The Maine Department of Public Safety, through the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), has announced the availability of $1 million in funding to address healthcare disparities and enhance emergency medical services across “underserved populations.”

The state opened the requests for applications (RFA) earlier this month, under which eligible EMS agencies may apply for grants of up to $125,000, with a maximum of 10 awards available.

“The grant focuses on a reduction in health disparities, improving and increasing healthcare resources offered by EMS to underserved populations and people living in rural communities,” the department wrote in the RFA.

“It also focuses on improving capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 infection (or transmission) among populations at higher risk that are underserved, including rural communities,” they wrote. “These sub-grant funds are meant to support EMS agencies in initiating and/or expanding community paramedicine services, with a focus on rural areas.”

The department said that all grant recipients will be required to expand capacity to be able to provide testing for COVID-19.

The term “underserved populations,” as defined by the state in their RFA, may refer to — but are not limited to — African Americans, Latinos, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other “persons of color,” members of religious minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQIA+) persons and persons with disabilities.

At the very end of their long list of “underserved” categories of people, the state added “persons who live in rural communities.”

The applications, which are due by Feb. 10, will be judged and scored by the state in a competitive process based on a number of criteria, including the rurality of the community they seek to provide services for, and the EMS agency’s qualifications and experience.