Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program | CDC RFA DP21 2102

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program grant?

The Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program is a CDC cooperative agreement intended to reduce stroke-related death and disability by improving how stroke care is delivered and monitored across an entire state. It focuses on strengthening the stroke system of care from symptom onset through emergency response, hospital treatment, discharge planning, rehabilitation, and recovery.

What problem is this funding opportunity trying to address?

The opportunity is grounded in the scale and urgency of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke in the United States. CVD accounts for more than 800,000 deaths each year and represents a significant share of national health care spending. Stroke remains the fifth leading cause of death and a major driver of long-term disability, with roughly 795,000 strokes occurring annually. The program also notes that progress in reducing stroke deaths has slowed, despite the fact that about 80 percent of strokes are considered preventable with better risk-factor control and timely, high-quality care.

What are the main goals of the program?

The program aims to improve the quality, timeliness, coordination, and monitoring of stroke care across a statewide system. A central emphasis is building and using a statewide stroke registry to measure performance, identify gaps, and drive continuous quality improvement using evidence-based strategies.

What does "stroke system of care" mean in this grant?

In this opportunity, the stroke system of care spans the full continuum: the moment symptoms begin, emergency response and transport, hospital evaluation and treatment, discharge planning, rehabilitation, and recovery. The intent is to strengthen coordination and quality across each stage rather than focusing only on what happens inside a hospital.

What is the role of a statewide stroke registry in this program?

The CDC calls for implementation and use of a statewide stroke registry as the backbone of the work. The registry is intended to collect consistent data across facilities and communities so recipients can track treatment timelines and quality measures, evaluate outcomes, identify gaps, and support continuous quality improvement. The data are meant to be used to drive changes in protocols, training, and coordination among EMS, hospitals, and post-acute providers.

How is performance expected to be measured and improved?

Performance is expected to be measured through consistent, statewide data collection and monitoring using the stroke registry. Recipients can use registry results to identify where care is delayed or inconsistent, evaluate outcomes, and implement evidence-based quality improvement strategies to strengthen coordination and clinical practice across the system of care.

How does the program address health equity?

Health equity is a core driver of this funding opportunity, not an add-on. The program highlights disparities in stroke risk, treatment, and outcomes by race, ethnicity, sex, geography, and payer type. Recipients are expected to use data to accurately identify inequities and implement practical interventions to address them.

What disparities does the opportunity highlight?

The opportunity notes that the risk of a first stroke is nearly twice as high for Black individuals compared with White individuals, and Black communities experience the highest stroke death rates. It also notes that stroke death rates have increased among Hispanic individuals in certain years and that deaths have risen in parts of the South where many high-burden populations live. The NOFO connects these outcomes to unequal access to care and differences in the quality of care delivered.

Does the program mention differences in treatment quality for specific groups?

Yes. The opportunity references findings from earlier program cycles showing that women and African Americans were less likely to receive alteplase within 60 minutes. It also notes that women and Medicare or Medicaid recipients had lower odds of receiving defect-free care for ischemic stroke.

How does the opportunity discuss bias in health care delivery?

The CDC notes that unconscious and implicit bias in clinical settings can influence decision-making and patient interactions, which can affect treatment and outcomes. The expectation described is that recipients will use data to identify inequities accurately and implement practical interventions to address them.

Is this grant only about acute stroke treatment in hospitals?

No. While the award is framed around acute stroke care, the overall intent is to create a stronger, more coordinated continuum that improves prevention and post-stroke outcomes as well. The opportunity emphasizes the entire pathway, including emergency response, discharge planning, rehabilitation, and recovery, along with upstream prevention connections.

How does the program connect acute stroke care to prevention?

The program links acute stroke performance to upstream prevention, especially hypertension control, described as the single most important treatable risk factor for stroke. It also highlights other major contributors such as high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and diabetes, noting that these risk factors disproportionately affect high-burden communities.

Why is hypertension emphasized?

Hypertension is described as the single most important treatable risk factor for stroke. The opportunity notes that less than half of people with hypertension have it under control and that prevalence is higher among non-Hispanic Black adults than among several other groups.

What federal agency and office are sponsoring this opportunity?

This is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within NCCDPHP.

What type of funding mechanism is this?

It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which means the CDC is expected to have substantial involvement in the work.

What is the funding opportunity number and CFDA number?

The funding opportunity number is CDC RFA DP21 2102, and it falls under CFDA 93.810.

How many awards are expected?

The expected number of awards is 13.

What is the award ceiling?

The award ceiling is $650,000.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, city/township, and special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status); and for-profit organizations including small businesses, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement.

When was the opportunity posted and what was the original deadline?

The original posting date was January 5, 2021. The original application deadline was March 18, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET).

What kinds of organizations and partners are implied by the program design?

Based on the program focus, the work is designed to involve coordination among EMS, hospitals, and post-acute providers such as rehabilitation and recovery services, supported by consistent statewide data collection through a registry.

What is the central strategy the CDC is emphasizing?

The central strategy emphasized is using a statewide stroke registry to collect consistent data, monitor timelines and quality measures, identify gaps and inequities, and implement evidence-based continuous quality improvement across the full stroke system of care.