Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The Public Health Council of the Upper Valley received a $100,000 Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy under the Rural Healthcare Services Programs (CFDA 93.912) for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The award supports the establishment of an integrated Oral Health Care Network serving Grafton and Sullivan counties in New Hampshire and Windsor and Orange counties in Vermont. The network partners—Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Little Rivers Health Care, and Good Neighbor Health Clinic—will collaborate to remove barriers to oral health care access and improve service quality for uninsured and underinsured residents in the Upper Valley region.

During the 12-month planning period, the awardee will develop foundational network infrastructure and strategy through three primary deliverables: (1) establishment of an oral health care network with effective communication and relationship-building capacity; (2) development of a common agenda and strategic implementation plan for coordinated network services; and (3) positioning the network to execute mutually reinforcing activities. These planning outputs will enable the network to evaluate alternative oral health delivery models and establish the organizational foundation necessary to expand access to quality oral health care services for vulnerable Upper Valley populations.