the steering committee. The steering committee
519. 53:19is going to be composed of partners from across  eastern North Carolina. They will be helping us
520. 53:25to make decisions. So it will be a completely  collaborative engaged community-led process. Um
521. 53:32and then we will have initiative work group work  groups that will be focusing on the individual
522. 53:38initiatives and they will be supported by um a  core team of individuals in the health assist
523. 53:46office. Next slide please. This is a graphic of  our structure and you can see that the steering
524. 53:53committee is in the middle and because there's  so much work to be done we've spread it out. So,
525. 53:57we're using a true traditional hub and spoke  model um that is collaborative. Next slide. So,
526. 54:06um where we are now is we're working on  finalizing all of our contracts. We're
527. 54:11working on a communications plan. We're doing  all of those setup activities that are required
528. 54:16for us to get off to a great start. Um, our needs  assessment is our first huge deliverable and that
529. 54:24will allow us to um figure out how and where  the gaps are, what's needed, where and then
530. 54:33use the funds that we receive from RHTP in order  to support that gap filling um and helping us to
531. 54:39build something that will last long term. So,  I'm excited to be going on this adventure with
532. 54:45several people in Eastern North Carolina and  all of the hub leads and DHS. And I will pass
533. 54:50it back to Maggie now. Great. Thank you so much,  Tina. And thank you to all of our roots hubs. Uh,
534. 54:58these were great presentations. I know we have  a lot of questions, so I want to get to those
535. 55:03as many as we can in the next four minutes. Um, so  I'm going to invite my colleague Rachel Cooper and
536. 55:10Deputy Secretary Ferington to join me virtually uh  to to answer some questions. So Rachel, uh, do you
537. 55:18have the first question for us? I do. Can you hear  me? Okay. Yes. Alrighty. Um, and I may direct some
538. 55:28of these questions to Deputy Secretary Fington  as well as you Maggie. So the first question is
539. 55:34um given the significant rural barriers to  behavioral health services, how will the NC
540. 55:39roots hub strengthen integration of mental health,  substance use disorder treatment, developmental
541. 55:45disability supports, and NC innovations  waiver services with primary care. So maybe
542. 55:52um I'll start with Deborah if that's okay and then  Maggie, can you chime in? Happy to. Yes, thank
543. 55:59you Rachel for that question. Um our roots hubs  will partner with our local management entities
544. 56:07tailored plans who have the primary responsibility  for implementing our initiative 3 activities. you
545. 56:14know that initiative 3 is focused on behavioral  health and um the root hubs will not lead that
546. 56:21work but they will partner with the LMECOs's to  make sure that we implement a standard array of
547. 56:27services in every region that are supported by  integrated care networks. Um the initiatives
548. 56:34are going to build on the existing work that's  happening in behavioral health but specifically
549. 56:39target our efforts in rural community. integration  is going to happen because we're going to focus
550. 56:44on expansion of certified community behavioral  health clinics. We're also going to make sure
551. 56:49that we're addressing enhanced assessments and  making sure that the treatment people receive
552. 56:54integrates both behavioral health and primary care  services. Maggie, is there anything you'd like to
553. 57:00add to that? I think you hit the nail on the head.  Awesome. Okay, so we'll move on to question number
554. 57:08two. Um and I think this is uh broader than just  the roots hubs. Someone is asking, can you talk
555. 57:14a bit more about the composition of the rural  health advisory committee? Yeah, absolutely.
556. 57:19Um so we thought it was really important that  we have a committee that helps advise us that
557. 57:24has representatives from across the health care  spectrum u bringing in rural voices, providers,
558. 57:31hospitals, consumer advocates, uh tribal  representatives as well as community members.
559. 57:38And so this will be um a an array of partners from  across the state including legislators who come
560. 57:45together and meet on a quarterly basis to hear a  little bit more about where we are and some key
561. 57:52decision points for rural health transformation.  I'll say that these meetings will be uh open to
562. 57:57the public as well and so we'll make sure that  we are communicating on our website and through
563. 58:02our newsletter uh when those meetings will take  place. The first one will take place in August.
564. 58:08Great. Thanks Maggie. Um the next question uh  I think I can also answer. It's can you tell
565. 58:16us where the website um materials and slides  will be posted? So the slides and recording of
566. 58:21the webinar will be posted to our website  on the real health transformation program
567. 58:25page. Uh we can put a link to that I think  in the chat shortly but they will be posted
568. 58:31um within the next uh few days. So thanks. Um,  we'll move on to the next question. Maybe one
569. 58:39really quick question, Rachel, if possible. If  not, I do think we need to wrap up. Okay. Um,
570. 58:46question number four. How will the Roots Hub  strengthen services that address maternal health,
571. 58:50maternal mental health, and early childhood  mental health? And I'll kick that to you,
572. 58:55Maggie. Great. Um, well, you heard from  some of our roots hubs on their plans.
573. 59:00uh the roots hubs expand access to maternal  health in maternity care deserts through
574. 59:05required paranatal programming. So for example  implementing the maternal health uh focused I
575. 59:11gave birth initiatives as well as the community  health worker doula uh or group prenatal care
576. 59:17model. So there are specific required elements  that the roots hubs uh are required to implement
577. 59:23as part of their plans and then there are some  elective programs they can choose based on their
578. 59:28needs assessment. Um I just want to stop right  here. I'm sorry we didn't have more time for Q&A.
579. 59:35We had such great presentations from the roots  hubs but just want to thank everyone for joining
580. 59:40us today for staying engaged in this program. Uh  we appreciate your time, your energy, and we look
581. 59:47forward to uh staying connected with you. Please  stay connected with us. We have a newsletter that
582. 59:53you can sign up for on our website. Um as well as  uh we'll be making sure that any upcoming funding
583. 1:00:00opportunities are available on our website  uh uh soon. And then we will ensure that we
584. 1:00:06continue to do these town halls and webinars so  that you can stay engaged uh as this program uh
585. 1:00:12gets launched and uh we see some uh strong  impact in rural communities. So thank you
586. 1:00:18everyone and I hope that you have a great rest  of your day. This this uh webinar is concluded.